Professor Koo examined the literature on AIDS and could find nothing that examined children’s attitudes toward parents and friends with AIDS. To examine this study, Dooley should undertake a(n)
a. examination of reductionism
b. descriptive study
c. explanatory study
d. exploratory study
I need help with this question. Any opinions?
Based on the given information, Professor Koo examined the literature on AIDS but found no previous studies that specifically examined children's attitudes toward parents and friends with AIDS. Therefore, to investigate this topic, Dooley should undertake an exploratory study (option d).
An exploratory study is typically conducted when there is limited existing information or previous research on a specific topic. It helps in exploring and gathering preliminary insights, understanding the subject matter, and generating hypotheses for further investigation. In this case, since there is a lack of existing research on children's attitudes toward parents and friends with AIDS, an exploratory study would be appropriate to gather initial insights and develop a foundation for future studies.
To determine the appropriate type of study for examining children's attitudes toward parents and friends with AIDS, we can break down the provided options and consider the rationale behind each.
a. Examination of reductionism: This option does not directly address the research question and is not relevant to studying children's attitudes toward individuals with AIDS.
b. Descriptive study: This type of study involves describing or documenting a phenomenon, rather than explaining or exploring relationships between variables. If Professor Koo wants to simply observe and describe children's attitudes toward parents and friends with AIDS, a descriptive study would be appropriate. However, since the goal is to examine or explore these attitudes further, this may not be the best option.
c. Explanatory study: This type of study aims to identify cause-and-effect relationships between variables, providing explanations for observed phenomena. If Professor Koo is interested in uncovering the factors that influence children's attitudes toward parents and friends with AIDS, an explanatory study would be more fitting.
d. Exploratory study: An exploratory study is conducted when an area of research is relatively unexplored, and the goal is to generate initial insights and ideas. Considering that Professor Koo could not find much existing literature on this topic, an exploratory study would be appropriate in this case. It would allow Dooley to gain preliminary insights into children's attitudes toward parents and friends with AIDS and potentially inform further research.
Given the information provided, the most appropriate answer would be d. exploratory study.