The study will aim to find answers to research questions which include:
Does there exist a difference in depression symptoms in men and women?
What factors contribute to this difference, for instance, social and economic factors?
Can the factors contributing to this difference be controlled?
The study will be based on the hypothesis, men are more prone to depression in comparison to women. The null hypothesis for the study is, there does not exist any relationship between depression symptoms and gender of people experiencing these symptoms (Gonzalez, 2016).
The study will randomly select participants of different ages with at least 40 participants being between the ages of 20 and 30 and another 40 being between the ages of 30 and 40. Half of the participants will be male and the other female (McLeod, 2014). The sample intends to include an equal number of male and female participants to ensure that it captures the difference in the depressive symptoms with regards to gender. The selection of this number of participants is to ensure we include diverse participants in terms of their economic background, age, marital status and educational background. By selecting such a sample, it makes it possible for the results of this research to be generalized to a high percentage of the population. The inclusion criteria that will be used to select the participants will include factors like age and marital status. The participants will be single or married. That comprises of the divorced and widowed. It will not include participants who are dating but not married. The participant will be between the ages of 20 to 40. In terms of economic background, the participants will include people who are wealthy, extremely poor, and those in the middle-class level. The exclusion criteria include the factors that can exclude people from participating in the study. The study will exclude any person who has had any mental conditions like schizophrenia and dementia.
The study will implement a stratified sampling technique. The researcher will identify the people who make up the target population and they will be divided into proportions based on how the research is planned. The researchers will find the target population based on the inclusion variables of age, marital status, and economic background. The research will target people in their workplaces by requesting the management of places like hotels, financial organizations, and broadcast organizations for the participation of their employees. By using this sample of people, it is possible to generalize the results of the study to a high percentage of the people. It represents a large number of people, between the ages of 20 and 40, which represents a majority of the percentage of the population. It also includes people of different economic backgrounds and represents the wealthy, poor, and middle class. In terms of marital status, it represents both the married and single people with an exclusion of the dating population.
The variables of this study include gender, age, economic status and depression symptoms.
The depression symptoms variable defined for this study include suicidal thoughts, overeating, feeling of loneliness, loss of interest in life and empty feeling. The gender variable only includes male and female people with an exclusion of people who identify as transsexuals and people with gender identity problems (CIRT, n.d.).
The gender identities of the participants will be measured using a femininity and masculinity subscale. The economic status of people will be measured using the participants’ income status. Participants will be asked to produce national documents showing their actual ages. The depression symptoms that the participants exhibit will be measured using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). It is an instrument that can measure the different levels of depression. The scale is intended to measure different symptoms including guilt, social withdrawal, irritability, suicidal thoughts, weight loss, appetite loss and self-accusation. The BDI depression test has a good track record having been used in other researches for concurrent and content validity (Beck, 2016). For example, the concurrent validity ratings between the BDI and other measuring instruments like the Minnesota Multiphasic personality inventory where the inventory and psychiatric ratings were compared. The measurement of validity showed that BDI has a high construct validity based on the symptoms it measures.
The study will implement the cross-sectional research design, where the participants are not selected randomly but based on the existing differences (USC Libraries, 2016). The design is suitable for measuring the differences among the participants in relation to the depression symptoms they exhibit.
The research starts out with the collection of a sample of the participants to be used in the research. The sample, as explained, will be selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria specified. The participants must include people of the specified age, 20 to 40. They must be of the male and female gender and they must be either single and not dating or married. People who are divorced or widowed are allowed in the participation. Once they have entered the study, the methodology involves collecting information using the questionnaires. The questionnaires are made up of open and close-ended questions. The questions are intended to both capture the feelings and thoughts of the participants and to make it easy to analyze the answers given by the participants. To measure the variables, the measurement tools selected will be implemented. The variable of gender will be measured using the femininity and masculinity subscale. The variable of age will be measured using the national materials presented to ensure the participants meet the age specifications required for the study. The Beck Depression Inventory will be used to measure the depression symptoms, including the feeling of emptiness, suicidal thoughts, guilt, and self-accusation. The procedure for collecting information will involve selecting the sample and sending the questionnaires to the participants. The participants will be allowed a week to fill the questionnaires and to send them back to the researchers.
The ethical issues of this study include the issues of anonymity and informed consent. Informed consent means providing the participants with the necessary information to make a decision whether to participate in the study. The participants will be informed of what the study is about, how they will participate, and the information that will be gathered from them. The issue of anonymity will be addressed by allowing the participants to use dummy email accounts to send and receive the questionnaires. The subject will also be addressed by ensuring the participants in the same organization do not inform each other of their participation in the study. This will also ensure that the study remains valid and reliable. In addition, the participants will not be required to give out their names or other identifying information that could be used to identify them.
References
Beck, A. T. (2016). Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Statistics Solutions. Retrieved from http://www.statisticssolutions.com/beck-depression-inventory-bdi/
Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching (CIRT). (n.d.). Variables and Operational Definitions. Grand Canyon University. Retrieved from https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/quantresearch/variables_def
Gonzalez, K. (2016). What is a Null Hypothesis? Definition & Examples. Retrieved from http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-null-hypothesis-definition-examples.html
McLeod, S. A. (2014). Sampling Methods. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/sampling.html
