The selected topic for this assignment is the effect of racial microaggressions on mental health. The article, guided by logical positivism, explores the impact of racial microaggressions on mental health on all Asian Americans. The writers, Nadal et al. (2015), use a quantitative research design for their research. They concluded that racial microaggressions harm the mental health of persons of color. The article, guided by interpretivism, uses Filipino Americans' experiences to come up with ways of counselling and development to help people who are affected by racial microaggressions. A qualitative research design was used. Nadal et al. (2012) used Filipino Americans as a sample group in their research. They concluded that there are thirteen categories of racial microaggressions and suggested ways of counselling and development.
The article written by Nadal et al. (2015) matches all the assumptions of logical positivism. It has one defined reality. Its ontological assumption is that racial microaggressions affect the mental health of the victims. The epistemological assumption was drawn from an investigation carried out on 157 Asian Americans. Objectivity was attained by using different groups of Asian Americans. The sample group differed in gender, geographic locations, immigration statuses, and educational background. The writers, Nadal et al. (2015), used correlational research methodology. The article written by Nadal et al. (2012) matches all the assumptions of interpretivism. It reveals various realities. There are thirteen categories of racial microaggressions. The writers recommend that successful counselling requires counsellors to use a more humanistic approach and build a more intimate alliance with the victims. The research is subjective. It only looks at Filipino Americans' experiences, and the conclusion on counselling is tailored to these experiences. The writers Nadal et al. (2012) used a narrative research methodology.
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According to (Pham 2018), positivism embraces evidence to understand phenomena. Insights obtained from positivism are of high quality, reliable, and valid. In this respect, results acquired through empiricism can be generalized. This, in turn, helps researchers to save time and money. However, due to its use of evidence, it is impossible to employ phenomena related to opinion, attitude, and thoughts (Pham, 2018). The main strength of interpretivism is that it is rich in describing the participants' feelings, experiences, and opinions (Rahman, 2016). Interpretivism has a more remarkable ability to understand human experiences and individual cases (Rahman, 2018). However, interpretivism lacks evidence and uses smaller samples. Hence, it cannot be generalized. Moreover, data analysis and interpretation are complex.
My potential dissertation topic is “The effect of racial microaggression on self-esteem.” Using interpretivism for this topic will help me understand people's experiences, opinions, suggestions, and thoughts. Its limitation will be that the results cannot be generalized because of the small sample used for the research. On the other hand, positivism will make my research more valid and reliable. However, it will lack human experiences, feelings, and opinions of the participants.
The guiding research paradigm influences my evaluation of the results obtained. First, the results of the research must be reliable and valid. Second, the results have to reveal human experiences. From the two paradigms, it is evident that it is almost impossible to get both attributes from one paradigm. Positivism allows for reliability and validity but does not reveal human experiences. On the other hand, interpretivism results are not reliable, but the paradigm shows results that understand human affairs.
References
Nadal, K. L., Vigilia Escobar, K. M., Prado, G. T., David, E. J. R., & Haynes, K. (2012). Racial microaggressions and the Filipino American experience: Recommendations for counseling and development. Journal of Multicultural counseling and development , 40 (3), 156-173.
Nadal, K. L., Wong, Y., Sriken, J., Griffin, K., & Fujii-Doe, W. (2015). Racial microaggressions and Asian Americans: An exploratory study on within-group differences and mental health. Asian American Journal of Psychology , 6 (2), 136.
Pham, L. T. M. (2018). Qualitative approach to research a review of advantages and disadvantages of three paradigms: Positivism, interpretivism and critical inquiry. University of Adelaide .
Rahman, M. S. (2020). The advantages and disadvantages of using qualitative and quantitative approaches and methods in language “testing and assessment” research: A literature review.
