The discussion with Tracey McIntosh, Jemaima Tiatia-Seath, Nicole Perry and Carisa Showden was profoundly insightful; it made me consider power balances and inequities that had not even crossed my mind before.
What stood out in relation to my personal research journey was Tracey McIntosh’s advice in maintaining equity and power balance through quantitative data. She explained that the numbers never tell the full story. She brought up the example that global reports of child abuse have decreased since lockdown. In fact, Texas has reported a 48% reduction in child abuse reports since the stay-at-home order was put in place (Cruz and Thomas, 2020). Just looking at the statistics, this would be cause for celebration! However, the key reporters of abuse were teachers and neighbours. Now that kids are no longer going to school or visiting their neighbours, reports of child abuse have dropped, but this doesn’t accurately portray how many children are in dangerous environments. McIntosh illustrated through this example how numbers often do not tell the whole truth, and that the context surrounding quantitative data is crucial to consider.
This conversation really reshaped my thinking about research. I previously (and naively) believed that quantitative research held far more significance than qualitative, as it was more “scientific”. The panel discussion, especially the conversation outlined above, enlightened me about the value of qualitative research, and how consultation with those within the researched context is often more valuable than pure statistical data.
Cruz, A. Thomas, L. (2020). Children may be at an increased risk for abuse and neglect in quarantine: Experts. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/children-increased-risk-abuse-neglect-quarantine-experts/story?id=70041839
