Question

Studies have suggested that people suffering from depressive disorders tend to seek support from their families and friends first, rather than go for professional assistance directly. The reactions of families and friends may influence the subsequent help-seeking behaviours of individuals with depressive disorders.

A recent study investigated the stigma that young people with depression in Singapore might perceive among their families and friends, and how that may influence the help-seeking behaviors of these individuals.

Read the following article for more information about the study (you can access the article via SUSS library).

Samari, E., Teh, W.L., Roystonn, K., Devi, F., Cetty, L., Shahwan, S., & Subramaniam, M. (2022). Perceived mental illness stigma among family and friends of young people with depression and its role in help-seeking: A qualitative inquiry. BMC Psychiatry, 22(107).

Analyse the given study and critique the research methodology it adopted. Apply relevant concepts and information from course materials, the given article, and additional research to answer the following questions.

(a) Comparing qualitative versus quantitative methods as follows:

• Examine at least TWO possible reasons why the researchers chose to use a
  the qualitative method in this study.
• Suppose other researchers would like to conduct a survey study instead to
  investigate the same topic. Examine at least TWO advantages of using a
  quantitative method instead.

(b) The researchers have discussed the implications of the given study in their article. Suppose the researchers have designed an educational program to improve mental health literacy for university students in Singapore, as a follow-up to the given study.

• Propose an experimental design to evaluate whether this educational program
  effectively improves university students’ mental health literacy in Singapore.
• Discuss what dependent variable and independent variable should be in the proposed experimental design. Also, discuss at least one control variable that you plan to include in studying the effectiveness of this program.
• Describe how you will design this experiment. Focus your discussion on the type and elements of your chosen experimental design only. It is not necessary to discuss other considerations (such as sampling).

(c) Discuss TWO characteristics of sampling in qualitative research that are different from sampling in quantitative research in the context of the given study.