Category: Top 5 Assignment

1. I wonder whether it is better to conduct a structured interview or an unstructured interview. Sure, a structured interview can often resemble survey research, therefore being more useful for our studies. However, I feel like unstructured interviews could give more insight into the topic that the interviewer might not have thought about beforehand. For example, if an interviewer is asking questions in order to get a census of events that are occurring in local communities, allowing the interviewee to respond in a way that opens the door to new ideas would be a lot more useful than just getting a yes or no answer from them. 

2. The first chapter mentions how Amy Schalet used a semi-structured interview approach to get the opinions of people from American and the Netherlands on adolescent sexuality. When asked about this technique, Amy explained that it offered an almost “friendly” atmosphere by just letting the conversation flow instead of pausing multiple times to switch the question. I personally believe that this would be the best approach for an interview, purely because of the fact that the friendly environment will make the interviewee more willing to open up more about the topic and feel safe doing so. I believe that this is a practice that should be implemented in our research. 

3. Although conducting a semi-structured interview gives the interviewer a lot more freedom, it also brings along more challenges. Amy Schalet went on to mention that the difficulty in conducting that kind of interview, especially on a controversial topic, is keeping the interviewee just inside their comfort zone. Since certain topics can often result in major emotional responses, it is important to ensure that you do not push them over the edge. While this is easier in a structured interview, since the interviewer can easily skip a question or move on to the next topic, if necessary, semi-structured interviews can often require complete 180’s from the current discussion to prevent an emotional reaction. 

4. It is interesting to me how increasing the number of participants in a single interview can make a difference to the results. Chapter 2 starts out by discussing how focus groups can be effective in finding a meaningful conclusion to a complex topic. The authors explain how using focus groups as a method for research can allow people to think collectively instead of individually. One person who is interviewed about a problem in their community may answer the question with a bit of bias, based on how the problem affected them and how educated they are on topic However, a group of people would be able to bounce ideas off each other and reach a collective conclusion. 

5. Focus groups, just like semi-structured interviews, require a lot of attention and care. Audrey Kobayashi, a researcher who often works with focus groups, described how focus groups need a good facilitator to ensure the conversation flows smoothly. If only two people are actually engaged in the conversation, the facilitator needs to be able to slow the discussion down and allow for the more shy participants to get a say. If the topic being discussed can lead to different responses from different groups of people, the facilitator must be able to split the group accordingly.  

1. I wonder why we all have a need to belong that needs to be fulfilled. Is it something that we have always had as humans? Is it a result of years of past human experience that makes us feel more successful when we find a group? This is most likely a question that we will not ever be able to answer, but it is interesting to think about why that is a trait that most people have, and why some people do not have this trait. 

2. I think it is interesting how being a part of a group can change the way we see ourselves as individuals. A big part of our self-image is a result of our surroundings. We identify with certain groups that we share common interests with. This can lead us to feeling successful when our group is successful. Along with that, watching people in our group perform well often motivates us to perform better in similar situations. 

3. Despite finding a group being very beneficial to us humans, it does not exactly result in a massive rise in performance. When we are in a group effort, we often tend to relax and perform worse individually because we know that we have support from other people as well. A group of four in a school project would theoretically work 4 times as efficiently as a person working alone, but the weaker performance of everyone in the group would actually cause them to perform slightly worse. 

4. Along with decreased performance, the idea of group thinking is an intriguing topic. Since being a part of a group tends to change the way we see ourselves, it can often change the way we see the world. In situations where members of a group disagree with each other, one side, usually the loud majority, will convince the others that they are right in this instance. This happens because our identity within the group can compel us to believe the group’s most popular belief, due to members in a group often sharing similar ideals. 

5. Even though these conflicts can lead to groups being less effective, there are ways to avoid these conflicts. Fulling discussing the pros and cons of certain opinions can help prevent issues such as group think and polarization. Most groups do not prepare enough for this, which is why they ultimately become less successful, despite each member mostly sharing common beliefs. 

1. It is interesting to think that making research a “solo journey” can drastically impact the results of the study. Conducting a study alone is not uncommon, but when it comes to multi-layered issues, it turns out working with a team can actually benefit the way in which the research is done. 

2. I believe the effects of ethnic diversity on community connections could go both ways. A similar ethnic population could lead to the people feeling like they all have something in common. On the other hand, people from different backgrounds could get together and begin to form bonds, allowing for greater overall connections instead of just connections between a majority. 

