Analysis of Articles about International Students in Australia - Essay Example

Introduction The article which is being referred to as A for the purpose of this study describes the social experience and social networks of overseas students studying at the Wollongong University. The second article takes a larger sample size and tries to discuss this experience in terms of social constraints faced by international students. The Article A is named The Social Capital Experience of International Students in Australia: The Wollongong Experience. The Article B is called Loneliness and International Students: An Australian Study (Sawir, Marginson, Deumert, Nyland & Ramia, 2007). The article B does not focus on a single university while giving its analysis. The study provided is therefore broader. The first article has its primary focus on Wollongong University and it can said, that this experience might be different for other overseas students studying in Australia. The article A uses both qualitative and quantitative data for the purpose of its research. The quantitative data has been gathered from questionnaires. Information gathered from focus groups built to formulate a relevant set of questions for the purpose of questionnaire, was also used as qualitative information for purpose of research (Boden, Kenway & Epstein, 2005). Therefore we can safely say that research methodology used by article A was mixed method. Article B focuses of a literature support for the sake of argument. Under the heading ‘Theorization of loneliness’ it gives a strong literary and qualitative logic to the study. Furthermore interview from some 200 individuals were carried out and later answers quantified. Therefore we can say that research methodology carried out article B is qualitative. Although Article A used a mixed method (Creswell & John, 2009) of research the basis of research are very different from article B. The emphasis of article B is mostly in supporting its argument with previous research that has already verified. The first article however focuses on a questionnaire approach along with findings of focus groups. The difference exists in the fact that article A has a limited approach when it comes to sample size. Article B however has a very large focus and it would not be possible to carry out new research on a country wide basis because of high costs (Sawir, Marginson, Deumert, Nyland & Ramia, 2007). As an international student topic are of relevance to my personal social experience in Australia. During the course of this research I have been able to understand and place my own social isolation in perspective. The authors had similar reasons when it came to topic selection for their topics. The difference to their approach when taking up this topic is the result of their own different experiences while studying at Australia. Research Process Theoretical Perspective and Paradigm The research process for any research starts with an observation of a broad area of problem or interest (Boden, Kenway & Epstein, 2005). At this stage the researcher does not have knowledge about key factors participating in the research (Boden, Kenway & Epstein, 2005). Sometime people involved in a research process are involved directly in same situations earlier. This is more common to research projects undertaken by organization. They usually assign teams of people who are familiar with the area of research either due to prior experience or direct involvement. At this preliminary stage the researcher explores and investigates to find his area of interest. In the second stage of research process, a researcher has a set direction (Boden, Kenway & Epstein, 2005). Therefore this stage involves data gather for area of research (Mackenzie & Knipe, 2006). There are many different methods of preliminary data gathering. In exploratory researches preliminary data gathering involves conducting surveys and questionnaires (Sekaran, 2003). This is because not much is previously know about a topic. In other cases adequate information is available in literature etc about a topic. In such cases researcher carries out a literature survey or literature review in his area of interest. This preliminary data indentifies all the important aspects of research and variables involved. After preliminary data has been gathered the researcher tries to establish a link between different elements and variables. This is called form a theoretical framework for a research and is sometimes also referred to as research paradigm. A paradigm is how conceptual model of how one theorizes or makes logical relationships of different variable in a research (Sekaran, 2003). The research paradigm for a research takes into account different models and theories previously in use and also analyzes research constraints. According to choice of paradigms affects every aspect of a research (Mackenzie & Knipe, 2006).; from intent and motivation to expectations for the research. On basis of a paradigm a relevant literature review, research design and methodology is selected for research (Mackenzie & Knipe, 2006). The article labeled as A is more focused on providing an obvious answer. This is more observation related or in other words explaining phenomenon behind a known and accepted fact. It can be assumed that the researcher did not have any preconceived negative emotions or hidden motives before conducting the research. before a research starts or in the initial stages highlighted above a researcher makes some assumptions about a particular topic. This factor is even more dominant for researches being carried out in areas of self interest (Sekaran, 2003). A very typical example would be a humanitarian working trying to analyze if factories are causing environmental damage in a particular area. In such a research a preconceived assumption would be present from a researcher’s point of view which would motivate a decisive opinion or conclusion. This is a very important factor in understanding selection of a research paradigm. As can be seen especially from the conclusion that the researcher does not blame any single side for cultural or communication problem. On the contrary a neutral perspective is given and it has been emphasized that both parties need to try harder. This can be easily identified as interpretive perspective. The exploratory nature of research is obvious by questions such as ‘What is happening here?’ ‘What do these events mean to the people engaged in them?’ etc (Mackenzi & Kinpe, 2006). Another very important aspect of interpretive perspective is that it does not declare any single phenomenon as the truth. On the contrary it supports the existence or proves that there are many different perspectives to the same situation. This can also be called existence of multiple truths. A very neutral position is thus maintained when not one but multiple truths are supported at the same time (Mackenzi & Kinpe, 2006). This sometimes also pinpoints to existence of confusion of lack of prior research which has in fact led to misconceived notions about a situation. As we can also observe in the article that the author believes that both parties are justified in their positions. Therefore it is very obvious that this is interpretive perspective paradigm. The article B describes how international students are facing problems to overcome their social barriers. The study for this article was based primarily on previous works conducted by many other researchers. The focus is therefore very broad in nature and not specified to a certain place or event. This would also suggest that the effort is not directed towards an event by a phenomenon. This phenomenon is social in nature as it relates to interactions in society. The primary interactions or lack of interactions in this case is described between international and local students studying in different Australian universities. If we look at the interpretive perspective we see a very subjective view of this world (Mackenzi & Kinpe, 2006). This means that solutions usually do not have very simple and straight forward answers. There could be many different reasons to a problem or in other words a problem could not be anyone’s fault. This would again show a belief in not necessarily the unseen but in the subjectivity of issues. This perspective in research usually relies on common sense and inductive approach to reasoning. The inductive approach is actually a process of starting from observation (Mackenzi & Kinpe, 2006). This observation initiates a chain process where a researcher tries to fill out a gap in reasoning by looking for the appropriate theory. If we compare these elements to our research we can see that in article B the researcher knows that international students are lonely. Another important element of interpretive perspective is its approach towards purpose of research. The researcher tries to find ways to analyze reasons for that particular social behavior. As we can see in this case the researcher is trying to locate reasons for lack of social interaction and feelings of loneliness. The interpretive perspective like all other paradigms has its own back draws and flaws. These usually include a very high degree of subjectivism. This is the very reasons this perspective is more dominant in studies where the purpose is exploratory in nature. On the positive side interpretive perspective is very useful in the fact that it uses flexible data sources. These sources are not quantitative based but a more qualitative approach towards data gathering is maintained. This gives the respondents an opportunity to express their own view about events and phenomenon. As we can see that this article is also based on data gathering through interviews so we can say that interpretive perspective is dominant in this research. Researcher’s Role The researchers do not discuss their own role in their respective research. This is because the paradigms of both research is not centered on objectivism but rather logic (Neri & Ville, 2006). As we can see both students are international students themselves and thus had a direct stake in this discussion. The nature of the argument however was not centered on giving a judgment or decision. As mentioned above the first article A presents a totally positive view about life as an overseas student, here we can say that a personal bias existed. This is because if a student has a good experience themselves they would assume that other students were having a good experience studying at a particular university. An unconscious bias would therefore automatically be created. In article B however the researcher has been totally subjective in his conclusion and discussion. The focus was to present different perspective of the same story support by not personal judgment but by theory and interviews. Methodology and Methods The research design predicts in most cases different aspects of a research process. The influence of research paradigm is also very solid and significant when it comes to choices of methods in research (Mackenzie & Knipe, 2006). For example if the examples given above are analyzed the research paradigm of article B demanded that the data be subjective in nature. This would therefore influence other aspects of research design as well. When the research demands a subjective analysis the data collected is therefore subjective in nature (Creswell & John, 2009). The purpose of research also drives data collection methods. For exploratory research qualitative data is adequate. This is because not conclusion has to be drawn and therefore the analysis should not result in a definite answer. In causal studies a definite relationship has to be established between different variables therefore data is quantitative in nature. This choice of data is usually referred to as methods of research (Creswell & John, 2009). There are two different broad categories of methods i.e. qualitative and quantitative in nature (Creswell & John, 2009). The term methodology although used interchangeably with methods represents a much broader perspective and does not only include methods of data collection (Mackenzie & Knipe, 2006). The methodology is defined as both the collection of methods or rules by which a particular piece of research is undertaken and the principles, theories and values that underpin a particular approach to research (Mackenzie & Knipe, 2006). Both articles do not provide a definite conclusion when it comes to reasons of international student isolation. This is therefore a subjective analysis and an exploratory research. The articles even do not suggest a definite solution to the isolation problem but agree that a mix of different steps will be the final remedy for