Methodology

This essay will evaluate the "The Role of Culture in the Representation of Conflict in Dreams: A Comparison of Bedouin, Irish, and Israeli Children”, from the methodology point of view. In addition, the sample selection will be evaluated, whether or not there was bias and what could have been done to prevent this. Data collection process and interpretation of results will also be analyzed to offer suggestions on how to improve the research.

·         Name the independent and dependent variables in the study described in "The Role of Culture in the Representation of Conflict in Dreams: A Comparison of Bedouin, Irish, and Israeli Children"

The independent variable in this study are the  Bedouin, Irish, and Israeli Children because, “Ethnicity, nationality, or other cultural identification of the members of studied groups will typically represent the independent variable.” (Shiraev & Levy, 2010, p.38).                                          

The dependent variable is the conflict in dreams because “the aspect of human activity that is studied and expected to change under influence of the independent variable is called the dependent variable.” (Shiraev & Levy, 2010, p.38).

·         Evaluate the sample selection, and include your thoughts on whether or not there was a bias in the sample selection. If so, explain what might have been done to prevent the bias.

The sample selection was systematic because the psychologists chose children from  three cultures, Irish, Israeli, and Bedouin. The participants were 26 Bedouin children from seminomadic tribe, 24 Israeli children from a large rural area, and 27 Irish children from an isolated fishing village. The first problem I encountered with the study is the number of subjects who participated, a small representative number of each culture. Shiraev & Levy state “the smaller the sample, the greater the sampling error, and the greater the result of chance factors." (p.34). Another bias I believe I found is  that the children were students, a fact that does not make these children representative sample of their culture. Bedouin children constantly move and some of them might not attend school; the Israeli children who participated in this research, are from a large rural area, making them different from other Israeli children living in other areas; the Irish children lived in an isolated village away from any war conflicts. To prevent any bias, I would use random sampling and a larger sample, to lower the sampling error.

·         Evaluate the data collection process and consider any potential problems with how the reports about the dreams were collected. Explain how the data collection process could be improved.

The children were given a copybook to record their dreams on their awakening and were interviewed for 7 successive days.  If necessary, the children were asked details about their dreams. Dreams reports were tape-recorded and later translated. Some potential problems I see with how the reports were collected are the interpreter who interviewed the children, whether the children recorded their dreams every day, and what level of education they had to be able to express what they had dreamed. In order to understand the Bedouin and Israeli children, not only a knowledge of the language is necessary, but their culture as well. If the interpreter was from their respective cultures, how much knowledge of English they had to be able to translate exactly what the children reported of their dreams?. Another question I have is whether the children easily expressed what they wanted to say about their dreams; I wonder if the Bedouin children had as much schooling completed as the Israeli and Irish, since they moved quite often.  The research does not mention the interpreter for the Bedouin and Israeli children, was from the same culture or a person with knowledge of the respective language. According to Shiraev & Levy ( 2010), “one of the most difficult tasks appears before the investigator: to make sure that the translated version of the method is as close to the original version as possible. However, even a well-translated version of a test is always different from the original one.” (p.40). I would use the naturalistic observation to better understand the events the Bedouin, Israeli, and Irish children; I would observe how their family structures are, how much peer influence they have, if they abused at home and as a result there is greater representation of conflicts.

·         Evaluate the interpretation of the results. Explain any problems with how the results were interpreted and offer suggestions to improve the interpretation.

I do not  believe a quantitative method to interpret dreams is the best one to use. First of all, there is an uneven number of girls and boys within each culture and I believe boys see the world and react different than the girls. In addition, the psychologists used a rating method for the dreams that were rated by three individuals, who were trained to use the Conflict Rating Schedule. Although these individuals were naïve as to the country of the children, they based they rating on the transcribed material, being the reason I think the results may not be as accurate. An example of disagreement I had with the interpretation of results, is the one that states “in conflictual dreams, other characters appearing in the dream were less likely to be friends or relatives of the dreamer and more likely to be strangers, as compared to dream participants in nonconflictual dreams.” (Levine, 1991). However, the father and the mother were present in the  conflictual dream described by a Bedouin child; an Irish child described the conflictual dream but never mentioned whether there were strangers or relatives with him. An Israeli child reported a conflictual dream with strangers and his father as well, mentioning “we were planting”, which could mean he was with people he knew too. One of the results caught my attention is the Social Responsibility rate the Bedouin children got, only an 8%. According to Levine, “in this community, a  high value appeared to be place on the welfare of the group as opposed to the individual, as evidenced by the Bedouin’s emphasis on hospitality and the presence of large extended families, which constituted a highly supportive social system.” (Levine, 1991). I would improve the interpretation of results by understanding their culture, making sure I observe everything is not easily noticed at first.

·         Select a method that is different from that used in the survey. Explain how you could study the same topic in the reading by conducting a study using the method you chose.

I would study the same topic using qualitative method because I believe human interactions and emotions, cannot be studied using numbers. Before conducting the survey or interview, I would observe the participants in their natural habitat, so they would feel comfortable answering questions to the researchers. Surveys can be misleading because the children might be highly influenced by adults in their community and could be scared to express their dreams in front of other children and adults. Also, I would choose an application-oriented strategy since one research method might not work for certain cultures. In addition to recording the reports of dreams, I would video-record the participants in order to observe non-verbal language when talking to the researcher. Non-verbal language could say more than the child could verbally express about his dreams.