Sexual Assault On College Campuses
Research Proposal Paper: Team D
Charolette Teeters, Christina Erickson, Christina Whitaker, Dana Henryhand, Detrice Burriss, Nicki Ackins
CJA/334
February 10, 2014
Phillip Russo
Abstract
The team has created a research proposal for the research study of the number of sexual assaults on college campuses. The purpose of this research is to determine if educational and preventable measures about sexual assault are taken more seriously on a college campus, than there would be a decrease in the number of victims on college campuses. The paper will introduce the general area of study, rationale, literature and background review, method, design, procedures, analysis, timeline, and budget of this research proposal. Many references and citations …show more content…
have been used to justify this research through two studies. The paper will conclude with the significance and conclusion. A commentary from team will be provided at the end of the conclusion based on what the team feels about improvement if this research was repeated in the future.
Research Proposal Paper A revolution begins from within, and this one begins when you decide how you will address the issues of sexual assault. The primary objective of the this research report is to address a growing concern of the number of sexual assaults that happen each year on college campuses. The general area of study will include three colleges campuses in the United States, and the students will be the participants for the study, throughout four years. The general area of study is important because this research is going to determine the link between educational awareness of sexual assault, and the number of sexual assault victims for each year on the college campuses. College campuses are not studied enough in its relations to sexual assault victim statistics, and that creates a problem. The lack of education on preventions of sexual assaults are creating the statistics of victims to increase rather than decrease. The research can solve the problem by collecting data through questionnaires, and creating educational seminars each year on sexual assault and further educating students on prevention, and what to do if an incident does happen. The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education has tried to address the issue of sexual assault on college campuses by issuing a new letter that provided enhanced guidance on how educational institutions should adjudicate such incidents, but after it happens rather than before. (Triplett, 2012). Using three college campuses, the study will ask students from four different age groups to participate in a questionnaire that will determine the current knowledge on sexual assault. These are the questions that will be presented to the students each year:
1. What is your gender?
2. What is your age?
a) Under 18
b) 18-20
c) 21-25
d) 26 and up
3. What academic year are you in?
4. Do you know what sexual assault is? If so, what is it?
5. Have you ever been sexually assaulted? Was alcohol/drugs involved?
6. If so, was it by someone you knew?
7. Do you know someone who has been a victim of sexual assault?
8. Would you report a sexual assault?
9. Where would you go to report a sexual assault that occurred on campus?
10. Where do you think sexual assaults mainly occur while on campus?
To justify the research, current sexual assaults statistics on college campuses have been taken. Statistics show that 50-80% of all sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows, and 20% of college women are victims of rape or attempted rape (Courter, 2011). We can see a decrease in numbers all around, if our hypothesis is correct.
Rationale
The hypothesis for this research study is if students are educated on the prevention of being victims of sexual assault, than the number of sexual assaults on college campuses will decrease. If confirmed, the hypothesis of this research report will show the decrease in sexual assaults on college campuses with increased education and awareness programs provided to students. If not confirmed, the hypothesis of this research report will show that sexual assaults occur regardless of educational awareness programs provided to college students.
Literature and Background Review What is known about this field is the literature and background reviews provided from studies on the topic of sexual assault, and sexual assault on college campuses. The studies that will be highlighted are the U.S Centers for Disease Control: National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey and Sexual Assault on Campuses. In a study done by the U.S. Centers for Disease control, has provided statistics on sexual assault and its relations to colleges. "Data shows that of 5,000 college students at over 100 colleges, 20% of women answered "yes" to the question "In your lifetime have you been forced to submit to sexual intercourse against your will?" Another statistic shows that one in four college women report surviving rape (15 percent) or attempted rape (12 percent) since their fourteenth birthday" (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2010, para. 4). About one in three gay men, one in five bisexual men and one in 10 heterosexual men reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact during their lifetime, according to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This study is looking at sexual assault as a whole, then focusing on college and how the past may relate to current incidents of sexual assault in college. The way this research is working, the study only provides a wide range and does not have any data on if educational measures were taken to help prevent sexual assault. The Sexual Assault on Campuses study included using 6159 student from 32 different colleges were selected and used 10 behaviorally specific questions to get the experiences of sexual assault.
