This study focuses on the opinions of women and their perspectives on the prevalence of gender stereotypes. The qualitative research will best fit the purpose of the study. The participants will explore their experiences and the way they affected the formation of gender-related stereotypes. The qualitative methodology is the most appropriate when it comes to people’s ideas, beliefs, opinions, and so on (Mertens, 2014). It is necessary to add that the inductive approach will be utilized. This approach implies the use of a research question rather than a hypothesis and existing theory. The researcher will analyze the participants’ accounts and will attempt to explain some trends related to the development of gender stereotypes in women (as seen by women).
The qualitative research methodology is chosen due to the tools available within this paradigm. The data collection methods allow the researcher to elicit people’s ideas and opinions on a variety of issues. Importantly, many layers of meanings can appear. All these meanings can be analyzed and transformed into a sound theory that explains people’s behavior as well as trends existing in society. The participants will share their ideas as well as emotions during face-to-face interviews and discussions.
As far as the research model is concerned, empirical phenomenology will be utilized. This model implies the use of the dialogue and interview, which equips the researcher with a significant pool of data (Wertz, 2011). The researcher can examine the participants’ ideas and meanings. The model enables the researcher to identify and interpret the participants’ experiences that explain their behavior and attitudes. The method involves a close analysis of the participants’ accounts. The participants’ meanings are elicited and analyzed, which leads to an understanding of the essence of their experiences and opinions.
One of the most important stages will be recruiting samples. It is crucial to make sure that the participants have diverse backgrounds (ethnicity, education, socioeconomic and marital status, jobs, and so on). The data collection will be carried out in two stages. The first stage will be the conversational interviews, and the second phase will be focus group discussions. The researchers will ask open-ended questions during the interviews. At that, the researcher will have a set of questions, but the list can be adjusted. First, the researcher may ask for clarifications to make sure that the participants’ opinions and meanings are well-described and quite clear.
At the same time, the researcher may also ask some questions depending on the participants’ accounts. As has been mentioned above, the participants will have diverse backgrounds, and the questions will be adjusted to elicit as much information from the participants as possible. The conversational interviews will also help the participants to feel relaxed and share their opinions freely.
The preliminary analysis of the participants’ answers will result in the development of a list of questions for the focus group discussions. The most recurrent themes will be identified, and the participants will be encouraged to reveal their ideas on those themes. The researcher will focus on topics that evoke different feelings and ideas in the participants. The discussion will unveil some controversies (if any) and will make many participants look deeper into the problem. The researcher will manage the discussion through the provision of some topics to consider and discuss. The participants will also be encouraged to unveil new facets of the issue.
Reference List
Mertens, D.M. (2014). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Wertz, F.J. (2011). Phenomenological currents in twentieth-century psychology. In H.L. Dreyfus & M.A. Wrathall (Eds.), A companion to phenomenology and existentialism (pp. 394-412). Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons.