Let's say one is interested in studying family interactions across 2 cultures. To collect

Question

these data, the researcher sits in a public square and observes families as they come and
go.

Contrast how she would evaluate the data using an ethnographic approach, as well
as a quantitative approach. In the latter approach, how would she use event- or
time-sampling to collect her data?
What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

When using the ethnographic approach, the researcher gathers qualitative data by
noting trends in the observations. For example, the researcher may note that in one
culture, there seems to be high father involvement. Repeatedly, the researcher notes
that in this culture, the father is almost always present, and actively interacts with his
children in this public setting. In the other culture, a father is rarely present, or when
present, seems inattentive to his children. When using the quantitative approach, the
researcher, develops a coding system to gather her data. For example, she may create a
list of discrete behaviors, such as "father present", "father smiles at child", "father talks
to child", etc. When using event sampling, she counts the frequency of these behaviors
over a designated period of time for each family. When using time sampling, she
decides to only code the behaviors that occur in a five-minute time frame for each
family.