Examples+of+research

Examples of abstracts from journal articles with independent and dependent variables identified can be found here //**. **//

Below are some examples of research. In each case, we identify the independent and dependent variables.

ABSTRACT # 1: A “PERVERSION” OF CHOICE: SEX WORK OFFERS JUST ENOUGH IN CHICAGO'S URBAN GHETTO In an apartment building on Chicago’s Southside, fifty of the seventy-five residents are sex workers. Our study uses in-depth interviews and participant observation of Chicago’s sex work economy to argue that sex work is one constituent part of an overall low-wage, off-the-books economy of resource exchange among individuals in a bounded geographic setting. To an outsider, the decision to be a sex worker seems irrational; in this paper we argue that specific localized conditions invert this decision and render it entirely rational. For the men and women in our study, sex work acts as a short-term solution that satisfices the demands of persistent poverty and instability, and it provides a meaningful option in the quest for a job that provides autonomy and personal fulfillment. The Independent Variable in the abstract is low-wage poverty, The Dependent Variable is the choice of prostitution as opposed to more convential other occupations. The central question is attempting to see how living in low wage and poverty leads people to prostitution as a means of work.

Abstract # 2: THE ECONOMICS OF SEXUALITY: THE EFFECT OF HIV/AIDS ON HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN THE UNITED STATES by Andrew M. Francis In this paper, I test a simple microeconomic theory of sexuality. I apply the theory to make predictions about the effect of AIDS on sexuality, since AIDS dramatically altered the cost of sexual activities. Using a nationally representative dataset on sexuality in the United States, I estimate the effect of AIDS on male and female homosexual behavior. To do so, I postulate that people who have a relative with AIDS, on average, have more knowledge, awareness, and fear of AIDS. Empirically, this variable is uncorrelated with a number of individual background characteristics. I present evidence that AIDS causes some men to shift from homosexual to heterosexual behavior, whereas AIDS causes some women to shift from heterosexual to homosexual behavior. Thus, sexual behavior may respond to incentives. I consider alternative hypotheses, including biological theories of sexual orientation and stigma-related survey bias, and argue that they are unlikely to explain the results. Having a relative with AIDS is negatively related to homosexuality in men. In contrast, having a relative with AIDS is positively related to homosexuality in females. Having a relative with AIDS makes it more likely a male respondent is homosexual but less likely a female respondent is homosexual.

In this article the Independent Variable is knowledge of the risks of AIDS and the HIV/AID infection rate overtime. The Dependent Variable is sexual orientation defined in gender partners. The cental research question in this article is quantitative. Whether knowledge of the risks of HIV/AIDS causes male and female homosexuality. Sexual behavior may respond to incentives.

Abstract #3 Comparisons of well being across societies depend on both on the amount of inequality at the national level and also on the national level of well being. Comparisons between the U.S. and western Europe show that inequality is greater in the U.S. but that the average GDP per capita is also greater in the U.S. and most Americans have higher standards of living than do western Europeans at a comparable locations in their national income distributions. What is less well known is that (depending on the country) much of or even the entire gap arises from the differences in the level of working hours in the U.S. and in Western Europe. Cross national comparisons of well-being have typically relied on the methodology of Generalized Lorenz Curves (GLC), but this approach privileges disposable income and cash transfers while ignoring other aspects of welfare state and labor market structure that potentially affect the distribution of well being in a society. We take an alternative approach that focuses on the value of time and the different distributions of work and family time that are generated by each country's labor market and social welfare institutions. In the empirical exercise involving the U.S. and the Netherlands, we show that the reasonable estimates of the contribution to well being from non-market activities such as the raising of children or longer vacations can overturn claims in the literature that the U.S. offers greater well being to more of its citizens than do Eastern European Countries.

In this article the Independent Variable is the inequality of GDP produced by Americans and European workers when compared to working hours, how each respective group utilizes their income in the form of social reinvestment, and wealth. The Dependent Variable is the overall well being of the workforce/population of a nation when social inequality is balanced. The central research of this abstract is qualitative due to the fact that large segments of a population are being studied. The question being asked is that does greater wealth lead to a higher instance of well being or does it have a negative effect. The author points out that most people in European countries have a higher sense of well being and satisfaction when compared to their American counterparts due to the fact that Europeans put some of their wages back into the government in the form of social reinvestment, in order to fund social programs like child care services, medical expenses, thus allowing for longer vacation and family time. This intern provides form greater amounts of social care like longer vacation time, subsidizing medical cost for an individual, etc… these measures has produce an environment where a person can have time to enjoy one’s family and free time, thus producing a higher satisfaction level than what is seen in the US. While in the US people are generating higher income figures but utilize their wealth on consumer goods instead of social and governmental programs; this intern creates a situation where the individual is forced to pay for services out of their own pocket like medical care social services, thus to offset the cost of living an individual is forced to work longer hours in order maintain their living conditions. Creating a lower sense of gratification among American workers and less social safety nets to ensure a workers well being even during difficult times.

