Traditional Research Approaches: Surveys and Qualitative Methods:

Traditional Research Approaches : Surveys and Qualitative Methods

1 . Give the bibliographic citation for the article

Whitney , J , Murray , J , Gavan , K , Todd , G , Whitaker , W Treasure J (2005 . Experience of caring for someone with anorexia nervosa Qualitative study . The British Journal of Psychiatry , 187 5 , 444-449

2 . Provide a brief summary of the research question (i .e , purpose of the study

It has been observed and well documented that caring for someone who has anorexia nervosa is distressing and difficult . Moreover , adolescents have been frequently diagnosed with the eating dis more

than adults thus the primary care givers are the parents who have also been found to be a contributing factor to the illness . Anorexia nervosa is treatable and that it takes more than medicines and medical attention to treat it moreover it has been found that the support and care of the family and significant others have greatly contributed to the rate of recovery from the low body weight and in gaining a healthier perspective on food and the patient 's body . With the immense role that care givers have to the treatment of anorexic patients , this study aimed to explore and determine the carers ' understanding of the illness and their experiences in caring for their sick child

3 . Describe the author 's rationale for using qualitative methods in the study

The researchers goal in this study was to be able to derive a conceptual framework that would identify the caregiver 's illness model that may be negatively influencing the treatment process and maintain the illness , it is hoped that from this study a more detailed and in-depth understanding of the experiences of carers are identified . This in turn would be used as the basis for developing interventions that would help maximize the coping of carers and reduce maintaining factors An in depth understanding of experiences can only be done through the use of qualitative methods

4 . Describe the data collection and analysis procedures

The researchers identified the parents of anorexic patients currently under the South London and Maudsley National Health Service in-patient eating diss unit and required them to participate in a family intervention training . During the training the participant 's were taught how to care for and maintain emotional and mental health during the treatment process . At the end of the training , the participants were asked to write a letter in narrative form that responded to the prompt what it is like to be a parent /sister /partner /etc . to an anorexic The narratives were then analyzed using the constant comparative method from the grounded theory approach wherein the narratives are examined without a set criteria or themes but to let the themes emerge from the analysis of the narratives . The data was also analyzed using computerized text analysis software which identified emotional and control writing through the use of words

5 . Did the qualitative researcher also use any quantitative methods including unobtrusive (measurements of which the subject is unaware ones ? Explain your answer

The researchers were...