attachment_1Qualitative Research Plan Outline
Learner’s Name
Capella University
Fundamentals of Social Science Research
Qualitative Research Plan Outline
November, 2017
Qualitative Research Plan Outline
Adolescence is a phase of life marked by a craving for continuous attention and acceptance from peers. To fulfill these desires, adolescents yield to peer pressure by performing actions and displaying behaviors that are popular among their peers. Peer pressure negatively affects the academic performance of students (Steinberg, 2014). In this assessment, the researchers will develop a qualitative research plan to study the impact of peer pressure on the academic performance of high school students.
Statement of the Problem, Its Significance, and the Variables Involved
Peer pressure in school arises from students’ need to comply with demands made by peers in an attempt to gain acceptance from them. The demands can be in varied forms, such as learning new skills, trying out new food and beverages, and indulging in behaviors that defy parental restrictions (Korir & Kipkemboi, 2014). Thus, peer pressure can be either positive or negative. A study conducted by Uzezi and Deya (2017) shows that a peer group can have a positive influence on students and can improve their academic performance. In the proposed study, the researchers will try to determine if there is a similar relationship between negative peer pressure and academic underperformance.
Research Design and Method
Information about negative peer pressure experiences and their effects on academic performance must be gathered from high school students to address the research problem. The researchers will use this information to analyze the relation between negative peer pressure and academic performance. To collect the required information, the researchers will use the interview method. This will enable them to frame unstructured or semi-structured open-ended questions to obtain a detailed description from the students about their peer pressure experiences. The researchers will also be able to help them understand the questions if they need clarity before responding. Considering the sensitive and confidential nature of information collected from the students, audio tapes and notes will be used during the interviews instead of any visual medium. Recording the students’ responses in this way helps avoid misinterpretation of responses, and the audio tapes and notes will be used as a record for future reference.
The target population for this research will be high school students in the 14–17 age groups. As the population of high school students can be significantly large, for the research, random sampling will be used to select a group of students from a high school in the vicinity. While choosing the sample, researchers can attempt to ensure representation of students of different ages, genders, ethnicities, economic backgrounds, and academic performance levels so that the identified sample is representative of the population. The selected students (the sample) will be asked to describe their peer pressure experiences and comment on whether they attribute their academic performance to the peer pressure they have experienced. The researchers will collate and analyze the students’ responses taking into consideration the existing theories that could support our research. Additionally, because the high school students will be minors, parental consent needs to be acquired before conducting the research.
Theories That Support the Research Problem
Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development will be used to support this research. The theory suggests that there are eight stages of development from infancy to adulthood. Each of these stages is marked by a conflict between the psychological needs and the social needs of an individual. Upon successful resolution of the conflict in one stage, the individual acquires certain characteristic strengths that enable him or her to resolve the crises faced in the subsequent stages, leading to the development of a healthy personality (McLeod, 2017).
According to this theory, the fifth stage of development corresponds to adolescence and is marked by a conflict between ego identity and role confusion. Adolescents tend to explore the possible roles they can assume upon attaining adulthood. This exploration is characterized by a tendency to move out of parental control, engage in independent socializing, and experiment with new ways of living and behaving. During this phase, adolescents examine their identity and try to determine who they are in reality as against who they ought to be (McLeod, 2017).
Erikson’s theory is a possible starting point for investigating the research problem. From this theory, it will be inferred that adolescents form their identity by making new friends, adopting new mannerisms, developing new eating and drinking habits, and exhibiting curiosity regarding various addictive substances and physical relationships. During their new pursuits, a conflict between parental concerns and personal interests drives some of these adolescents to their peers, who could offer emotional support. In an attempt to ensure continued peer support, these adolescents often relent to demands from peers and succumb to peer pressure. This theory will be used to help explain why adolescents succumb to peer pressure, and to understand and analyze the responses of the participants during the research interview, (McLeod, 2017).
An alternate theory that will be used for this study is Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, (McLeod, 2016). This theory proposes that people learn from each other through observation and imitation. The individuals being observed are known as models. Parents, peers, and teachers serve as models for children. However, among these models, children are more likely to imitate those who appear similar to themselves. Therefore, they tend to imitate their peers. Further, according to this theory, children are likely to continue imitating their models if they receive approval or reward for doing so (McLeod, 2016). As high school students display a similar affinity for their peers and a tendency to yield to peer demands to gain their approval, Bandura’s theory will be used to analyze the presence of peer pressure and the impact it has on their academic performance. Additionally, the theory will be used to determine ways to counter the impact of negative peer pressure with the help of positive reinforcements such as parental approval and positive peer influences.
Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development and Bandura’s social learning theory are related to the psychosocial aspects of human development and will be used to explain how an adolescent is drawn to peers and why he or she is influenced by their behavior. Hence, either of these theories will be used to determine whether strong negative peer pressure can negatively affect the academic performance of high school students.
Ethical Considerations
The proposed study will involve collecting personal information from high school students using the interview method. An inherent strength of the interview method of data collection is the option to customize questions during the interview to achieve improved understanding by the participants and thus obtain clear responses. However, certain ethical concerns such as (a) obtaining informed consent (voluntary participation), (b) ensuring anonymity and confidentiality, and (c) ensuring privacy, may arise while interviewing the participants (American Psychological Association, 2017).
Obtaining informed consent of the students is necessary for documenting that they have volunteered to respond to the questions after being duly informed about the procedures of the research and the associated risks. The consent of adolescents is not legally valid as they are minors. Thus, the consent of their parents would be required. Obtaining parental consent could be a challenge, as parents might not allow their children to participate in the research study. This would reduce the number of students available at the time of selecting participants for the research. However, the parents could be persuaded to give their consent by informing them of the purpose and benefits of the research.
Anonymity and confidentiality refer to preserving the identity of the participant. Maintaining anonymity implies that the researcher cannot identify the participant, and maintaining confidentiality implies that the researcher can identify the participant but cannot disclose the participant’s identity (Bell, 2014). Students’ lack of awareness of the difference in the meaning of these terms and their consent under incorrect assumptions can be an ethical issue. To avoid misinterpretation of these terms by the participant, the interviewer needs to explain these terms when asking for consent.
Privacy implies that participants cannot be expected to engage in a sensitive discussion in a public place and respond compulsorily to every question. Moreover, participants’ privacy would be breached if the information collected from them was altered, used for undisclosed reasons, or made public without their consent. To ensure privacy of the students, the interviewer should avoid a public setting such as a cafeteria for the interview. Additionally, questions that require mandatory responses might make the students feel pressured and should be avoided. Researchers must also ensure that the information obtained is not used for purposes other than the ones stated at the time of the interview. Public disclosure of the information should also be avoided (Ruane, 2016, pp. 55–57).
Reflection
The completion of this assignment as part of the course has been an enriching experience. The objective of this assessment was to learn to create an appropriate qualitative research outline based on a stated research problem. I acquired substantial knowledge on the types of research designs and their applicability, the ethical issues of social science research, and the APA guidelines related to this course. These learnings became my strengths while writing the assessment.
Some of the challenges I faced while creating the research plan were determining the significance of the research problem, identifying existing theories that could support the research problem, and finding valid sources to gather information relevant to the research topic. I have learned a lot while doing research for this assessment. These learnings will help me when writing research papers in the future. Capella Relationship Between Teens & Cyberbullying Qualitative Research Plan Paper
References
American Psychological Association (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Retrieved April 13, 2018 from http://apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
Bell, J. (2014). Doing your research project: A guide for first-time researchers. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?id=Uo9FBgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=snippet&q=anonymity&f=false
Korir, D. K., & Kipkemboi, F. (2014). The impact of school environment and peer influences on students’ academic performance in Vihiga County, Kenya. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 4(5). Retrieved from http://ijhssnet.com/journals/Vol_4_No_5_1_March_2014/29.pdf
McLeod, S. (2016). Bandura – Social learning theory. Retrieved from https://simplypsychology.org/bandura.html
McLeod, S. (2017). Erik Erikson. Retrieved from https://simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html
Ruane, J. M. (2016). Introducing social research methods: Essentials for getting the edge. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?id=TPWlCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=respondent%27s+privacy&source=bl&ots=uXpfipKZWp&sig=K_N6RgkTL2l97Hh5gPN1t3Am8tc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXtZuLj53YAhWIvI8KHcDQC1k4ChDoAQg5MAU#v=onepage&q=respondent’s%20privacy&f=false
Steinberg, L. (2014). Age of opportunity: Lessons from the new science of adolescence. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?id=3cubAwAAQBAJ&printsec=copyright&source=gbs_pub_info_r#v=onepage&q=peer&f=false
Uzezi, J. G., & Deya, G. D. (2017). Relationship between peer group influence and students’ academic achievement in chemistry at secondary school level. American Journal of Educational Research, 5(4), 350–356. Retrieved from http://pubs.sciepub.com/education/5/4/2/index.html#
