Tips and Look Out's- when planning and using methodologies

Here are some excellent Top Tips and Things to Think about for whenever you are planning your research methodologies (in a project) or having to analyse their usefulness or validity (in an Evaluation of a project, or in an exam question). 

Women, race and stereotypes... what message is Disney giving girls today?

Disney Movie Princesses: what messages do they send out to young girls on how to be a woman and will it lead to 'happily ever after' today?  Danielle reviewed these questions using examples of Disney characters.

"For example; Cinderella why did the Prince choose her? Why didn’t he give the UGLY step sisters a chance but gave the household maid a chance first up from her looks? Do all men only go for beautiful looking women and not care about what comes with it? We also see in the movies every successful male is always the strongest and always seems to save the female from anything she couldn’t handle. The Princess is beautiful, always innocent and does what she's told. Is that the messages Disney Movies wanted to make children think life’s all about? Getting told what to do just because you’re a woman?

You will find little aspects in life where you never knew stereotypes were hidden that seem to reinforce those stereotypes in society. Times have changed but it seems these classic childrens films have not and therefore may mean that these stereotypes and expectations stay around for a long time to come!"

The importance of EVALUATING YOUR SOURCES!

Last night (3/3/12) a documentary, 'McDonalds Gets Grilled', was aired on Channel 7 where six Australians are invited to spend a week touring farms and factories where McDonald's produce is sourced and made.

However did it give us a RELIABLE view of what things are really like overall?


Knowing the details behind your source of information is important.
-WHEN was the data collected? (currency)?
-WHO collected the data - what are their own perspectives or vested interests? (Bias)?
-HOW was the data collected? Is it a reliable and accurate method? (Accuracy and reliabililty)?
-WHO or WHERE was the information based on/taken from? Is it VALID for all other people/places?

The word documentary makes us think it is a serious and objective source. However it was funded and initiated by McDonalds itself! So is it really going to give us an UNBIASED view?? Probably not - although you can see what their spokesperson and Channel 7 and the Telegraph had to say here.
It gave a pretty positive image of McDonalds farmers and suppliers. But we need to consider:

- Were the farms and suppliers and restaurants shown in the documentary a large enough sample to be representative of all those that they use/run? i.e.  were the results RELIABLE and VALID?
- How was the sample of farms, suppliers and restaurants selected??
- Can we be sure that this is an accurate representation of the whole of McDonalds throughout Australia? What about the rest of the world?

These are the sorts of questions you should be asking about any SOURCE you use and any PRIMARY data you collect yourself!!

The reaction to Kony 2012

Thank you to Ellie for providing this information.
It shows how SOURCES of information (e.g. the Kony 2012 campaign video) have to be EVALUATED for validity, accuracy and bias.

In a refugee camp in the shade of giant mango trees, a Congolese man called Jean-Roger is calling for US soldiers to capture the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, Joseph Kony.

"We need a military intervention. [President Barack] Obama must make an effort to finish with Kony," he says in a firm voice.

"The LRA has killed a lot of people, and raped a lot of women, and they kidnap children to train them to become like them. They must be stopped."

This is the response of the African (not necessarily Ugandan) victims of Kony. Read more here.

On the other hand, here is the Ugandan government's response to "Kony 2012".http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/ugandas-government-responds-invisible-children-kony/