Abstract # 5: Oral Sex Among Adolescents:Is It Sex or Is It Abstinence? Abstract- Over the past few decades, nationally representative surveys have accumulated a wealth of data on levels of adolescent sexual activity. Thanks to such surveys, we know how the proportion of 15-19-year-olds who have ever had intercourse has changed over the years. Similar data exist on age at first intercourse, most recent sexual intercourse and current contraceptive use.Yet all of these measures focus on—or relate to the possible results of—vaginal intercourse. This is natural, given that attention to adolescent sexual activity arose initially out of concerns over the far-reaching problems associated with teenage pregnancy and childbearing. More recently, infection with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), particularly with HIV, has fueled further public and scientific interest in teenage sexual behavior.But to what extent does adolescent sexual activity consist of noncoital behaviors—that is, mutual masturbation, oral sex and anal intercourse—that are not linked to pregnancy but involve the risk of STDs? Some of these activities may also be precursors to vaginal intercourse. Yet, health professionals and policymakers know very little about their prevalence among teenagers. The Independent Variable i this abstract is the perceptions adolescents have on the risk of STD's. The Dependent Variable is more teens engage in oral sex instead of intercourse. The article is quantitative because its based on data formed through surveys to determine how sexual intercourse has changed over years.

Abstract #7: The Changing Contours of Sex Work in New York City In this Abstract, changes to law enforcement strategies in New York City pushed women working in the sex trade off public streets and into the indoors. Increasing numbers of women began advertising services in bars, internet, media and conducting their work in their homes, and hotels. This study uses in-depth interviews and participant observation to examine the impact of this change on the life and work of women working in New York's indoor sex trade. A critical finding is that women that move their work indoor, begin to see their work as a profession rather than just short-term means of employment. The Independent in this abstract is changes to law enforcement strategies in New York City or women take their work indoors. The Dependent in this abstract is women begin to conceive of sex work as a profession and careerist orientation rather than just short-term means of employment. Women began advertising services online, bars and sex workers perceive their occupation.

Abstract #8: the Sexual Double Standard and Adolescent Peer Acceptance by DEREK A. KREAGER and JEREMY STAFF The belief that women and men are held to different standards of sexual conduct is pervasive in contemporary American society. According to the sexual double standard, boys and men are rewarded and praised for heterosexual sexual contacts, whereas girls and women are derogated and stigmatized for similar behaviors. Although widely held by the general public, research findings on the sexual double standard remain equivocal, with qualitative studies and early attitudinal surveys generally finding evidence of the double standard and more recent experimental vignette designs often failing to find similar results. In this study, we extend prior research by directly measuring the social status of sexually permissive youth. We use data collected from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to relate adolescents’ self-reported numbers of sexual partners to a network measure of peer acceptance. Results suggest that the association between lifetime sexual partnerships and peer status varies significantly by gender, such that greater numbers of sexual partners are positively correlated with boys’ peer acceptance, but negatively correlated with girls’ peer acceptance. Moreover, the relationship between boys’ sexual behaviors and peer acceptance is moderated by socioeconomic origins; sexually permissive boys from disadvantaged backgrounds are predicted to have more friendships than permissive boys from more advantaged backgrounds. Our results thus support the existence of an adolescent sexual double standard and suggest that sexual norms vary by both gender and socioeconomic origins. In this article, the Independent Variable is sexual behavior of adolescents. The Dependent Variable is praise for boys by their peers for the number of sexual contact vs. stigmatization for girls with the same sexual activity. The central research question in this article is the measure of the social status of sexually permissive youth boys vs. girls and the disadvantaged vs. the advantaged.The types of questions being asked in this article are whether there is evidence showing the differences between sexual behavior in a positive way for adolescent boys, on the other hand negative for adolescent girls, how girls are perceived for numerous sexual encounters and how boys are perceived, what causes gender inequality as well as socioeconomic differences, why are girls looked down upon for the same sexual behavior as boys, while they are being praised.

Abstracts: (How) Does the sexual orientation of a parent matter?

In this article the Independent Variable is the sexuality of the parent. The Dependent Variable is the child’s well-being. The central research questions in this article are revolved around the idea of sexual orientation and the development of the child’s ability to be “stable” in such an environment. The types of questions asked in this article concern whether or not homophobia views account toward the associations held between parental sexual orientations and the well-being of the child’s outcome in later life, the role of gender verses sexual orientation and the child’s outcome in later life, and the relationship between the parents sexual orientations and the child’s sexual preferences and behaviors.