Methods Critique Essay I chose two articles on the topic of intimate partner violence among Asian-Indian Americans. I found this topic interesting because I am currently reading the book Suburban Sahibs written by S. Mitra Kalita. This book is about three Asian Indian immigrant families and their passage from India to America. The intimate partner violence that is mentioned subtly in one of the chapters got my attention, because I am considering a career in Criminal Justice. I know that one of the current strategies to deal with domestic violence is to conduct timely surveys. I want to learn more about how domestic violence surveys are conducted. The first article, which is written by Mieko Yoshihama, Juliane Blazevski, and Deborah Bybee is a study that examines the relationships among Asian Indian partners and the potential risk of them facing familial violence. The study used the three components of enculturationon to examine behaviors, values, community participation, gender role attitudes, and attitudes among married respondents.
The study surveyed selected Gujarati men and women aged 18-64 in Detroit, Michigan. The researchers analyzed responses from those who were married and cohabiting at the time of the interview, there were a total of 186 men and 187 women. Participants were examined through computer assisted interviews. The conductors of the study used ethnic surname base list, and with the help from a survey sampling company received census, telephone, and voter records. Using the surname and census lists, they were able to compile a new list of randomly selected households, to conduct the survey. After receiving approval from the Institutional Review Board, data collection began, using CATI, computer assisted telephone interview. Interviewers were selected based on their ability to speak both English and Gujarati to conduct the interviews.
Before the study began an introductory letter was sent out to the households that were selected. Informed consent was obtained prior to the interviews. An interviewer called to compile a list of eligible, adult household members. If more than one individual was eligible, the CATI system selected one at random. A total of 431 people completed the interview, the response rate was 64%, with a completion average of 66.5 minutes. Most respondents had a bachelor’s degree or higher. It was found that more women than men reported financial difficulties (32% vs 22.3%). On a six-point scale, the highest scored statements were, ‘‘Women should worry less about being equal with men and should worry more about becoming good wives and mothers’’ and ‘‘there are many jobs that men can do better than women.’’ The interviews were primarily conducted in English, with some in Gujarati, and also some in both English and Gujarati. The participants received $25 for completing the survey and 96% of the respondents to the survey were born outside of the United States.
The study that was conducted is an interesting topic, but should have been conducted using a broader spectrum. Detroit Michigan has a large number of Asian Indians, but it is not a large enough population to state the norm for a group of people. The study should have been conducted in more than one city with a large population of Asian-Indians, such as New Jersey, to have been more accurate on the topic. Also, the computer assisted telephone interviews should not have been used to talk with the participants about such a private, and difficult topic. Domestic violence victims have a hard enough time talking about the issue, never mind to an automated system over the phone. Another point to look at is that among women who tell their stories about domestic violence, there is often retaliation, putting them in more danger. This type of survey makes the interviewer so impersonal, when the topic is already difficult to talk about, this could affect the honesty of the participants and thus the integrity of the survey. To conduct the survey in a better way, I would suggest using more personal interviews in a safe environment, such as a support group or a community shelter specific for helping domestic violence victims.
The second article, written by Kim Eunha and Ingrid Hogge is a study that uses data collected from a web based survey to investigate intimate partner violence, also explore the attitudes of the victims to seek help. The study is especially is interested in those who seek help through family, friends, counseling and domestic violence services, or the police. The results of the study showed that the subjects who were interviewed were more likely to see physical and sexual violence as abuse than verbal and emotional violence. The participants also agreed that they would be more likely to seek help from informal helpers, such as friends and family, rather than professional helpers, such as the police. The older participants were found to be more willing to seek help than younger, which seemed strange. I would think that older participants would be less likely to seek help, because they are so use to the culture. Also participants with a bachelor’s degree or higher were more likely to seek professional help than participants with a high school diploma.
