Qualitative vs. Quantitative

In the study done by Chapman University, they set out to support the claim the death from terrorist attacks is scarier than deaths from guns. In order to support this claim, the University did a quantitative study of fears where the asked 1,500 Americans what they feared most. The results were pretty surprising in my opinion as 41% said that they feared terrorist attacks. Now that alone isn't very shocking seeing as how America has had to go through such attacks as 9/11. However when you look at the numbers and find that the only fear Americans have towards guns, is the fear that the government will take them away. 38.5%  said they fear gun control the most, even though guns are 3,210 times more likely to kill them than terrorist attacks. In order to explain these numbers, Chapman University turned to a qualitative study in which they observed what contributed to this fear. They came up with that the coverage by the media has a huge impact on the way the public views terrorism. They talk about how the wide blanket coverage of the 9/11 attacks seared an image of terrorism into the public's mind. Compared to the mass and individual shootings that get little to no coverage. I think that the quantitative information gathered helped the University support their claim that deaths from terrorist attacks are scarier than deaths from guns. The overwhelming response of the public of what they are afraid of clearly supports their claim.

I find the results of this study to be concerning, but not surprising. I like to think that I am a pretty up to date person. I watch the news a lot and like to stay informed by reading articles. The most talked about thing in the news has always been terrorism since I have been able to keep up with the news. Even though shootings happen more often, especially in Chicago, people still fear terrorism more. I don't agree that deaths from terrorist attacks are scarier than deaths from guns because being the high school student that I am, it is hard to ignore what seems to be regularly scheduled school shootings. In our day in age, with the technology and information that we have, it is easier to protect against a terrorist attack. Mostly because after 9/11, America really cracked down on National Security. When it comes to shootings, however, they are more personalized. Most of the time they don't have to do with someone doing it on behalf of a cause, but rather doing it because they have reached their breaking point. My personal opinion is that deaths from guns are scarier than deaths from terrorist attacks because they are so much more deaths from guns than there are deaths from terrorist attacks.

Question: What factors contribute to the course that a student chooses to take at Stevenson High School?

5 Quantitative Questions:
1) How many college prep courses have you selected?
2) How many accelerated courses have you selected?
3) How many AP course have you selected?
4) Are you involved in any outside of school activities? (sports, clubs, volunteering, etc.)
5) How important is academics to you? answer choices- unimportant, somewhat important, neutral, important, very important.

3 Qualitative Strategies:
1) Observe the way my friends handle their school work. Whether it be that they really care about getting work done on time, or the put it off to the last minute, or even not doing it at all.
2) Observe how the students parents react to their performance in school.
3) Ask the student what they plan on doing in their future and if they even have a plan?

The study would mainly focus on the factors that contribute to a student selecting courses at Stevenson. It is interesting to think about why a student picks the courses that they do. Are they interested in a certain field? Or are they simply picking whatever class they think would be easiest? The quantitative questions that we have presented would help us get an idea of the courses that the majority of students select. From there, we can turn to our qualitative questions to try and figure out why that student picked those courses. The combination of both quantitative and qualitative research should be able to let us inside a students mind and really find an answer to the question, Why did you pick that course?