Sharons Study Course Work

1. Sharon’s study is of a non-experimental, correlational design. In this observation study, children are videoed while playing their favourite game. A correlation is being sought between post-natal depression and the development of mother-infant relationships.
2. This study isn’t entirely ecologically valid. Playing a child’s favourite game with that child, in a one to one situation, is not representative of everyday life. Sharon is studying the relationship between mother and child, but this study doesn’t observe that particular relationship at all. Furthermore, it is possible that a mother may not be honest in her responses to the quiz questions.
3. Sharon thinks that she is measuring happiness and depression.
4. Sharon should be observing the interaction between the mother and the child, as the study is supposed to be about the relationship between mother and child.
5. Sharon needs to obtain consent from each mother in order to video their child and for their child to be used in the research. Also, as she has used the form of a quiz in ascertaining the depression level of the mother, she will need to obtain consent to use the responses to the quiz in her study. She must ensure that the parents know what they are signing, and that they are aware of exactly what the research will be used for.
6. There are always ethical issues when conducting research involving human participants. It may not be ethical to put a mother in a position where she could believe that her behaviour has made her child unhappy. This would upset many mothers and, if they are depressed, would heighten the feelings of guilt that often accompany depression.
7. Sharon’s study is not completely reliable. Sharon has asked the mothers to fill in a quiz about depression, in order to score them on depression. However, as the mothers are attending adult literacy classes, they may not understand all of the questions. Also, a person’s self-perceived level of depression can vary from day to day. Moreover, a quiz found on the internet is not a reliable method of ascertaining a person’s levels of depression. The study would be more reliable, therefore, if it involved mothers who were diagnosed with depression from their doctors, and then also use some mothers who had not been diagnosed and appeared to be in a good state of mental health. Also, as Sharon is studying post-natal depression, by twelve-eighteen months following the birth, many mothers have recovered from the depression. Therefore, a mother may have been very depressed for the first six months of her child’s life and then recovered. This needs to be taken into account when gathering data. Regarding the child observation, playing a child’s favourite game with them may not represent their usual happiness levels.
8. Sharon must ensure that the data she gathers is kept confidential and secure. No one else should have access to the videos, and no names should be recorded. Children should be referred to as ‘Child A’ and ‘Child B’ for example, and their mothers as ‘Mother A’ and ‘Mother B.’
9. The scatter diagram suggests that Sharon’s hypothesis was correct, and mothers who suffer from depression do tend to have children who appear less happy.