Over the years, I have seen the death of a parent take a
toll of a child’s life, including myself. I believe that everybody can take the
loss of a parent as motivation to do well in life, school, career, etc.
However, many think that losing a parent can only do harm. I believe this is
because many children do not have the support system they need. With this
survey, I have asked respondents
questions such as, have you lost a
parent or both, do you think that a child can take the loss of a parent as a
motivation to do well, and what age group is affected the most when they lose a
parent. With these results, I expect to see that the respondents do not agree
with my opinion. However, I hope I am proven wrong.
Context:
My target audience is people fifteen years and older
because these are people who are old enough to realize what the affect losing a
parent can have. I discovered from my pilot testing that many did not understand
some of the survey questions and they needed clarification. My results were
reliable and valid because these are the opinions of the respondents. None of
these questions are biased because the respondents were able to answer questions
by stating their full opinion.
Data analysis:
First, I looked at the people who have had a parent or
both parents pass away. There were few that fit in this category; however, I
have found many trends. The first trend that I noticed was in questions three
and four. I asked how you thought society could help a child cope with the loss
of a parent and what would you say to a child who is trying to overcome the
death of their parent. I noticed that these respondents put more thought and
emotion to their answers. I believe this is because these people have been in
that position and maybe hope that their words can motivate others, who are in
this position. The next trend was in question six. I have asked respondents to order
the importance (Number 1-5, 1 being the greatest help a child test) of whom
could help a child cope with the death of a parent. All of the thoughtful
responses that were given had the choice “the child themselves” as number one
or two. I believe this is because most of my respondents are young adults, who
at this age try to do things on their own and try not to express their
feelings. The last trend in this category was in the last question which asked,
do you think that a child can take the loss of a parent as a motivation to do
well in school, life, career,
Etc? All those who have
answered the question, thoughtfully, put agree or disagree. I believe this is
due to the fact that many of the respondents have probably gone through the
loss of one parent,
O r both, for a long
period of time and have had time to look back at their journey and realize that
they have to move forward in life.
The
next category that I have noticed many trends in was from my female
respondents. The first trend was in question six. I have asked respondents to order
the importance (Number 1-5, 1 being the greatest help a child test) of whom
could help a child cope with the death of a parent. Those who answered the question thoughtfully,
have all placed the choice “the parent who is not dead” as number one. I do not
have any theories on why this is. Next, I noticed a trend question seven. I
have asked true or false: After one parent dies, the remaining parent and the
child can grow a stronger relationship. Most of my respondents answered true.
This may be due to the fact that females tend to be more open about their
feelings rather than men. Then I noticed in question nine. I have asked Agree
or Disagree: Do you think that a society as a whole does the best of their
abilities to try to help children or young adults of overcoming a loss of a
parent, most of the female respondents put disagree and strongly disagree. I
don’t know why this may be. Another trend that I have noticed was in question
five. I have asked the loss of a parent can an effect on the child emotionally
because in the long run the child can become more emotionally stable…. Those
who have chose the answer, if the child is a young adult, which means that the
child has more of an understanding of the situation. Most of the respondents
that answered question six put friends as number one or two. I do not know why
this would be, but I would like to do some more research.
Conclusion:
Looking back at my survey results, I am surprised at what
I have collected. In the results I noticed some trends, most of them I have
come up with explanations of why these trends happened. However, there are some
I cannot figure out why they have happened. The trends that I cannot figure out
why they happened could lead my project in a new direction.
Follow up:
With
my secondary research, I want to look up the reasons why some of the trends in my
survey results happened. Also, I want to take question five, which asked the
loss of a parent can have an effect on the child emotionally because in the
long run the child can become more emotionally stable.... With this question, I
gave a few choices that the respondents could select. I chose this question because
I feel that I did not give my respondents enough options choices that would
best represent their opinion. Also, I feel that most of my respondents guessed
on this question due to the limited choices. If I were to conduct a second
survey, I would re-word this question and give my respondents a free response.
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