Quantitative Research Components and Methods

What kind of research methods are you going to use? Are they mostly:

• Quantitative, or qualitative, or a mixture of both?

I am thinking that I will primarily use qualitative methods but possibly a mixture of both. I could conduct a quantitative study looking through a series of women targeted magazines and count how many times "youth" is glamorized and idealized meaning it being promoted. For qualitative research, I could conduct interviews where I would ask a series of questions like if viewers of these magazines felt pressure to look their youngest and more subjective questions about how the magazines made them feel about themselves (values/feelings). Ultimately I am trying to gather detailed information about the effects that magazines have on their viewers so I think that qualitative research like interviews and field research would benefit my study and I could use Likert tests to determine the range of opinions on the magazines. I also am considering doing historical-comparative research where I would review documents and try to gather helpful information on how advertisements and magazines have changed throughout time. I could also use some arts-based research methods by creating works of art and then asking for audience feedback. This is something I'll need to look into more and think of a plan of approach for.

• What do you think your methods will enable you to discover?

My methods will help me discover more about public opinion on beauty magazines and if they are truly pressuring people to look younger in order to be more beautiful. Specifically, I want to study just how impactful these messages can be on our self-worth, self-image, and confidence. I'm assuming that I will discover that these magazines do have a deep effect on how we view ourselves but I want to know just how much they will have an effect.

• What might they prevent you from discovering?

These methods could prevent me from attaining concrete, fluid findings in the sense that values and opinions will vary from person to person and will obviously not always align. I could get contradicting information based on differing viewpoints. I may not discover the exact percentage of people but I will hopefully get detailed info on people's feelings toward this subject.

• What kinds of research methods would be best suited to the kind of research you are undertaking and the research questions you are pursuing?

I think the best kinds of methods I could use would be for Qualitative research, questionnaires, and for Qualitative, semi-structured interviews, Likert tests, and unobtrusive methods like content, document, and historical-comparative analysis. For arts-based research, I could use collage and/or photography.

• What sort of problems do you envisage in setting up these methods?

I do think that it may be hard to initially come up with questions for Likert tests and questionnaires so I may need to do some research on these methods to make sure that my questions are correctly targeted towards my research. I am also curious about how it would be to use arts-based research as I know that reactions to art can be subjective and may not be easily translated into an answer to a research question. I would have to be very intentional about the ways that I used arts-based research and make sure that I am presenting my question clearly through art.

• How can different research methods help you conduct research?

Different methods can help you gather different kinds of data. By using different methods to conduct your research you will be sure to leave no stone unturned which will make your research more thorough and concrete. By using different methods could allow for a new perspective to arise from your research and you may even choose to dive further into a certain aspect of your research you may have discovered from using these different methods.

• What will you need to do to ensure they gather useful data?

I will need to make sure to take detailed notes on my findings and should test out questions before putting them into use for my research to make sure that they are aimed towards my inquiry directly. I should also be prepared to conduct research again if I feel that I am not getting useful information. I should choose a wide variety of people to be in interveiws so that I can assure I am gathering diverse opinions.