In psychological research, it is more important to understand the limitations of any study or data. By exploring issues relating to male victims of domestic abuse, my research specifically defines how psychology surpasses the goals of research in other fields. Through a research approach based on a reflection on the study and the drawbacks addressing these limitations, a systematic analysis of the incidence of male victims of domestic abuse can be proven to be the most efficient means to investigate the issue.
The greatest limitation to my research pertains to the time and resources available to complete the study. In the study, the lack of resources has an impact on the size of the respondent population as well as the profile. Since I used an online survey to target college students, there are limitations to its applicability as a sample. The results will be indicative of the profile of the respondent population, which differs from the total population of interest. Furthermore, there are limitations pertaining to the sample size, which was not large enough to have a strong sense of confidence in the sample’s applicability. Though there are limitations in the research, my study serves as an initial exploration which can provide insight leading toward more specific research goals in this field of study that will be used to improve my research.
Since the study was based upon self-reported data, one limitation is that there is a subjective bias among the respondents. Whereas observational data provides quantitative information which can be compared to other forms of research, people have varying thoughts, feelings and insecurities which may prevent their full insight into their own behaviors (Kuan et al., 2014). Despite this limitation, the study has provided insight into the attitudes and beliefs of male victims of domestic violence. The most critical aspect of research in this area pertains to the attitudes and beliefs of the victims being studied along with their perceptions in this trial study. Though this study does not project a quantifiable area of information, the limitations in subjective bias are undermined by the vast amount of insight from the subject’s perspective.
Another limitation, one which may also have an impact compounded with the first issue regarding the problem of self-reported data, is that of gender bias in society. While the intent of this study was to review aspects of the gender bias inherent in the situation of male victims of domestic violence, the general level of gender bias can inhibit or confound results. One example is shown through the hesitation that men feel in regard to revealing traits that are not aligned with positive perceptions of masculinity (Houle et al., 2015). Though the study focuses on the insight among the target population, issues such as gender bias can contribute to limitations in research findings based on the subject’s inability to disclose information. Gender bias is one issue within the broader research area that becomes a confounding factor in a subjective research study.
Though the study has limitations, there are strengths that can be uncovered through addressing the limitations of the study. As I continue to progress in my endeavor of completing the study, investigating issues within further research can prove to make my research study highly defined. For instance, further research that seeks to quantify and compare situations of male victims of domestic violence would more specifically project the overall to clearly indicate how the victim’s perceptions are unique to each case. By investigating qualitatively the experience of male victims of domestic violence and to understand profiles of male victims of domestic violence, the collected research would expound on the cases through the subject’s viewpoint. Also, two further studies which would complement the existing study and further insights would be done through in-depth case studies which would recruit targeted individuals who are or have been male victims of domestic violence. Observational studies would also be included in that statistically compared to demographic information of male victims of domestic violence in order to find general patterns or indicators that have correlation. The limitations in the research can be used to further increase the specificity of the research study by pinpointing more specific goals that will become the strengths of my final research project.
Another issue that I encountered in this research endeavor pertains to the fact that domestic violence has typically focused on the experiences of females. Often the occurrence of male victims has been overlooked in the existing knowledge base of studies and research. There continues to be gaps in literature on the topic in terms of what has been reported with regards to male victims of domestic violence and in my final research project, I will work to more thoroughly analyze this area. The profiles of male victims of violence, the dynamics of abuse and assessment of similarities and differences to that of female victims of domestic violence remains an area of opportunity for researchers. I will use the limitations described in this paper on the topic proposal and the overlooked issues in regards to the incidence of male victims in domestic violence to become the basis for the strengths of my future research on this subject.
All studies have limitations, and mine had limitations based on the population which responded. My research also was prone to have limitations based on the lack of research in the on this topic. Though there were problems of subjectivity in self-reported data and confounding factors due to gender bias in society, my future research will encompass a broad range of data that I will collect to define the matter of male victims of domestic violence in the field of psychology. My research endeavors in the future on these studies will address the knowledge which remains unknown, including limitations to my study, and research gaps in the literature.
- Houle, J., Meunier, S., Tremblay, G., Gaboury, I., Francine de Montigny, P. H. D., Cloutier, L., … & MSERVSOC, F. O. B. (2015). Masculinity Ideology Among Male Workers and Its Relationship to Self-Reported Health Behaviors. International Journal of Men’s Health, 14(2), 163.
- Kuan, K. K., Zhong, Y., & Chau, P. Y. (2014). Informational and normative social influence in group-buying: Evidence from self-reported and EEG data. Journal of Management Information Systems, 30(4), 151-178.
