Do Blondes Really Have More Fun - Research Proposal Example

Do blondes really have more fun? A quantitative approach to an age-old question 1. Research aims The research question which this study will attempt to answer is: “Do blondes really have more fun?” This question refers to a common saying in the Western world, “Blondes have more fun”, which suggests that a group of people with blonde hair, namely, blonde women, enjoy life more and have more fun than women with other hair colours. This research will attempt to examine scientifically whether this popular saying has any basis in fact, or whether it is merely a stereotype with no truth to it. The research question may be stated as follows: Is there any correlation between a person’s hair colour and the level of fun or enjoyment she experiences? All research conducted to date indicates that it is not true that blondes have more fun (Rosenthal, 2004). Logic also suggests that there is no reason why blonde women should enjoy life more than women with other hair colours. Furthermore, most women in the world have dark or black hair, and a much smaller percentage have blonde or red hair (ibid.). Therefore, this study assumes that blonde women do not, in fact, have more fun. The hypothesis is thus: No correlation emerges between hair colour and level of fun. Should the results of the study disconfirm this hypothesis, it would be necessary to examine the reasons for this. It is possible that the stereotypical perception of blondes having more fun is so widespread that other people treat blonde women in such a way as to actually make their lives more enjoyable or fun—a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. It is hoped that the current study will shed some light on such questions. 2. Research design and methods 2.1. Variables The independent variable is hair colour and the dependent variable is “level of fun”. In the case where women have artificially changed their hair colour, both the natural and the artificial colour will be recorded, and correlations for each of these colours with “level of fun” will be examined. 2.2 Participants An undergraduate class (or more than one class if necessary) in psychology will be asked to participate in this research, and permission will be sought from the relevant lecturer/s and the university authorities, such as the ethics committee. Only women students will be asked to participate in this research, although it is possible that at a later date a similar study might include men. All female students within the undergraduate class or classes will be asked to participate, but participation will be voluntary. Thus no randomisation is used, and this is a convenience sample (McCall, 1990). Participation is anonymous, that is, subjects will not be asked to give their names or any other identifying details. Factor analysis will not be used in analysing the results of thus study, which means that a sample size of about 50 would be sufficient for the purposes of statistical calculations. However, if it is possible to get 100 or more subjects, this would be preferable (ibid.). This may mean that two or three undergraduate classes are needed. 2.3 Research methodology This study will utilise a quantitative methodology, with a correlational and non-experimental design. Data will be obtained using a survey format in the context of a single cross-sectional study (Rosenthal & Rosnow, 1991). Instructions and an example of how to fill in the items will be printed at the top of the questionnaire, and a visual example will also be given on the whiteboard or overhead screen in class when the questionnaires are handed out. The measuring instrument is a questionnaire designed to collect information about the “level of fun” which women perceive in their own lives. It was decided that this subjective perception of fun was a more useful indicator than objective indices such as how often a woman plays sport, goes to parties, travels, goes shopping and so on. These seemingly objective measures would be impossible to standardise given that people live in very widely differing life circumstances. The items tap perceptions of fun in different areas of life, such as relationships, work, travel, sports and money. Four examples of questionnaire items are given below; certain items need to be reverse scored (e.g. items 2 and 9 below). Apart from the first section of the questionnaire, which asks for factual information on height, weight, eye colour and hair colour, the items take the form of a Likert scale, in which the subject rates her opinion on a scale from 1 to 5, or from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” (Rosenthal & Rosnow, 1991). The questionnaire is divided into segments according to which dimension is being tapped (e.g. relationships, work). Table 1: Examples of items on “Fun” scale Item number Item wording strongly agree agree neither disagree strongly disagree 2 I do not enjoy taking part in or watching sports and outdoors activities 1 2 3 4 5 5 I laugh a lot when I am with my partner and/or friends 1 2 3 4 5 9 I never buy luxury items or “fun” things that are not essentials 1 2 3 4 5 15 I enjoy travelling and meeting new people 1 2 3 4 5 2.4 Research procedure After obtaining permission to carry out the study, the questionnaire will be presented to the undergraduate class/es. A degree of deception is necessary for this research, and it is deemed that the deception is not of a kind that might be harmful to the participants. Should participants be told the true aim of this study, they may distort their responses, either consciously, if they wish to prove or disprove the idea that blondes have more fun, or unconsciously if they are personally influenced by this social stereotype. For this reason participants will be told that this study is examining the relationship between women’s physical characteristics, in general, and their general outlook on life. They will be presented with