Qualitative Paper on Changing Community
Part One
The study was conducted based on the conception that there is an increased focus on the correlation between the neighbourhood environment and human development (Ho et al., 2010). The authors provide evidence indicating that systems where individuals reside affect perceptions as well as constructions. The methods include family, both nuclear and extended; peers; neighbourhood; community as well as institutions such as workplace or school. Importantly, the authors recognized a weakness with the previous studies that they sought to explore to bridge an existing gap. Notably, the authors reported that the focus of most of the earlier studies was mainly on the effect of the family as well as peer group on behaviour, motivation, as well as achievement (Ho et al., 2010). Therefore, this study aimed to expand the focus to examine the influences of neighbourhood alongside those of broader community from the perspectives of perceptions as well as developments from a sample of the adolescent as the point of reference. Importantly, the authors have provided in-depth background information that has informed the study. Likewise, the study objective is clearly stated based on the research gap that was identified in the background information. In particular, the study sought to determine neighbourhood and community contexts influence the perceptions of adolescents and development as well as their subjective views (Ho et al., 2010). The authors have stated in this section that qualitative data would be used in this study; as such, readers know from the method from the onset.
The study is founded on the ecological models of developmental psychology, which claim that perceptions, as well as developments of individuals, are affected by the systems where they reside. Such methods may include the nuclear family, extended family, peers, community, neighbourhood, and institutions such as workplace and school. The models were considered to be appropriate for the study because they encompass everyday contexts, which matter and acknowledge human development as a process that happens in various interlinked settings within the contexts. It is worth noting that aside from anchoring the study on an ecological theoretical framework, the authors have used rich texts to inform the research. Relevant kinds of literature have been used to support, challenge, and affirm claims, which make the study very focused on the topic area. Additionally, the appropriateness of the literature materials is on the choice of date of publication. Apart from the articles that describe the theoretical framework, the other literary materials were published less than 20 years from the time when the report was developed.
Importantly, the study objectives have informed the research questions that the authors asked the respondents. Likewise, the purposes of the study reported the conclusion of the research and recommendations for future studies. The study objective has resulted in several research questions and different themes. These are crucial in getting in-depth information on the topic of research and generation of knowledge on the subject. Furthermore, the research objective enabled the authors to develop hypothetical assumptions that helped in answering the research questions. Therefore, this article extensively incorporates research principles and tools that allowed the researchers to achieve study goals.
Part Two
The study emphasizes the importance of communication with young people to understand how the contexts of their neighbourhoods affect their perceptions as well as developments. There are several points of interest that the study identifies. Parents and young people perceive high social cohesion in their neighbourhood and communities differently. The issues that make young people consider their neighbourhoods and communities to have a strong social cohesion may not necessarily be what their parents think (Ho et al., 2010). Besides, actual can research can help to agree with or refute claims that are not backed by research evidence, such as media claims. In this research, for instance, it is reported that the media had reported a weak social cohesion in the neighbourhood and community where the study was conducted. However, the actual research proved otherwise.
Amenities in the neighbourhood and community significantly influence whether young people become satisfied or less satisfied. The young people from the region and community involvement in the study did not feel lacked a sense of belonging. They were less happy with life in the places they were and the whole district (Ho et al., 2010). Adolescents look at social problems from a different lens than that of their parents; therefore, it is not surprising that the adolescents considered the issues in their neighbourhood and community more seriously than their parents. The social problems that concerned the parents were unemployment, inadequate health care, and inconvenient transportation. Furthermore, the study shows that a neighbourhood and community that is characterized by severe social problems also records many cases of domestic violence, disrespect for the law, as well as lack of sympathy among neighbours.
Photographs provide valuable visual aids because they depict how people live in their communities and neighbourhoods, which helps to get a picture of whether there is satisfaction or dissatisfaction with life. Individuals who perceive their areas positively are likely to be joyful. Importantly, adolescents favourably look at the physical environment of their communities based on the presence of fresh air alongside closeness to green spaces. However, contributors to negative perceptions about a community include loud noises together with polluted air, which come from traffic and construction sites. People from the district did not find sadness an excellent topic to discuss because it creates a negative perception in the minds (Ho et al., 2010). Rowdy youths in the neighbourhood have been identified as a source of insecurity in the area. The respondents in the study, particularly the adolescents, could quickly identify the locations as well as specific misbehaviours of the rowdy youths.
The communities had inadequate recreational facilities such as swimming pools, playgrounds, youth centres, and study rooms for students because of poor maintenance. Other issues that adolescents in the community valued were cleanliness as well as neatness (Ho et al., 2010). However, there is a negative perception of unauthorized advertisements, poor disposal of garbage, disorderly packing, and publicly drying clothes. Restaurants in the area served fast foods which the young people liked. Unfortunately, the community lack shopping malls which are located far away, creating a negative perception of the negative attitudes.
Part Three
This article has a clear-cut outline that can be followed to conduct similar research. The framework comprises of the introduction, study objective, and literature review sections. The introduction part provides insight on what I need to include when I am commencing this kind of research; in particular, the division is not excessively long. I have noticed, from this article, that the study objective is provided at the end of the introduction. I have learned how from the literature review that information obtained from the works of other people has to be acknowledged through citation. In particular, I had realized that when using the APA format, the name of the author and the year when the material was published is put in parenthesis and separated using a comma. However, I have noted that whenever I take information directly from the works of other people and use it in my work, then I have to use open and closing quotation marks. Besides, I am now aware that if I should conduct a similar study, then the literature review can have many journals, describing theories and empirical studies. However, such literature materials have to be authentic and published within a given period to provide valid data. Peer-reviewed journals, books and articles from respected organizations can be included in the literature review section.
Also, in the outline of the article is the methodology section with sections on study participants, measures, procedures, and analysis. The study involved qualitative research, where surveys were conducted using questionnaires. The process of participant recruitment is straightforward and can be replicated in future research. Similarly, it has listed the measures as well as procedures that are included in a study. While I may not use criteria that are entirely the same, I have noted that proper research has to bear measures.
Moreover, i have noted that a similar result might use questionnaires for data collection. Since this was qualitative research; I noticed that data analysis was based on identifying cues from the information that were provided by the respondents. I now appreciate the survey as a valuable qualitative research design. Therefore, when I conduct similar qualitative research in future, I will not necessarily have to collect numerical data. However, I will need the skill to decipher information from data. Importantly, I have noticed that photographs are good sources of qualitative data. However, before collecting data using cameras, I will have to acknowledge the ethical issues surrounding taking pictures. After data analysis, the next step that I will undertake will be to discuss my findings, where I will give more insights and compare my results with the findings of other studies. The research findings will be grouped into themes based on the approaches that I will have used. In the discussion, I will use similar reviews to make comparisons. Furthermore, I will include a section that concludes the whole work, taking into consideration the critical points from the study, possibly with recommendations, especially with strengths and weaknesses, as well as possible areas of future research. Lastly, I will not forget to include a reference list for the various journals, books and other literature materials used in the study.
Reference
Ho, W-C., Rochelle, T.L., & Yuen, W-K. (2010). ‘We are not sad at all’ Journal of Adolescent Research, XX (X), 1-39.