Triangulation

Our first class session included discussion of two different ways of understanding. In the first half, we talked about research methods, describing the tools that researchers use to describe patterns in phenomena - such as poverty and child well-being. Many of our readings will be based on this approach - examining large, national data sets in order to learn something about general patterns or averages. Methods such as these (quantitative methods) are useful because they apply to lots of different people. For example, we know that in general poverty is associated with poorer school performance for children. We can also use these methods to know why some children growing up in poverty demonstrate "resilience" and excel in school despite the difficulties that they face. Where quantitative methods are limited is in understanding the human experience represented by these analyses. In order truly understand the life experiences of resilient children and families, other types of research methods are necessary.

Since a qualitative approach does much better at providing stories to tell about the people that we're interested in studying, we attempted to visit this approach by listening to the audio documentary, "Ghetto Life 101." Suddenly, the lives of children in poverty (at least the two children who documented a week of their lives) had more color in our eyes. As we listened, we thought about what their daily experiences might be like in school, at home, and in their neighborhood. Most of us were probably able to identify with the boys in some aspects, but other aspects were foreign. This points out one of the difficulties of a qualitative approach: it's hard to be an unbiased observed of something that we have no experience with. Through our discussion, we also noted that the perspective that we heard, although fascinating, was limited to the perspective of the boys themselves (along with the program's editors). With this in mind, we see that this approach is limited as well.

So what can we do? Some people will choose to focus on hearing stories of individuals in hopes of gaining a more thorough understanding. Others will use advanced statistical techniques in order to try to identify the strongest influences on the lives of children and families living in poverty. Our goal for the semester will be to arrive at conclusions that are corroborated by both methods. In research, we call this "triangulation." The points at which the evidence merges from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives are the findings that we can have the most confidence in. We will try to keep this perspective in mind, balancing stories and data in order to best understand reality.

I am excited to begin this semester, and there are lots of great things to think about already. Personally, I've been wondering a lot about historical contexts: How much has urban life changed since the early 1990's when Ghetto Life 101 was recorded? In what ways have these changes been beneficial and what ways have they been harmful? Sadly, it seems clear that history does not represent a continuous chain of progress.

What about you? What things are most on your mind after beginning the dialogue?