ERM II: Assignment 1, Part 1

Due Tuesday 1/25/2000

Part 1a

To answer these questions, read the distributed papers and articles “Suicide: Qualitative data from focus group interviews with youth,” “Research: Be afraid. Be very afraid,” and “Enough talk.” As in the previous reading assignment, your typed answers to these questions should reflect deep thought! On Tuesday in class, we will discuss your answers to these questions. All of these questions should fit on two pages, 1.5 space, 12 point font.

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questions based on: “Suicide: Qualitative data from focus group interviews with youth”

1. If you were interested in discovering the causes of youth suicide in New Zealand, who do you think would be the best focus group participants? How did the researchers in the distributed paper select participants?

2. Coggan et al. opened their interviews as follows: “A close friend has told you that they are thinking of seriously ending their life. What is the first thing you would do?”

Can you think of any potential problems with this opening? Whether you can or not, propose an alternative opening discussion question.

3. Explain briefly how the researchers analyzed the focus group data

4. What types of hypotheses emerged from the research about the causes of youth suicide and about possible public policy measures that could be taken to prevent suicide?

5. Briefly, how might you test some of these hypotheses using quantitative research?

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question based on “Research: be afraid...”

6. Sullivan is obviously disdainful about the use of focus groups to evaluate advertisements. Apply his type of criticism to the use of focus groups to examine the causes of youth suicide. More generally, what are some of the major limitations of this type of study as an approach to learning about the causes of youth suicide?

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question based on “Enough talk”

7. Describe an alternative method for using groups of youths to examine the causes of youth suicide based on techniques of the type discussed by Kaufman.

8.In the hardcopy version of this assignment given out in class, we have reproduced some graphs showing different trends and patterns in the suicide data. For each graph, state one or more hypotheses that the data make you think of.

9. The final graphs show the relationship between suicide rates and homicide rates for two age groups as a function of time. What might these graphs suggest about the causes of either suicide or homicide?