Many options but how many answers?

Scenario 1: Ten students are available for in-depth interviews. Participants will be selected based on their involvement with the peer mediation program. They will be observed over three weeks. Analysis will attempt to determine issues concerning peer mediation.

I believe the most appropriate method for researching this scenario is the qualitative research method. McMillan and Schumacher (2008) describe the qualitative method as describing and analyzing “people’s individual and collective social actions, beliefs, thoughts, and perceptions. The researcher interprets phenomena in terms of the meanings that people assign to them (p.135). In this particular case, there are no numbers involved but only direct interviews and observations of the participants in the study. The qualitative method allows the researcher to conduct research and interpret meaning based only on these observations and interviews.

Scenario 2: Two classrooms of students are selected. There are 30 students in each class; each group will have similar demographics—age, sex, race, socio-economic background, etc. Classes will be randomly divided into two groups of 15 students. Of these two groups, one randomly selected group will get training on peer mediation and the other group will not. Thus in each classroom there will be one group that is trained in peer mediation and one that is not. Analysis will occur on which groups have the fewest office referrals.

The best research method would be the quantitative research method because the research is based on the interpretation of numbers of randomly selected groups, a major characteristic of quantitative research. The two groups are being compared, which is one of the main constituents of the experimental design of quantitative research where the researcher “makes comparisons between subjects who have had and others who have not had the interventions” ((McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 23). The main analysis will occur based on the outcome of the numbers of office referrals.

Scenario 3: A school counselor is interested in knowing how student attitudes affect the value of peer mediation to decrease the number of office referrals that are being filed for inappropriate interactions.

For this scenario, I believe the action research method would fit this type of research. In action research, practitioners in the school are the main conductors of research, and in this case, the counselor in the main conductor of the research. Because the situation is also looking at numbers and specific causes and information, action research would promote the use of both the qualitative and quantitative methods within the case study. (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 175-176) The counselor is receiving feedback on student attitudes (qualitative) and also managing the number of office referrals (quantitative).

Scenario 4: Peer mediation has become widely used in many schools. The feelings of those involved in the process are little known—either from those doing the mediation or those receiving it. The ZASK-R Acceptance Preference Survey will be given as pre- and post-tests to 40 students participating in mediation. Follow-up interviews will be conducted on a bi-monthly basis.

For this particular scenario, the best choice for researching is the mixed method approach. The mixed method approach can begin with a number-based research followed by a qualitative approach to broaden the understanding of the numbers, specifically the triangulation approach (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 164). The students will participate in the survey (quantitative results) and the follow up interviews will provide more accurate information found in qualitative research.