1.

From what you have learned about the characteristics and nature of qualitative research,
do you think the episode involved qualitative research?
In addition to what has been discussed in class, other sources would define qualitative
research as a type of social science research that collects and works with non-numerical
data and that seeks to interpret meaning from this data that help understand social life
through the study of targeted populations. Given that definition, and the one learned in
class, it is safe enough to say that the episode involved qualitative research. In the
episode, there was very little focus on the numbers. It only showed numbers in the
beginning of the show where some details about the population of the Philippines and
the percentage living in Manila. The documentary focused more on the quality of life that
the participants live.

2. What was the aim of this research approach?

From a general perspective, documentaries like this have the primary goal of informing
the audience with what they aim to inform them. However, in addition to the primary
goal, the research approach also has the following aims:
a. To determine the quality of life in a certain area in the capital region
b. To find out how these people survive everyday
c. To inform the audience the kind of poverty and overpopulation here in Metro
Manila

3. What research approaches were applied in this documentary?

Apart from the general idea where this documentary is qualitative in nature, other
approaches were used as well. One approach used was the scientific or positive
approach. If one would watch the documentary, the interviews or the interaction of the
host with the participant is a structured one. They were asked pretty much the same set
of questions such as, “What do you do to earn,” “Why did you leave your province,” “Is
what you earn enough,” and the like.
In addition to that, it is also safe to say that there was a quantitative approach to this
study because of the population data shown. Also, their earnings and expenditures were
asked as well. However, it did not really dwell much into the numbers, so a quantitative
approach was a minor approach.
4. Who were the other participants in the study? What was the role of the host/reporter in
this research study?
The other participants included a teenager who left the province with the hopes of
earning enough in the city to sustain her family whom she had to leave behind. She
stated that what she earns daily is not enough to cover her expenses plus the needs of
her family in the province. The other participant is a senior citizen who continues to work
so that she and her husband with Parkinson’s Disease could eat something everyday.
Her story is similar to that of the teenager - she also left her home province, Bicol with
the hopes of finding a decent job that would help her earn enough for her family in Bicol.
However, she repeatedly stated in the documentary that she was not lucky enough to
find a job. The last participant was a woman, who may be past her 40’s or 50’s, and her
family. Her family used to live under a bridge, and they were once featured in an old
episode from a show on the same network.
The main role of the host/reporter, Atom Araullo was to explore and learn about how life
goes in an area. He learns by asking residents in the area some questions about how
they live and what they do in order for them to survive. In addition to that, his purpose is
also to find out why these people from the provinces leave and transfer to the capital.
Apart from his main role, an unavoidable role of the host was to witness and experience
how these people live their lives.

5. List down the researcher’s activities that are aligned with the practices generally
employed in qualitative research.
One practice done by the host/reporter was the use of structured interviews. As seen in
the documentary, he interviewed three different people with different stories and
backgrounds. He used structured interviews to gather data. In addition to that, the team
conducting the study also sought meaning to their data by analyzing the interviews
conducted with the participants. Another method used was the use of focus groups;
however, it is a little bit modified. ​The focus group technique involves a moderator
facilitating a small group discussion between selected individuals on a particular topic,
with video and handscribed data recorded, and is useful in a coordinated research.
However, this one kind of focused on a group, but it was not done all at the same time.
The participants were interviewed individually, but their backgrounds and current state
are kind of parallel with each other. With that, it is like a focus group, but not really
because as stated earlier, focus group is done all in one seating.