assignment

Proposed Idea Comment by Author: Modify the methodology – should NOT use hospital and school data (will be very difficult to justify this level of privacy breach, since will need to identify students in data – they wouldn’t be anonymous) MUCH better to use self-report (can ask college students if they were pregnant in high school, and then ask for some measure of academic performance – I recommend using an academic self-efficacy scale (this is slightly different than performance, but might be a better construct) Also think about timeframe – do you want to ask about academics just for the time they were pregnant (this sounds more like what you are interested in) or also for the time after delivery (if they did not raise the child, this may not be good) . You have 2 options depending on this ^: Ask participants to report on how their self-efficacy or performance CHANGED during pregnancy (can slightly modify sale to ask about how for instance, their ability to master material changed instead of asking in general how well they could master material) Compare self-efficacy of pregnant students during their pregnancy with non-pregnant high school comparison group

1. What is the problem that your Project is trying to address? Why is this problem worth solving? (5 pts).

The goal of all research studies is to address a specific problem. In basic research this can mean that we don’t understand something and we want to know more, and in applied research this can mean that we want to find a solution to a real-world issue. Before you begin working on your paper, you need to identify what problem the study is trying to address.

Once you’ve identified the problem, answer this question by describing the problem and briefly explaining (3 – 5 sentences) why this problem is worth solving. You should provide a logical argument to support your position. You can conduct background research on your topic if you’d like, but if you do please be sure to provide APA formatted citations and references for any sources that you use in formulating your response.

The problem in question is the effects that teenage pregnancies have on academics. Teenage pregnancy refers to the pregnancy of a girl child below the age of twenty years. It is also referred to as adolescent pregnancy. A report by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) released in 2017 indicates that girls between 15-19 years gave birth to 194,377 children. The rate is decreasing but it poses a threat to teenage reproductive health for young girls. CDC reports that this rate is too high compared to other western countries. Girls at this age bracket are students and the probability that their academics will be impacted negatively by the pregnancy is high. Therefore, this is the main reason why the problem of adolescent pregnancies needs to be addressed and solved. In trying to solve the problem of pregnancies, it is important to note the causes to be addressed. The main cause of teenage pregnancies is inadequate sexual and reproductive health education, family and social pressure to marry, sexual violence, and inadequate access to teenage education.  Comment by Author: Frame problem as “Teen pregnancy is very common (elaborate). However, the extent to which teen pregnancy impacts the mother’s academic performance is still unclear.” Comment by Author: Main reason of importance would be teenage pregnancy can impact academics teenagers with poor academic performance are more likely to experience x,y,z negative impacts (failure to graduate, unemployment, future poverty, violence, etc.) (fact check me – these are just examples)

2. What are your hypotheses for the Class Research Project? (5 pts.)

Your hypotheses should be predictions of the expected outcomes of your study. Each hypothesis must predict a relationship between variables – you should specify the expected direction of the effect.

Once you’ve identified the hypotheses, answer this question by writing them down in your own words.

Do teenage pregnancies lower the academic grades of teenage student mothers. School data indicates that adolescent pregnancies impact emotional behavior which hurts student's school attendance and academic performances. Teenage pregnancies lead to increased rates of school dropout, criminal activities, abortion, child neglect, and adjustment difficulties in school activities. At some point, the pregnant student has to drop out of school either to give birth or to take care of the infant baby. During this time, the academic calendar does not stop to wait for her. Missing education time defiantly lowers academic performance. Furthermore, the student suffers from emotional stress during and after the pregnancy period. Comment by Author: Definitely

3. What are the variables the Class Research Project – include both independent variables and the dependent variable? How is each variable operationally defined? (5 pts.)

For this question you will need to identify the variables, identify whether each is an independent variable or a dependent variable and describe how each is being operationally defined for this study. An operational definition identifies the specific question used to measure a variable.

You should write one short paragraph (3- 5 sentences) for each variable. Each paragraph should identify the variable, specify whether it is independent or dependent, and explain how it is being measured in your study.