The conductors of the study chose 152 Asian Indian women who were at least 18 years old, and were fluent in English. The participants must identify as Asian Indian living in the United States. The average age of participants was 44.72 and 70% of the participants were first generation immigrants living in the United States, 26.8% were second generation. About 80% of participants were married, while the rest were single and had never been married. 132 of the women who participated in the study had never experienced counseling. The participants were recruited from five community events organized by Asian Indian groups.
One of the authors, along with two of her students who had previously worked with Asian Indian survivors of domestic violence worked together to create four hypothetical vignettes based on literature review, and clinical experiences, to portray moderate forms of IPV including physical, emotional, sexual, and verbal abuse. A group of ten doctoral level psychologists and graduate level psychology students, who were all familiar with Asian Indian culture, reviewed each vignette before the research was to begin.
A web based survey was used, and consisted of four measures including a demographic questionnaire, the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) , the Stigma Scale for Receiving Psychological Help (SSRPH, and the four vignettes. The demographic questionnaire was used to ask participants to provide information regarding gender, religion, immigration generation status, education level, marital status, age, citizenship, and history of counseling. The VIA is a 20 scale system that is used to measure a participant's level of acculturation and enculturation. It uses statements to find out where a participant falls on the scale. The SSRPH is a five item, four point Likert type scale that is used to assess individual awareness of the stigma, or shame that comes with receiving counseling or other psychological services.
The participants were asked to read the four hypothetical vignettes, which portrayed a moderate form of physical, emotional, sexual, or verbal abuse. For each vignette, participants were asked questions such as “How likely do you think [female name] is experiencing intimate partner violence?” and “How likely do you think that [female name] is in an abusive relationship?” The questions were based on a six point rating scale, one being extremely unlikely, and six being extremely likely. A total score was collected from the questions, and was used as an index of the ability to recognize abuse. Higher scores were indicated as a greater recognition of abuse. Eight sources of help were listed and put into categories, including friends and family, counseling services, domestic violence services, and criminal justice services. Using the same six point scale, one being extremely unlikely, and six being extremely likely for each participant to be willing to use the sources. Higher scores indicated that the participant was more willing to seek a particular source.
The study conducted in this article was relevant to the topic chosen, on IPV within the Asian Indian community, but does not state where the participants or the study was taken from. I do not know how broad the study is, whether the participants all came from one area of the country, or from many cities and states. If conducting the study, and writing the article I would take participants from more than one area in the US, and make sure to specify where participants were chosen from, including city and state. I would have also included the information on how many surveys were sent out, to calculate how high the response rate was, which I could not find while reading over the study.
I also believe that just as in the first article, the type of survey is too impersonal for such a personal topic. Domestic violence is a serious topic, and a web or computer based survey is not personal enough. Asking questions about domestic violence can be uncomfortable for women who are going through it, and it is not always the easiest subject to receive information about. A more personal type of interview should have been used in the study, such as a person to person interview in a safe environment, where the women or men who are being interviewed feel comfortable.
If I was to write a research paper on the topic of intimate partner violence, I would chose the second article written by Kim Eunha and Ingrid Hogge. I thought it was better to include the attitudes on seeking help in the study about intimate partner violence. The authors of the article’s use of hypothetical vignettes would get a more personal response from participants than the computer assisted telephone interviews from the first article by Mieko Yoshihama, Juliane Blazevski, and Deborah Bybee. The vignettes were hypothetical, so the questions asked were not seemingly directed to the participants. Also, the information in the article about the study was more intensive, and detailed. The detail on the participants would also make the study easy to conduct again if needed.

References
Eunha, K., & Hogge, I. (2015). Intimate partner violence among Asian Indian women in the United States. International Journal of Mental Health, 44(3), 200-214. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
Yoshihama, M., Blazevski, J., & Bybee, D. (2014). Enculturation and attitudes toward intimate partner violence and gender roles in an Asian Indian population: Implications for community-based prevention. American Journal of Community Psychology, 53(3/4), 249-260. Retrieved October 18, 2015.