Research+Project

RESEARCH PROJECT
Aubrie Marshall

=  Is Marijuana The Most Common Drug of Choice at Sobriety High West Academy? =

I. Introductory Section

A. What is the most common drug abused before attending Sobriety High School? B. Table of Contents: 1. Section II - Introduction 2. Section III - Methodology 3. Section IV - Validity and Reliability Iss 4. Section V - Ethics Issues 5. Section VI - Conduct Research 6. Section VII - Analysis

II. Introduction (specific problem to be investigated)

1. Problem of the research(your question): What is the most common drug abused before attending Sobriety High School? 2. Hypothesis: I believe that Marijuana is the most common drug abused among the teenagers at Sobriety High. 3. DV: attending Sobriety High; IV: The drug that was abused; EV: Age, Gender, Other reasons for attending a sober school. 4. Significant of the research(why is this research important?): This research is important because it can reveal a lot about the teenagers attending Sobriety High. There are many different obstacles people have had to overcome and this will allow people to learn more about others. Also, it will provide valid information about drug use among teenagers.

III. Methodology (Procedure – be as specific as possible!)

1. Sample and Population (who and where): Students attending Sobriety High West in Edina, Minnesota. 2. Instruments and materials needed: Computer to conduct survey, Pencil to answer survey, and Students to take the survey. 3. Research design (how will you set up the research): I will first create the survey that I will distribute to the students. The survey will contain all the categories of drugs. I will hand out the survey and allow the students to make their drug of choice on the paper. Once I have the research, I will determine the most common drug of choice among students at Sobriety High. 4. Procedures (when, where, and how the data will be collected): I will distribute the surveys during first and second hour groups at Sobriety High. This will take place tomorrow, Wednesday May 13th. I will hand each student in the group a survey and pencil. The students will complete the survey anonymously and turn them in to me. I will then tally up the data and figure out which drug of choice is most common among students at Sobriety High. • Needs to be very specific and step-by-step

IV. Validity and Reliability Issues

1. Validity (how do you know it will give you a good answer to your question?) : I am asking the students to take the random survey ensuring that the answers will remain confidential. There would be no reason for the students to lie about their drug of choice when we attend a school filled with addicts. 2. Reliability (how do you know you will get the same results every time?): A student's drug of choice is their drug of choice. It will not change in a matter of seconds, minutes, hours, ect. There is no reason for the student to lie or change their answer to the survey. I am confident that the results will be reliable.

V. Ethics Issues

1. Planning: What safeguards are incorporated into the design of the study to protect the rights of human subjects? There is no physical contact involved in my research. If the students agree to take part in my survey, I will not be violating their rights. 2. Subject Risk: What are the risks to the subjects? What steps are taken to minimize or eliminate risk to the subjects? There is minimal risk although the participants may question where the information is going or who will have the ability to view the survey responses. 3. Researcher Responsibility: How will the subjects be notified that the study is for research purposes and that they have the choice of not participating? I will give the participants a choice of whether or not they want to take part in the survey. I will inform them that survey is for research purposes. 4. Notification: How will the subject give consent to the research? I will ask if the student wants to participate in the study for research purposes before I give them the survey. 5. Deception: If deception or concealment is necessary to the methods of this study, how has the researcher determined that such methods are necessary, that alternate methods are not available that do not use concealment or deception, or insure that subjects are provided with sufficient explanation as soon as possible? Deception or concealment is not necessary because I will inform the participants that the survey is for research purposes and they have the choice to answer the question or refrain. 6. Individual freedom: How will the subjects’ right to withdraw be protected? If the student does not want to participate in the research I will simply find another student and exclude that particular student from the study. 7. Subject discomfort: How will the subjects be informed of any risk and invited to participate voluntarily? I will inform all the students that participating in the study is voluntary before providing them with the survey. 8. Results dissemination: How will the results of the survey be provided to any participant who wishes to see it? I will reveal the results to participants that are interested in knowing the outcome of the research. 9. Undesirable consequences: How will all due care be used to assure subjects that the results are for research purposes only and that they will not be penalized in any way for participating? I will ensure the students that the results will remain confidential, I will be the only person with access to the research. Their will be no names provided on the survey so the participants identity will be kept confidential and there will be no way to determine which students participated and the students who did not. 10. Confidentiality: How will you keep the subjects’ information private and protected if necessary? The names of the participants will not be provided. I will simply collect the data and tally up the results of which drug of choice is the most common at Sobriety High. 11. Data Protection: Where and for how long will the collected data be stored? What will happen to it after that? I will collect the data and tally up the findings. After that, I will place the results in my research project until it is graded. If necessary, I will dispose of the surveys and clear the information from my research wiki.

VI. Conduct your research

VII. Analysis

A. Results 1. State specific findings: alcohol- 8 marijuana- 13 cocaine- 4 opiates/narcotics- 2 stimulants- 3 hallucinogens- 2 2. Include visual aids if necessary and discuss how the results relate to your hypothesis: The majority of students at Sobriety High West Academy prefer marijuana over other drug choices. B. Conclusion/Discussion 1. How are the results different or the same from your hypothesis? Why? The results match my hypothesis. On Wednesday May 13th I distributed a survey to participating students at Sobriety High West Academy. The results showed that the majority of students at Sobriety High abused marijuana and their addiction brought them here. 2. What future study needs to be done to answer any new questions you may have about your topic? A future study could conduct different results. It would be interesting to see if in a couple years a different drug was being abused as heavily as marijuana.