Sociology Research Results Review

Sociology Assignment #3

1. What was the purpose of the study?

This study aimed to build upon existing multiracial scholarship by exploring the life experiences of diverse multiracial adults who reside in a less racially and ethnically diverse US city. Their perspectives offer insight into both the challenges and strengths of claiming a multiracial identity today in a society that remains very color-conscious. The author uses the term multiracial to describe persons whose parents are of two or more different racial/ethnic groups, and is inclusive of derivative terms including: biracial, mixed-race and mixed-heritage.

2. What type of methodology did the author use? Be sure to indicate sample size and source of data.

This study employed a narrative, person-centered interview approach that allowed participants to share their experiences of identity. Narrative research involves obtaining a story from someone who is identified as having some knowledge or expertise with the topic at-hand. Interviews were conducted in an office situated on a local University campus. This study used a multiracial interviewer, also the researcher, who was trained in, and has significant experience in qualitative methods. Participants received a cash incentive of $25.00 for participating in this research study. Each interview took approximately 1.5 to 2.5 hours. Interviews were tape-recorded in order to ensure accuracy for transcription purposes. An interview script was developed to guide the narrative interview process. This consisted of three phases: (1) the warm-up phase; (2) the life-event interview phase; (3) and the wrap-up phase. The warm-up phase consisted of general introductions and an overview of the research goals, purpose and objectives. For this particular study, the researcher asked the participants to write/draw on paper those meaningful events that shaped their multiracial identity over time. This process was very person-centered offering very minimal directives:...