Is a Student From an Affluent Home More Likely To Take a Gap Year - Research Proposal Example

? Topic: Is a from an affluent home more likely to take a gap year versus a from a low income home Introduction The time of transition from high school to college is of great importance in the life of a student. The decision of the professional career and the entire future depends upon this particular decision. However, it has been noticed that socio-economic conditions of the student’s family matter a lot in this regard. It has been a common observation that most of the students observe a one-year delay before getting enrolled into the college (MacDonald, 2008). Earlier, this tendency was more in poor students than the affluent ones as they had financial issues to be tended. But with the passage of time, there has occurred other factors which are causing students from well-off backgrounds to delay one year or two in the joining of college (Withers, 2009). The researcher has also noticed this tendency in his school and college fellows and other peers, and he is getting really anxious to know the causes of such an inclination. For this purpose, he has taken this research endeavor to find out if he is correct in his observation, and if yes, then what factors are triggering such actions. 1.1. RESEARCH Hypothesis To begin this research, the researcher has made a hypothesis that: ‘A student from an affluent home is more likely to take a gap year versus a student from a low income home’. 1.2. RESEARCH QUESTION In testing this hypothesis, the researcher is going to consider the following research questions: 1. What factors encourage the students to delay the joining of college after graduation from high school? 2. Is this delaying tendency more common in affluent students? 3. What other socio-economic issues may be regarded as important in this respect? 4. What effects does this tendency have on the future of these students? 5. Can this issue be resolved through counseling? 1.3. RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In pursuing the above mentioned research questions, the researcher is going to fulfill the following objectives: 1. To know the causes of yearly gap in the joining of college after high school 2. To assess the involvement of socio-economic factors in such decisions 3. To aware the students of the probable outcomes of this particular act 4. To provide help in resolving such issues 1.4. RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH The researcher believes that this research is of utmost and universal importance as delay in the joining of college is not limited to US only. Therefore, this exploration may help the scholars and researchers from other areas of the world to find out the reasons for such tendencies in their regions. 1.5. LIMITATIONS IN THE RESEARCH As this research is academic and not financed by any authority, therefore the researcher will surely face financial issues. As a pre-caution, the researcher is going to limit this study to the students of his nearby area and city. 1.6. STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER This research paper will follow the following structure: CHAPTER I: will be the Introduction in which the background, research questions, objectives, rationale of this study and the limitations that this paper would be facing will be discussed. CHAPTER II: will comprise of the Literature Review in which the models and theories of E-banking and the review of the researches already done on the security threats involved will be analyzed. CHAPTER III: will involve a description of the technical details of the method adopted in the research. The type and mode of the research, the process of data collection, presentation and analysis will also be examined. CHAPTER IV: will comprise of the presentation of the data obtained with the help of tables and charts. This will provide an objective view of this research to the readers. It will also present a logical and rational analysis of the facts found in the previous chapter. Graphs as well as narrative analysis will also be used to present researcher’s own interpretation objectively. CHAPTER VI: will be the concluding section of the paper in which the research queries, findings and interpretations will be summed up judiciously. 2. Literature Review Taking a ‘gap year’ between the high school and college is a common talk today. The late 20th century and the early 21st are full of the instances as well as the researches done on this topic. This practice is rapidly becoming common and the students are considering it widely. The most recent is a study by Sara Goldrick-Rab and Seong on Han (2011): ‘Accounting for Socioeconomic Differences in Delaying the Transition to College’. The authors have presented a number of factors which are, according to them, responsible for this delay. They believe that other than socio-economic gap, adolescence and course taking dilemmas also play a major role in this regard (Haigler & Nelson, 2005). Rowan-Kenyon (2007) also affirms this fact and states that: “differences in academic preparation and achievement accounted for approximately 10% of that gap”. 3. Methodology Research methodology is a step towards rationality and reasonability. When a researcher plans the approach of his study, he actually takes a critical view of the topic that he is dealing with, and the techniques and methods that he can adopt according to his objectives. As the topic of the researcher’s study is of investigative and subjective in nature, the researcher is going to adopt explorative approach in this research. 3.1. RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY Research philosophy is the thinking and intention of the researcher that lead him to the initiation of a particular research. The planning regarding the order of one’s research is called the research philosophy. The researcher is planning to make this research exploratory as he is going to find out the truth about his observation regarding the socio-economic status of the students who tend to delay joining of college. 