Mepani 1
Ira Mepani
Psychology Capstone Writeup
Date submitted: 30 September, 2022.
1. Potential supervisor: Dr Sabah Siddiqui
2. Research theme (according to the supervisor): Community Mental Health
3. Research question: How have lesbians in Mumbai accessed community support and
positive coping mechanisms to feel affirmed and valued in a world that actively marginalizes
them?
1. Points to consider:
● Can your question be explicated through hypotheses? If so, state your hypotheses in
addition to the research question.
- No, I do not believe that my research question can be explicated through a hypothesis.
● Think about why this question is important for the advancement of scientific knowledge.
Is there something new or novel about the question, or is there an adequate response to
the question in published material?
- Looking at literature in psychology that studies queer lives and experiences, we often find
literature that centres its theme around trauma and negative experiences. While it is
important to learn from and about these experiences that shape a large part of a queer
individual’s life, we also must acknowledge and study how queer people find room to
flourish and grow in communities and societies that actively poses obstacles in their quest
to lead respectable lives. As an insider to the community, I find that I am able to provide
a standpoint that brings out an authentic and raw side of the research. I also find that I am
capable of keeping aside any biases I might form/employ because of my training as a
budding psychologist.
4. Literature review:
- Queer Affirmative Counselling Practice (QACP) A Resource Book for Mental Health
Practitioners in India by Ketki Ranade, Shruti Chakravarty, Pooja Nair and Gauri
Shringarpure.
- Articulating Intimacies from the Margins: An Exploratory Study on Intimacies of Queer
Persons in Their Romantic Relationships by Dr Shruti Chakravarty.
- Lesbians, Gays, and the Empowerment Perspective by Carol Tully.
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Mepani 2
- Social Support Networks for LGBT Young Adults: Low-Cost Strategies for Positive
Adjustment by Shannon D. Snapp, Ryan J. Watson, Stephen T. Russell, Rafael M. Diaz
and Caitlin Ryan.
- Compulsory Heterosexuality: Schools and Lesbian Students by Didi Khayatt.
● Do you have access to the published material you need for a literature review?
- Yes, I do.
5. Methodology:
- I will be required to collect empirical data to answer the question and contextualise it to answer
my research question. This data will be collected using qualitative interviews. These interviews
will then help me answer my research question using the information I manage to gather. My
sample size will be 5-7 people. I shall be using a convenience sampling technique. As mentioned
above, I shall use qualitative interviews as a method of data collection. My chosen method of
data analysis will employ a narrative analysis.
- The project will be completed within the required time frame as my sample size can be
interviewed within a short time frame if planned correctly. Narrative analysis is what will
require time to fully employ, and I believe that it can be accomplished in the required
time frame.
● Do you have the required permissions and access to the data required?
- Yes, I do.
● Are there ethical implications to your methodology?
- The ethical concerns I assume will be that of my standpoint as a researcher. As an insider,
it is in my control to make positive and progressive use of my standpoint instead of
misusing it or letting it compromise the integrity of my study. The only other ethical
concern that could come up is the accidental “out-ing” of someone from the community,
which I will assure to of maintaining complete privacy if required.
6. Timeline: This is my proposed timeline:
November 2022 to Mid January 2023- Data collection and transcription
Mid-January to March 2023- Data analysis, formation of evidence, and familiarising myself as
well as working on the data collected
March 2023 onwards- Writing the research and giving it structure.