this issue. This shows that both methodologies require the same method of research which is qualitative. The questionnaire approach and interview approach are both methods designed to collect qualitative data. However different scales can be used in questionnaire to turn data collected into quantitative in nature. Therefore we can say that article A continues of mixed methods to some extent. Data analysis techniques Data analysis is a process of modeling, transforming and arranging data after it has been gathered. The reason and logic behind this practice is to make interpreting data more easily. A logical structure therefore makes it much easier to easily and reliably interpret and analyze data. The quantitative data requires systematic data analysis. The data is collected and arranged into different categories for interpretations. The article A uses systematic techniques to analyze and interpret data. The techniques being used by article B are more QAD oriented. The main tool of data analysis is observation and later coding could be used to bring it into a format. Validity Reliability and Rigor The reliability for article A is very high; this is because a questionnaire process was used in analysis (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007). The respondents would give same answers each time. In article B however the reliability is low this is because an interview approach was used. This usually reduces reliability as the researcher interprets responses differently each times. It would in that case also depend on nature and biases of interviewer (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007). Both articles are high in validity because they were field studies. The data was correctly directly from the sources i.e. international students in Australia. This is what we refer to as content validity because the representative items tested directly tap the concept. Further criterion validity is also present in both cases as both researchers as both differentiate individuals on criterion i.e. international students. Construct validity is evident from the literature review as all the theories are directly related to the study. This ensures that the research could be used again in real life (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007). The article B shows a very high research rigor because of its extensive data collection and in depth literature review. The plausibility of both article A and article B is high as they have triggered further research. Ethical Discussion Issues of Power The issues of power were first explored by Milgram’s Study where he observed how people would react to following rules despite their own judgment telling them to know better. This means that the extent to which people would follow their researcher’s instructions just because they asked them to (because of their authority) and without fully knowing the experiment and its use etc was observed. The ethics lies in the fact that the people who are being researched should be well aware of the consequences as well as the implications and use of the study in which they are being asked to participate in (Babbie, 2008). The two articles that have been used to analyze the use of this ethical issue in asserting personal power and authority to get the research information have been studied called Article A and Article B. These articles revolve around the behavior of students in the Australian universities. Both talk form a different point of view and observe different characteristics of behavior however, both focus on getting information from the students. Therefore, both have the opportunity to expose themselves to the possible asserting of power to influence the students and get the information they want. This is a sensitive issue and the researchers should always be on the lookout for the fact that the paradigm they chose for their research doesn’t contaminate their research results and doesn’t make their findings biased in any way. (Babbie, 2008) When we analyze the two articles given, we see that in article A, the researcher interviews the students online. The survey was conducted using international student email lists to obtain respondents who could access the survey. They had to provide their consent to answer the questions, and submit it via a university website. The value of $10 in the form of either a book voucher or a movie pass was provided as an incentive. In article B, the students were contacted via the Vice Chancellor of that university. The universities assisted the researchers in the selection and self-selection of student interviewees and provided facilities in which the interviews took place. Thus the personal power and authority of the researchers in both situations wasn’t evident. In the second research, the power of the vice chancellors was evident as they didn’t want the results to single out the conditions of their university and therefore agreed to the survey only on the grounds that the results not single out any participant of any university. The ethical issues in both articles are not explicit in nature. The issues are those mostly common to any other researches. However the fact that international students are involved in conducting a research on social interaction of international students can create an explicit ethical dilemma. If we look at research paradigms of both researches we can observe ethical issues evolving from specific perspectives. The interpretive perspective has been used in the research for these articles which has a very social orientation. This would sometimes lead researchers to identify problems and issues where none exists. The researchers however do not mention any interactions with ethical dilemmas. This is probably because as mentioned these were students themselves and were not aware of probable biases that could be inherent in their own research process. Broader academic and political/social debates The researcher had made sure that they studies they were conducting would help point it the different issues faced by the students and thus study behaviors that had practical implications attached. This is important so that the research is relatable to the people who are in that condition. However, it is essential that the research not violate any social or political issues in relation to power as well as coercion being exercised