Research Methods Proposal Research Question Proposal • Why? Steps • Literature Review • The literature review is not merely a list of every item and resource with any possible relation to your topic, no matter how tenuous. It focuses on those resources and materials that are directly relevant to the addressing of your topic, and as such, is highly selective. • The literature review is not a widespread, comprehensive list of all materials pertaining to a particular discipline or field of inquiry. Rather, it's narrowly focused to concentrate only on truly relevant materials. • Makes you an expert in you topic to a degree. Who are you? You need to justify why WC is qualified to submit this proposal for funding or approval • Who do you represent – who is submitting the proposal • This is part of your introduction. • This proposal is submitted by Westminster College’s Public Health program. Westminster College was founded in 1875 and is a private liberal arts college located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the only liberal arts college in the state of Utah, and offers more than 70 academic programs and 15 specialized graduate programs. The program includes 16 core competencies that include the ability to assess, monitor, and review the health status of populations; identify causes of social and behavioral factors that affect health; and apply theoretical constructs to planning interventions. The program utilizes a curriculum that emphasizes applied learning and multidisciplinary approaches to teaching (Westminster College, 2016). Who are you… • The proposed research focuses on college students and trading sex for college tuition. This behavior, though historically taboo, is becoming a more common way for students to pay tuition. An article from the Huffington Post, discusses a dating site for individuals seeking some sort of monetary arrangement. This dating website coordinates relationships between wealthy financial benefactors, coined “sugar daddies,” and young, typically female, “sugar babies,” where they exchange companionship and sex for money (Fairbanks, 2012). By conducting a thorough literature review the researchers identified increasing rates of this behavior among college students. This proposal will address the rates and frequencies at which these types of arrangements are occurring on Westminster College’s campus, and will assess the public health impact of the behavior. The term “sugar daddies,” is a key search term used in Medline/PubMed search engines to ascertain the literature specifically for this proposal. Background Need background information on your topic. • Sex in exchange for money has always been a prevalent behavior throughout history; however, the specific motive for this behavior is evolving in present day. College tuition rates are on the rise, becoming a major burden on many students and graduates who are at risk for spiraling debt. Students are finding loopholes in the legal system to pay for tuition and/or debt; to “legally” prostitute their bodies with a fee/monetary arrangement involved. Dating websites make this behavior possible for young individuals to become in contact with much older and financially affluent individuals, colloquially known as “sugar daddies.” Though this term may sound pejorative, it is the most commonly used in all literature describing the subject. The outcomes of this behavior, in the sex trade business, are notably negative and can have detrimental health effects, that include mental illness, physical and verbal abuse, increased risk of sexually transmitted infections (STI) (and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) rates, and violence(Health Consequences of Trafficking, 2005)… Research Question • The purpose of this study is to identify the factors compelling college students to participate in this behavior, and how and why it has become a more acceptable form of sex trade. The researchers aim to identify the nature and scope of the behavior and its consequences in order to develop programs and policies that address the public health implications. • The public health challenge in this study is to effectively collect data about this behavior in order to decrease the potential harmful outcomes to young individuals, physically and mentally. It is important to identify various options for people to utilize to aid in payments for tuition debt in replacement of receiving monetary incentives from older and financially affluent individuals, and to decrease any harm done by this practice. • The researchers will examine two questions/aims: • (1) What is the prevalence of students who utilize “sugar dating” as an option for tuition payment on the Westminster College campus? Prevalence is defined as; if they have ever utilized this option at any point as a student at Westminster College. • (2) How do students self-identify physical and mental harm risks within the industry of trading sex for money? Epidemiology Epidemiology and Impact of Behavior • Sexual arrangements between older, wealthy males and young, beautiful females are not a new phenomenon. However, the emotional and physical challenges that sex trafficking can create are substantial. One study conducted by the National Center for PTSD (2007) stated that, “examined PTSD symptoms among women who were raped found that almost all (94 out of 100) women experienced these symptoms during the two weeks immediately following the rape. Nine months later, about 30 out of 100 of the women were still reporting this pattern of symptoms” (2007). Although “sugar dating” is voluntary, and