Research Proposal - Cyber Bullying Among Young Adults

This research proposal focuses on cyber bullying among young adults, its impact, and ways to prevent it. It includes two proposals, one based on qualitative research methods and the other on quantitative research methods. The study aims to derive the extent of the adverse impact that cyber bullying can have on young adults living in American cities and towns. The research population for this study will comprise of people who are studying at colleges and universities in major American cities and towns. The research will specifically focus on young people who are in the age group of twenty to twenty-five years, and who are enrolled in Bachelor’s and Master degree programs in important American towns and cities such as Washington DC, Los Angeles, New York, who make increasing use of the internet and mobile phones and who have experienced cyber abuse or who have witnessed cyber bullying in some for or the other.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL – CYBER BULLYING AMONG YOUNG ADULTS
Research Proposal – Cyber Bullying among Young Adults
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL – CYBER BULLYING AMONG YOUNG ADULTS
Introduction
Cyber bullying is the type of bullying that occurs over the digital medium via devices
such as tablets, laptop and desktop computers and cellular phones. Cyber bullying may occur
through apps, text and SMS. It can also take place online on gaming forums and social media
platforms where it is possible for people to take part in, share or view content (Wang et al.,
2017). The act of cyber bullying is one that entails the posting, sharing or sending of harmful,
mean, false or negative content about a particular individual to another person. It can include the
sharing of private or confidential information about other people who are caught in humiliating
or embarrassing situations. At times, the act of cyber bullying can really cross the line and it can
be regarded as criminal or unlawful behavior (Balakrishnan & Fernandez, 2018).
While the effects of cyber bullying are those that are seen to vary quite a bit, it is
illustrated by research that cyber bullying affects the youth of a nation far more adversely than it
affect’s a country’s adult population. Youth are in a position to suffer greatly the consequences
of cyber bullying because they still lack the emotional maturity and wisdom that is needed to
ignore the negativity that comes with such bullying behavior (Lee, 2017). Young adults who face
bullying behavior on online forums are seen to suffer from mental conditions such as anxiety and
depression, unhappiness and loneliness and are often deprived of sleep for the most part (Pfetsch,
2017). With the use of the mobile phone and the internet becoming increasingly common among
young people in each and every part of the world, cyber bullying is likely to become a serious
problem in the near and in the distant future (Kurcaburun et al., 2018). In the context of USA, a
lot is being done on the part of government and the civil society to spread awareness about cyber
bullying and the many different ways by which cyber bullying can be prevented and combated.
A handbook has been released by the Boy Scouts of America in 2008 that details all the
guidelines that need to be followed in order to deal with and prevent online bullying. In August
2012, an organized movement took place in the USA that aimed at making the act of revenge
porn completely illegal. The month of October is known as National Bullying Prevention
Awareness Month in the USA (Lee, 2017).
This assignment prepares two research proposals on the subject of cyber bullying
among young adults with one proposal being based on qualitative research methods and the

3RESEARCH PROPOSAL – CYBER BULLYING AMONG YOUNG ADULTS
other on quantitative research methods. Some of the key questions that will be covered under
both these proposals are the aim of the studies, the research questions to be answered, the
participants who are going to be involved, independent and dependent variables, issues
pertaining to reliability and validity and the potential ethical issues that need to be addressed
when doing research work on cyber bullying among young adults.

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1. Quantitative Research Proposal
1.1. Brief Introduction to the Research Study
The aim of the study is to derive the extent of the adverse impact that cyber bullying can
have on young adults living in American cities and towns. Cyber bullying is an activity that is
quite prevalent in America, especially among the youth of the nation, who make regular or
frequent use of electronic devices such as mobile phones and remain connected to the internet for
long hours in a day, both of which serve as platforms for cyber bullying activities (Lee, 2018).
1.2. Research Questions to be answered
Some of the important questions that this research seeks to answer are as follows –
RQ 1 – How negative is the effect of cyber bullying on the American youth?
RQ 2 – Does cyber bullying have long term or short term effects on the youth in America?
RQ 3 – What are the methods that can be adopted to control cyber bullying among young people
in America?
RQ 4 – What are the ways by which the act of cyber bullying can be prevented among young
people in America?

