QRSS100: Qualitative Research on Teen Sexual Behavior Attitudes

This report, a student assignment for Qualitative Research Methods for Social Science, investigates the attitudes of school students towards unprotected sexual behavior. It aims to understand awareness levels and identify factors influencing risky behavior among teens. The research employs a qualitative approach, utilizing a case study strategy and a survey design with a questionnaire. The study focuses on students from Trafalgar Castle School in Ontario, Canada, and addresses ethical considerations, including informed consent, anonymity, and data confidentiality, adhering to the Tri-Council Policy Statement. The methodology section details the sampling technique, data collection process, and analytical methods. The report also critically assesses the study's adherence to ethical principles, highlighting the importance of respecting participants' autonomy, ensuring their welfare, and addressing the principle of justice within the research framework. The findings, to be presented using visual techniques, are intended to inform improvements in sex education and mitigate the incidence of unprotected sexual behavior among teens. The report is a valuable resource available on Desklib, offering AI-powered tools for students.

Running head: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE
Qualitative Research Methods for Social Science:
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE
Research proposal on ‘Determining the attitudes of the classmates towards unprotected
sexual behaviors’
Introduction
Unprotected sexual behavior is a major social issue among the teens in the first world
countries. This is also known as risky sexual behavior. Not only the teens, but a high percentage
of adults also indulge in unprotected sexual behavior which leads to various types of Sexually
Transmitted Diseases (STDs), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Among the teens, it has been observed that lack of proper
knowledge and awareness are the primary reasons that lead to sexual risk behaviors (Yoon,
Voith & Kobulsky, 2018). The adolescence is the time where children grow up, their hormone
level changes, and with greater exposure to internet and media, they grow curious about their
own body and their sexual orientation as well as desires. Hence, while having fun, the teens often
get involved in unprotected sexual behavior. According to the data of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, around one in every four teens in the USA contracts a STD and almost
one million women under the age of 20 years get pregnant each year (CRC Health Group, 2019).
These information clearly indicate that a large number of teens engage in risky sexual behavior.
Studies have also shown that various reasons lead to the risky sexual behavior among the teens,
such as, the belief that use of protection or condom decrease the sexual pleasure, their fear that
their partner would disapprove the use of protection, increased use of alcohol and drugs, lack of
knowledge and education about protection and abstinence, proper parental guidance about the
sexuality and lack of awareness about the effects of the unprotected sex such as unwanted teen
pregnancy, STDs, HIV and AIDS are some of those (Dupas, Huillery & Seban, 2018). Hence, it
is crucial to conduct a social research to get an idea about the attitude of the school students

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towards the unprotected sexual behavior so that the loopholes in the sex education in the schools
can be identified ethically and proper measures can be taken to reduce the incidences of
unprotected sexual behavior among the teens.
Research aim and objectives
The aim of this research study is to ethically explore the level of awareness and attitude
of the school students towards unprotected sexual behavior and take appropriate measures to
improve their knowledge about the effects of such behavior and prevent them from indulging
into risky sexual behavior in the most ethical manner.
The research objectives are:
 To investigate and understand the attitude of the school students below 18 years towards
unprotected sexual behavior
 To identify the factors that can lead to indulgence in unprotected sex among the school
goers of below 18 years
 To provide feasible and ethical solutions to mitigate the impact and spread of this social
problem among the teens
Research methodology
Research methodology refers to the plans and strategies undertaken to identify and gather
relevant information, analyze and interpret those for addressing the research objectives in the
most systematic and logical manner (Kumar, 2019). The methodology is determined on the basis
of the nature of the research topic and the objectives. In the given research study, the topic

3QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE
entails to a qualitative perspective about a social phenomenon and therefore, the research will
involve a qualitative primary research (Leavy, 2017).
As the research aims to understand the attitude of the school students towards the
unprotected sexual behavior, hence, qualitative information would be most suitable to gather the
perception of the students. Therefore, deductive research approach will be applied to get the
inferences from the data collected. Case study research strategy will be followed to narrow down
the sample for data collection and quantitative survey research design will be implemented.
Sources of research information
As stated above, primary data is required for meeting the research objectives for this
study. Perception regarding a social problem like risky sexual behavior among the teens and its
outcomes can be best understood from the data collected directly from the target population.
Hence, primary data will be collected from the students of Trafalgar Castle School in Ontario,
Canada.
Data collection process
Survey method of data collection will be adopted to collect qualitative information from
the students of Trafalgar Castle School in Canada. The target population for the study is the
students below 18 years, who are quite tech-savvy and access to advanced technology, such as,
personal laptops, tablets, smartphones and internet, and all types of media, including social
media. Thus, the sample consists of the students who fulfill the above criteria and all the 35
students from one section of the high school section will be considered as the sample for data
collection.

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Non-probability convenience sampling technique will be used for choosing the sample
from the Trafalgar castle school. In this technique, the selection choice of the sample is not
random, and each sample does not have equal chances of being chosen and under convenience
sampling, the sample is chosen on the basis of their proximity and convenience of access for the
researcher (Etikan & Bala, 2017). In this case, the high school students are considered as a
sample for data collection as they are most vulnerable to this social issue due to lack of proper
sex education at home and at school. Therefore, it is necessary to know about their perspectives
to take adequate actions for increasing their knowledge and prevent them from indulging in this
act.
The data will be collected via online survey method. The questionnaire will contain 5
close ended questions based on the research topic. The questionnaire will be prepared based on
secondary research, that is, information regarding the reasons highlighted by the leading health
care organizations, news articles, statistics depicting effects of unprotected sexual activities
among young men and women etc. The responses of the participants will be analyzed using
qualitative methods, such as, percentage of responses in the answer categories. The analytical
findings will be presented using visual techniques, such as, tables, graphs and charts. This will
help to understand the common perception of the students regarding the research issue.
Ethical implications of the research
As the study involves primary research using primary data, collected directly from the
target sample, that is, school students of 18 years and above, hence, there are some ethical
considerations that must be met as a mandate. According to the Section 12: Research Ethics
Board policies, the data collection process must follow the principles designed in the Tri-Council

