Proposal and Outline & How To

This site gave a easy-to-follow tutorial on how to write a research proposal or dissertation.  Obviously, the first part of the paper is the introduction.  It is important to clearly state the research question.  In this paragraph, it is necessary to get the attention of the audience and be concise as well.  The next part is considered the problem statement, where you define and present the question, or issue, at hand.  Here is where you ask yourself many questions, and your issue is severely tested.  Examples of such questions are: “is the intention of the research expressed clearly?” and “are the hypotheses, when applicable, well formulated and lucidly articulated?” (“Dissertation proposal writing,” ) Once this is finished, the “conceptual framework” is stated.  In other words, this is where necessary background knowledge should be given to make the audience more aware of what the writer is trying to say.  In this section would be where history or vocabulary is stated.  After this is the “method” paragraph, where the ways a research issue being examined are laid out.  This is where the means by which a paper to be written and researched are stated.  Finally, a bibliography (or reference list in APA) and an appendix are added where references that aided in writing the proposal are mentioned (“Dissertation proposal writing,” ). 

http://www.people.ku.edu/~ebben/tutorial_731.htm 

Reference List 

Dissertation proposal writing tutorial. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.people.ku.edu/~ebben/tutorial_731.htm 

In the site that I found, it gave four suggestions on how to write an outline.  It was very brief and to the point.  When writing headings, one should keep the same form of speech.  If you are using verbs in one heading, you should use them in the other headings as well.  Headings should all have general aspects in common, but not be the same thing.  Subheadings to the main headings should never be as important as the headings, but have importance and relivance.  Headings should be very general, and subheadings should be focused and more detailed.  And finally, headings should have multiple subheadings.  This ensures that you have a lot of related topics and information to discuss in your paper and that subtopic of the main paper (“Four main components,” ). 

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/01/ 

Reference List 

Four main components for effective outline. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/01/ 

Proposed Research Topic:  Partner satisfaction and components leading to climax across genders in heterosexual relationships.

Introduction:  Climax, has different definitions depending on the field of study in which it is being observed.  Medically, however, climax is referred to as “consisting of a series of involuntary muscle contractions in the anus, lower pelvic muscles, and sexual organs, accompanied by a sudden release of endorphins providing a feeling of euphoria” (“Definition of orgasm,” 2004).  It is my belief, nonetheless, that orgasms are experienced uniquely to gender, that it is not merely physiological, and each gender has specific and exclusive components and preferences to what allows them to reach climax.  Within heterosexual relationships, I am curious to study what leads to partners becoming satisfied, and if the presence or absence of climax affects overall satisfaction for opposite partners.  In other words, I am interested in researching what leads to partner satisfaction in sexual relationships, and how climax is reached particularly for genders.  Specifically though, I am eager to research relationships of college students in heterosexual relationships.  It is my goal that by the end of my research, I will have researched and discovered what characteristics of climax are for each gender, and how partner satisfaction matters within genders.  It is important to me that this project educates couples on what aspects are generally acceptable sexually, and how climax or lack thereof can effect the relationship.

Background:  In the past, a lot of attention has been given to sexuality.  Physiological and empathic sexual responses have been heavily researched, as well as STD prevalence in ethnicities and age groups and central nervous system injuries effects on the ability to reach climax.  One study done by E. Byers,came to the conclusion that women feel orgasm interpersonally, and it therefore related to how strong the emotional connection between the partners is (Byers, 2001).  Another study done by Haning and O’Keefe stated that orgasms are empathetic, and that the sexual response from partners affects the other partners climax satisfaction (Haning & O’Keefe, 2008).   Therefore, it is safe to say that topics of sexuality surrounding my research prospect have been well studied, but after research done myself I have found that my topic is rather unique.  I will use information regarding physiological necessities for climax in males and females.  Also, I will employ the information I found regarding college student “hook ups” to compare with my findings on heterosexual committed relationships. Paul and Hayes found that men and women differ in how they viewed the after-effects of casual hook-ups, but generally found common ground on the hook-up itself (Paul & Hayes, 2002).   It will be necessary for me to research and describe background information relating to sexuality, as well as defining key terms I reach along the way that my audience may or may not be familiar with.  I am interested in exploring the stereotypes related to genders and sex, so a lot of my background research will be related to sexuality in committed heterosexual relationships.  During preliminary research, most of what I found was from a feministic approach, so I will need to research further to find male points of view on sexuality to use to prove or disprove stereotypes.  The stereotypes or assumptions I have are as followed:

• Most women prefer/need to have an emotional connection with their partner in order to experience climax.
• Men are more driven by physical desires than emotional connections when it comes to sexual intercourse.
• Women are more likely to feel satisfied with a sexual experience while in a relationship, than in a “one-night stand”.
• If a partner is having difficulties with climax, then the other partner’s overall satisfaction with their sexual relationship will go down, despite their own sexual satisfaction.  I believe that this idea will be more prevalent in woman than in men.
• Because woman and men are created differently physiologically, they then must experience orgasm is gender specific ways.

