M2: Justify the research methodologies chosen for the project
Research question and aim:
I have chosen to research sexual harassment because I have been a part of a sexual harassment training
at my college. This has made me more aware of how serious the issue is and I would like to look more
into it. I would like to find out what experiences other people have had. I believe this will help me find
out the cause of sexual harassment which will then allow me to help fix the issue. For example, if
someone has been sexually harassed by someone in a car while they were walking, I could give them
advice on what they could do if this happens again. They could for instance take a picture of the driver’s
registration plate and report them to the police. I believe sexual harassment is an immense issue and I
would like to help someone using the knowledge I have gained from the training, and the research
project is a great opportunity for that. Furthermore, the aim I have chosen is ‘is there a significant
relationship between gender and sexual harassment?’. I have chosen this aim because in my opinion
women experience more sexual harassment than men. This has also been discussed at the training and
most people agreed that women experience more sexual harassment than men, and I would like to find
out if this is actually true. I see this as a great opportunity to see what I learnt during my training in a
real-life situation.
Research objectives:
I have chosen three research objectives. The first one was ‘to carry out questionnaire and interview
research with 20 students aged 16-19 at Carshalton College’. I have chosen this objective because I
would like to collect my data from young people as I feel like they are less educated about sexual
harassment than older people. It is important that they become educated so that they can stand up for
themselves or help someone else who is going through sexual harassment. Also, 16 is the legal age for
consensual sex and 19 is when teenagers enter adulthood, so I believe those are the perfect age groups.
The second research objective is ‘to carry out a questionnaire and interview research with both male
and female students at Carshalton College’. I have chosen this because I believe it is important that I
include both men and women in the research because sexual harassment affects both genders. It is a
common misconception that only women get sexually harassed. I would like to then compare the
experiences of both men and women and see how they differ. The last research objective I chose was ‘to
use NHS website as a secondary source to investigate statistics on sexual harassment for people aged
16-19'. I have chosen to do this because it is useful to get insight on my objective from another source.
Then I will be able to compare my data to the data from the source. The only issue with interviewing 16-
19-year olds is that some of them may require parental consent.
Proposed methods of primary data collection:
I have chosen two proposed methods of primary data collection. The first method is questionnaires, the
reason why I chose this is because it is a quick and effective way of collecting data. This is good for
students because they will likely be busy and won’t have a lot of time to participate in the research. I will
be able to spend more time analysing the data because I will spend less time collecting it. Additionally,
they are cost effective which is always a benefit. Questionnaires also give me the freedom to ask
whatever questions I want, whether that is open ended questions or closed ended questions. Lastly,
they allow participants to stay anonymous which means they will give more truthful answers because
Unit 22 1
Research question and aim:
I have chosen to research sexual harassment because I have been a part of a sexual harassment training
at my college. This has made me more aware of how serious the issue is and I would like to look more
into it. I would like to find out what experiences other people have had. I believe this will help me find
out the cause of sexual harassment which will then allow me to help fix the issue. For example, if
someone has been sexually harassed by someone in a car while they were walking, I could give them
advice on what they could do if this happens again. They could for instance take a picture of the driver’s
registration plate and report them to the police. I believe sexual harassment is an immense issue and I
would like to help someone using the knowledge I have gained from the training, and the research
project is a great opportunity for that. Furthermore, the aim I have chosen is ‘is there a significant
relationship between gender and sexual harassment?’. I have chosen this aim because in my opinion
women experience more sexual harassment than men. This has also been discussed at the training and
most people agreed that women experience more sexual harassment than men, and I would like to find
out if this is actually true. I see this as a great opportunity to see what I learnt during my training in a
real-life situation.
Research objectives:
I have chosen three research objectives. The first one was ‘to carry out questionnaire and interview
research with 20 students aged 16-19 at Carshalton College’. I have chosen this objective because I
would like to collect my data from young people as I feel like they are less educated about sexual
harassment than older people. It is important that they become educated so that they can stand up for
themselves or help someone else who is going through sexual harassment. Also, 16 is the legal age for
consensual sex and 19 is when teenagers enter adulthood, so I believe those are the perfect age groups.
The second research objective is ‘to carry out a questionnaire and interview research with both male
and female students at Carshalton College’. I have chosen this because I believe it is important that I
include both men and women in the research because sexual harassment affects both genders. It is a
common misconception that only women get sexually harassed. I would like to then compare the
experiences of both men and women and see how they differ. The last research objective I chose was ‘to
use NHS website as a secondary source to investigate statistics on sexual harassment for people aged
16-19'. I have chosen to do this because it is useful to get insight on my objective from another source.
Then I will be able to compare my data to the data from the source. The only issue with interviewing 16-
19-year olds is that some of them may require parental consent.
Proposed methods of primary data collection:
I have chosen two proposed methods of primary data collection. The first method is questionnaires, the
reason why I chose this is because it is a quick and effective way of collecting data. This is good for
students because they will likely be busy and won’t have a lot of time to participate in the research. I will
be able to spend more time analysing the data because I will spend less time collecting it. Additionally,
they are cost effective which is always a benefit. Questionnaires also give me the freedom to ask
whatever questions I want, whether that is open ended questions or closed ended questions. Lastly,
they allow participants to stay anonymous which means they will give more truthful answers because
Unit 22 1
