Critical Exploration of Race and Ethnicity Issues - Case Study Example

Case Studies-Strengths and Limitations Introduction This study explores the use case studies with young people and children in exploring issues of race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity is often taken as one and the same thing, however, they are intrinsically different as race is traditionally defined in terms of biological factors, and it refers to a person’s physical appearance in regards to skin color, hair color and at times eye color. On the other hand, ethnicity denotes one’s cultural factors which involve such factors such as nationality, culture, ancestry and language. This will be achieved by looking at past works by Ince (2004) that focused on a small group of young black people leaving care as well as Maniam’s et al (2004) study on various methods that can be used in exploring issues of race and ethnicity. Research with children and young people is critical. It can advance understanding of how they develop and live, can contribute to theoretical debates, and its outcomes can impact directly and indirectly on the lives of those researched and others in similar situations. Main body Case studies present unique opportunities to focus on specific groups. It allows empirical methods of doing research to be used objectively for discoursing information on the given case. In this case, the study focuses on young people as well as children in reference to issues of race and ethnicity. The function of case study method in research becomes more outstanding when social issues such as drug abuse, racial segregation, poverty and ethnicity are considered. Prominence of case studies as a research technique gained recognition when researchers started raising more and more concerns regarding the limitations of quantitative methods. This was particularly in availing holistic and in-depth explanations for social and behavioral conditions. Superiority of case studies lies in the fact that the research approach incorporates both quantitative and qualitative data; these sets of data are utilized to elucidate both the procedure and result of a phenomenon through comprehensive observation, reconstruction and analysis of the case study under scrutiny. Ince (2004) carried out a qualitative research with a small group of black care leavers, through the research she demonstrated the young blacks’ identity problems resulting from their limited contact with their families and community. The research also brought to the forefront the impacts of racism as well as open and indirect discrimination in these children’s lives. Maniam et al (2004) seemed to favor use of case studies as he stated that bringing forth qualitative data on racism would be one way of researchers wittingly colluding with racism. He cited that to overcome inadequacies that have resulted due to a number of factors such as predominant white researchers and stereotypes a neutral approach and population must be targeted. This informed their decision on use of case studies which were to be focused on young black persons as well as children. Ince underlines the fact that case studies are based in lived reality (2004). Even though case study approach may seek to simplify the phenomenon, it does so in ways that very closely relate with the actual experiences of the study population. This is unlike other approaches such as experiments and use of questionnaires which definitely exclude certain factors such and natural acts and instead choose to focus on the particular phenomena under research. Alienation of such factors may be well informed, but then such acts may constitute a significant part of the study. It is also important to identify the fact that some of these situations such as a society’s interaction cannot be replicated. Again, children and young people who are the basis of any society are best placed to replicate the societal tendencies which may be used to study ethnicity. Lewis and Kellett identify that case studies help us comprehend complex interrelationships (2004). In our context of ethnicity, it is quite obvious that this is a result of complex historical relations. It may not be possible to have these relations identified through other research approaches a reason why case studying is preferred in such a scenario. Further, Lewis and Kellett who highlight ethnicity issues in South Africa point to the fact that one attribute of case studies is that they function with a very restricted focus (2004). One of the major reasons why it is necessary to greatly restrict the focus area is to provide an in depth understanding of the elements being studies. By allowing for a comprehensive study, the restricted focus also paves way for a greater understanding of the complex factors. Using children and young people represents the best chance of understanding complex issues surrounding ethnicity as they are in settings which allow for much more interaction as opposed to the senior generation. Besides, children and young people are likely to exhibit the same tendencies as the preceding generation. Case studies also allow for exploration of the unexpected and unusual. Following the two earlier strengths, case studies are best placed to bring up significant issues that were unprecedented at the initiation of the research. The chances of recognizing these unexpected occurrences may be limited if the study environment is altered or if the natural context is upset as may happen with the other research approaches. In studying ethnicity, the chances of unearthing unprecedented elements are heightened when studying children and young people. This is because these have a limited knowledge on the implications of ethnicity and are much more natural in their reaction towards members of different ethnic groups. This, is unlike adults who may alter their