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Strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research methods
Qualitative and quantitative research method introduction
Qualitative and quantitative research method introduction
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In the previous chapters I discussed the problem of the lack of healthy eating promotion programs in schools are leaving parents and students uneducated about how to purchase healthy items which is leading to childhood obesity. I also discussed how the problem is being addressed, as well as the theory of social constructionism. In this chapter, I will discuss the specific methodology I plan to use and the three different types of data collection I plan to employ to carry out my study. This study will use a qualitative approach to study and address the issue of the lack of healthy eating promotion in schools. The three types of data collection I plan to use are: direct observation, focus groups and a questionnaire. These methods will be clarified later in this chapter. Rationale for Qualitative Methodology Qualitative research is an approach that attempts to situate an activity that locates the observer in the world by providing the study to occur in their natural setting and by attempting to make sense of, or interpret information (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005). A characteristic of qualitative research is to use a variety of empirical materials such as personal experience, interviews, and questionnaires. It is imperative to understand the task at hand and how to fully carry out the study when using a qualitative research approach in order to find out the information needed. One view of qualitative research is it involves examining individual’s experiences and documenting those experiences in detail (Jones, 2011). By documenting these observations the researcher is ensuring validity in his or her data and giving the correct creditability to those who participated in the study. Creditability is an important aspect of a q... ... middle of paper ... ...romoting Physical Activity and a Healthful Diet Among Children: Results of a School-Based Intervention Study. American Journal of Public Health, 81(8), 986-991. Story,M, Resnick,M.(2000). Adolescents’ Views on Food and Nutrition. Adolescent Health, University of Minnesota, 1-6. Tashakkori, A. (2003). Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social and Behavioral Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. The Center for Disease and Prevention. (2010). Retrieved February 14, 2011 from CDC:http://www.cdc.gov. Toly, D. (2005). "What's in the Package?" Rethinking Grab-and-Go Lunches. Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior, 37S113-S114. Trochim, W. (2006). Research Methods Knowledge Base: Cornell University: Atomic Dog Publishing. Young,E,Fors,S.(2001). Factors Related to the Eating Habits of Students in Grades 9-12. Journal of School Health, 71(10), 483-488.
This documentary takes a look at how our school’s lunch programs and government play a role in the spread of obesity across the nation. The film really attempts to drive home the idea that our children are being immorally brainwashed into wanting unhealthy foods. At some points of the film, it appears that the director uses big companies and school lunches as a scapegoat for our nations crisis. It is a valid point that our nation’s children are being
The author could have employed other methods of qualitative research such as, narrative analysis, grounded theory, discourse analysis, data display and analysis, content analysis and quantifying qualitative data and computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAPDAS) (Saunders et al., 2016). Nevertheless, these approaches seem cumbersome sometimes and take a long time to complete (Willig, 1999; Braun and Clarke, 2006 and Smith and Bekker,
...). A future research idea piggybacks on this program by encouraging an initiation of state and/or national legislation, specifically for change moving towards healthier school nutrition and additional school nutrition education. This legislation would also mandate increases in the amount of time children are allowed for physical activity in their school day as a lack of physical activity is a huge risk factor for overweight and obesity. Another thought is to designate a school health coordinator who will be responsible for maintaining and continuing the positive work that this study began. Utilizing the success of this program and others like it in this regards will lead to action on all levels of the social ecological framework. Ultimately, a multilevel examination of determinants and interventions needs to be aimed at preventing child overweight and obesity.
Schools are meant to give our children a healthy and nurturing environment, and yet so much of the lunches in schools are fattening; does this stop schools from achieving the aforementioned goal? Childhood obesity in the United Sates continues to be a growing problem despite so any new programs to help combat it, and new research is showing how schools may be playing a large role in childhood obesity. School lunches are showing to be the problem, they encourage poor nutrition in our nation’s students, and simple reform is proving to not be enough to stop the rise in obesity rates.
Wilde, Parke, and Mary Kennedy. "The Economics Of A Healthy School Meal." Choices: The Magazine Of Food, Farm & Resource Issues 24.3 (2009): 25-29. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
In the United States as in other developed nations, the level of obesity goes up every year. Obesity is a great issue as it affects individuals, society, and the government itself. In every kind of people, the number of obese increases everyday which increase the risks of getting obesity related diseases? Based on research done by Elissa and Steele, the number of young obese people has doubled in past two decades. (12) This is not surprising because as the United States industry food aggressively markets high-fat, high-sugar, super-sized food. Many schools dropped physical education, many children spend a lot of time playing computer games instead of playing sports and even fattening snacks food is sold onto campus. Family and school education on obesity awareness is the main path to decrease obesity epidemic among young people and children beside diet and physical exercises improvement. It is necessary to improve health education in American schools and families to help kids to be aware of obesity and obesity related diseases.
