Sister-to-Sister Talk, Essay Example

Qualitative Research Article Review

Since my research project involves the study of conventional counseling methods for different cultural and ethnic populations, the article I selected for this assignment “Sister-to-Sister Talk: Transcending Boundaries and Challenges in Qualitative Research With Black Women” (Few et al., 2004). This article is interesting because it discusses some of the issues that studies utilizing black women face when qualitative research is performed. It functions as a review article that highlights the issues in many qualitative studies that have been performed with this particular population.

In all of these studies, the selection of subjects was primarily on the basis of race and gender, and researchers utilized their access to centers and groups that typically attract this demographic in order to recruit participants. As a consequence, this was non-random. The methodology used in these studies was primarily coding interviews and surveys, and information from these served as the data collection. The limitations of this study were of the primary concern, as the researchers assumed many aspects of black life and culture that were untrue, therefore presenting results that would perpetuate a stereotype and in reality prevent these families from getting the help they need.

As a consequence, the authors concluded that black families should not be compared to quantitative or qualitative data that was based primarily on whites, that too many studies utilize non-representative groups of blacks, and that researchers have developed theories about black families that does not agree with the experience of the typical black woman. Therefore, it is essential to avoid bias in both quantitative and qualitative research. Doing so will make it appear that certain therapy methods or modifications of these methods are effective when they are not in reality. It is important to review this research in order to determine the true relationships between members of this group and what is effective for them in the family therapy setting.

References

Few AL, Stephens DP, Rouse-Arnett. (2003). Sister-to-Sister Talk: Transcending Boundaries and Challenges in Qualitative Research with Black Women. Family Relations, 52(3): 205 – 215.