13 September 2011
Professor Wadsworth
Telligman
Sociology 1001
Dating and Sex Among College Students
In college, the cultural norm is that one should engage with the opposite gender casually until a meaningful encounter occurs. The University of Colorado at Boulder is known for its high rates of festivities, which is a leading factor in sexual behavior. The hypothesis of this study being, if students are in relationships during college they will be more inclined to have sex due to intimacy, whereas single students will not be as sexually active due to not being as emotionally attached. This research will be effective in yielding information, about dating and sex, about both students who are single as well as those who are in a relationship. Through study methods such as surveys, available data collection, and field research, effective information can be found to help prove or disprove my hypothesis. Implementing a survey within the University of Colorado would be a very quick and effective way to gain insight on sexual activity, relationship statuses, and length of relationships to learn if my hypothesis is accurate. Data analysis will give a means of gathering information for certain processes, like creating surveys and setting guidelines for field research before observations. Field research will help give direct observations of all groups studied in the research project (single vs. relationship) and more in-depth information since one is immersing into the subject group to observe. Through all of these methods, research can be made about how dating and sex in college are relative to each other. Though I am only relating my research to a select college, this can all be reciprocated at any other university or college. Through surveys, researchers collect a mass amount of data from a large randomized and anonymous group in very small amounts of time (probability sampling) and minimal effort. Through randomized surveys I can relate how sex and