3. The author mentioned that Marrow chose to highlight White Americans, African Americans, Indian immigrants, and Mexican immigrants in his study. I wonder why other groups were not given this same “importance”. What about Asian immigrants, or immigrants from Eastern Europe? 

4. Problem-solving skills are always going to be a big part of conducting research. Learning to look for and fix minor errors will help get the most valid data. While it may be difficult sometimes to tell if your data is truly valid, using multiple different methods from the textbook will help clarify that. 

5. It is interesting how people from different fields of study view the world in different ways. Biologists might look at certain scientific concepts differently than chemists, and chemists might have different views from physicists or mathematicians. But at the end of the way, each of their points of view is considered equally right. 

• It is interesting how many people would disagree on whether or not the doctors were right to take samples from Henrietta Lack’s cancer cells without her permission. On one hand, the samples they took did allow them to further their cancer research, but on the other, they wrongfully took these samples from a dying woman who did not give them permission to do so. It is a debate between whether it is better to fulfill the last wishes of a dying person or fulfill the wishes of the living. It is a topic that I believe will never fully be agreed upon. 

• What living through events such as the Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID-19 Pandemic has taught me is that resolutions to conflicts often come too late. For example, throughout the 1800’s, Native American tribes were forced to endure constant relocations and violent altercations from the American government. These people were separated from their homes and their families just because they did not fit in with the rest of the American population. A century later, most of these Natives are living in poverty-stricken reserves, unable to get themselves out. By that time, the US government had begun to reflect on how they treated the Native Americans in the past and attempted to bring the tribes back together, preserve their religions, and give them more control over their lives. But at this point, the damage was already done, the Native Americans could not return to the lives they had decades ago because of how much the American government had torn apart their culture. With the Black Lives Matter movement, it started when George Floyd was killed by the police officer Derek Chauvin. But this was not Chauvin’s only wrongful kill. He had actually received almost 20 complaints about the way he handled conflict as a police officer. It took him killing a person for people to finally realize that he should not be a cop. While he was later sentenced to 21 years in prison, the damage was already done, this one action ignited the whole country and nearly lead to the government defunding the police. 

• The problem with society nowadays is that many people are so quick to highlight negativity and ignore the positive side. Several scientists who found out about what happened to Henrietta wanted to try and slow down or entirely eliminate research done with HeLa. However, Henrietta’s own relatives did not even think that this was the best route to take. Many of them, such as her grandson Alfred Lacks Carter, believed that the best approach would be to at least acknowledge the fact that none of this development in cancer treatment would have been possible without Henrietta Lacks. Alfred knew that despite the doctors being in the wrong for using Henrietta’s cells without her consent, what they did with those samples ultimately benefited tons of people.  

• One question I have is how will the new policies on taking samples from people for research change the progression of medical advancements? If these rules did not exist beforehand, then it is safe to say that Henrietta Lacks was not the only case of ignoring consent. In fact, many of the medical advancements made in the mid 20^th century could have been the result of this same issue. So, if we start enforcing a new policy on conducting research with proper consent, could this slow down future medical discoveries or is Henrietta’s case not as common as one might think? 

• Many people believe that racism is a thing that will exist until the end of time. While in the past, racial prejudice majorly impacted the lives of minorities in the US, it is now less of a common problem. Despite that, the hard truth is that racism is still prevalent in America. It is still embedded in many professions and lines of work today. For example, racial prejudice from the police is still a massive problem in this country. Is it as bad as it was in the 1950’s? No, but it is still seen often. From George Floyd to Sonia Massey, the public is constantly being reminded of racism in the police force. The question is how can we stop this? In the case of Henrietta Lacks, how can we ensure that doctors will not try to bend the rules for someone simply because of the color of their skin? 

• In the beginning of the chapter, it is mentioned that following good research practices in a school setting does not always lead to conducting impactful research in the future. What is interesting about that is it shows that many students are missing a crucial part of the research process, a part that might be overlooked in a classroom setting.
• One thing that stands out to me about understanding methods of research is that most of the time, you must acknowledge that there are a lot of questions that you do not have the answer to. I could see how this could be difficult for many people who believe they know a lot more about a topic than they actually do.
• How can we best prepare for true field research? Since conducting actual research often involves making quick decisions and looking for solutions for any obstacles, what can we students do in order to best prepare for a fast-paced setting?
• It is interesting to me how passion is often a driver for good research. The introduction explained how most of the researchers who made appearances on the Give Methods a Chance podcast showed excitement and joy throughout the process.
• One question I have is how can students make themselves interested and engaged throughout a research study? How can we build a passion for research that could allow our results to be more impactful?