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1.3. Research Participants
The participants for this research will comprise of American university students that
includes students who are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate courses in American colleges.
It is university and college students who are being selected as the sample for the research study
because the use of internet and the social media is very high among American university
students, so it is certain that victims of cyber bullying and knowledge on the subject of cyber
bullying can be detected by speaking to students who are enrolled in American colleges and
universities. The participants for the research will be recruited on a voluntary basis. A circular
outlining the details of the research and the purpose of the research will be circulated on social
media and interest participants will be made to sign up. All information provided by prospective
participants at the time of sign up will be kept strictly confidential (Silverman, 2016).
1.4. Identification of Independent and Dependent Variables
The independent variables in the research process are the age of the participants and the time
period for which the study applies. The study is not at all dependent on the age of those taking
part in the research process and neither is it being limited by any specific time period. The
dependent variables in this particular situation are the responding variables or rather the subject
matter of the research, which in this case are the graduate and undergraduate students who are
being interviewed as part of the research process. The research is going to depend quite heavily
on the answers or the information that is provided by the research subjects, that is the sample
population that has been drawn up for this particular study, namely the graduate and
undergraduate students who are enrolled at colleges and universities in American cities and
towns (Bryman, 2017).
1.5. Issues related to Reliability and Validity
The answers to the research questions will be derived by circulating a detailed questionnaire
among the research participants. The questionnaire will be circulated among the research
participants on social media as well as through email chain. The questionnaire will comprise of
twenty questions, all of which will be written in comprehensive English language and which the
respondent population is going to find easy to answer. A multiple choice answering format is
what the research participants will be subjected to when answering the questions contained in the
survey (Bryman, 2017).
Reliability refers to the extent by which studies are capable of being repeated and whether or
not similar types of results could be obtained (Bryman, 2017). Research consistency serves as
quite an important principle when it comes to the matter of reliability. It is expected that the
results that will be generated upon doing the research will be hundred percent reliable because of
the fact that this will be quantifiable data. With regard to validity, it is expected that the answers
that are given by the sample research population can be trusted and regarded as valid, again, due
to the quantitative nature of the research method (Bryman, 2017).

6RESEARCH PROPOSAL – CYBER BULLYING AMONG YOUNG ADULTS
1.6. Potential Ethical Issues for the Study
Some of the potential ethical issues that are likely to arise in the course of doing this research
are anonymity, confidentiality and breach of trust as well as freedom. The research is going
to entail the participation of only those who are willing to take part in the research study. The
respondents will be briefed about the subject of the research and why it is taking place so that
they have full idea of why their participation is being coveted and what purpose their
participation is going to serve in the research process. The final outcomes or purpose of the
research will also be mentioned with clarity for the participants so that they are in the loop on
what is being done and why it is being done. All information that is provided as part of the
research process will be kept fully confidential. Even the identity of each and every respondent
will be safeguarded and will be divulged or made known only if the respondent desires that this
be the case. Further, with regard to ethical considerations. The questions that are contained in the
survey or the questionnaire that is circulated among the research participants will also be of an
impersonal nature. None of the respondents will be required to divulge or furnish personal details
or personal information as part of the research process, and they will have the freedom to opt out
of the research process anytime that they wish to (Brannen, 2017).
1.7. Methods of Data Analysis
The numerical and other responses that are generated for the survey are going to be
analyzed using a variety of computational techniques and using a specific software product
that is meant for quantitative data analysis known as STATA (Brannen, 2017).

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2. Qualitative Research Proposal
2.1. Brief Introduction to the Research Study
The aim of the study is to arrive at an understanding of how the increased use of cell phones
aggravates cyber bullying activities young adults in America. What the research specifically
aims to discover is the types of mental anxieties that are triggered in young Americans as a
consequence of the acts of cell phone cyber bullying that take place online. The purpose of the
study is primarily to develop recommendations and suggestions by which the negative effects of
cyber bullying through cell phones can be controlled and prevented from occurring again in the
future.
2.2. Research Question to be answered
Some of the key questions that are to be answered through the research work that is carried out
for this study are as follows –
RQ 1 – To what extent does the use of cell phones aggravate cyber bullying among young adults
in America?
RQ 2 – Are the negative effects of cyber bullying through cell phone use, among young people
in America long lasting?
RQ 3 – What are the ways and means by which cyber bullying via cell phones, and among
young people in America can be countered?
RQ 4 – What are some of the ways and means by which the trauma of cyber bullying as
conducted through cell phones, among young people in America may be significantly reduced?
2.3. Participants in the Research Study
The research population for this study will comprise of people who are studying at
colleges and universities in major American cities and towns. The research will specifically
focus on young people who are in the age group of twenty to twenty five years, and who are
enrolled in Bachelor’s and Master degree programs in important American towns and cities such
as Washington DC, Los Angeles, New York, who make increasing use of the internet and mobile
phones and who have experienced cyber abuse or who have witnessed cyber bullying in some for
or the other. The participants for the research will be approximately 30 in number and they
will be recruited by sending out feelers for the same via social media platforms. Interest
participants will be requested to sign up for participation in the research study and only
participants who are willing to take part in the study of their own volition will be subjected to the
process of investigation (Glaser & Straus, 2017).

