Foreshadowed question & Meerkats & Barbies

Foreshadowed question: What are the perceptions adolescent girls possess regarding the relationship (or lack thereof) between their single-parent home and their school performance?

The purpose of an ethnographic study is to describe a cultural group. To do this, the research spends several weeks, possibly months or years, immersing herself into the culture to observe and build a trusting relationship with those she is studying. Data is collected through these observations, in addition to interviews and sometimes document review. The data that was gathered is then analyzed, coded by similar themes, and interpreted to report a description of cultural behavior. Because adolescent girls who come from a single-parent homes do not necessarily flock together and identify as a culture (meaning they have a shared pattern of beliefs, normative expectations and behaviors), I do not believe an ethnographic study would be the design of choice for this foreshadowed question.

The purpose of a phenomenological study is to describe an experience through the multiple perspectives of participants. Much like in an ethnographic study, the researcher will build relationships with participants who have lived (or are living) the experience so that she can earn their trust. Data is collected through interviewing participants either in a focus group or individually. Once data is gathered from the participants, it is analyzed and coded into statements, meanings, themes, or other general descriptions.

I cannot think of a more perfect research design for the stated foreshadowed question than an phenomenological study. Living in a single-parent home as an adolescent girl is an experience that is shared with other adolescent girls, but no two girls will have the exact same experience. Through a phenomenological study, the researcher has the ability to find similarities and differences adolescent girls from single-parent homes share in how they perceive their home environment affecting their education and school performance. The multiple realities of the experience of being a female adolescent student in a single-parent can then be reported to describe the essence of the experience from the perspective of each girl.