It read that 31% were sexually assaulted their first year and 6.4% were raped. Data also shows that 13.7% of undergraduate woman had been victims of sexual assault since their freshman year; 7.8% of sexual assaults involved after voluntarily consuming drugs and/or alcohol; and 0.6% were sexually assaulted after given a drug without their knowledge (Krebs PhD., Lindquist PhD, & Martin PhD, 2007). This study provides a great example of why it is important to keep studying the effects of sexual assault on college campuses, and why it is important for educational prevention measures should be taken. This study is insufficient because it focuses more on just college women and the college students as a …show more content…
whole. These two studies provide information on studies already done, but have not reached any confirmation to the hypothesis of this research study. The majority of victims will eventually seek help from sexual assault service providers within 2-30 years after their victimization (Carmody, Ekhomu, & Payne, 2009). If the hypothesis of this study is confirmed, the numbers in the statistics should decrease. There is a lot of literature and background information for this field of study that can be covered to help better understand the purpose of this research.
Method and Design The method and design of this research project would be the survey method.
The questionnaire will be a survey given to different age groups. The questionnaire will be anonymous and allow all of the students participating to be very open and honest, which will give the best results. The freshman class of 2014 will be followed throughout the study, and will be provided with the educational seminar, and questionnaire each year. The questionnaire will provide data that can be collected about what the students know about sexual assault, preventable measures, and if the educational seminar is successful. The general methodology used for the study will be a qualitative method. This method works well for the research hypothesis because the research will use a survey instead of seeking interviews. The participants that will be used is the college campus students ranging in 4 age groups. This can help us determine which age group knows more or less about sexual assault, and which age group have the highest number of sexual assault
victims. There are some variations that would make or test the hypothesis. These variations include the number of assaults that were preventable through the consumption of alcohol and/or drugs. Using the experimental model of criminal justice and quantitative research the research can determine what can confirm or not confirm the hypothesis. The lack of information on sexual assaults reported by the campuses will be factors that will allow the hypothesis to be confirmed or negate. Each year college campuses report between 15% and 30% of all sexual assault incidents that occurred (Schuartz & Dekeseredy, 1997). If there is still an increase in numbers of sexual assault incidents reported after the educational awareness seminar provided by this research, than the hypothesis will not be confirmed. College campuses are creating settings that attract individuals in certain age groups to be sexually assaulted regardless of education (Carmody, Ekhomu, & Payne, 2009). The type of effects that would likely occur to make the results to be confirmed or disconfirmed the hypothesis could be affected based on the mood.
Procedures
The procedures for the study would be to collect creditable and relevant statistics on current sexual assaults numbers for the three campuses in the research. It is important for the researchers to develop ideas and gather important information to give out at the educational seminar the study will provide each year. This study over time will figure out what does, and what does not work when educating students on sexual assault each year. This can be learned by the freshman class of 2014 that the study is going to follow throughout the four years. The research study will also create a data pool by studying numbers of sexual assaults on campuses before the research begins, and finishes in four years. The study will ensure that the data on sexual assaults is properly analyzed, and the correct conclusions are being drawn from the data.
Analysis
The research data will be collected in a certain order at the end of each academic year, in the month of July. First, the researchers will compile the total number of sexual assaults on the three college campuses. Second, the victim profiles including age, race, sex, and student academic year will be collected to determine who becomes victims. Third, the predator profiles including age, race, sex, and student academic year will be collected to determine who becomes predators. Fourth, the types of sexual assaults, relationship between victim and predator, location of assaults, and if drugs and alcohol are related. Lastly, the researchers will compare the number of current offered sexual assault education programs on campuses. The results from analyzing the previous information could prove the hypothesis.
Timeline
The timeline for the research will be over a four year period, based on three college campuses. The 2014 freshman class will be followed throughout the four years, and at the end of the four year study in 2017. The timeline will be consistent in the first three years, but in the fourth year the 2014 freshman class will be asked new questions, and then the entire collection of data will finished.
Year 2014 -2016 In the month of September, the study will select participants from the four age groups, and hand out the questionnaire. In October, the study will submit a training seminar on sexual assault to give to the Freshman class. In the months of November to January, the research team will analyze the data from the questionnaire. Then in the month of July, the research team will then collect data from the current year in relations to sexual assault incidents on the campuses. This timeline continues the same until 2017.
Year 2017 In the month of September specific questions will be asked to the 2014 freshman class. In the months of October to January, the research team will submit the data from that questionnaire. Through the months of October to July, the research team will compare data from all the years related to sexual assault incidents on the campuses, and check for any change in numbers.
Budget
There are many ways to obtain funding for this research. The research team plans on trying to achieve funding through these groups: (RAINN) Rape Abuse and Incest National Network, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), National Crime Victimization, and the Office of Violence against Women. These groups provide the same outlook on sexual assault, which is that the entire statistic rate needs to drop. Looking at the following figure, will help determine what expenses are being looked at for this research, and what will be needed each year.
