Methodology in a Field - Research Paper Example

Methodology report draft Abstract Methodology in a field research or dissertation outlines the process of conducting a research, developing an understanding of the entire research process by illustrating adopted methods in data collection, analysis, and preliminary research processes. This paper offers a methodology report draft. It explores the essential elements for the intended research. Introduction The proposed research aims at exploring the wide topic of domestic violence in the society and its significance to different social and economic aspects of life that may necessitate policymaking. It will particularly examine the effects of domestic violence on the psychological development of young children in the United States. Problem statement Domestic violence continues to be a major concern for many families in the United States and globally. It persists even with the most experienced counselors who are expected to facilitate conflict resolution in domestic units. Even though many institutions have been established with the main purpose of resolving domestic conflicts, such initiatives have made insignificant progress. Husbands who engage in violence and cause harm to their spouses dominate the violence. Wives, in a few cases, also molest their husbands. This has profound effects on children prompting scholarly investigations for solutions. The greatest difficulty is that families are a complex web of interrelationships that are difficult to understand, especially if they involve children. Counselors have however adopted measures such as legal redress, leading to separation or divorce, as means of solving the domestic violence problem. These mediation efforts most of the time consider the couple in order to avoid a situation where someone is hurt. Such solutions however fail to consider children’s plight in the situations. Consequently, domestic violence together with the resulting legal proceedings affects children in different ways. The witnessed violence, separations, and divorce, which in most cases occur against the children’s wishes, instill fear and sometimes hardship in the children’s lives. This, as existing literature supports, induces social problems as most adults who engage in domestic violence registers such experiences in their childhood, an indication that children’s witnessing of domestic violence affects their perception and behavior that they manifest in their later stages of lives (Fainsilber, Danielle, & Amalia, 2007; Hornor, 2005). The impacts of domestic violence on children is therefore significant an issue that ought to be deeply explored, in any society. Domestic violence has therefore been a source of problems, not only to children during their developing stages, but also to their future lives in marriage. Even though social workers and counselors have continuously dealt with the problem of children from families that experience domestic violence, many of them have not yet understood the impacts of domestic violence on child development. There are however, diversified opinions that children develop fear, abuse drugs, become aggressive, and grow up with other psychological problems that may be harmful to them and the society in the end. This study therefore seeks to investigate the relationship between domestic violence in families and the associated effects on young children’s psychological development. Information gained from understanding the psychological impacts of domestic violence on children will help counselors, other social workers, and policy makers to know what strategies are appropriate in helping children cope with the problem. Purpose statement The purpose of this study is to find out how young children’s psychological development is affected in families that experience domestic violence. This is achieved through collection of quantitative data on children’s experiences based on chosen measurement scale. Quantitative research philosophy The research methodology considers research philosophies that outline fundamental assumptions for the research. It adopts philosophical assumption of ontology that the reality of the research process is internal and can be determined by the researcher. The research also assumes a high level of independence between the researcher and the research subject, as illustrated in epistemology, as well as a rhetorically formal approach to conducting and presenting the research. Even though axiological postulation disregards value, the process considers it for effective communication of the research’s context in results. Finally, the research is based on the methodological basis for data inference, a characteristic of quantitative research that induces causation (Creswell, 2003). Research questions and hypothesis Research questions form the basis of any research. Identification of research questions is however, a difficult though very important aspect in conducting any research. The questions guide the research and help in addressing the research topic. Without the research questions it would be very difficult to address the research topic appropriately (Creswell, 2003). The study proposes the following two research questions to be answered in the study: What are some of the psychological consequences that arise from children exposure to domestic violence in families? How do the psychological problems that children develop in families that experience domestic violence affect their psychological development into adulthood? Research Hypotheses Scholars provide various definitions of the term hypothesis. However, the most common definition views a hypothesis as a temporary claim about a research problem that has two mutually exclusive possibilities as outcomes. It can also be understood as an informed guess of possibilities. Thus, a hypothesis is a temporary prediction of the nature of a relationship that exists between two or more variables. The study has developed the following set hypotheses that take both the null and alternative approach. H1: Domestic violence has no profound impacts on the psychological development of young children in the United States. H2: Young children’s exposure to domestic violence has some impacts on their development and subsequent behaviors into adulthood. Independent and dependent Variables Analysis of two or more variables makes it important for a researcher to point out the relationship between the involved variables in a study. Two variables are independent if a change in one does not consequently cause a change in the other. In case one of the variables causes a change in the other then the first variables is known as an independent variable and the latter a dependent variable. In the two research questions identified above, domestic violence is the independent variable while psychological consequences are the dependent variable. Operational definitions The following definitions will act as operational definitions for the variables as used in the study. These are based on the various understandings by different scholars on the meaning of the terms and how they are used in day-to-day interactions. Domestic violence will be taken to mean developed pattern of assaultive and coercive behavior that could take the form of physical, psychological, emotional, or economic coercion that is seen to occur between a couple (Champion, 2000). This definition will thus focus on a family set up where children