PTSD post 9/11

Comparison of strengths and weakness for using Qualitative, Quantitative or Mixed Method research design for our research on PTSD post 9/11

By

Aysha Siddiqui

Research, theory and design methods,

Walden University.

Our research is on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) sufferers post September 11, 2001 and coping techniques designed specifically to help with the PTSD.  In the tragic incident of September 11, 2001(9/11) when the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City collapsed as a result of two planes that crashed in each of them.  There were around 3000 casualties and a little over 2,500 in New York City alone. Among other after effects of this incident, one was a high number of PTSD cases that were found among the survivors, relatives of the victims, residents of areas that are close to the incident site, first responders and some religious minorities that got stigmatized after this incident.

Our research is aimed at finding coping techniques specific to the intense and uncommon trauma of 9/11 that caused many cases of PTSD. These techniques are developed after gathering substantial data from a sample of population under consideration. This would be a very diverse group of people who are connected to the incident of 9/11 in their own distinct manner. The one thing that is common among them is that their lives have been strongly affected by the incident of 9/11.

We looked at the three different methods of research that could be valid options for our research study. This includes

a)      Qualitative Research method

b)       Quantitative research method and

c)      Mixed method research.

All three methods were explored as a viable means of collecting information and data, analyzing data and coming to a conclusion about a hypothesis or our central idea. Each method contained strengths and limitations when we tried to fit it with our research intentions. We will now look at these points in reference to each method.

Qualitative Method for PTSD post 9/11 research

For the Qualitative method of research our central question is how the PTSD sufferers of 9/11 are coping with their mental health condition and what specific techniques can help them with their PTSD?

Our research is based on the past studies conducted that show that there is a high number of PTSD patients found post the incident of 9/11. We also understand from review of the past studies that among this population there is a lot of diversity in their origin, location, background and their link to the incident of 9/11. For our Qualitative research method in the formative stage we decided to use the method of Phenomenology. This method seemed most suitable as we aim to understand the experiences of people from ‘their’ point of view. We are interested in knowing their feelings and challenges on issues that are of personal nature like religion, politics, family and social interactions. Our sample population is diverse in location, however their condition is common and related to the same phenomenon, which is stress faced after the incident of 9/11.

Strengths for this method:

• The Qualitative method we are using gives us an opportunity to collect subjective data as the participants are able to express their feelings and personal experiences after the trauma.
• We use the method of ethnography and the instrument of in depth interviews with all participants and we hope to get a large variety of information on the PTSD post 9/11.
• We may be able to obtain details on behavior, emotion and personality with the Qualitative research that we may not be able to get with the quantitative method.
• There can be an in depth study and exploration of our phenomenon of PTSD  and coping techniques specific to it.
• Our ultimate goal is to develop a stress management workshop that will help the participants to cope with the PTSD symptoms.  Qualitative research is more open ended and not controlled by variables so it gives a better scope to developing an effective workshop after collecting information from the interviews.

Limitations of the Qualitative Research

·         Timing may appear as a weakness as we plan to use the method of ethnography and then case study with the instrument if in depth interviews. It may take a long time to collect data from all participants and come to a conclusion. We plan to choose two locations at a distance from each other so proximity may play role also.

·         Data analysis may also be more time consuming since we will be going into deep conversations with participants.

·         Some researchers believe that qualitative research can lack objectivity and same is the case in our research. There is a possibility that the research may lack objectivity due to the nature of the questions that will be asked during the interview

·         The weakness of the Qualitative method becomes apparent if we compare it to the quantitative method in which we are able to gather ‘hard evidence’ while qualitative research may lack that accuracy.

Quantitative Method for PTSD post 9/11

In approaching the research from the quantitative method of research we want to check the effectiveness of the specifically designed coping techniques for the post 9/11 PTSD sufferers. We will need to collect some primary data which we would do through a Quantitative survey method. This would include a questionnaire that would address some general questions about health of the participant following the 9/11 trauma, views about the event and then we move to the more sensitive questions related to the PTSD, struggles with the condition and expectations from the coping techniques.

Strengths of Quantitative method

• Since we are using the quantitative survey method we are able to gather to the point and exact data information needed to design an effective stress coping workshop.
• Quantitative research will give us data that if compared to the qualitative research is more objective and with a higher possibility to be used in different educational or social contexts.
• We are hoping that with the questionnaires presented to participants we will get answers as compared to opinions.
• The survey method can be presented to a larger sample as we have the option to mail, email or fax the questionnaire. Unlike the qualitative research method in person conduction is not required.

Limitations of quantitative method

• The first limitation is that the data collected may not be fully representative of what exactly the PTSD sufferers have gone through after the trauma and what they are currently experiencing. Since our topic of research is based on experiences and a trauma of a personal nature, quantitative method maybe not subjective enough to give the true representation.
• Our research is on a population that has a coming link of 9/11 but it’s a very diverse population in religion, location, age and gender. Quantitative research may not provide the flexibility that our research needs considering the diversity in population.
• We are doing research on human feelings and behavior, so it may be challenging to convert this into quantitative data like numbers or statistics.

Mixed Method Research

The mixed method research takes a slightly different approach and angle to our topic of research. It uses quantitative method in the beginning to collect data by using the cross sectional survey method. We also gather qualitative data through the phenomenological method and this is pre intervention. After analyzing the data collected we offer a PTSD coping workshop to participants who seem in need of it right away and may benefit from this short, yet intense intervention. Post intervention we collect data again though evaluation forms and a process called Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) which is a process that helps you analyze the level of stress in body through the skin. We are using a mixed method research here as we collect data through quantitative and qualitative procedures.

Strengths of Mixed Method

• The primary strength is obviously that this method provides just the right balance to our research it needs from quantitative and qualitative methods.
• This method unlike the other two methods gives us the opportunity to collect data post intervention as well. It expands the scope of our research and its reachable beneficiaries.
• We are able to collect the objective data through the in depth interviews using the ethnography method and also subjective data through the cross sectional survey method.

Limitations of the mixed method

• With our research topic this method maybe very time consuming, despite the substantial data that we are able to collect this method may prolong the research process.
• The planning phase will need accuracy, plenty of time and involvement. Mixed method gives a balance to both other methods, yet it also requires the researcher to be precise enough to not lose perspective (Reichardt & Cook, 1979; Greene et. al., 1989).
• Considering the diversity factor among the population of interest for our research, there is a chance of losing perspective when using the mixed method research. There will be lots of things happening with both methods and a large variety of responses, data to be analyzed. So, the odds of losing perspective of the main purpose are probably higher in this method.

References

Reichardt, C.S. & Cook, T.D.  (1979). Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Evaluation Research. London: SAGE.