| Date | November 2018 | Marks available | 10 | Reference code | 18N.Paper 3.HL.TZ0.1 |
| Level | HL only | Paper | Paper 3 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Evaluate | Question number | 1 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
The stimulus material below is based on a research article that addresses the possible physical, social and psychological benefits of dog ownership for the elderly in the UK.
As the number of elderly people is expected to rise in the near future, it is important to ensure that they stay healthy as they get older. One way in which this can be done is through exercise. According to the researchers of this study, dog ownership may be a good way of encouraging the elderly to walk and stay fit.
The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate how elderly dog owners believe their physical and mental health is affected by having a dog. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 24 dog owners from popular dog-walking sites in the south of England. Seventy-five percent of the participants were female and the mean age was 60. They all signed informed consent before joining the study.
The researchers conducted four focus group interviews, each with six different participants. The facilitator used an interview protocol with some prepared questions to encourage discussions. Examples of these questions are: “What does your dog mean to you?” and “What are you looking for in a walk?” Each interview lasted around 1.5 hours and did not end until participants agreed that all important topics had been discussed. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim to prepare for inductive content analysis (thematic analysis).
The analysis of the transcripts revealed three higher-order themes related to participants’ beliefs of dog ownership:
- Physical benefits: participants saw walking the dog as good for their health. They were motivated to walk, even when in ill health, or when the weather was bad and they did not really feel like it.
- Psychological benefits: participants found that the dog gave them comfort and companionship. Some said the dog helped them when they felt depressed or lonely – especially after the death of a partner.
- Social benefits: participants found that socializing with other dog walkers helped participants feel that they were part of a group.
The researchers concluded that owning a dog may increase physical and psychological health for the elderly and therefore lead to them having a better quality of life. However, more research is needed, as this is a new research area.
[Source: Based on Knight, S. and Edwards, V. (2008) In the Company of Wolves: The Physical, Social,
and Psychological Benefits of Dog Ownership. Journal of Aging and Health, 20, 437–455]
Evaluate the purposive sampling technique used in this study.
Markscheme
Refer to the paper 3 markbands when awarding marks.
The command term “evaluate” requires candidates to make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations of the sampling technique used in the study. Although a discussion of both strengths and limitations is required, it does not have to be evenly balanced to gain high marks.
Responses that use the term “experiment” as a generic term for “study” should not be penalized.
Purposive sampling is a non-probability sampling technique often used in qualitative research to serve a specific research aim. It is up to the researcher's judgment to decide what characteristics are important to meet the purpose of the study. In this study, the researcher chose participants who were similar on salient characteristics, that is, the target population was “elderly dog owners”.
Strengths of the purposive sampling method could include, but are not limited to:
- The participants accurately represent the topic under investigation because they are selected based on specific characteristics relevant to the research in order to provide rich data. For example, the participants were chosen because they owned a dog and were elderly, which fitted perfectly with the aim of this study, which opened up a new research area.
- It is relatively easy to select a sample once the selection criteria are clear. The sample can be supplemented with more participants during the research if necessary, e.g. using snowball sampling. In this study, the 24 participants were found in places where you would expect to meet dog owners.
- With purposive sampling you can gain insight into people's subjective beliefs about dog ownership and how that relates to their behaviour and wellbeing. For example, some participants referred to how they were “motivated to walk the dog even when they were in ill health” or that “the dog helped them when they felt depressed or lonely”.
Limitations of the purposive sampling method could include, but are not limited to:
- The selection criteria used by the researcher are related to the overall topic of the study and could be subjective and biased. However, if the sampling process is based on objective criteria, documented and explained, bias can be reduced. In this explorative study, the researchers had chosen “elderly dog owners” as a target population in order to investigate potential benefits of dog ownership for the elderly. There may be potential biases in the selection process; for example, it could be assumed that dog owners were generally healthier and fitter than other people of the same age so the researchers must be attentive to whether or not they could apply the findings outside the actual sample.
- The sample may not be representative outside the target population because it is based on specific criteria, so it is difficult to generalize. However, this is less important in a qualitative study such as this explorative study because the focus is on how these particular participants experience potential health benefits of owning a dog and the data gathered could be used to make further research in the area under investigation.
Candidates may refer to other sampling methods but this should only be credited if it is done as part of their evaluation of the purposive sampling method used in this study.
Responses that refer to only strengths or only limitations of the purposive sampling method used in this study should be awarded up to a maximum of [5].
Responses that evaluate only a sampling method other than the purposive sampling method used in the study should be awarded [0].
