Describe the sampling strategy you will use for your interviews and justify your approach. How would you develop a good interview topic guide? What kind of questions are most useful? Briefly describe what is meant by the term “informed consent”, the process of obtaining it from research participants, and the challenges to this process in the conduct of this research.

Principles of Social Research

Question 1
Word limit – Up to 1000 words per whole question (equivalent to approximately 2 pages of single-spaced, typed text, with size 11 Arial font). Global evidence shows that women and girls aged 15 to 49 years are at increased risk of physical, sexual and emotional violence from family members and intimate partners during periods of conflict. An international non-governmental organisation (NGO), working in a refugee camp, wants to improve the way it responds to the health and psychosocial needs of women and girls who experience violence. However, there is very little research evidence on violence response interventions in humanitarian settings. The NGO wants to better understand the needs and priorities of women and girls in the refugee camp to make sure their services are meeting their needs. You are a researcher at a local university. You have been asked to conduct a qualitative study in the refugee camp, to explore women’s and girls’ experiences of violence, attitudes towards seeking help and use of the NGO services.

a) You choose to conduct in-depth interviews. Describe the key features of this method and explain why this is appropriate for your research. What are the advantages of this method over other types of interviews? (20%)

b) Describe the sampling strategy you will use for your interviews and justify your approach. (20%)

c) How would you develop a good interview topic guide? What kind of questions are most useful? (30%)

d) Briefly describe what is meant by the term “informed consent”, the process of obtaining it from research participants, and the challenges to this process in the conduct of this research. (30%)

Question 2
Word limit – Up to 1000 words per whole question (equivalent to approximately 2 pages of single-spaced, typed text, with size 11 Arial font). You are a researcher employed at a private research firm. You have been tasked with organising a number of focus groups with homeless intravenous drug users, (IDUs), to explore their experiences with, and attitudes to, a recently implemented
needle and syringe exchange programme in their city, to reduce the incidence of HIV among IDUs. A non-governmental organisation (NGO), which provides services to homeless IDUs in the city, will assist with the recruitment of prospective participants.

a) Briefly discuss FIVE key issues you would consider in the planning for the focus group study. Include in your answer some detail on the materials you would develop and prepare for use in the focus group, and other resources and requirements for a successful focus group. (50%)

b) You want to convince the international development agency which funded the research, and other partners, that your research is trustworthy. Describe how you will ensure rigour in the conduct and write up of the study. (30%)

c) Bearing in mind that your findings will inform HIV policy initiatives, briefly describe how you would analyse the data from the focus group interviews. Include in your answer the reasons for your choice of analytic approach, and an outline of the stages of that analytic approach. (20%)