Cumulative Amount (over 4 years):
$1,648,000
Expenses Per Year
Estimated Amount Per Year
Salaries:
Senior Personnel
Christina Erickson= $100,000
Dana Henryhand = $90,000
Regular Personnel
Charolette Teeters = $40,000
Detrice Burriss = $40,000
Christina Whitaker = $40,000
Nicki Atkins = $40,000
$350,000
Consultation Fees
$50,000
Expendable Equipment and Supplies:
Travel Expenses
Training
Printing/Supplies
$12,000
Total Expenses:
$412,000
Conclusion In conclusion, it is important to the general area under study because through this research it will be clear to students, school administration and the criminal justice community, that through proper education and training sexual assaults can be avoided and the number of victims per year can be decreased across college campuses throughout the United States. The significance of this study is to prove that education on sexual assault will help reduce the numbers of sexual assaults that occur on college campuses yearly. This research will have a confirmed hypothesis. Studies have proven that statistics are getting higher, and there are always room for improvement in areas like college campuses. If this study was to be replicated, it can be improved using three distinct campuses listed in the research, and have a less broader topic. For example, this is a on sexual assault and sexual assault ranges from rape to sexual harassment. The research could be improved more if there was a single term topic such as domestic violence, drug related sexual assault and more. The opinions from the team, is that this a very great research study but there are always room for improvement.
References
Carmody, D., Ekhomu, J., & Payne, B.K. (2009).
Needs of sexual assault advocates in campus-based sexual assault centers.. College Student Journal, 43(2), .
Retrieved from the website: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/College-Student-Journal/201608568.html Courter, M. L. (2011).
Forced sexual encounters and risk-taking behavior among college students. (Order No. 3458674, George Fox University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 57.
Retrieved from the website: http://search.proquest.com/docview/872897120?accountid=458. (872897120).
Krebs Ph.D., C., Lindquist Ph.D., C.H., & Martin PhD, S. (2007).
Campus Sexual Assault (CSA) Study. National Institute of Justice Journal, (), . Retrieved from: https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=243011
Schuartz, M. D., & Dekeseredy, W. S. (1998).
Sexual Assault on Campus. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology,, 13(1), 80. SocINDEX Database.
Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (2010).
Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence. National Violence Against Women Survey.
Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/sexualviolence/datasources.html
Triplett, M. (2012, November).
Sexual assault on college campuses. Duke Law Journal , 62(2), 487-521. EBSCO Host Database
Charolette Teeters, Christina Erickson, Christina Whitaker, Dana Henryhand, Detrice Burriss, Nicki Ackins
CJA/334
February 10, 2014
Phillip Russo
Abstract
The team has created a research proposal for the research study of the number of sexual assaults on college campuses. The purpose of this research is to determine if educational and preventable measures about sexual assault are taken more seriously on a college campus, than there would be a decrease in the number of victims on college campuses. The paper will introduce the general area of study, rationale, literature and background review, method, design, procedures, analysis, timeline, and budget of this research proposal. Many references and citations …show more content…
have been used to justify this research through two studies. The paper will conclude with the significance and conclusion. A commentary from team will be provided at the end of the conclusion based on what the team feels about improvement if this research was repeated in the future.
Research Proposal Paper A revolution begins from within, and this one begins when you decide how you will address the issues of sexual assault. The primary objective of the this research report is to address a growing concern of the number of sexual assaults that happen each year on college campuses. The general area of study will include three colleges campuses in the United States, and the students will be the participants for the study, throughout four years. The general area of study is important because this research is going to determine the link between educational awareness of sexual assault, and the number of sexual assault victims for each year on the college campuses. College campuses are not studied enough in its relations to sexual assault victim statistics, and that creates a problem. The lack of education on preventions of sexual assaults are creating the statistics of victims to increase rather than decrease. The research can solve the problem by collecting data through questionnaires, and creating educational seminars each year on sexual assault and further educating students on prevention, and what to do if an incident does happen. The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education has tried to address the issue of sexual assault on college campuses by issuing a new letter that provided enhanced guidance on how educational institutions should adjudicate such incidents, but after it happens rather than before. (Triplett, 2012). Using three college campuses, the study will ask students from four different age groups to participate in a questionnaire that will determine the current knowledge on sexual assault. These are the questions that will be presented to the students each year:
1. What is your gender?
2. What is your age?
a) Under 18
b) 18-20
c) 21-25
d) 26 and up
3. What academic year are you in?
4. Do you know what sexual assault is? If so, what is it?
5. Have you ever been sexually assaulted? Was alcohol/drugs involved?
6. If so, was it by someone you knew?
7. Do you know someone who has been a victim of sexual assault?
8. Would you report a sexual assault?
9. Where would you go to report a sexual assault that occurred on campus?
10. Where do you think sexual assaults mainly occur while on campus?
To justify the research, current sexual assaults statistics on college campuses have been taken. Statistics show that 50-80% of all sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows, and 20% of college women are victims of rape or attempted rape (Courter, 2011). We can see a decrease in numbers all around, if our hypothesis is correct.
