A researcher studying coping strategies is concerned that women ...

[hubes95]

A researcher studying coping strategies is concerned that women with HIV will feel reluctant to share their experiences. Which of the following strategies is useful for facilitating data collection with potentially threatening research topics?
 
  a. Focus group
  b. Mailed questionnaire
  c. One-to-one interview
  d. Participant observation

Question 2

Cronbach's alpha is used in tool development to determine:
 
  a. equivalence of items.
  b. internal consistency.
  c. stability of measurement.
  d. triangulation of theories.

[Jordin Calloway]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: A
Focus groups are designed to obtain participants' perceptions in a focused area in a setting that is permissive and nonthreatening.
A questionnaire may not provide the type of data the researcher is seeking.
A one-to-one interview may be perceived as threatening to the subject.
Since the researcher has specific information to obtain, participant observation may not elicit what is needed in this case.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B
The statistical procedure used to examine the extent to which all items in an instrument consistently measure the construct is Cronbach's alpha coefficient.
Test-retest reliability determines the equivalence of items.
Reliability is stable measurements over time.
Triangulation is a term in qualitative research.