- To what extent does unemployment due to pandemic restrictions impact domestic violence against women in Melbourne?
- The null hypothesis indicates that there is no correlation between unemployment due to COVID-19 restrictions and domestic violence against women in Melbourne. However, the research hypothesis suggests that the examined independent variable – increased unemployment rate due to the pandemic – has a direct positive correlation with the dependent variable – the level of domestic violence against women in Melbourne. The primary indicators include the reporting rate of domestic violence and the statistics on employment in Melbourne during the time of pandemic restrictions.
- The primary data collection method is a survey among women who have experienced domestic violence during the pandemic in Melbourne. Due to the private nature of the topic and the potential reluctance of interviewees to participate in the research, it is essential to keep all information confidential. A survey is an effective method of quantitative studies; however, it is crucial to ensure that the selected sample adheres to the rules of generalisability and representativeness (Scharrer & Ramasubramanian, 2021). The analysis pattern in the current research adheres to the principles of purposive sampling through an online medium of data collection. Moreover, it is a cross-sectional survey study since the objective is to determine the relationship between independent and dependent variables in a certain time frame.
Consequently, it is crucial to conduct a secondary data analysis of studies about domestic violence and the effects of unemployment in Australia. For instance, the article by Voce and Boxall (2019) thoroughly examines the tendencies of reporting behaviour in Australia, which is a crucial factor in determining the relationship between independent variables and the domestic violence level. The research by Carrington et al. (2020), funded by the Queensland University of Technology, analyses the impact of COVID-19 on domestic violence and supports the tentative hypothesis. Lastly, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data and the Australian Bureau of Statistics are crucial to the current research.
Decolonisation of methodology concerns the elimination of Eurocentric elements in the research. In the scope of the current work, this concept implies that the researcher should critically evaluate the secondary sources and ensure that they fit the local context. In other words, it is essential to avoid generalising the local population based on the Eurocentric methods and secondary information about global domestic violence and the impact of unemployment. While the global trends might be pronounced in Melbourne, the current research acknowledges the significance of decolonised research and critically evaluates the retrieved data.
- To what extent does unemployment due to pandemic restrictions impact domestic violence against women in Melbourne?
- Based on the prior assumption that unemployment due to pandemic restrictions has a direct correlation with domestic violence against women in Melbourne, the current research has chosen a confirmatory approach. Thus, the hypothesis is that unemployment has significantly increased the number and severity of domestic violence cases against women in Melbourne.
- The current work utilises two data collection methods – surveys and a review of statistic databases. A survey refers to a data collection process through interviewing a sample of respondents on the chosen topic (Cowles & Nelson, 2019). This approach employs a descriptive analysis pattern to explain the differences in domestic violence during the period of pandemic restrictions. The questionnaire includes inquiries about the experience, severity, types, and frequency of domestic violence. It is devoid of overly sensitive or complicated questions to maximise the respondents’ confidentiality. The various benefits of the approach include accessibility, speed, low cost, primary data source, ease of statistic post-analysis, and few time constraints (Cowles & Nelson, 2019). In the scope of the current research, it is a favourable method since there are specific criteria for respondents, such as gender, the experience of domestic violence, and location in Melbourne.
The second approach regards a review of statistic databases from official sources, such as the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It is a preliminary stage of the current quantitative study that lays the groundwork for the consequent research and provides material for comparison due to the availability of information about pre-pandemic rates of domestic violence. Since this method does not produce actual data, the data aggregation merely concerns preformatted information (Ørmen, 2020). Moreover, a systematic review is highly prominent in contemporary quantitative research on domestic violence, which proves its relevance to the current study (Laskey et al., 2019). However, this method frequently concerns larger scopes of research, including national and international parameters. Thus, the chosen primary data collection method – a survey – complements the study since the selected sample concerns only women living in Melbourne. Ultimately, both approaches are effective instruments of quantitative research and might significantly improve the quality of the current work.
The Eurocentric elements of the current study include the relative bias in the confirmation hypothesis and the vast prominence of the chosen data selection methods in contemporary quantitative research. From these considerations, the current work acknowledges the utmost significance of critical thinking and unbiased assessment of results, including the possibility of rejecting the initial hypothesis. In other words, despite its confirmation approach with a set of pre-determined parameters and conclusions, the final outcomes will reflect the objective reality, even if they contradict the hypothesis. This transparency in the study effectively decolonises the research process and recognises critical assessment as the top priority.
References
Carrington, K., Morley, C., Warren, S., Harris, B., Vitis, L., Ball, M., Clarke, J., & Ryan, V. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on domestic and family violence services, Australia. QUT Centre for Justice. Web.
Cowles, E. L., & Nelson, E. (2019). An introduction to survey research, volume I: The basics of survey research. Business Expert Press.
Laskey, P., Bates, E. A., & Taylor, J. C. (2019). A systematic literature review of intimate partner violence victimisation: An inclusive review across gender and sexuality. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 47, 1-11.
Ørmen, J. (2020). Quantitative approaches to media and communication research. In K. B. Jensen (Eds.), A handbook of media and communications research: Qualitative and quantitative methodologies (pp. 255-286). Routledge.
Scharrer, E., & Ramasubramanian, S. (2021). Quantitative research methods in communication: The power of numbers for social justice. Routledge.
Voce, I., & Boxall, H. (2018). Who reports domestic violence to police? A review of the evidence. Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, (559), 1-16.