“What is the relationship between marijuana use and academic performance in college?”

 

Homework 2: RESEARCH QUESTION  

 

1. Describe your topic idea in one paragraph. Provide prevalence rate(s) on the problem you are studying. Be brief. For example, if you are investigating whether acculturation is related to smoking, you should include rates of how many people smoke by ethnicity. Describe what “the problem” is and why studying your topic is important theoretically and/or practically important. Start to clarify some information about what is known and not known about your topic. Try to cite at least 2 peer-reviewed studies when doing this. You will need this for your final report. Provide references.
2. Next, come up with your own individual primary research question and secondary research question.
3. Individual research question, such as “What is the relationship between marijuana use and academic performance in college?” Each group member should have a distinctly different individual research question.
4. Next, come up with your own individual secondary research question. Think about other variables that could be examined to create secondary research questions, e.g., gender, race, age, etc.
5. Finally, turn your research questions into hypotheses:
6. Higher rates of marijuana use will be associated with poorer academic performance (Individual).
7. The relationship between high rates of marijuana use and poor academic performance will be more common among men than women.
8. Which variables have you chosen to measure your constructs for your individual primary hypothesis? Which is the “independent” variable (or predictor), and which is the dependent variable (or outcome)? (This will reveal which variable you believe causes another variable to change). Find source(s) for your variable definition. NOTE: For the future find  sources for how you would measure your independent and dependent variables

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HW #2 Example

 

1. Topic: Substance misuse and academic performance

Substance misuse is a societal, economic, and individual problem affecting approximately thousands of young men and women in the U.S. (MTF, 2007). The importance of the relationship between substance misuse and academic performance among young people deserves greater attention. Smith (1990) suggests …, whereas Jones (1995) suggests…In particular, little is known about the various types of substances and academic performance, particularly among diverse populations of college students.

 

2.. Individual research question(s):

1. Primary-Is there an association between marijuana use and academic performance?
2. Secondary-Does the association between marijuana use and academic performance differ by gender? race/ethnicity? age?

 

3. Based upon these research questions, my hypotheses are as follows:…

1. Primary Hypothesis: There is an association between marijuana use and

academic performance.

1. Secondary Hypothesis: The association between marijuana use and

academic performance differs between males and females.

 

4. 2 constructs: marijuana use and academic performance.

 

IV (or predictor variable) definition: Marihuana use  will be defined as the extent to which participants report their daily use. This definition is also used in other studies (e.g., Shakib, 2003).

DV (or outcome variable) definition: Academic performance will be defined as self-reported grades (Jones, 1995)..

 

 

References

51. Jones, T. (1995). Substance use and academic performance in youth. Substance Abuse Journal, 6, 44-51.
52. Smith, H., Anderson, T., & Manner, W. (1990). Substance use and school performance in minority adolescents. Substance Abuse Quarterly, 8, 56-67.