Rationale
The hypothesis for this research study is if students are educated on the prevention of being victims of sexual assault, than the number of sexual assaults on college campuses will decrease. If confirmed, the hypothesis of this research report will show the decrease in sexual assaults on college campuses with increased education and awareness programs provided to students. If not confirmed, the hypothesis of this research report will show that sexual assaults occur regardless of educational awareness programs provided to college students.
Literature and Background Review What is known about this field is the literature and background reviews provided from studies on the topic of sexual assault, and sexual assault on college campuses. The studies that will be highlighted are the U.S Centers for Disease Control: National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey and Sexual Assault on Campuses. In a study done by the U.S. Centers for Disease control, has provided statistics on sexual assault and its relations to colleges. "Data shows that of 5,000 college students at over 100 colleges, 20% of women answered "yes" to the question "In your lifetime have you been forced to submit to sexual intercourse against your will?" Another statistic shows that one in four college women report surviving rape (15 percent) or attempted rape (12 percent) since their fourteenth birthday" (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2010, para. 4). About one in three gay men, one in five bisexual men and one in 10 heterosexual men reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact during their lifetime, according to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This study is looking at sexual assault as a whole, then focusing on college and how the past may relate to current incidents of sexual assault in college. The way this research is working, the study only provides a wide range and does not have any data on if educational measures were taken to help prevent sexual assault. The Sexual Assault on Campuses study included using 6159 student from 32 different colleges were selected and used 10 behaviorally specific questions to get the experiences of sexual assault.
It read that 31% were sexually assaulted their first year and 6.4% were raped. Data also shows that 13.7% of undergraduate woman had been victims of sexual assault since their freshman year; 7.8% of sexual assaults involved after voluntarily consuming drugs and/or alcohol; and 0.6% were sexually assaulted after given a drug without their knowledge (Krebs PhD., Lindquist PhD, & Martin PhD, 2007). This study provides a great example of why it is important to keep studying the effects of sexual assault on college campuses, and why it is important for educational prevention measures should be taken. This study is insufficient because it focuses more on just college women and the college students as a …show more content…
whole. These two studies provide information on studies already done, but have not reached any confirmation to the hypothesis of this research study. The majority of victims will eventually seek help from sexual assault service providers within 2-30 years after their victimization (Carmody, Ekhomu, & Payne, 2009). If the hypothesis of this study is confirmed, the numbers in the statistics should decrease. There is a lot of literature and background information for this field of study that can be covered to help better understand the purpose of this research.
Method and Design The method and design of this research project would be the survey method.
The questionnaire will be a survey given to different age groups. The questionnaire will be anonymous and allow all of the students participating to be very open and honest, which will give the best results. The freshman class of 2014 will be followed throughout the study, and will be provided with the educational seminar, and questionnaire each year. The questionnaire will provide data that can be collected about what the students know about sexual assault, preventable measures, and if the educational seminar is successful. The general methodology used for the study will be a qualitative method. This method works well for the research hypothesis because the research will use a survey instead of seeking interviews. The participants that will be used is the college campus students ranging in 4 age groups. This can help us determine which age group knows more or less about sexual assault, and which age group have the highest number of sexual assault
victims. There are some variations that would make or test the hypothesis. These variations include the number of assaults that were preventable through the consumption of alcohol and/or drugs. Using the experimental model of criminal justice and quantitative research the research can determine what can confirm or not confirm the hypothesis. The lack of information on sexual assaults reported by the campuses will be factors that will allow the hypothesis to be confirmed or negate. Each year college campuses report between 15% and 30% of all sexual assault incidents that occurred (Schuartz & Dekeseredy, 1997). If there is still an increase in numbers of sexual assault incidents reported after the educational awareness seminar provided by this research, than the hypothesis will not be confirmed. College campuses are creating settings that attract individuals in certain age groups to be sexually assaulted regardless of education (Carmody, Ekhomu, & Payne, 2009). The type of effects that would likely occur to make the results to be confirmed or disconfirmed the hypothesis could be affected based on the mood.
