Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous Research Propsal Research Propsal College is the great escape from anyone you know: the idea of being utterly free from any parental supervision, basking in your beginning of adulthood and bathing in activities your parents would not approve of. All of these sound nice, but there is a downfall to these activities. That down fall is alcohol abuse. This is an apparent and growing problem in college campuses around the United States. In this study, I wish to get in-depth in the students misuse of alcohol. Since colleges have been in place, there have been two institutions, which were started initially to reduce the amount of crime on the campus and create a stronger and well-rounded student. These two institutions are the athletic programs and Greek letter societies. The Greek letter society has existed on U.S. college campuses since the founding of the first university. This is also true with the Athletic programs, being instituted at the first university in the United States. Unfortunately in colleges today, these two establishments are now in competition for who has higher drinking rates, rather than who is a better student. In my research I will examine alcohol use and consequences related to substance abuse among students in fraternities and sororities and compare them to the athletes occurrence of alcohol abuse. In approaching my research I have reviewed many journals, these studies looked over the underling thought that getting young adults into sports it will promote a healthier lifestyles (Skolnick,1993). These studies were all bringing to sight that the alarming rate of alcohol abuse was more prominent and frequent when a student was involved in some type of sport (Leichiter, Meilman, Preseley & Cashin, 1998). One article even said that the athletes were at the center of binge drinking (Naughton, 1996). The studies done for the Greek societies were similar in the finding of alcohol consumption. They have found that the number of drinks a student had was significantly higher if they were in a fraternity or sorority (Grant, Harrigton, Brigham, Clayton, 1999). Alcohol use is normative on the American college campus (Presley, 1993), and Greek organizations have been identified anecdotally with excessive use for many years. Indeed, studies that have examined this perception have shown that alcohol consumption and negative experience related to alcohol are consistently greater in fraternities and sororities than in the general student population. In doing my research I will focus on the athletes and Greek letter societies, and the percentage of alcohol abuse to see who is consuming more alcohol. I will sporadically compare these results to the non-Greek and non-athlete student consumption of alcohol to give a base for these findings. This will show how the Greek's and athletes compare to their fellow students, which do not participate in either activity. These figures will come from a previous research done by the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly, which was conducted in March 27, 2000. My overarching question is; "How do Maine's Universities alcohol abuse in athletic programs and Greek lettering societies compare to the nation wide survey done by The Journal of American College Heath, in the time frame of October 2000 to May 2002?" In my completion of my research, I will then be able to show the Universities of Maine and where they stand in comparison to the nation. This will then let Universities decide what actions they can take to inform students about the effect of alcohol and what precautions they could take if they still continue to drink. By having this information, they will be able to get a firmer grasp on the situation. This will in turn enable them to put in effect sticker alcohol policies and repercussions if they get caught drinking or intoxicated. Then other types of studies may then be able to branch of the my research, maybe even enticing other states to evaluate there own universities problem with students alcohol abuse in Greek and athletic programs. Scholars may also continue in the area of Maine but look at the drug aspect in the Universities. This research allows many other scholars to question what makes these athletes and Greeks more likely to drink than the other students. My research would serve as a solid starting point for many others to pursue in various different directions. So by making this project a great step for solving the question where is alcohol more prevalent, so Universities can correct this problem at the starting point, before it becomes out of hand. A few limitations in this study are worth noting. First, the classification of respondents into the two different categories, intercollegiate athletics and Greek societies was based on students' self-reports. Some students may have misinterpreted or misrepresented their role in the group or the questions being asked of them, although I do not expect that this will occur in large numbers. Second, the survey required students to provide sensitive information about their alcohol use, their amount of consumption, and the effects it had on them while they were intoxicated. If revealed, this information could result in their being suspended from athletic participation. Although this could affect the data by encouraging athletes to underreport, the survey questionnaires and interviews will be anonymous, providing the respondents with adequate protection. Except for the possibility of suspension from athletics, the same concerns about sensitive information would apply to the Greek participants. I must understand the setting that the consumption of alcohol is occurring and the people whom are drinking around. I would tell my interviewees that they have complete secretly in the information the tell me, and if they wish there name and their Greeks name will be left out of the document. I will assure them that they will not be the only athletes or Greek organization wish will be interview therefore making them at ease about others finding out there true identity in this study. I will also have to be careful in approaching students because they may have had emotional experiences with other drinking and themselves. So I plan to be careful around people who seem threatened by questions that I ask and be open to hear there concerns around alcohol abuse. With the Greek society many of the "pledges" or new member candidates, change and slightly conform to the fraternity or sorority, to better explain this situation is a process called "Progressive Conformity" "Externally, these dominant features influence the degree to which individuals are attracted or repelled by an environment, and internally, they select and shape the behavior of participants in a coercive manner. Over time, human aggregated tend to homogenize, reinforce, and accentuate their own dominant characteristics" (Strange, 1986). Since athletics are very similar in socialization patterns to Greek organization we could also apply the Progressive Conformity to the athletes. As I approach my study I have two theories: 1) I believe that the Greeks will have a higher percentage of alcohol consumption than the athletes. 