When you send your children off to school, you might worry about bullying or about their academic performance, but you generally don’t consider their lunch-time meal to be a potential problem. Now imagine, for a moment, your son or daughter is given the option between a juicy cheeseburger with greasy French fries and a healthier chicken salad. It’s a no-brainer what choice they will make. Now, stop imagining because you don’t have to. Instances like this are a reality everyday in many school cafeterias. In 2005, John Esterbrook, a writer for CBS News, reported on a government survey showing that junk foods are in competition with healthy counterparts in nine out of ten schools (par. 1). Today, although four years later, little improvement has been made to ensure students in schools are eating healthy.
Some researchers claim that more than 300,000 Americans are dying due to obesity every year and the number is rising annually. That is a huge number and it can be fixed a number of ways but some individuals are lazy some can’t lose the weight because of medical reason. Obesity causes disease from diabetes to heart disease and in some cases death. Obesity in children is growing problems to children who are obese have a higher chance to get diabetes or heart failure. The school environment is one of several settings that can influence children’s food choices and eating habits. Schools can ensure that the available food and beverage options are healthy and help young people eat food that meets dietary recommendations for fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nonfat or low-fat dairy products.
To begin, school meals do not set a solid foundation for children regarding the diet habits they will have for the rest of their lives. For example, they are teaching kids that greasy pizza and corn dogs are a part of a healthy, nutritious diet. One student says, “We think school lunches are healthy because they have all these posters in the cafeteria telling us to eat healthy food and be active; we think the school is doing their part by serving us healthy food too, but they are not” (Jimenez). Not only do children think that this cheap food is a good choice, but schools also think they are benefiting because of how much money they conserve.
The article talks about the three main ways schoolteachers can influence students’ eating habits. They can do this through positive role modeling (eating healthy), nutritional knowledge (teaching their students how to eat healthily), and avoidance of unhealthy classroom food practices (such as giving children candy as rewards). The research and survey was based on these three factors.
One major aspect to being healthy is to have an active lifestyle, therefore one solution for child obesity is schools adding more opportunities for physical activity throughout the school day. Children should have at least 60 minutes of Physical activity everyday (Green, Riley, and Hargrove). One way to help this is by having gym everyday to help students to reach their 60 minutes of physical activity. Only 3% of elementary schools, 7.9% of middle schools a...
In this paper, I will define quantitative and qualitative research methods and provide examples in the context of social issues which will hopefully provide insight into how this methods are properly applied.
This essay intends to compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the quantitative and qualitative approaches to research which addresses young people and bullying using two journal articles. The first article (quantitative) aims to “establish the relationship between recurrent peer victimisation and the onset of reported symptoms of anxiety or depression in the early teen years” (Bond et al. 2001, p. 480) while the second article (qualitative) aims to “investigate the nature of teenage girls’ indirect aggression” (Owens et al. 2000, p. 70).The two articles will be critically compared in terms of research design, methods used, approach to data analysis, reported results and the plausibility and appropriateness of the conclusions and recommendations posed. The aim of this essay is thus to evaluate and assess the methods of social science research currently undertaken in published research.
Educational institutions have the potential to, first and foremost, educate and assist the young people of today with making the positive, healthful choices necessary to maintain good health. Over 4,500 students have been followed in recent research studies and these “thousands of sixth graders who participated in a school-based health program were less obese by eighth grade than a group of similar children who did not, according to a new study done for the National Institutes of Health” (Rabin). Schools need to create health programs focused on assisting all children suffering from being overweight or obese. Policies such as fitness programs, nutrition classes, and healthful meals can even impact every student by creating a strong foundation and awareness of the negative, long term effects associated with practicing unhealthy habits. Although the financial expenses would be necessary, the adaption of scho...
Obesity in childhood in adolescents has increased dramatically over the past century. Throughout the United States all 50 of them, boys and girls have gained a great amount of weight. There are immediate and long-term risks for children who are obese. Conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, steatohepatitis, depression, stigma and others. Cancer is also possible too. Children who become obese are caused by what’s within their genes, around them in their environment, or from behavior and habits. They tend to eat more of a large portion of high-fat foods and calories. The more they usually eat the less they want to get up an exercise. Physical activity is very important to children especially for how young they are because that is when they have the most energy at that time of their lives.