Phenomenology research method aims at explaining the lived experiences of a people or explaining a phenomenon (Groenwald, 2004). Cindy et al (2009) examined the perceptions of parents and children’s lifestyles in regard to body mass index and weight. They did their research at Head Start and found out that 86.5% parents of obese children didn’t regard their children as being obese. Their article appeared in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing.

The authors examined the perceptions of parents through questionnaires, as their method of collecting data. Parents were questioned about their views on the weight status of their children. They checked that questionnaires were fully filled. They then analyzed data by the use of SPSS-18 which is Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 18.0. They presented their data and found out that 86.5% of the parents didn’t regard their children as being obese.

A major strength of using questionnaires in data collection is that it enables measuring of attitudes. It is cheap and can be administered to a group. It has a quick turnaround, and it’s easy to analyze data. The weakness of the method is that it needs to be kept short, and data analysis is time consuming. This SPSS method of data analysis has strength in that it brings out the analysis in forms of tables and graphs (University of Bristol, 2010). In addition, it points to a breakdown of data presentation. A weakness of SPSS is that it requires specialized knowledge to use.

The research article provides additional knowledge to the existing knowledge on the subject. It adds to the health profession’s body of knowledge and theory. It challenges practice by calling upon nurses to sensitize parents on the methods of assessing their children’s weight status and taking appropriate action.

References

Groenwald, T. (2004). A phenomenological research design illustrated. International Journal of Qualitative methods, 3 (1), 1-24.

Cindy, E.H., Donna, J.C., Sarah, J.R. & Lynx, C.M. (2009). Head Start’s children’s lifestyle behaviors, parental perceptions of weight, and body mass index. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 24 (4), 292-301.

University of Bristol. (2010). Introduction to SPSS (Version 18) for windows. University of Bristol.

Need assistance with this?