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2.4. Qualitative Research Methods to be used
The qualitative research methods that will be put to use as a part of this study are focus
group discussions and in-depth personal interviews. The focus group discussions will be carried
out with four to five people at a time while the in-depth personal interviews will entail
discussions that are conducted on a one to one basis. Additionally, participant observation
behavior will also be utilized as a part of this study, with the behavior and mannerisms of
research participants being observed minutely for the purpose of investigation (Glaser and
Straus, 2017).
2.5. Importance on the Issues of Trust, Credibility, and Transferability
Issues of trust and credibility are those that need to be addressed as a part of this research
study. A degree of trust will have to be established with the respondents in order to get them to
fully open up to and answer well enough the questions that are being asked of them. Every effort
will be made to give the researchers the impression that the information that they reveal in the
course of the interviews and the focus group discussions will be kept entirely confidential and
that no violation of trust shall take place in this respect (Silverman, 2016).
Credibility is another important matter that will have to be addressed for this research, with
special preference being given for questioning or interviewing to those who have been at the
receiving end of cyber bullying. The research will zero in on participants who have been direct
victims of cyber bullying and who have a lot to voice on the matter. The next preference will be
given to those who have friends and family members who have been victims of cyber bullying
and who have seen such friends and family go through a harrowing time as a result (Flick, 2018).
With regard to transferability, the context of the research will finally be transferred from cyber
bullying among the youth in general, to specifically cyber bullying as it is seen to affect bright
students, students who are transgender or who belong to the LGBTQ community and students
who are physically weak or disabled and who are therefore natural victims of such bullying
behavior (Silverman, 2016).

9RESEARCH PROPOSAL – CYBER BULLYING AMONG YOUNG ADULTS
2.6. Potential Ethical Issues for the Study
Some of the potential ethical issues that will be considered for this research study are
informed consent, beneficence and respect for confidentiality and anonymity. The consent of all
the respondents or participants of the research study will be procured prior to getting them
involved in the actual research work that is, before subjecting them to the process of being
interviewed (Glaser & Straus, 2017). Every effort will be made to ensure that the participants
are involved in the research of their own volition and not because they have been coerced into
taking part in the study. Beneficence will also be a major issue that is addressed as a part of the
research study. The research work will not be aimed at harming any particular person. Rather it
is hoped that the answers to the research questions will help in developing the solutions that are
needed to bring cyber bullying among young adults to a complete halt, with efforts being made
in this respect to ensure that such a form of bullying does not arise again. Finally, all information
that is revealed by the respondents in the course of the interviews and the focus group
discussions will be kept fully confidential and the identity of the respondents will also be kept a
hundred percent anonymous if they desire this (Flick, 2018). The identity of those taking part in
the research process will be well protected and although the recruitment of the research
population will involve signing up online for participation, the online details of the prospective
participants will be kept fully confidential so that no one other than the person doing the research
is aware of the details and personal information of the participants. The participants will be given
the flexibility and the freedom to opt out of the research process anytime that they wish to
(Silverman, 2016).

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References
Balakrishnan, V., & Fernandez, T. (2018). Self-esteem, empathy and their impacts on
cyberbullying among young adults. Telematics and Informatics, 35(7), 2028-2037.
Brannen, J. (2017). Mixing methods: Qualitative and quantitative research. Routledge.
Bryman, A. (2017). Quantitative and qualitative research: further reflections on their integration.
In Mixing methods: Qualitative and quantitative research (pp. 57-78). Routledge.
Flick, U. (2018). An introduction to qualitative research. Sage Publications Limited.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (2017). Discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative
research. Routledge.
Kırcaburun, K., Kokkinos, C. M., Demetrovics, Z., Király, O., Griffiths, M. D., & Çolak, T. S.
(2018). Problematic online behaviors among adolescents and emerging adults:
Associations between cyberbullying perpetration, problematic social media use, and
psychosocial factors. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1-18.
Lee, E. B. (2017). Cyberbullying: Prevalence and predictors among African American young
adults. Journal of Black Studies, 48(1), 57-73.
Pfetsch, J. S. (2017). Empathic skills and cyberbullying: relationship of different measures of
empathy to cyberbullying in comparison to offline bullying among young adults. The
Journal of genetic psychology, 178(1), 58-72
Silverman, D. (Ed.). (2016). Qualitative research. Sage.
Wang, X., Yang, L., Yang, J., Wang, P., & Lei, L. (2017). Trait anger and cyberbullying among
young adults: A moderated mediation model of moral disengagement and moral
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