2) The Maine universities will have a higher amount of alcohol consumption than in the national survey. I will select 500 random athletes and 500 random Greeks in each university in Maine. Then I will call each sorority and fraternity at each University, and ask if I may conduct an in-depth interview with 3 of his or her active members, one of them being their president. Then by speaking with president and asking to observe in one of there "social gathering" or parties. I conduct a participant-observation twice in every university, whether it is a dorm, house or Greek social gathering. I will note at this time, I will be using two other researchers who are in graduate school in Maine, to help me carry out my study. In conducting my research I will use the triangulated study, which is a study that uses multiple data collection technologies designed to measure a single concept or construct (data triangulation.) The first type of study I will be using is Quantitative method. The direction of this method I have chosen is the self-report studies. I feel by using this method I can then start my study with a broad generalization in result being able to count the times Greeks consumed alcohol compared to athletes. This gives me a starting point from collecting the data from the self-reports I will be able to go in the direction where I could get more information about the drinking habits of an individual type scale on a typical college weekend. Also by using this broaden type of method, it should steer me towards the type of questions I will be asking my interviewees. Showing the interviewer was to probe and push to see if this is a normative behavior amongst their social group. The only downfall to this type of sampling is the possibility of a low response rate, which can be highered by second mailing notice. My second approach I will use a Qualitative Method. Since I will already have used a method that gave me broad generalizations, I will now use a method that will focus on what an individual drinks in a weekend. The type of qualitative method I will use is the in-depth interview. By giving me a chance to see these types or athletes and Greeks it will give me an understanding of how much they truly drink and if it varies depending on the week or if the drinking habits are fairly consistent. By conducting an interview I will also understand what makes this practice so enticing and desired. The disadvantages are the reality of in-depth interviews are time consuming and sometime costly. By conducting these interviews will also hopefully open up the gate, allowing me to observe what goes on in these craved parties. This is the most important link between the two types of methods, making them all relate, adding to a better understanding of the drinking world at campuses with Greeks and athletes. The last approach I will take is using once again the Qualitative Method, but being a participant-observer. This will allow me to grasp the situation from an outsiders point. I will be able to observe the actions that take place when alcohol is a factor in these social gatherings. Observing the patterns, types, and amounts of alcohol being consumed, will add to aid my research to help other understand the effects it has on women and men. I can observe why alcohol abuse is so abundant in athletes and Greeks, by observing the settings and attitudes towards the drinkers and nondrinkers. This will help me to explain my data when presented in my study, enabling people to understand the whole spectrum involved around alcohol abuse with these groups. The disadvantages I might be faced with are the cautiousness and reluctance to have the same drinking habits as usual. This may be solved by asking the president of the fraternity/sorority not to tell the member of the party about my study. So overall by using the triangulation theory it will enable me to get the numbers I need for my study. I will also have an explanation and a theory by using my qualitative research approach. In the completion of my study, it will then benefit many organizations and Universities in Maine. Starting off with the most obvious, the Universities. After my study is complete they will be able to calculate the effect of Greek organizations on the student's life alcohol abuse. They will then be able to determine if the Greek system is worth keeping established. The universities will be able to determine a better method to keep their athletes from abstaining from alcohol and find better programs to lower the amounts of drinking within these programs. Other organizations that would benefit from my research would be the local town alcohol awareness organization. With my data they could in turn inform students that are pursuing college the harms and dangers of alcohol. In this information they will then be able to give student numbers and facts about what situations they will be faced with in participating in athletics and Greek organizations. This will make students more aware of the alcohol abuse before attending college and hopefully preventing the abuse to escalate. The Greek organizations may then use this information to Greek lettering societies across the U.S. to take a harsher look at what is really happening in these organizations. By doing this, they would be able to establish harsher fines and repercussions to Greeks who are caught with intoxicated minors in their household. There are several different organizations other than the ones I mentioned above that could benefit from this study that it would take to long to name them all. The idea is we need this information available to the public and universities so that even parent would be able to speak with their children and discuss what effects so many college students today. This study is necessary to evaluate how we stand compared to other states and the nation, this we would have a better understanding of what actions we must take to ensure a safer and more productive universities. Bibliography: Bibliography: 1) Perkins, Meilman, Leichliter, Cashin and Presley, 1999. "Misperceptions of the Norms for the Frequency of Alcohol and Other Drug Use on College Campuses" Journal of American College Heath 47(6): 253-262. 2) Presley, 1993. "Alcohol and Drug Use among Resident of Greek Houses" Bulletin of the Core Institute 42(9): 248-255. 3) Leichliter, Meilman, Presley, Cashin, 1998. " Alcohol use and related consequence among student with varying levels of involvement in college athletics" Journal of American College Heath 46(6) 257-264. 4) Grant, Haington, Brigham, Clayton, 1999. "Alcohol Risk and Reduction for Fraternity and Sorority Members" Journal of Studies on Alcohol 60(4) 521-531 5) Skolnick, 1993. "Studies raise doubts benefit of athletics in reducing unhealthy behavior among adolescents" The Journal of the American Medical Association 270(7) 798-802 6) Berg, Bruce L., 1998. Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. Needham Heights, Ma, Allyn and Bacon. 7) Maxfield, Michael G. and Babbie, Earl, 1998. Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology. Belmont, Ca, Wadsworth Publishing Company. Word Count: 2193
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