on the researched (Babbie, 2008). This helps to keep the study under the ethical and unbiased boundaries and provide real-time actual observation of behaviors. Moreover, issues such as harm to the respondents, coercion, anonymity and privacy as well as getting the consent of the respondents is absolutely necessary so that the research is credible and is able to explain the behavior that the study is supposed to observe (Babbie, 2008). The broader academic and political/social debates dictate that the research being conducted should in no way be done to exercise power over someone or make them obedient in any way or be used to harm the social set up of any area (Ebbs, 1996). The first article provides an outline of how the social elements and capital experience takes place for the students at a certain university in Australia. The students were asked a number of questions over the period of time to mark the progress of how the social forces affect the students in any way especially for the international students. The second study conducts the effects of loneliness on the international students and how it affects their social setup and their academic life. Apart from the fact that these studies have very practical implications to study the behavior of students and determine the reasons of some flaws or problems, the important thing to highlight is that these results shouldn’t be used for any private or economical use other than the use that is explained to the researched. Their anonymity should be protected especially in the second setting as not to single out any student or university. Even though this might hinder the process of true study of determining the problem areas in the university, it still is important that the respondents not be harmed in any way. Moreover, in the first article, again the students consent was taken to participate in the study which shows that the results were probably not contaminated with any kind of bias or coercion effects. Therefore, in order for a study to be credible, the academic and political/social aspects of the study should be taken care of. Recruitment of participants & research methods The use of different types of paradigms to study any behavior can affect the way a research result might come out. It is important that the point of view that that study method result should not be considered in isolation in any way because all these paradigms reveal a specific point of view. However, it is necessary that the researcher not bias the study in any way just because he has to achieve a specific result. Such studies are contaminated with the biased use of study methods by the researcher and therefore are not valid (Babbie, 2008). There are many different types of study which can study a point of view of the matter at hand like social scientists use a variety of paradigms to determine how they need to understand and inquire into social life, The conflict paradigm focuses on the attempt of one person or group to dominate others and to avoid being dominated himself/herself and feminist paradigms might emphasize how previous images of social reality have often come from and reinforced the experiences of men. Thus we see that so many different types of studies can observe a characteristic in so many different ways thus producing their own ideas and results. The recruitment of the participants is a sensitive issue where the respondents should be representatives of the general population that the researcher wants to study. The ethics comes in the picture when their rights of full information disclosure by the researcher, no deception as well as grant of full anonymity as well as keeping their personal information confidential are violated in some way. Then, the research is said to be conducted on unethical grounds which challenges its validity and the authenticity of its results (Babbie, 2008). This is because the participants, on whose information the researchers are dependent upon are not real because they are either forced or try to protect their own self in fear of not getting their privacy, thus making up information that is not true. Thus, we see that the ethics of conducting a research can drastically affect the way in which ones research can be considered to be valid or not. Significance It is important for the research to address whatever issue it was supposed to be measuring. For that to happen, relevant tools and questions should be asked in the research so that the issue at hand can be studied properly. The two studies that were in question here are ask a series and variety of questions from the correspondents, even at different intervals to observe the behavior over time and try to understand the underlying principles of their behavior. The research question has to be clear and relevant to the aim of the study and should be referred to time and gain in the course of the research so that the researcher doesn’t sway from the point and aim of the entire thing. The researchers in both studies indeed answer their research questions using the different types of information collected from the respondents. They use data and works already published as well as their own research to back up their arguments and their hypothesis as well as findings. This makes the research credible and the results can be easily applied to the real world. Conclusion The issues discussed in both articles A and B are becoming more important as Australia is increasingly becoming a top student study destination. The quality of education is an important factor for a study destination but other factors such as a pleasant social experience cannot be ignored. The social factor to student isolation is therefore very important both for students and university administrations all around Australia. The reliability and plausibility for article B is far greater than that presented by article A. The personal bias of actually belonging to a university under analysis is very important when it comes to plausibility. The amount of support for article B was also greater when it came to theory and literature. The fact that it has triggered further research into the area of student isolation and lack of social interaction says a lot about its plausibility. Therefore we can say that both articles present important social messages article b is more plausible and thus credible. Read More