Critiquing School Transitions among Military Adolescents
The main purpose of the article “School transitions among military adolescents: A qualitative study of stress and coping” by Catherine Bradshaw, Mary Sudhinaraset, Kristin Mmari, and Robert Blum was to examine how well military adolescences fit in new schools. The authors of the article outlined in their qualitative study three main objectives that the study looked at. First, the study looked at the stress that mobile military students experienced. Second, the article studied the different methods that have been put in place to the military adolescent students cope with the changes. Third, the authors exploded the different ways in which the schools can help students cope or ease the transition process in the military families. In the end of the qualitative study, the authors noted that the move from one school to another largely affected the student and eventually the student was unable to fit in with other students (Park, 2006).
An article by Amanda Sheffield Morris, namely, Adjustment among youth in military families: The protective roles of effortful control and maternal, social support will be uses to critic the former article. In her study of military families, Amanda Sheffiled uses sixty-five young students whose parents either both or one were in the military. In her study, the author concludes that the young students who go through the pressure of having to move from place to place experience mental and social problems that make it had them to study or socialize. Young adolescent students go through a terribly hard time in schools when trying to fit in amongst their peers. Because of the constant moving and the constant luck of one or in most cases two parents, young adolescent student develop extremely high stress levels. The stress levels affect the way they cope with their education. An article by Park Nansook showed that young girls in a military family have the hardest time adjusting to new schools more than young men do. Park in his study notes that young girls are less open to the fact of moving hence the constant movement seriously affects them (Morris, 2009).
The ethical aspect that can be noticed in the study that was carried about by the authors in the study of School transitions among military adolescents: A qualitative study of stress and coping was the need to identify the stress levels that the students went through when they moved. When the study started, the authors did not take any methods to safe guard the adolescent students. However, considering the study was a qualitative study that involved real time events the authors did not consider it necessary to take any safe guard methods. Although the study did not go through the approval process, some departments responsible for such studies supported it. This shows the extent of the validity of the study conducted by the authors. Participants who took part in the study were informed by letter prior to the research-taking place. According to the writer, this move was letting them know what was going on (Orthner, 2002).
However, as much as this move was aimed at getting the correct responses from the three different groups involved in the study, informing the groups of study at some point would not have been the best move. The purpose behind this reasoning can be explained through a few ways. First, when participants were informed of the study they automatically switched their patterns. In a study done on the human mind psychology, slaughter notes that the people normally change their patterns of behavior ones they note that they are being investigated (Slaughter, 2004). This is because their study might not have brought about a change of ways in which the participants carried themselves or how they went on with their usual routine. In the end, the switch of patterns might have affected the credibility of the research process. Thus, the need to debrief the participants in these cases was not necessarily considering the fact the research was a qualitative research rather than a quantitative research (Park, 2006).
The main strength that can be identified in the article was the research process in which the article took. The authors of the articles divided their research in three categories. This helped in getting valid information, which was used, in the article. The strength behind this was unlike other research that depends on information from one source, the authors used three groups to get different perspectives this helped in evaluating information from different groups. It also gave the research an edge over the other research done on the topic. In most cases, this helps to determine the credibility of the different groups. In addition, the different perspective that the authors examine in their research was helpful in broadening the depth of the article. Writing the article from three different viewpoints has helped in coming up with an article that has been thoroughly researched. The articles presented by the authors can be classified as a well-researched article (Maggs and Lloyd, 2010).
The credibility of the article putting in mind it is a qualitative research article can be justified in the article. However, although the article had such strength it had a few limitations that hindered its capabilities. The first limitation that the article had was the fact that the participants who took part in the research process were not randomly picked. By picking the participants in a certain way, the main purpose of the article might have been hindered in the process. This is because some key points were not viewed properly. The article was also limited by the fact that the participants selected came from a few different demographics. This limits the verification of research, which was done. Unlike many others that had been done before, it was affected by the fact that the research was done during peace times. This affected the main proposes of the article since the article was unable to realize the proposals set forward for it due to the hindrances sufficient information (Morris, 2009).
This means that although the article was taken in three different perspectives it was highly influenced by the fact that peace was there. In order to get full the picture, another research should be carried during times of war. This would help verify some of the facts that were presented in this research. Another crucial limitation, that hindered the complete success of the research done by the authors, was the fact that the groups selected heavily influenced the pattern in which the authors based their arguments. The pattern was influenced because of the groups that were selected in a similar category (Slaughter, 2004). Objectivities have been highly hindered by the fact that the research followed a certain pattern. The methodology used to choose the participants in the research played a crucial role in hindering or limiting the findings. However, even though the article was limited to a certain pattern, the authors of the article were able to exploit on that for instance the authors collected facts from different ethnic groups this helped in giving the article validity (Orthner, 2002).
