Aspect of the Effects of Green M&Ms on the Human Reproductive System - Coursework Example

M&MS Background The notion that green M&Ms candy somehow affects the human reproductive system is a pervasive one, and yet there is not much empirical research done on this question in the existing literature. Long dismissed as an urban myth, the idea that a certain color of candy in a bag of uniformly created candies may seem to be outlandish. However, given the power of advertising, as well as the noted connections between sexuality and chocolate, the idea of green M&Ms having an effect may not be so outlandish after all. “Perhaps the green M&M theory is more of an urban myth, like the story of the kid who mixed the soda and Pop Rocks and died. However, green is a color associated with healing and fertility, so perhaps there is a shred of truth to the whole shebang” (Edler, 2009). The current research proposes looking into this cultural myth of the green M&M, using a survey methodology, and concentrating on two main variables: the power of advertising, and the aphrodisiac value of chocolate. One recent poll suggests, “that while 87 per cent of men would opt for sex, 52 per cent of women would rather curl up with a bar of chocolate. It quizzed more than 1,500 adults and quoted one fan as saying that chocolate provided "guaranteed pleasure... chocolate never disappoints” (Royal, 2000). Using survey methods and qualitative analysis, the current research proposal highlights a focus on measuring attitude and belief of consumers regarding green M&Ms. Two survey sets will be used, to represent experimental and control groups. There has been no demonstrable proof in scholarly literature that green M&Ms have any effect on the human reproduction system. Then again, this lack of proof could just be the result of a dearth of interest in researchers regarding this subject, or could be a projection of the individual authors. Generally, cross sectional designs offer benefits to research that is willing to change as new variables come up throughout the process, whereas fixed designs offer benefits to research that is about stabilizing and controlling a certain state of variables or predictions. Cross sectional research often involves the establishment of a control group. This control group is not subjected to the same dependent variables as the test groups. Making controls for survey methods is somewhat more problematic, but a concomitant survey on chocolate products generally can provide a control balance. Overall, the plan is for the investigation to follow a pattern that is descriptive. Descriptive research is based on observation. This is a generalization that can be made about descriptive designs, which have their respective advantages and disadvantages. Surveys and experiments are examples of descriptive research designs, which are more qualitative than quantitative and have more aspects of this type of theory. Quantitative studies tend to rely on hard data and statistics that can provide generalizable results about a population, whereas qualitative studies could be more of a case example or subjective viewpoint. Procedures As noted above, the proposed research will use exploratory qualitative methods. A trend sampling analysis will be used as a sampling design. The sample will be chosen regarding one determination, that the respondent be aware of M&M’s “sexy green anthropomorphic M&M” advertising campaign, and is not connected in any way to the company that makes M&Ms. The sample size will be small, consisting of less than one hundred individuals contacted for participation. The population the research wants to draw conclusions about is a fairly standard population in terms of income, etc., but basic demographic information will be required. Since self report is being used, ethical problems seem to be limited. However, self-report surveys often bring inherent limitations to a survey methodology, because the information obtained tends to be superficial and encourages non-contradictory responses, when actual issues may be more complicated and contradictory. There is also the danger that those surveyed will not respond appropriately to the presented issues because they are not instantaneous in terms of response time, or they may not take the research seriously. The collusion of independent variables also represents a sensitive subject for many, and of course there is no way to match words and actions in definitive terms provided in the current report proposal. Those studied do represent larger populations, because this research will use qualitative sampling. The degree of randomization in sampling will have to be restricted somewhat due to geographical and cost constraints. The selected group for sampling is that of those who have seen the new M&M advertising campaign showing the green M&M as a sex object, and can reasonably be assumed to have some cognition of the issues presented in this proposal, due to their proximity to and involvement in popular culture. There are no specific criteria for selecting participants other than proximity and receipt of statement, so to that extent, the survey will be somewhat randomized. Anonymity will be highlighted due to the issues of privacy, and also to ensure that self-reportage is as clear and unbiased as possible under research conditions that may involve embarrassing answers (increases in libidinous feelings relative to green M&Ms, versus a control group who simply responds to questions about differently colored candies in general). Although surveys do have their drawbacks, in terms of their tendency to give false reports, the possibility of the respondent showing bias, and other associated issues, such as participants purposefully trying to skew results, surveys can shed a lot of light on issues, particularly in a study that seeks to measure attitudes and beliefs in a given population or populations. “Surveys can be classified by their method of data collection. Mail, telephone interview, and in-person interview surveys are the most common. Extracting data from samples of medical and other records is also frequently done. In newer methods of data collection, information is entered directly into computers” (Babbie, 1995). Generally the advantages of a self-administered survey are economy, speed, lack of interviewer bias, and the possibility of anonymity and privacy to encourage more candid responses on sensitive or embarrassing subjects. The research plan is to use a survey to measure the respondents, relative to their attitudes and beliefs, and then correlate their answers specifically using statistical methods. In terms of validity and reliability, the methodology appears sound; however, there are the abovementioned obstacles inherent to surveys. Expected results Relative to feelings of increased libido after eating green M&Ms compared to other chocolate products, it is expected that the majority of those surveyed will report negatively. Relative to awareness of the aphrodisiac value of chocolate products in general, it is expected that the majority of those surveyed will report positively. Relative to the impact of the M&M “sexy green anthropomorphic M&M” advertising campaign, it is expected that participants will respond negatively. It is expected that there will be more correlations in the experimental group, compared to the control group, regarding the aphrodisiac power of the green M&M, but it is also expected that this imbalance in correlations will not be statistically significant. Qualitative designs may be more organic and flexible when it comes to changing the direction of assessment parameters. Quantitative designs, on the other hand, focus more on specifics than the generalities suggested by these tendencies towards large sampling groups in quantitative research. Both methods of research show potential problems and limitations as well. Flexible and fixed designs also have different implications. Flexible designs tend more towards theory generation whereas fixed designs are more about theory testing, which shows how this experiment needs of a fixed design type. This is a generalization that can be made about these different types of designs, which have their respective advantages and disadvantages. Surveys and experiments are examples of fixed research designs, which are more quantitative than qualitative and have more aspects of this type of theory. It is expected that in this fixed, qualitative design proposed, there will be many extraneous variables, “particularly sociopolitical and sociocultural voices and perspectives (e.g., sociological studies, political science studies, legal studies, anthropological studies, race studies, class studies)” (Gadsen, 2004). There are also correlations that may be able to be made relative to gender roles and advertising, regarding the abovementioned green M&M ad campaign. REFERENCE Babbie, E. (1995). The Practice of Social Research. New York: Thompson Edler, M (2009). Green M&Ms: The original Viagra? http://www.onmilwaukee.com/market/articles/greenmandm.html Gadsen, G (2004). Does sex in advertising really affect viewers? Journal of Sex Research. Royal, B (2000). Foods for romance. Better Nutrition. Research: Experimental methods (2007). http://psy1.clarion.edu/mm/General/Methods/Methods.html Read More