Research Proposal on Students' Perceptions Towards the Distribution of Condoms in Their Colleges

Statement of Research Questions

This paper aims to discover the students' perceptions towards the distribution of condoms in their colleges. It will help further to evolve in the positions of the condom dispensers and their accessibility by the student in colleges. In the process, the rate of reduction in sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the abortions and unwanted pregnancies among Colleges' Student in the United States of America will be determined. Whether the condom dispensers are placed in a strategic position for the accessibility by the students and the perceptions of the students towards the distributions of the condoms in their campuses will similarly be looked into in this paper.

Research approach

Combined quantitative and qualitative approach will be employed in this research study. In the qualitative method will involve the oral interview that the research will ask the students in various campuses on their view of the condom distribution policy that has been implemented in the United States campuses. The ethnographic approach will take the course for the study to be completed, in this method; the research will be traveling to various colleges to study where the condom dispensers are placed. The approach will also employ the historical process, in this method of approach the past incidents concerning the condom policies in the colleges and University will be considered. The research will use the reliable secondary sources such as the previous journal of the study in various colleges and university to obtain the information that is required for the study. The last approach that is to be employed is the use of the narratives, in these cases, the narratives from the professors, the students, and the subordinate university stuff will be considered. For the quantitative research approach, the data will be converted to a numerical form. It will involve the statistical calculations of for the estimate to be made. In this method, the null hypotheses that state Condom dispenser programs have made condoms accessible to many university and college students and Condom dispensing program leads to decreased pregnancies, the spread of STIs and low will be tested. To test the hypotheses, the observation checklist will be applied.

Research Design

The descriptive research design will be used in the research study; these will help to answer the questions on the five "W." The questions to be answered by this design are; a). Who are the students that access the condoms in the college/ university dispensers? b). i). What are the challenges that those students face as they access the condom dispensers? ii). What are the perceptions of the students concerning the condom distributions in the universities/ colleges? iii). What are the recorded change in the contraction of sexually transmitted infections to the students in Universities and colleges ever since condom policy was established in the colleges and universities. c). When is the most likely time that the students in the universities/colleges are likely to get access to the condoms in dispensers? d). Where is the strategic place that the condom dispenser should be placed for easy accessibility by the students in Universities/colleges? e). How has the rate of early pregnancies and abortions recorded ever since the condom policy was enacted in the colleges in the universities? The design will

To supplement the descriptive design, open cohort design will be employed; this will help to indicate the date in which the students joined the universities/ colleges and how when they are likely to live the universities/ colleges. The open cohort design will help to understand how condom policy is likely to influence the people in society. If those who are untreatable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV in the society are mainly those, who passed through the Universities/ colleges in a period after the introduction of the condom policy has been changed in one way or the other. The rate base data will be obtained through the opened cohort design.

In the quantitative method, the non-experimental approaches will be employed; this includes the descriptive method will be employed to get the average number of condoms that are used by the students in a daily basis and frequency in which condoms are placed in dispensers on a weekly basis. This will involve professors and non-teaching staff who are responsible for filling dispensers with condoms.

Research Strategy

Research strategy refers to the procedures that define the plan of action that direct the efforts and thoughts of the researcher to conduct an investigation systematically and appropriate schedule (Pechlaner & Volgger, 2012). The researcher adopted the grounded theory research strategy. The theory is ideal in research that adopts inductive methods in which the researcher conducts an investigation with the aim of developing a theory (Cooper, Chenail, & Fleming, 2012). By adopting the theory, the researcher managed to conceptualize ideas regarding condom policies in the universities and colleges to formulate the hypotheses that: a). Condom dispenser programs have made condoms accessible to many university and college students. b). Condom dispensing program leads to decreased pregnancies, the spread of STIs and low abortion cases in the universities. Grounded codes will be created from the data to avoid the situation that exhibit researcher's presumptions and prejudices on the topic. The researcher will have codes in mind and then seek for ideas that will emanate from the collected data. These codes formulate the base for analysis in which the investigator extract concepts starting from the first line of the interview and questionnaire. The investigator identifies the concepts of condom policies to University and college students by marking the key phrases. The researcher then proceeds to group similar codes. The third stage entails categorizing whereby the researcher consolidates similar concepts to generate theory. Finally, the researcher will extract the argument from the collection of categories. Subsequently, the investigator will have a number of questions in mind, including what is the perception of the students participating in the interview concerning the condom policy, where are the strategic places to put the condom dispensers and has there been change in the rate of acquiring STIs ever since the condom policy was put in place. The significance of the strategy will be based on the on providing explicit and sequential guidelines for conducting the qualitative research. It provides the research opportunity to integrate and streamlines the process of data collection. Its ability to legitimize qualitative research as scientific inquiry makes the strategy appropriate for this research (Charmaz, 2012). The strategy enables the researcher to focus on analyzing data and to answer the research question that entails seeking to establish if the condom policies in the universities and colleges are likely to reduce the unwanted pregnancies and prevention of the STIs among the students. The theory adopts the exploratory approach, which suits for studying the social process that has received a little attention in previous researchers. Also, a researcher employing the grounded theory strategy will help in minimizing the behavioral change that might occur during the process of data collection.

Types of Data to be Collected to Test the Hypothesis

The structural interviews which involved one-on-one interview using a predetermined question will be used; this is because the method is easy and quick to understand by the interviewees. It will because of the research that will not need a follow-up. The focused group interview will also be used; this will help in the formulation of thoughts and ideas among by the use of the group interaction among the students. The focused group method will be used to save time and gather the information from a multiple of students, professors, and the universities/college subordinate staffs at once as it provides a social context.

References

Charmaz, K., 2012. The power and potential of grounded theory. Medical Sociology Online, 6(3), pp.2-15.

Cooper, R., Chenail, R.J. and Fleming, S., 2012. A Grounded Theory of Inductive Qualitative Research Education: Results of a Meta-Data-Analysis. Qualitative Report, 17, p.8.

Pechlaner, H. and Volgger, M., 2012. How to promote cooperation in the hospitality industry: Generating practitioner-relevant knowledge using the GABEK qualitative research strategy. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 24(6), pp.925-945.