The variables in the hypothesis are teenage pregnancy and academics. Teenage pregnancy is independent of academics but academic performance is influenced by the pregnancy status of the student. The statistics for teenage pregnancies can be form school and hospital records. Pregnancy cannot be hidden. Unless terminated before maturity, all birth records are kept by the hospital and registrar of births for a given state. Comment by Author: You need to ask by self-report – cannot get access to hospital records and then contact people based on this for academic performance (would also be difficult to write ethics section for this) – easier to have volunteers report Comment by Author: Typo

Academic performance on the other hand depends on a variety of factors. Academic performance is a dependent variable, affected by the physical, emotional, and psychological status of the student. Performance data of this variable can be found in schools. Relating the performance of students affected with teenage pregnancies with those of students without pregnancy. The results can be visible the data is tabulated. Comment by Author: -1 – need to be more specific – how is this being measured (gpa, grades, participation in class, etc) - also better to ask students/mothers directly how they are performing

4. What is your method for testing your hypotheses? How do you plan to measure each variable? (5 pts.)

For this question you will need to write out your procedure for testing your hypotheses and measuring your variables. Also, please include the materials you may need to measure each variable.

The hypothesis is tested through data collection. In this case, the data can be collected from two places; hospital data for teenage pregnancies and their corresponding school performance reports from the schools the girls attend. 

Procedure for Measuring Variables

Independents variable- Teenage pregnancies

Visit healthcare facilities in the area and record pregnancies and deliveries for girls between 14-19 years of age. Complete the data table below. Comment by Author: -1 – need to attach scales used (need scales for measuring academic performance) – pick one that has been used before -should not make your own

Hospital	Age	Pregnant	Deliveries
Hospital 1
Hospital 2
Hospital 3

Dependent variable-Academic Performance

After collecting data on teenage pregnancies, visit high schools and colleges in the area and compare the academic performance of students before and after the pregnancy period.  

School	Number of students	Performance before	Performance after
School 1
School 2
School 3

Comparing the data for the two sets of variables can help quantify the hypothesis as true or false

Reference: Comment by Author: -1 should be in APA format

About Teen Pregnancy. (2019, March 01). Retrieved September 27, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/about/index.htm

Justifying Data Collection Methodology & Identifying Analysis Assignment

1) Answer the following two questions regarding your research proposal topic.

a. Which data collection methodology are you using – self-reports, observational, physiological measures, and/or archival?

b. Why did you choose this (these) approach(es) and why is it the most logical, given your research proposal topic?

2) Discuss the pros and cons of using each method of data collection (can be in terms of your proposal topic or in general)

Type of Data Collection	Pros	Cons
Self-reports
Observations
Physiological measures
Archival data

3) For your research proposal, what is (are) your independent variable(s)?

4) For your research proposal, what is (are) your dependent variable(s)?

5) What is the appropriate statistical analysis for your variables?

Questionnaire Assignment

1) Students are expected to utilize the Library’s online resources to try to find an already-established measure (e.g., survey, questionnaire) of their variable(s) of interest (i.e., your proposal topic). If a suitable measure is located, print it out (include the reference) and submit it as your Lab Assignment.

You should exhaust all measure-finding resources before continuing to #2…

2) If you are unable to locate an already-established measure of your variable(s) of interest, then you are required to develop one. Your measure must include at least 10 questions that assess your variable(s) of interest (note: this does not include demographic questions).

Use the “Survey Research” chapter, the Creating Materials Lab lecture, and the helpful information below to assist in creating good questions.

Format of the Questionnaire

After deciding on a topic, the next decision in developing a questionnaire involves the response format. (Your book discusses response formats in Chapter 12.) Many measures ask respondents to respond to statements on a 5-point Likert scale:

	Strongly				Strongly
	Disagree	Disagree	Neither	Agree	Agree
Dogs are man’s best friends.	1	2	3	4	5

Another option involves 7-point semantic differential items:

Dogs are:

good

_____

_____

_____

_____

_____

_____

_____

bad

mean

_____

_____

_____

_____

_____

_____

_____

kind

Alternatively, you could use another form of rating scale, such as:

How much do you like playing with dogs?

Not at all

Slightly

Moderately

Very much

Extremely

Multiple choice items are more difficult to score: What is your attitude toward dogs?

I’ve never met a dog I didn’t like.

Most dogs are great, but some aren’t.

A few dogs are ok, but generally I don’t like them.

I hate dogs.

Stay away from true–false questions. Most topics are not as black-and-white as a true–false response implies:

I like dogs. true false