The Unit 8 Assignment Gives You An Opportunity To Synthesize
The Unit 8 Assignment Gives You An Opportunity To Synthesize And Apply
The Unit 8 Assignment gives you an opportunity to synthesize and apply your learning so far in this course to investigate the public perception of what it means to be poor in America today. Using survey research methodology, you will develop and administer a three (3) item questionnaire to gather data from just two respondents. You will summarize the data gathered, and offer a tentative statement about the way that people in Americans define poverty.
Assignment Directions
There are two deliverables for this assignment. The first deliverable is a 3-item questionnaire that you will administer to two people to gather information that will help you formulate a tentative answer the research question of how people today define poverty in America.
The other deliverable is a brief (word) essay that explains the survey methodology and results of your study.
Deliverable # 1
Design a three (3) item questionnaire to be used to interview two respondents to find out how they define poverty in America. The questionnaire should have a one or two sentence statement introduction that explains the purpose of the interview (i.e. I am conducting this research for my Purdue Global sociology class. I am collecting data to understand how people today define poverty in America). Under the purpose statement, list the three questions you will ask to determine how people today define poverty in America.
Note: The questionnaire copy that you turn in should not have any information from your respondents on it. It should be a blank questionnaire.
Deliverable # 2
Brief Essay ( words)
The essay should contain the following labeled elements:
Introduction
State the research question to be answered. Explain how survey research methodology will be used to answer the research question. Specify whether you will use structured or unstructured interviews, and be sure to give a referenced definition for each of these two types of survey research. List the three questions that were asked of each respondent.
Research Methods
Describe who was interviewed (i.e., sex, approximate socio-economic status, and age). Explain the conditions under which the respondents were interviewed (e.g., at work on break, by phone, over dinner at home, while exercising at the gym, on the way to work in the car pool). State the approximate time that it took to administer each questionnaire.
Results
In a couple of sentences, summarize the findings from the data collected from the two respondents. In a few more sentences, discuss the similarities and differences in their answers to each question. End the Results section with a definitive statement of what your research suggests about the way people today define poverty in America.
Conclusion
Restate the main points of your paper, including the research question asked, the methodology used, and the tentative results. End with one question for further study on the issue of how people today define poverty in America.
Paper For Above instruction
Introduction
The research question I aim to answer is: How do people in America currently define poverty? To explore this, I will use survey research methodology, which involves collecting data directly from individuals through questionnaires or interviews. Specifically, I will employ structured interviews, which are defined as interviews where the interviewer follows a predetermined set of questions, ensuring consistency across respondents (Creswell, 2014). Structured interviews are effective for obtaining comparable data across multiple participants, making them suitable for this investigation.
The three questions I asked each respondent are:
- What does being poor mean to you?
- Do you think poverty is mostly about income level, or are there other factors?
- How do you think society perceives people living in poverty?
Research Methods
The participants interviewed were one male and one female, both in their early 30s, with lower-middle socio-economic backgrounds. They ranged in age from 30 to 35 and identified as working-class individuals. The interviews were conducted in a quiet coffee shop during their lunch breaks, providing a comfortable and informal environment. Each interview lasted approximately 10 minutes, allowing for thorough yet concise responses without imposing on their time.
Results
From the data collected, both respondents associated poverty primarily with low income and lack of basic necessities. The male respondent emphasized financial hardship, while the female highlighted social exclusion and limited access to education. Interestingly, the male viewed society’s perception as somewhat sympathetic, whereas the female felt that society tends to stigmatize people in poverty. These similarities and differences suggest that while there is a common understanding of poverty related to economic hardship, perceptions of societal attitudes vary depending on personal experiences.
Overall, the research indicates that contemporary definitions of poverty in America encompass both income and social factors, reflecting complex views shaped by personal perspectives and societal influences.
References
- Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.
- Lee, R. M., & Renzetti, C. M. (2012). Researching sensitive topics. In The SAGE handbook of social research methods (pp. 215-234). Sage.
- Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods. Sage publications.
- Seidman, I. (2013). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. Teachers college press.
- Wengraf, T. (2001). Qualitative research interviewing: Semi-structured, open-endedmethods. Sage.