This paper focuses on the methodology section of a research paper on African American males and suicide. Specifically, it focuses on the birth order of the male, his socio economic states and the manner in which the mother grieved after the death of her son. Sample Likert-type questions were included in the methodolgy.
African-American Suicide (extra pages)
African-American Suicide (three extra pages)
The expected findings should fully support the literature review. The information found while researching and writing the literature review was the basis of how the questionnaire was structured. Since there is not an abundance of information on the birth order of an African-American son that has committed suicide, their socio economic status, and the way in which the mother grieves, this study was necessary to shed more light on the situation. Also, since there is so little information readily available on the chosen topic, the snowball sampling method appeared to be the best way to reach more potential participants in order to support the assumptions.
In order to find out if there is a correlation between the independent and dependent variables, we need to gather a large sampling. The findings might show that out of thousands, there are only a few hundred or less mothers that have children with the same birth order that have committed suicide. This small number will give us an idea of what we are assuming and seeking to find. We assume that the mothers experienced limited support from the African-American community because of the manner in which their child died. The literature shows that this is typically the case. The church is considered one of the strongest support systems in any African-American community. However, many churches frown on suicide because this manner of death does not fall in line with what they believe the Bible teaches.
Another finding that is expected is that an overwhelming majority of the son's that have committed suicide will come from a lower socio-economic environment. The assumption here is that individuals in the targeted group are more likely to commit suicide and have little to no attention given to it. The findings are expected to reveal that in addition to birth order, economic status is not only a contributing factor to someone committing suicide, but also how those left behind (particularly the mother) deals with the grief.
This study is only expected to scratch the surface of this issue. There are so many different studies that could piggyback off of this one, but first it is important to gather concrete evidence which supports not only the literature review, but the assumptions. A survey with carefully chosen questions was the method chosen as the research instrument because it is thought to provide the most anonymity to the participants. Even with questionnaires, ethics must come into play.
An informed consent should not be necessary if we can guarantee the participant's anonymity. The questionnaires will be coded in order to determine what city the participants live in, but no personal information that can identify the participants will be required. The reason for the coding of the city is to determine if suicide is more prevalent in certain areas than others. If someone returns a questionnaire with identifying personal information, then it will not be used in the study and will be destroyed. The questionnaires will also be constructed so that there will be no questions that could potentially violate the participants privacy in any way. For instance, there will be no questions asked about the particulars of the child's suicide, where the mother works, what particular community she's from and what church she is a member of, etc. Questions such as these could deter the target audience from responding because of fear that their privacy could be jeopardized.
The introductory letter sent with the questionnaire plays an important role in weeding out any ethical issues that may arise. The letter will clearly define the survey and discuss why the prospective participants were chosen. They will know that none of their personal information was used in order to send them the survey and that they were randomly chosen based on the area in which they live. The letter will also explain that we believe that this issue (suicide) in their community hasn't been properly researched so that it can be properly addressed within their community. It will be stressed that they are not to provide any identifying information and their survey will not be used if they include such information or if they do not return it in the envelope provided.
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