exist in addition to any other adult relationship. The definition will also only consider what the children can see happen in the family and not what they are not able to observe. Psychological problems will be taken to represent patterns of behavior or psychological symptoms that have an effect on several areas of life of an individual and which create distress for the person who is experiencing the mentioned problems. Psychological consequences will be taken to the same meaning as the above mentioned psychological problems. Normal development will be taken to mean development that is not abnormal in the sense but that conforms to the prevailing social norms or a behavior that is frequently observed in other people. Normal development will also mean that the individual does not show behavior that is likely to be categorized as deviant, outrageous or non-conforming (Trull, 2005). Sampling strategy This research adopts a stratified random sampling in which the participants are grouped according to predetermined characteristics of sub populations. Social class that defines population distribution by regions forms the basis for grouping the participants. A sample size of 470 participants is applied from different regions. This is based on personal prudence and knowledge of sample size selection in similar research together with resource constraints for implementing the research. Based on the selected sample, the research will collect data on a scale for correlation analysis (Cohen, Manion, and Morrison, 2007). Reliability and validity The research applies questionnaires as its data collection tool, for recording participants’ responses. The tool is considerably valid since it collects responses on informed free consent basis. As a result, the collected data are based on “accurately, honestly and correctly” framed responses. The random stratified sampling strategy also communicates reliability of the research through limited biasness and a blinded representative sample (Cohen, Manion, and Morrison, 2007). Pilot study The research includes a pilot study as its preliminary initiative to determine effectiveness of questionnaires as its data collection tool. It uses sampled strata to evaluate comprehensibility and clarity of the used questions among participants (Cohen and Lawrence, 200 Cohen, Manion, and Morrison, 2007). Ethical issues Ethics refers to moral practices in a society. Though they are not legally binding, they are observed as cultural practices in professions and may indirectly impose liability on a researcher. This research, like other social research activities, is subject to a number of ethical considerations such voluntary involvement of participants. This means that no person should be forced into taking part in a research. The scope of this research that identifies children as the participants, and based on their vulnerability, indicates the essence of the protecting their freedom of choice and allowing then to chose whether to participate in the research or not. This identifies the ethical doctrine of participants’ autonomy (Streubert and Carpenter, 2010). Another applicable ethical issue to the research is the participants’ informed consent, which provides that a participant to a research should be informed of the scope of the research and possible consequences from participation, before accepting to take part. This principle directly applies to the research topic and the children must be adequately informed before they can consent to participate in the research. This doctrine must however consider legal provisions that minors lack legal capacity to consent, owing to the fact that the research targets children between five and fifteen years. As a result, the required consent must be obtained through the children’s parents or guardians who must also be informed of the scope of the study and possible consequences of the research (Streubert and Capenter, 2010). The research also involves beneficence, an ethical provision protecting participants from harm that may arise from a research process. The principle imputes a researcher’s responsibility to ensure a research process that is safe for the participants. The scope of the research, whose topic considers children’s treatment by their parents or guardians, is for example sensitive and needs to ensure that their parents or guardians will not harshly treat them for their involvement in the research. Similarly, the children’s anonymity ought to be respected in the entire research process. Anonymity principle provides for protection of participants identity in reporting research findings and is supported by other principles such as “beneficence” and “confidentiality” (Streubert and Capenter, 2010, p. 60). Other ethical concerns also emanate from “reliability and validity” of research methods such as data collection and analysis tools (Goodman, 2009, p. 348). Research results that may be incorporated in policies may for example disadvantage the subject population if research instruments compromise “reliability and validity” (Goodman, 2009, p. 348). The applied instrument in the research, questionnaires, promotes dependability on the research as well as truthfulness because it eliminates possible bias and insincerity in data collection that could be transferred to data analysis and conclusions. This means that the applied instrument promotes beneficence in the entire research (Goodman, 2009). Summary The research expects to affirm already established findings that domestic violence has negative impacts on children’s psychological development, and that such effects depend on a child’s age (Stiles, 2002). The research will however apply quantitative analysis of categorical data to determine a logistics regression analysis on the relationship between domestic violence and children’s psychological growth based on age. The paper proposes that the effect is inversely proportional to age. The expected observation relies on the concept that domestic violence induces psychological instability that is higher in less mature children. The study is significant because of its aim of establishing the need for child protection policies to ensure healthy psychological growth through controlling domestic violence. This has a long term effect of raising a productive generation for economic development. References Champion, L. (2000). Adult Psychological Problems: An Introduction. New York: Psychology Press. Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education. New York, NY: Routledge Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches. London: Sage publications. Fainsilber, K. L., Danielle, H. M., & Amalia, A. (2007). Domestic violence, Emotional Competence and Child Adjustment. Social Development, 16(3), 513-538. Goodman, C. (2009). Research in psychology: Methods and design. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Hornor, G. (2005). Domestic violence and childen. Journal Of Pediatric Health Care, 19(4), 206-212. Stiles, M. (2002). Witnessing domestic violence: The effect on children. American Family Physician. Retrieved from: http://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/1201/p2052.html Streubert H. and Carpenter, D. (2010). Qualitative research in nursing: Advancing the humanistic imperative. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Trull, T. J. (2005). Clinicall Psychology. New York: Cengage Learning. 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