Asnarulkhadi Abu Samah
Zahid Emby, et.al.
Department of Sains Kemasyarakatan  dan Pembangunan,
Fakulti Ekologi Manusia
Serdang
Selangor

Date: 25 October 2001
Time: 12.00-12.30

The conventional approach to studying nutritional status among children depends very much on the quantitative method, which involves measurement of weights, height, age and so forth, the so-called anthropometrical measurement. This is usually accompanied by a quantitative socio-economic explanation for the existence of malnourishment. There is not much research in Malaysia, which attempts to explain malnourishment through the use of qualitative data. The paper discusses an attempt by a group of researchers (a nutritionist, a sociologist and an anthropologist) to study nutritional status among rural Malay children, whose ages range from one to six years, using both quantitative and qualitative data. The research starts with the assumption that a purely quantitative explanation for malnourishment among these children is insufficient to explain the phenomenon. Culture and family dynamics are other angles that should be investigated in attempting to explain this problem. The paper discusses the whole research process starting with the integration of the point of view amongst quantitative and qualitative researchers, rationale and assumptions for selecting this approach through data collection and analysis, ending with intervention programmes. Throughout the paper, the problems of using quantitative and qualitative data to explain malnourishment among the children under study are addressed.