thus less violent than sex trafficking, we feel that the long-term effects “sugar dating” and sex trafficking may be similar in nature… Target Population • The target population are college students ages 18 - ~24 years of age who are vulnerable to participate in this type of high-risk behavior (mentally and physically). The typical “sugar dating” arrangement involves a wealthy, powerful male and a young, beautiful female. Although there are some male “sugar babies” and some “sugar mommies,” the majority of these arrangements involve a male provider and a female companion (Daly, 2017). Furthermore, as mentioned earlier 44% of “sugar babies” registered on the most prominent “sugar dating” site using ‘.edu’ accounts, suggesting that they are college students (Mash, 2017). Magnitude of Problem in Population What is currently contributing significantly to the problem are the online dating sites and the soaring college debt. These two factors are encouraging young people, particularly young women, to seek out this type of relationship with increasing frequency. The numerous “dating” sites that allow women to declare their desired monthly allowance, and men to select from an overflowing pool of young women who require financial assistance (Motyl, 2017). The most popular of these sites called, SeekingArrangement.com, labels these men and women “sugar daddies” and “sugar babies” (Padawer, 2009). Though there is some gender variation in this phenomenon, the vast majority of “sugar babies” are female and “sugar daddies,” male (Daly, 2017). Unlike traditional prostitution, “sugar dating” typically emphasizes companionship, and in many ways mimics a normal relationship. In these cases, there is usually an expectation for sex (Daly, 2017)… Vulnerable Population Some of the women who participate in “sugar dating” do so in order to achieve a more luxurious lifestyle and receive gifts and go to high-end restaurants or events, in addition to being paid an allowance from their financial benefactor. Multiple studies show that money is the primary factor that motivates women to enter into the sex trade, and rising tuition costs and associated costs of schooling contribute to students choosing to participate in sex industry (Daly, 2017). These studies show that the women who enter this type of relationship to fund rising tuition costs represent an especially vulnerable population. For these reasons, it is critical to understand how frequently this is occurring among college age students so that educational and preventative programs may be implemented to protect these vulnerable individuals. Socio-Economic Impact Although the actual costs of the “sugar dating” phenomenon have not been formally calculated, it highlights ways in which the economy is currently not working, and exacts a financial toll in numerous ways. First, it can be seen in multiple circumstances that increasing tuition has a negative impact on society. Students are typically unable to work enough to pay for their school, and thus are forced to rely on enormous student loans that they pay interest on for decades following their education, or eventually default on. This system is simply not sustainable in the long run, and its dysfunction is demonstrated by the increasing frequency with which students are turning to a trade that has historically been taboo. Second, the costs of young women involved in sex trade behavior will reflect in the increasing costs of STD treatment, loss of tax dollars due to under-the-table payments, and the costs of damages to mental health, including reduced productivity and financial costs of treatment. Literature Search • A literature search was conducted using The US National Library of Medicine (databases include PubMed and Medline) and as the primary search engines to ascertain the most recent and most relative findings. • The US National Library of Medicine comprises more than 26 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Our literature search included expert review groups, including Centers for Disease Control, National Institute of Health, and Google searches to acquire less formal materials such as magazine and newspaper articles. Other Factors Contribution to Public Health The purpose of this study is to identify the rate at which college students are participating in “sugar dating” with the intention of paying for or supplementing payment for their college tuition and associated costs of education. Establishing the magnitude of the problem, and interviewing participants on their experience may give future researchers to a better understanding of this phenomenon and enable them to develop safeguards for individuals who participate in these types of relationships. Research Design and Methods • Need to restate you study intent/question in one paragraph. • Need to identify your study goals (if necessary). • If you are answering one questions this process is fine. If you are answering two questions or aims, then you need to address each aim with this process. • Study design • Data collection methods • Recruitment • Sample size • Criteria for inclusion • Survey or questionnaire or focus groups or secondary analysis • Need to have questions included in Appendix ‘X’ • Statistical Methods • • • • Qualitative Quantitative Confidence Level Statistical method(s) • Limitations (anticipated) • Other items Remember, it all goes back to your research question. If you include an intervention or any item that is beyond the scope of what you are addressing, then you need to rewrite your proposal since it was not part of the initial question.
