The study’s methodological approach entails collection and analysis of quantitative data to get a clear understanding of the issue. The independent variable in the study is the weight of the participants (children being obese or normal weight), while the dependent variable is the children’s choice to take part or not to take part in physical activities . A quantitative approach will allow the researcher to understand why the subjects behave in some manner as they will be described in the questionnaires. An empirical phenomenology approach is the right method to establish personal accounts on the rate of involvement in physical activities among normal weight and obese children (Pradinuk, Chanoine & Goldman, 2011). It is founded on Heidegger’s theory of phenomenology, which focusses on human experiences.
A quantitative design is the most appropriate design for exploring this topic. Through effective semi-structured questionnaires, the researcher will test the hypothesis “When given a choice to participate in a physical activity, an obese child will choose not to participate, but a normal child would.”
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Study Design
Participants
Participants for the study will be selected through purposive sampling. Specific characteristics of the participants such as gender and age will play an important role in the selection process. Also, the researcher will recruit equal number of obese and normal weight children to ensure fairness in the results. Hence, the purposive sampling method will be used to select 40 7 th grade students from a local middle school (12 years old) to participate in the study. 20 obese children and 20 normal weight children will participate in the study. An equal number of boys and girls will participate in the study. The participation is voluntary, and only willing participants will take part in the study. The research will seek informed consent from both the teacher and parents of the subjects before beginning the research.
Research Setting
The researcher will administer semi structured questionnaires to the subjects at a convenient location particularly at the subjects’ school. A teacher will be present during the issuance of the questionnaires to build a sense of familiarity so that the subjects can express themselves freely. The questionnaires will be structured in a way that it will enable the subjects to build more confidence as the interview progresses. The researcher will develop questionnaires and test for reliability validity before administering them. The questionnaire should contain a series of structured and open-ended questions, which are relevant to the targeted sample (Moore & Bailey, 2013).
Data Collection and Analysis
The researcher will use questionnaires as the means of data collection. A demographic form and contact information will also be obtained prior to administering the actual questionnaire. The demographic questionnaire will be useful in the analysis of the results as socio-economic factors often play an important role in childhood obesity and participation in physical activity. The demographic profile will contain further information such as the height, race, and weight, marital status of parents, parent’s job, and the neighborhood among other important demographic concepts. The semi structured questionnaires will feature simple questions which can be easily understood by children. It will focus on the types of physical activities, the duration, and the number of times the subjects are involved in physical activities. The questions will also ask the subjects if they are willing to take part in certain moderate to rigorous physical activities such as biking light to biking very fast, jogging to running very fast among other activities (Moore & Bailey, 2013). To maintain confidentiality of the subjects, only the first names of the subjects will be required.
A t-test will be used to test the hypothesis, a -t test is appropriate for simple random sampling with independent samples. It will the test the null hypothesis against the alternative hypothesis.
The data will be analyzed through content analysis. The researcher will go through all the questionnaires to identify common themes on the participation of obese and normal weight children in physical activity. In content analysis, the research will use color-coding to identify common themes among obese and normal weight interview responses, and gather evidence to support the themes. The researcher will analyze the data further to identify common connections among obese children, and to establish the reasons which made them not to take part in physical activities .
The researcher will also use computer packages to compile information on obese and normal weight children to establish certain patterns easily. NVivo is a useful computer software for analyzing quantitative data. Through NVivo, the researcher can easily make comparison on the level of involvement in physical activities among obese and normal weight subjects in order to form an empirical conclusion. The data collected can also be analyzed to obtain the mean, frequencies and sample 2-t tests.
References
Moore, K. G., & Bailey , J. H. (2013). Parental Perspectives of a Childhood Obesity Intervention in Mississippi: A Phenomenological Study. The Qualitative Report, 18 (48), 1-23.
Pradinuk, M., Chanoine, J. P., & Goldman, R. D. (2011). Obesity and physical activity in children. Canadian Family Physician, 57 (777), 779-782.