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Policy Statement “Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans” (TCPS). As per the
guidelines in Article 1.1 of the TCPS, human dignity should not be hampered during the data
collection process and this is based on three fundamental principles, namely, ‘Respect for
Persons, Concern for Welfare and Justice’ (Janovicek, 2020). The research topic is highly
sensitive as sexual activities and preferences of people are extremely personal and asking
questions about those might make them feel annoyed and their privacy violated (Trevethan,
2017). Therefore, the researcher must be very careful about choosing the wordings for the
questionnaire and must collect informed consent from each of the participants before data
collection starts.
In this case, informed consent will be taken from each of the respondents before the data
collection process by explaining the research objectives, purpose and risks very clearly. This
would enable them to exercise their autonomy, that is, freedom of voluntary participation, and
they will also be informed that they can withdraw their participation at any point of time.
Anonymity and data confidentiality conditions will be strictly followed as collection of personal
and sensitive information might hamper their welfare by creating risks like reputation damage
among peers and for family in the society, and might affect their relationships (Ryen, 2016).
Secondly, ensuring anonymity condition would also make the participants to provide more
truthful responses.
Critical assessment of study using research ethics criteria
According to the TCPS ethical policies, the autonomy of the respondents should be
respected, in terms of their judgment and freedom of choice, and that will be seeked through
informed consents. Their understanding of the research issue, purpose and objectives must be

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ensured. Secondly, for ensuring the welfare of the people, it is moral obligation of the researcher
to protect their privacy by following the conditions of anonymity and data confidentiality. They
should also be informed about the potential risks, which should be assessed by the participants
beforehand so that they are not exposed to unnecessary risks from the research process. Thirdly,
the principle of justice ensures that the benefits as well as the burdens of the study are equally
distributed. This implies that vulnerable people or group should be given special consideration,
which in this case will be given to the 18 years old students taking part in a research study with a
highly sensitive topic (Janovicek, 2020).
In the given study, the first two ethical policies of TCPS are being followed quite
transparently, through the collection of informed consent from the participants, explaining them
the risks of the study, their autonomy, data confidentiality and anonymity in the data collection
process. The wordings of the questionnaire will also be sensitive so that the participants do not
feel their privacy to be getting violated. However, the survey process does not fulfill the justice
principle as there the burden and benefits cannot be shared equally. Although the outcome of the
study will bring benefits to the students through the increase of knowledge regarding unprotected
sexual behavior and its effects, and the purpose of the survey questionnaire will reflect this
implication.

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References
CRC Health Group. (2019). Unprotected Sex | CRC Health Group. Crchealth.com. Retrieved 12
March 2020, from https://www.crchealth.com/troubled-teenagers/unprotected-sex/.
Dupas, P., Huillery, E., & Seban, J. (2018). Risk information, risk salience, and adolescent
sexual behavior: Experimental evidence from Cameroon. Journal of Economic Behavior
& Organization, 145, 151-175.
Etikan, I., & Bala, K. (2017). Sampling and sampling methods. Biometrics & Biostatistics
International Journal, 5(6), 00149.
Janovicek, N. (2020). Historians and the Tri-council policy statement on research involving
humans.
Kumar, R. (2019). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage Publications
Limited.
Leavy, P. (2017). Research design: Quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, arts-based, and
community-based participatory research approaches. Guilford Publications.
Ryen, A. (2016). Research ethics and qualitative research. Qualitative research, 31-48.
Trevethan, R. (2017). Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values: foundations, liabilities, and
pitfalls in research and practice. Frontiers in public health, 5, 307.
Yoon, S., Voith, L. A., & Kobulsky, J. M. (2018). Gender differences in pathways from child
physical and sexual abuse to adolescent risky sexual behavior among high-risk
youth. Journal of adolescence, 64, 89-97.

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Appendix
Survey Questionnaire
Dear student,
The purpose of the survey is to gather information about the perception and attitude of
the young people towards unprotected sexual behavior. This is a social issue, which results in
many undesirable events and hence, the education and awareness about the risky sexual behavior
should be increased among the teens and adolescents. To understand the gaps in the knowledge
and perception regarding this social issue, this research process is being undertaken. The
outcome of the study aims to improve the content and implementation of the sex education in the
school that would help to make our lives better.
Please note that filling up this survey form does not require any of your personal details.
The data will be confidential and will be used only for educational purpose. It also does not
contain any risk to your mental as well as physical health and reputation in the school and
society.
Kindly give your informed consent for participating in this survey and filling up the
entire survey form as truthfully as possible.
Thank you,
[Name of the researcher]

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1. Please mention your gender
a) Male
b) Female
2. Are you well aware about the possible consequences of unprotected sexual behavior?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Not sure
3. According to you, what is the best process to learn about unprotected sexual behavior and
its consequences? (Please select all that apply)
a) Sex education in school
b) Parental guidance
c) Lectures in YouTube
d) Social media articles and channels
e) Newspapers and magazines
f) Others
4. Are you aware about the global statistics regarding the STDs, HIV, AIDS, pregnancies
and deaths among the teens and young people caused by unprotected sexual activities?
a) Yes
b) No
c) May be
5. Have you ever engaged in unprotected sexual activity?
a) Yes
b) No