Thursday, October 14, 2010

Research Treatment: Foresight

Here is the plan for my research project with the working title 'foresight'. It is a rough plan and hasn't been put under scrutiny yet, but its soon to be beat into submission I am sure. Here goes!

The objective of this research study is to determine to what extent the role of planning for the future has upon the daily and long-term decisions of the American youth between the ages 12 and 21. Their decisions will be broken down into five focus groups:
1. Work Ethic
2. Social Relationships
3. Shopping Decisions
4. Eating and Health Decisions
5. Youth to Adult Transitional Decisions
Within each focus group a variety of questions will be addressed and evaluated through the use of interviews, social experimentation, and literature review.
Work Ethic involves any decisions made while working, which for most people in this focus group will be restricted to school work and non-career based jobs. Decisions examined in this area will focus around the what and why of procrastination, the distaste or enjoyment with school-related labor, and planning out the day and school year and how those decisions affect the future.
Social Relationships involve any decisions made that are outside of a work setting and are made with friends, teachers, or family members in mind. Decisions examined in this area will be based around romantic relationships and their longevity and goals, understanding the consequences of actions in the family or among peers, and where time is spent in relation to where goals are set.
Shopping Decisions involve any decision made when purchasing material objects or services. These may include but are not limited to food, cars, media sources, and clothes. Since income in the focus group is relatively low, expenses will be based around percentage of total income. Decisions examined in this area will be focused on the benefits or setbacks of saving money at this age, the affect that lower or higher income has on the individual at this time in their development, and also the extent to which objects purchased are used and benefit the buyer at the moment and in the future.
Eating and Health Decisions involve any choices made about treating ones body. Decisions in this area will be focused on the diet of subjects and their perception of how these will affect them in the future, the health habits of subjects and their perception of how these will affect them in the future, as well as the social standards set by surrounding culture and how that affects ones self image and health decisions.
Youth to Adult Transitional Decisions involve any choices made to prepare for the far future. For most individuals in our focus group these decisions will focus around the perception of their future and how society influences this, how planning for life after general education effects future success, and the difficulties and problems faced when planning for the far future.
Once these decisions have been evaluated, a final section will not only review the information that has been covered but will also offer advice on the benefits or setbacks of planning effectively for the future and maintaining and completing long-time and short-time goals.
The research compilation should leave the reader informed of the decisions being made daily around them, the consequences to these decisions, and how to better their life by making more worthwhile decisions based on this evaluation.

Sorry for its length, but I hope you enjoyed it! More information will be forthcoming!

1 comment:

  1. Pretty interesting. I could never have written a lit review in high school. It'll be cool to see what you find and what methods you use. You should definitely think about Communication Theory/Studies as a major or minor if you like doing this kind of stuff.

    sam L

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