3.2. RESEARCH DESIGN Research design is the approach towards a particular study with reference to its quantifiable and qualitative aspects. It is the way in which a researcher moves towards his objective. He either goes for figures, or critical analysis, or a combination of both. The researcher is planning to design this research as a combination of qualitative and quantitative approach as it will add to the validity as well as the reasonability of the research. For this purpose, a survey method is going to be adopted that will seek to gather a combination of descriptive data along with figures to support it. 3.3. DATA COLLECTION METHOD Data collection refers to the information that a researcher gathers and analyses to support his study and thesis. It involves the methods and tools through which a researcher gathers information and facts for further analysis. The researcher is going to use two tools of research in this study: questionnaires and interviews. A questionnaire will be designed of comprising 10 close-ended and 5 open-ended questions. The close-ended questions will be following Likert Scale to gather the intensity of response from the participants. The interview will comprise of semi-structured questions: the researcher will jot down 5 basic questions and the answers of the participants will lead to the formation of newer questions at the spot. 3.4. SAMPLE OF PARTICIPANTS “Every sample is a selected portion of the sampling units in the frame.” (Deming, 1990, p. 50) It refers to a representative part of the population selected by the researcher. There are various ways of sampling out of which the researcher will be selecting selected random sampling to serve his purpose. It can be defined as “…a method of sampling in which at every selection form the population all remaining elements (sampling units) in the population have the same probability of being included in the sample” (Bernstein and Bernstein, 1999, p. 90). 3.5. VALIDITY Validity is the measure of the applicability of one’s research in spatial sense. The question that it raises is whether the research is applicable to some particular era or not, and whether there is any geographical limitation involved. As far as the temporal validity is concerned, the researcher is going to focus the 21st century, especially the time between the years 2005 and 2011. 3.6. RELIABILITY The reliability of the research is confirmed by avoiding any prejudice and subjectivity while composing interviews and questionnaires, as well as while conducting them. For this purpose, all questions will be made objectively, and the researcher will counsel the participants prior to the response objectively. 3.7. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS Ethics make a man human. These are the manners and etiquettes which a man follows, not only to avoid violence, but also to ensure civility (Gregory, 2006). The researcher will consider the ethics of confidentiality and secrecy in his research and will not reveal the identities of either the respondents of the questionnaires as well as that of the interviewees. He will not force or blackmail anyone to participate in his research. The willing participants will be questioned and interviewed according to their own convenience of place and time. They will also be made sure that their names and particulars will not be revealed. Also, they will be assured that the researcher will not change or alter their responses in any case. As far as the interviews are concerned, the researcher will ask the consent for video recording from the participants. He will also take their permission to write down their important ideas in the form of keywords and random sentences in below each questioning category. Later on, the researcher will compile a copy of each interview and will send to the respective interviewees to confirm it again so that to avoid any ambiguity. The recommended changes will be made at once. 4. Discussion After gathering data with the help of above mentioned tools and techniques, the researcher will present and analyze the findings in this chapter. He is going to adopt descriptive technique for the analysis of interview as well as open ended questions. For the analysis and discussion on the objective data, the researcher is going to use bar charts and pie-graphs. He overall findings will be also be discussed later in this chapter. 5. Results The results will be drawn logically on the basis of data gathered and discussed. The researcher will try to avoid any bias in the compilation of the conclusion of this research so that the most valid and reliable information may be revealed through this study. If possible, the researcher will also offer some valuable recommendations to the students to consider in their decision of yearly gap between higher school and college. He will also try to suggest further areas of research to other scholars. References Goldrick-Rab, S, & Won Han, S. (2011). Accounting for socioeconomic differences in delaying the transition to college. The Review of Higher Education, 34(3), 423-445. Haigler, K, & Nelson, R. (2005). The gap year advantage: helping your child benefit from time off before or during college. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. Jacobs, j. (2011, February 21). ‘gap year’ can be forever. Retrieved from http://communitycollegespotlight.org/tags/gap-year/ MacDonald, G. J. (2008, June 18). Gap year before college gives grads valuable life experience. USA Today.Retrieved on June 20, 2011, from http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-06-18-gap-year_N.htm. Rowan-Kenyon, H. (2007). Predictors of delayed college enrollment and the impact of socioeconomic status. Journal of Higher Education, 78(2), 188–214. Withers, A. (2009). The gap-year guidebook 2010. New York: John Catt Educational Ltd. Read More