Research Methods Used In a Social Psychology Study
Under peace and conflict, diversity lessens discrimination. This article talks about how discrimination and prejudice make life hard for many people around the world. It shows how groups are made of diverse individuals and how they reduce prejudice and discrimination. Teens, adults, intergroup contact, and educational sector are made up of diverse individuals who reduce discrimination and prejudices.
The article also shows how peer pressure can reduce prejudice. People who do not think, act, or look like teens are intolerant. It shows how one teen can influence the other teens to stand up to prejudice.
The article also points out hypocrisy, which can spur social change. People who value equality fail to support the civil rights movement. It gives the artifacts about values and behavior that does not align or motivates them to change their ways.
Prejudice can also be reduced by making friends across racial lines as stated by this article. Many people become uneasy around people of other races. For example, befriending just one person of a different race lowers prejudice and anxiety and thus makes it easier to cross-racial boundaries in the future.
Lastly, this article talks about how genocide killed 75% of Rwandan Tutsi. The accused perpetrators and their survivors have learned how to live side by side.
The following are the main research methods used in this article:
- Case study
- Survey
- Questionnaire
- Interview
Survey as a method of collecting information was appropriate in this study. Data is collected from large group of people by means of questionnaire. To get the exact figure of Rwanda who was affected by genocide to be 75%, the most preferred method, which they use, was survey.
Questionnaire as a statistical method of collecting data was used in this article to determine how peer pressure can reduce prejudice (McBurney & White 2010). It enables the researcher to take their time, think about it, and come back to the questionnaire later. Data was collected among the teens and the findings were that teens are notoriously intolerant of people who do not think, act, or look like them.
Interview as a method of collecting data is usually carried out in a face-to-face basis but can also be administered by telephone or Skype. Interview method of statistical data was used to show how prejudice and discrimination make life hard for many people around the world.
According to Thomas, Nelson & Silverman (2011), case study as a research method goes into detail study of a particular case. It includes both observation and interviews as a means of collecting data. In the article, case study was used to identify how making friends across racial lines tend to lower prejudice.
The research methods used in this study provides researchers with the most information in general. Like in case study, it has a narrow focus, which results in detailed descriptive data that is unique to the case studied. Therefore, it is useful in clinical settings and can challenge the existing practices and theories in other domains. The advantage of questionnaire is that it includes people who have difficulties in writing and reading. The implication of this method is that respondent may decide to cheat seen its tedious and consume a lot of time.
This study was ethical because it consulted many people thus the findings and result was based on data collected from the people. Their finding shows how one teen can influence the other teens to stand up to prejudice. In addition, the research provided the artifacts about values and behavior that does not align or motivates them to change their ways.
References
McBurney, D., & White, T. L. (2010). Research methods. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Thomas, J. R., Nelson, J. K., & Silverman, S. J. (2011). Research methods in physical activity. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.