Week #4

This week it felt like our research project really got off the ground. After some research and detailed discussion I feel like a really understand what we, as a group, want to gain and learn from our project. I think we are all interested in the topic of stress but each of us is focused one one particular aspect. I hope this will result in a thorough and enlightening conclusion.
That being said, I am having a little trouble completely comprehending the idea of a sample. I understand why it is important to have a representative sample but I am still unsure as to how to efficiently create such a sample under individual circumstances. I am beginning to believe that it is nearly impossible to approach a project with a completely unbiased views. As we are dealing with humans there will always be some human error, some emotion or idiosyncratic detail, that will skew the data. This is the main flaw with the positivist approach, in my opinion.
I think JFK L3GS is struggling the most with how we will best avoid bias while finding a representative sample in the least complex way. Our current plan is to divide the Richmond undergraduate students into categories based on major and choose twenty-five random survey participants from each group. This way we will be able to compare reactions to stress among the different areas of study. My only qualm with this method is that this is not in fact a representative sample; the number of students within each major at Richmond is not equal. I do not believe this will have a great affect on our data but I am worried that we will not be following standard social research practices by following through with this plan. I am sure that further group meetings will resolve this confusion.