Question: With regards to homelessness, which of the basic research designs or m

Question

Question: With regards to homelessness, which of the basic research designs or methods* (i.e., case studies, experiments, fieldwork/participant observation, surveys or existing resources/documents) would you use if you wanted to ascertain:

1. opinions about whether or not this is a social problem from a nationally representative sample (please identity the type of sample you will collect and the sample size as well; be sure to read the textbook for guidance on the size);

2. what the experience of homelessness is actually like, and

3. how many homeless people there are in Chicago?

Please identify which research design/method you would use for each of the above questions, and for each, briefly explain why you selected that method and ruled out others; in other words, what is it about that particular method that helps you answer the specific question. Recall from your reading that it is the research question that drives the appropriate method used to gather the data; not every method makes sense for every question.

*NOTE: If the method you select requires a "sample" of data from your population, please specify the sample type you will be using as well as the sample size. Do NOT guess! This should come from your readings.

NOTE: In terms of length, I expect at least three short paragraphs, one for each of the questions above.

Explanation / Answer

When it comes to homelessness, Quantitative and Qualitative, both the research methods plays an important role.

1) To identify whether or not homelessness is a social issue, I would use Cross-sectional method I.e the attempt to identify number of homeless people, their main characteristics, needs etc. Then, there are Surveys and Interviews based on Cross-sectional method wherein data is collected directly from homeless people or indirectly through volunteers,workers and so on.

Homelessness can be said as a complex social problem ad it covers a variety of social factors like poverty, lack of education, unable to have a house etc. Through the research method mentioned above, both, homeless people as well as people who aren't homeless are used as a sample which makes the method more valid.

2) Homelessness is a condition of people without a permanent house or apartment to live. They usually live in streets, homeless shelters, motel and so on during night time.

The basic needs of food,clothing and shelter is generally not gained by homeless people. However many countries do provide help to such people. Every human has a right to food,shelter, education and medical care. Homeless people starve for days,they are least important priority of a nation. Imagine sleeping on a garden bench on a winter night! This is what homelessness actually means.

3) According to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless(CCH), there are approximately more than 48,000 homeless children with parents and another 12,000 people younger than 21 years without parents or guardians. The CCH estimates that there are more than 64,000 homeless adults I.e about 46% of total homeless population.

More than 130,000 people in Chicago live with family or friends but these people aren't considered as homeless. I'm Chicago, the number of families without homes has increased due to foreclosure crisis. Nearly 1 out of 5 properties had been vacant due to foreclosure crisis.

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