Procedures
The procedures for the study would be to collect creditable and relevant statistics on current sexual assaults numbers for the three campuses in the research. It is important for the researchers to develop ideas and gather important information to give out at the educational seminar the study will provide each year. This study over time will figure out what does, and what does not work when educating students on sexual assault each year. This can be learned by the freshman class of 2014 that the study is going to follow throughout the four years. The research study will also create a data pool by studying numbers of sexual assaults on campuses before the research begins, and finishes in four years. The study will ensure that the data on sexual assaults is properly analyzed, and the correct conclusions are being drawn from the data.
Analysis
The research data will be collected in a certain order at the end of each academic year, in the month of July. First, the researchers will compile the total number of sexual assaults on the three college campuses. Second, the victim profiles including age, race, sex, and student academic year will be collected to determine who becomes victims. Third, the predator profiles including age, race, sex, and student academic year will be collected to determine who becomes predators. Fourth, the types of sexual assaults, relationship between victim and predator, location of assaults, and if drugs and alcohol are related. Lastly, the researchers will compare the number of current offered sexual assault education programs on campuses. The results from analyzing the previous information could prove the hypothesis.
Timeline
The timeline for the research will be over a four year period, based on three college campuses. The 2014 freshman class will be followed throughout the four years, and at the end of the four year study in 2017. The timeline will be consistent in the first three years, but in the fourth year the 2014 freshman class will be asked new questions, and then the entire collection of data will finished.
Year 2014 -2016 In the month of September, the study will select participants from the four age groups, and hand out the questionnaire. In October, the study will submit a training seminar on sexual assault to give to the Freshman class. In the months of November to January, the research team will analyze the data from the questionnaire. Then in the month of July, the research team will then collect data from the current year in relations to sexual assault incidents on the campuses. This timeline continues the same until 2017.
Year 2017 In the month of September specific questions will be asked to the 2014 freshman class. In the months of October to January, the research team will submit the data from that questionnaire. Through the months of October to July, the research team will compare data from all the years related to sexual assault incidents on the campuses, and check for any change in numbers.
Budget
There are many ways to obtain funding for this research. The research team plans on trying to achieve funding through these groups: (RAINN) Rape Abuse and Incest National Network, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), National Crime Victimization, and the Office of Violence against Women. These groups provide the same outlook on sexual assault, which is that the entire statistic rate needs to drop. Looking at the following figure, will help determine what expenses are being looked at for this research, and what will be needed each year.
Cumulative Amount (over 4 years):
$1,648,000
Expenses Per Year
Estimated Amount Per Year
Salaries:
Senior Personnel
Christina Erickson= $100,000
Dana Henryhand = $90,000
Regular Personnel
Charolette Teeters = $40,000
Detrice Burriss = $40,000
Christina Whitaker = $40,000
Nicki Atkins = $40,000
$350,000
Consultation Fees
$50,000
Expendable Equipment and Supplies:
Travel Expenses
Training
Printing/Supplies
$12,000
Total Expenses:
$412,000
Conclusion In conclusion, it is important to the general area under study because through this research it will be clear to students, school administration and the criminal justice community, that through proper education and training sexual assaults can be avoided and the number of victims per year can be decreased across college campuses throughout the United States. The significance of this study is to prove that education on sexual assault will help reduce the numbers of sexual assaults that occur on college campuses yearly. This research will have a confirmed hypothesis. Studies have proven that statistics are getting higher, and there are always room for improvement in areas like college campuses. If this study was to be replicated, it can be improved using three distinct campuses listed in the research, and have a less broader topic. For example, this is a on sexual assault and sexual assault ranges from rape to sexual harassment. The research could be improved more if there was a single term topic such as domestic violence, drug related sexual assault and more. The opinions from the team, is that this a very great research study but there are always room for improvement.
References
Carmody, D., Ekhomu, J., & Payne, B.K. (2009).
Needs of sexual assault advocates in campus-based sexual assault centers.. College Student Journal, 43(2), .
Retrieved from the website: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/College-Student-Journal/201608568.html Courter, M. L. (2011).
Forced sexual encounters and risk-taking behavior among college students. (Order No. 3458674, George Fox University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 57.
Retrieved from the website: http://search.proquest.com/docview/872897120?accountid=458. (872897120).
Krebs Ph.D., C., Lindquist Ph.D., C.H., & Martin PhD, S. (2007).
Campus Sexual Assault (CSA) Study. National Institute of Justice Journal, (), . Retrieved from: https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=243011
Schuartz, M. D., & Dekeseredy, W. S. (1998).
Sexual Assault on Campus. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology,, 13(1), 80. SocINDEX Database.
Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (2010).
Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence. National Violence Against Women Survey.
Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/sexualviolence/datasources.html
Triplett, M. (2012, November).
Sexual assault on college campuses. Duke Law Journal , 62(2), 487-521. EBSCO Host Database