1) Devising Qualitative Research Questions (4 marks; 1 mark for each research question)
Consider this research problem (a perplexing social issue that is not well understood):
Many professors at Brock University are reluctant to speak in their courses about the
humanitarian crisis and ongoing settler colonialism in Palestine for fear of being accused of
anti-Semitism.
Devise four (4) qualitative research questions related to this research problem that could form the
basis of a large interview-based research project.
2) Research Ethics (4 marks; 1 mark for each dilemma)
The Willowbrook Hepatitis Study (1963-1966)
The Willowbrook State School was an institution for children with severe mental disabilities on
Staten Island, New York. Dr Saul Krugman, the resident director of research, knew that many
children there would develop hepatitis because of overcrowding. He also knew that the virus
responsible for hepatitis did not have hosts outside human beings. To study this disease and
possible treatments, he admitted new residents to special quarters and fed them extracts of feces
from infected children. By tracking virus exposures and the pattern of symptoms that followed,
he came to the ground-breaking conclusion that hepatitis has two strains, A and B, and that it
could be treated with gamma globulin.
Children were enrolled in this study with parental consent. A letter explaining the research was
sent to parents whose children were on a waiting list for admission to Willowbrook. Immediate
admission was the reward for parents who signed the consent letter; parents who did not provide
consent were not assured of immediate admission. Parents were guaranteed that their children
would be only mildly infected and would be subsequently immune from the disease.
Drawing on relevant course materials, identify four (4) ethical dilemmas that are raised by this
medical research that also pertain to qualitative social research.
3) Epistemological Coherence between Qualitative Research Questions and Methods (6
marks; 2 marks per research question)
To answer a qualitative research question, researchers collect qualitative information (or data)
from which an answer to the question can be developed. To do so, they consider the match
between the type of information the research question focuses on (e.g., behaviour, opinions,
experience, etc.) and the data collection technique (or method) that provides that type of
information, to achieve epistemological coherence between research question and method.
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Consider the following three (3) research questions. For each of them:
(a) identify what type of information the research question focuses on and explain why;
(b) identify what data collection technique provides that type of information and explain why.
As women’s reproductive rights are under assault by conservative political parties in Canada,
how can Liberals and New Democrats use this situation to gain the trust of women and their
votes for policies that support women’s reproductive rights?
How do classrooms that integrate students with mental disabilities affect teachers’ lesson plans
and workloads?
How does a public school’s physical environment promote the social inclusion of students with
disabilities?
4) Critical Reflexivity (6 marks)
(a) What is critical reflexivity? (2 marks)
(b) How is it relevant to various aspects of a qualitative research methodology? (4 marks)
5) Interviewing Methods (8 marks; 1 mark per critique)
Standardised, semi-structured and unstructured are three types of interviews we discussed in the
course.
Standardised interviews are the least commonly used of these three interview types. Drawing on
relevant course material, discuss eight (8) critiques qualitative researchers have developed about
standardised interviews that explain their limited use.
Part B: Long Answer
6) Comparing Indigenous and Qualitative Knowledge-Seeking Paradigms (22 marks)
A. Drawing on relevant lecture and assigned reading materials,
(a) outline the ontology, epistemology and methodology of a qualitative research paradigm AND,
as you do, explain how that qualitative ontology structures its epistemology, which in turn
structures its methodology (i.e., explain the relationship among these aspects of qualitative
research). (8 marks);
(b) outline the ontology, epistemology and methodology of an Indigenous research paradigm
AND, as you do, explain how that Indigenous ontology structures its epistemology, which in
turn structures its methodology (i.e., explain the relationship among these aspects of Indigenous
research). (8 marks)
B. Both Indigenous methodologies and qualitative methodologies rely on ‘talking’ or oral data
collection methods. Drawing on appropriate lecture material,
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(a) describe the oral data collection methods most commonly used in each methodology (2
marks); and
(b) explain why these data collection methods appropriately correspond with each of these
methodologies. (4 marks)
7) Observation Exercise (38 marks)
Consider the following research problem:
Homeless people congregate in the downtown areas of large cities in Canada.
(a) Why is observation a good qualitative data collection technique to study this social issue? (2
marks)
(b) Using relevant course materials as a guide, develop a qualitative observational protocol that
would allow you to better understand this social issue.
Start by identifying what you would want to observe (be sure to include all categories of
observation), and then explain why it is important to observe each category.
Next, for each category of observation, develop three questions that would more
specifically delineate what empirical detail you should observe within that category.
Make sure those questions directly relate to the research problem. For example, to
observe the physical setting of this problem, what three questions could help you identify
specific aspects of the physical setting to observe as a way to understand the research
problem? For instance, you might ask: What physical attempts do homeless people make
to create a ‘home’ for themselves in downtown areas of large cities? (You are not able to
use this question in your answer.) (32 marks)
(c) Now that your observational protocol is in place, what observational issues do you need to
consider as you proceed to gather this observational information? (4 marks)
Total: /80
Reduced to: /30
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III. Referencing Style Guide
1) Intext Citations:
Print resources:
According to Kenyon, Lyons and Rafferty (2002, p. 210-211), social exclusion is…
Several authors have begun explicitly theorising ‘mobility justice’ in ways that frame justice
beyond the realm of transportation and urban accessibility. Sheller (2011, 2012, 2015) coined the
term, which has been developed in disparate ways (Cook & Butz, 2016; Mullen & Marsden,
2016; Vukov, 2015).
Lectures
Lectures are considered ‘print resources.’ So, (Cook, 2024) would be the standard intext citation
style. BUT you will be drawing on numerous lectures all with a 2024 date, so they need to be
distinguished from each other. Here’s how you do that.
Arrange the lectures you draw on in chronological order, give the earliest date an (a) designation,
and use that in your intext citation (e.g., Cook, 2024a). The next earliest lecture by date would be
(Cook, 2024b). And carry on from there.
In your final reference list, put these references in chronological order, ensuring that you include
the (a), (b), (c) designation that corresponds with the intext citation (see examples below).