questions relating to their height, weight, eye colour and hair colour. For the question on hair colour, they will have the option to indicate whether they dye their hair or not, and if so, what the original and chosen hair colours are. 2.5 Data collation and analysis The completed questionnaires will be collected and data-captured. Only the researcher and possibly a university-approved assistant will see the final results, to ensure the confidentiality of the participants. The results will be analysed statistically using either the SPSS or SAS computer programs. In terms of analyses, relationships will be sought between hair colour and “level of fun”. Both original and artificial hair colours will be analysed in this way. The test procedure to be used is a comparison of means, with t-tests (Rosenthal & Rosnow, 1991). The mean scores of each participant’s questionnaire will be calculated, and the resulting score will indicate the person’s “level of fun”. T-tests will be carried out to see if the mean score is higher for blondes, as a group, than it is for non-blondes. The groups being compared are thus independent of each other, namely 1) blondes versus non-blondes, and 2) natural versus artificial blondes. The t-tests for independent groups will determine if there is a statistically significant difference in the mean “fun level” scores across these different groups, or whether any such difference is more likely due to chance or error. 3. Ethics The instrument used in this study is not a clinical one, and there is a negligible chance of negative consequence following its use in the current context, since the items do not cover highly personal or emotive issues such as sexuality, drug use or trauma. The wording of questions is unlikely to be experienced as invasive. A covering letter will be given to each participant assuring her of anonymity and confidentiality, and participants will be told that their participation is entirely voluntary and will bring neither beneficial nor harmful consequences. They will also be told that they can withdraw at any time. In terms of the university requirements, whenever deception is used in a study, the true nature of the study must be revealed as soon as possible after the research is complete, and at this point participants are invited to withdraw from the research. In compliance with this, the participants will be asked to complete the questionnaire while they are in the lecture hall during a lecture period, and will be asked to remain in their seats after finishing the questionnaire until the last person has completed it. At this point the true aim of the study will be explained, and it will be explained why the deception was necessary. Participants who wish to withdraw their questionnaire from the research will be invited to do so. Those who are happy to be part of the study will then hand in their anonymous questionnaires and leave the room. All participants will be invited to contact the researcher by email if they are interested in knowing the results of the study. 4. Limitations and implications of the study The fact that the sample consists of university undergraduates means that the sample is not representative of the general “blonde female” population. For example, blonde students are likely to have less spending money than their blonde counterparts who are earning, and this could affect the students’ perception and experience of “fun” in their lives. In addition, a convenience sample is used, which again means the sample may not be representative of the population under study. Readers should thus approach the study’s findings and conclusions with caution. Furthermore, the non-random and cross-sectional nature of the data suggest that the interpretation of results should be limited to the group examined at the time of the research. Finally, the smaller the sample size, the more caution should be applied when attempting to generalise these results to the broader “blonde female” population. In addition, it was not possible to rule out all other independent variables which might have affected the “fun level” score. These variables are thus considered confounding variables since they, rather than hair colour, may explain the fun level scores. The implications of this study will rest on its results. If no evidence is found for a relationship between hair colour and “level of fun”, then the research results may be summarised and published in a journal. However, should it appear that there is in fact a correlation between “fun” and hair colour, further research will be needed to confirm this finding, and to test exploratory hypotheses regarding the reason for this phenomenon. References 1) Baron, R.A. & Byrne, D. (1991) Social Psychology: Understanding Human Interaction (6th ed). Boston: Allyn & Bacon 2) Guidelines for the University of Canterbury Human Ethics committee http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/humanethics/apply.shtml. Accessed April 15 2007. 3) Kerlinger, F.N. (1986). Foundations of behavioral research (3rd ed). USA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers 4) MarketingProfs.com website. http://www.marketingprofs.com/Tutorials/blonds_fun.asp. Accessed April 17 2007. 5) McCall, R. (1990). Fundamental statistics for behavioral sciences (5th ed). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 6) Rosenthal, H. (2004). “Do blondes have more fun? The final word!”. At HairBotique.com. http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip8018.htm. Accessed April 17 2007. 7) Rosenthal, R. & Rosnow, R.L. (1991). Essentials of behavioral research (2nd ed). New York: McGraw Hill 8) 936 ABC Radio Hobart website. “Do blondes have more fun?” 18 March 2003. http://www.abc.net.au/hobart/stories/s809411.htm. Accessed April 15 2007. 9) Wolf, B. (June 21 2001) “Blondes have more fun”. ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/story?id=93041&page=1. Accessed April 16 2007. Read More