In future research on the topic, one might first consider picking the participants on random instead of in a strategic manner. In addition, a future research on the topic in hand should avoid following a certain pattern. Instead, the research term should try to come up with ways in which they could explore the different purposes of the paper.
The arguments and facts on the paper were based on a qualitative strategy rather than a quantitative one. The authors based the arguments in this method because of a few facts. First, the qualitative method was best because first the authors were not looking at the historical background of the research. What the research was more focused on was the stress that comes from the moving and school change (Slaughter, 2004). In order to achieve a clear and certain answer of the authors depended on the quality of the research done rather than the quantity. The reason why the study was best done in a qualitative manner was the fact that the research dealt with the human being behaviors. The authors in the articles were also trying to explain why the students experiencing such stress were finding it hard to cope with the studies and constant movement. This means that the authors in the research were trying to find out the reason behind such unexpected behaviors (Slaughter, 2004).
Personally, the method that they used this being qualitative is rather mores applying to me than the quantitative method. The study that the research was put through was at some extent justifiable. Although some of the methods had a negative effect, the methodology that the authors used to research is justifiable. In order to attain the goal from the study, the authors had to use a unique way of study. The method that they used to validate the study was justified by the results that the authors got at the end of the study. However, the research process of the article might have been, strengthen by first expanding the number of participants. This would have expanded the understanding of the topic. More participants’ means that the study might have been deeper and achieved more results than what the study essentially did (Orthner, 2002).
However, this does not mean that the study done was not at all fulfilling. To achieve a more conclusive result than what was achieved in the article, the authors should have concentrated on the size of the participants. As mentioned earlier, the authors luck of choosing their participants in random meant that they followed a certain pattern. By expanding the groups, the authors would have been able to get a more diverse answer that could not have followed the pattern that the article followed. However, conclusively the article was written in a more verified manner (Slaughter, 2004).
Data collected in the article by the authors was valid in that the authors put a lot of stress in collecting the data. Although the data was collected in three different groups, the data collection method was one. A number of questions were set aside to help achieve the objective of the author’s research study. In addition, the authors were conscious enough to make sure that the questions asked during the process were not constrains to the participants. The participants were allowed to answer the questions asked in short and concessive ways. This avoided a lot of tension being placed on the participants (Morris, 2009).
The participants were able to answer the questions without having to be specific or go into details. Going with the results of the different studies that were carried it would be valid to assume that the study can be trusted. In addition, some of the results can be justified by relating them to previous studies that were done concerning the topic. The data analysis process followed a certain way of coding and decoding. The team responsible of analyzing the data used significant test to decoded the information that. Most of the results that were passed in the data analyzing process related with the hypotheses that the authors had passed in the beginning. However, some of the information the data analysis team passed was not consistent. This is because the results past were limited to only one frame of thinking. Some of the results did not chronologically relate to the category that the writer had chosen to be the hypotheses of the story. However, the context of the theme of the research was adequately identified by the data that was passed in the article (Maggs and Lloyd, 2010).
In conclusion, the article was well written. The research done was plentiful excluding some limitations that hindered the paper’s capability. Although the result achieved in the article was conclusive to some degree, the article was limited to a certain pattern. This affected its credibility. However, the paper was able to maximize on the potential uses of different races to achieve the main aim and goal. However, one other thing that has been noted to having helped the paper in achieving its full potential was that fact that the research done was done in three different views. This means that all the angles in the topic were covered well to a varied degree. The data collection and analyze process was done in a remarkable way. However, as mentioned above a few issues have been raised concerning the data analyzing process. However, in conclusion one can concluded that the article followed the topic statement until the end as was well presented (Park, 2006).
References
Morris, A. S. (December 2009). Adjustment among Youth in Military Families: The
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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0193397309000033
Maggs and Lloyd D. Johnston (2010). Substance Use Changes and Social Role Transitions:
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Orthner, D. (2002). Relocation Adjustment among Army Civilian Spouses. Survey Report.
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http://www.armymwr.com/corporate/operations/planning/surveys.asp
Park, N. (January 2006). Military Children and Families: Strengths and Challenges during
Peace and War. American Psychologist, vol. 66. Retrieved on January 7th 2012
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/66/1/65/
Slaughter, V. (2004). Introduction: Individual Differences In Theory Of Mind: What Are We
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