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Research Strategies in Psychology

If I would conduct research, the topic I would examine is how the culture and lifestyle contribute to eating disorders. For several years now, some of my close friends have been diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and anorexia nervosa. I usually wonder what could be wrong with them as they have failed to accept who they are, and instead, they allow themselves to be carried away by social waves. When I try to intervene, they always give their fear of gaining or losing weight because they want to maintain a specific shape. Therefore to some extent, I feel that culture and lifestyle may be a contributing factor to extreme eating conditions though not explicit. The type of research method I would use in this study is a qualitative technique. I would set up the study using survey research whereby interviews and questionnaire questions could be applied. The questionnaires and interviews will target a population that is being focused by the research. As a researcher, I will narrow down to a sample because the population targets a large group. After the sample is selected, then a plan will be adopted on how the questions will be asked and answers recorded. The questions will be either close-ended or open-ended. There are various advantages of the qualitative method of research. One of the advantages is that the issues that the subjects and issues that are usually covered can be examined on detail and depth. This form of research also provides a flexible framework which can be revised quickly and as soon as the new findings and information emerge. Moreover, the use of interviews gives the researcher some flexibility as the researcher can guide or redirect the research in real time (Miles & Gilbert, 2005). However, the qualitative technique also has its own challenges as the quality of the study mostly depends on the skills and competence of the researcher and sometimes can be influenced by bias or personal issues. Also, the amount of data collected can be time-consuming during the analysis. There are ethical issues that may occur when using the qualitative method of research. During the data analysis, the confidentiality and anonymity of the participants may be compromised. Furthermore, some individuals particularly the adolescent and the youths may be forced to partake in the research without the consent of their parents. Ensure that individuals do not write their real names in the questionnaire forms. Also during the contributors can be requested to use anonymous or pseudo names. The research should only involve participants who are 18 years and above, and if a group of individuals below those years is involved, the researcher should seek the consent of parents or teachers.

Reference Miles, J., & Gilbert, P. (2005). A handbook of research methods for clinical and health psychology. Oxford [etc: Oxford University Press.