reaction or approaches towards members of different ethnic groups, this may be done to avoid upsetting relations or avoiding other consequences which may result from ethnicity. This is especially because ethnicity is greatly opposed as it may lead to unnecessary tension a factor which may not be adequately understood by children and young persons. Case studies can illustrate the processes involved in causal relationships. Researches aimed at identifying causal relationships are often based on statistical correlation. The in depth and concentrated study of a defined population can illuminate the ways in which such correlated factors can influence each other. These relations may be essential in understanding the causes of ethnicity as well as other correlation factors informing or contributing to the rampancy of ethnicity. Again, children and young people due to the limited knowledge on the intricacies of ethnicity maybe best placed to bring our these correlation factors. Lastly, case studies can aid in the development of rich theoretical development. A combination of the four discussed factors indicates that case studies are imperative approaches for theoretical development (Maniam, Singh & Robinson, 2004). Theories already in place can be examined against existent realities and the quality of the generated data can help in developing new ideas and cultivating new ideas. Even though detailed descriptions can be helpful in their own right, case study research clearly brings out the relevance when such new or modified thinking happens. However, it is not always a case of merits where children and young people are involved in evaluating matters of ethnicity and race as enumerated by Maniam, Singh and Robinson (2004) who identify that irrespective of the numerous advantages, case studies may have a limitation in their apparent use of rigor. This is probably because of the fact that case studies generate too much data that is required to make easy analysis. All researchers using case studies are faced with the reality of being faced with a pool of data (Fraser, 2004). For instance, studying ethnicity in the context of children and young persons may generate a myriad of information which at times may not be congruent with the ethnicity issue. However such data is refined which in itself is a debatable issue, as most of this data is likely to be omitted. Further, Ince identifies that case studies can be very expensive ventures as compared to other forms of researches. The cost may be heightened by use of children and young persons (2004). The cost is expected to rise as the scale would need to be much greater due to the erratic nature of this set of persons. Case studies on ethnicity using adults are much easier as their interactions are confined in smaller regions. This may not be the case with children and young person whose activities are widespread and thus the case study is expected to span to all these areas. Lastly, case studies are obscured by the complexities of social contexts which must be represented in simplistic forms necessary for better understanding. Case studies are critical in revealing complexities involved in studying ethnicity. However, identifying these complexities is not all that is required. These have to be represented in simplistic terms in order to be understood by other interested parties who may not have the same levels of understanding (Lewis, 2004). Conclusion This study has examined the strengths and limitation of case study research with children and young people in exploring issues of race and ethnicity. This has indicated that even though case studies are best placed to explore issues of race and ethnicity, it is the informed position of this paper that this may be at a greater cost than studying adults. In retrospect, case studies are useful in research as they allow researchers to examine data at the micro level. They provide an alternative to the conventional qualitative and quantitative approaches. They avail an exemplary option when an extensive population cannot be obtained. Besides, they provide a number of merits in that they present real life data and provide better insights into the actual behaviors of the group being studied. However, the strengths and limitations of this approach greatly depend on the group being studied (Lewis & Kellett, 2004). Bibliography Ince, L. (2004) ‘Young black people leaving care’ in Lewis, V., Kellett, M., Robinson, C., Fraser, S. and Ding, S. (eds) The Reality of Research with Children and Young People, London, Sage in association with The Open University. Maniam, M., Patel, V., Singh, S. and Robinson, C. (2004) ‘Race and ethnicity’ in Fraser, S., Lewis, V., Ding, S., Kellett, M. and Robinson, C. (eds) Doing Research with Children and Young People, London, Sage in association with The Open University. Fraser, S. (2004) ‘Situating Empirical Research’ in Fraser, S., Lewis, V., Ding, S., Kellett, M. and Robinson, C. (Eds) Doing Research with Children and Young People, London, Sage in association with The Open University. Lewis, V. and Kellett, M. (2004) ‘Young Black People Leaving Care’ in Fraser, S., Lewis, V., Ding, S., Kellett, M. and Robinson, C. (Eds) Doing Research with Children and Young People, London, Sage in association with The Open University. Lewis, V. and Kellett, M. (2004) ‘Children in South Africa Can Make a Difference: An Assesment of Growing Up in Cities in Johannesberg’ in Fraser, S., Lewis, V., Ding, S., Kellett, M. and Robinson, C. (Eds) Doing Research with Children and Young People, London, Sage in association with The Open University. Fraser, S. (2004) ‘Participatory Action Research in the Majority World’ in Fraser, S., Lewis, V., Ding, S., Kellett, M. and Robinson, C. (Eds) Doing Research with Children and Young People, London, Sage in association with The Open University. Read More