Diagnose the limitation of Dr. Aris's initial experimental design for her primary research goal. Decide on the appropriate methodological approach she should use instead, and justify your decision using the concepts of broad and exploratory research.
Case context: Dr. Aris is designing a study on working mothers diagnosed with depression. She initially plans to set up a randomized controlled trial where she manipulates the number of weekly support group hours the participants attend to see if it causes a decrease in their depression scores. However, she realizes that this design does not address her primary interest: she wants to understand how these mothers perceive their daily struggles, balance work and family, and experience depression in their daily lives.
Question: Diagnose the limitation of Dr. Aris's initial experimental design for her primary research goal. Decide on the appropriate methodological approach she should use instead, and justify your decision using the concepts of broad and exploratory research.
Sample answer: Dr. Aris's initial experimental design is limited because manipulating variables (support group hours) and measuring causal effects will not capture the mothers' subjective, lived experiences. She should instead use a non-experimental approach. This is justified because her research goal is broad and exploratory; she wants to deeply understand and openly investigate a complex real-world experience rather than test a specific causal hypothesis.
Key points:
- Diagnoses that Dr. Aris's experimental manipulation fails to capture subjective, lived experiences.
- Decides on a non-experimental approach for the study.
- Justifies the decision by explaining that the research goal is broad and exploratory.
- Connects the non-experimental design to the goal of openly investigating and deeply understanding individuals in a complex real-world situation.
Rubric: The response must diagnose that experimental manipulation cannot capture subjective, lived experiences, decide on a non-experimental approach, and justify this by explaining that exploratory research aims to openly understand complex real-world experiences without testing specific causal hypotheses.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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Diagnose the limitation of Dr. Aris's initial experimental design for her primary research goal. Decide on the appropriate methodological approach she should use instead, and justify your decision using the concepts of broad and exploratory research.
Imagine you are designing a study to investigate the lived experiences of first-generation college students who work full-time. Applying the principles of broad and exploratory research shown in the working mother depression example, write an appropriate research question and identify the general methodological approach you must use.