Method:  My research will be conducted in two different ways.  First, it is my hope that I will find at least five different couples on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus; but I would prefer to study ten.  I intend to videotape, with consent, a session with the couples present together and then another session with the couples interviewed apart.  This is so that I can see their body language on video in response to their partner’s feelings and answers to the questions I will ask.  I will come up with a list of questions pertaining to their sex lives, and their overall satisfaction with their sexual relationship.  I will also include questions about their specific preferences to reach climax, and ask gender related questions about this.  First, I will ask these questions to them as a couple.  After this, I will separate them and ask them the same questions and supplemental questions focused on their gender to truly ascertain their satisfaction with their sexual relationship.  By interviewing them as a couple I hope to see how each partner’s response affects the others, specifically if it affects the response of the other in a negative or positive way.  By interviewing them separately, I hope to find what components of climax are exclusively related to gender and what components, if any, are shared by the genders.  When discussing satisfaction, I will have them rate their sex lives on a one to ten scale, ten being extremely satisfied.  I will likely give these questions orally and in written form.

                Next, I would like to mass distribute a questionnaire to the IUP campus.  Questions will relate to their sexual satisfaction, how they view sex in relationships, and what aspects of sex are gender specific in their opinion.  For example, I may provide scenarios and have respondents choose whether a female or male is more likely to behave or have feelings as the situation is described.  Also, I may include questions related to how the respondent would react if their partner felt a certain way after a sexual encounter.  At the bottom of the survey respondents may give their own genders and ages.

Limitations:  Time constraints will have a significant effect on how my research is conducted.  Because I only have a semester to finish this, my topic is significantly more focused and I am concerned that my research paper will lack depth that more time and a broader scope would be able to give it.  Also, time will affect how many times I am able to question and videotape my interviews with the couples, and their own time restraints will affect how many couples I have the ability to interview.

                Another limitation I have is the small number of couples that will be interviewed.  I am worried that this will not provide an unbiased sample of the college population; but unfortunately time restraints will not allow me to sample a larger size.  The mass distribution of a survey may counter this, but I am unsure.

Delimitations:  Because my topic is focused on heterosexual relationships and excludes homosexual relationships, I have allowed myself more time to focus and conduct specific research rather than to be broad which would take more time.  Also, I will limit my amount of couples to a maximum of ten in order to make the most of the time I have, and not have too much information to synthesize in the small amount of time I have to complete it. 

Reference List

Byers, E. (2001). Evidence for the importance of relationship satisfaction for women’s sexual functioning. Women & Therapy, 24(1/2), 23-26. Retrieved from CINAHL with Full Text database.

Haning, R., O’Keefe, S., Beard, K., Randall, E., Kommor, M., & Stroebel, S. (2008). Empathic sexual responses in heterosexual women and men. Sexual & Relationship Therapy, 23(4), 325-344. Retrieved from CINAHL with Full Text database.

 McCabe, M. (1999). The interrelationship between intimacy, relationship functioning, and sexuality among men and women in committeed relationships. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 8(1), 31-38. Retrieved from CINAHL with Full Text database.

 Paul, E., & Hayes, K. (2002). The casualties of ‘casual’ sex: a qualitative exploration of the phenomenology of college students’ hookups. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, 19(5), 639-661. Retrieved from CINAHL with Full Text database.

 Wight, D., Parkes, A., Strange, V., Allen, E., Bonell, C., & Henderson, M. (2008). The quality of young people’s heterosexual relationships: a longitudinal analysis of characteristics shaping subjective experience. Perspectives on Sexual & Reproductive Health, 40(4), 226-237. Retrieved from CINAHL with Full Text database.

Outline

1. Introduction
   1. Background on climax
   2. Physiology of male and female reproductive systems
   3. Stereotypes associated with gender in heterosexual relationships
   4. Heterosexual relationships in college settings
   5. Characteristics of sexual satisfaction in heterosexual couples
2. Literature Review
   1. Haning, R., O’Keefe, S
   2. Wight, D., Parkes, A., Strange, V., Allen, E., Bonell, C., & Henderson, M
   3. McCabe, M.
   4. Byers, E
   5. More Articles…

1. Methods
   1. Interviews on 5 to 10 couples
   2. Mass Survey given to 50 people on campus

1. Research Results and Analysis
   1. Discussion of Interviews and results of interviews
   2. Discussion of survey and results of surveys
   3. Discuss relations of both results
2. Discussion and Comparison
   1. Compare common stereotypes with results of research
   2. Discuss thesis and how it was proven
3. Conclusion
   1. Relay final conclusions about data and first assumptions
   2. Suggest further research
   3. Suggest what could have been done to improve upon research conducted