Name: Alicia Ray Qualitative Research Project Planner What is to be studied? Limits?

I will study prepubescent girls and their own body image. Limits to this study are mainly comfort levels of the girls. If the girls are not comfortable with the researcher, they may not give honest answers to the interviews. Students may also notice the researcher in class doing observations in which case the girls may alter their behavior to what they believe is the correct behavior. Justification for studying about body image of young girls is to help improve body image. Many of my female students have mentioned being on a diet or having to exercise when they get home. Fifth grade girls will participate in a girls selfesteem group called Mission Beautiful when we begin the second semester in school. This study on prepubescent girls and their body image will help to form the lessons in Mission Beautiful. Girls who feel more self-confident in their body image are more likely to be involved in class, as well as extracurriculars. I will study fifth grade girls at my school. There are 30 fifth grade girls ages 1011; 12 are Hispanic, 16 are Caucasian, 1 is multi-racial, and 1 is African American. This study will take place in fifth grade classrooms, on the playground, and in the IMPACT lab at Dobson Elementary School. I will conduct this study beginning December 5 and ending on December 9. I will interview 6 girls per day. I will also visit each of the 3 classrooms during reading and math class throughout that week. Field notes will be taken every day at recess, which is 25 minutes every day. Interviews will be the main method for collecting data. The interview will consist of questions like: How do you feel about your bodies? Have you ever been on a diet? Are you trying to lose weight? How are you affected by society's pressures to feel thin? Have you ever been told that you are beautiful? Do you feel that you

Why? Justification or rationale for the study

Whom? Person(s) to be studied Where? Locations to be used When? What is the schedule? How will data be collected? Specific methods to be used: Interviews focus groups, observations, etc.

How will data be analyzed?

are beautiful? If you could change one thing about your body, what would it be and why? Would you be interested in joining a group that teaches you positive body image? I will also observe the girls at recess and in class. The observations will be taken as field notes during recess and in class. Data will be analyzed by the researcher. Data will be placed in visual forms showing percentages of girls who have been on a diet, percentages of girls who are currently trying to lose weight, and percentages of girls who have been told they are beautiful and feel that they are beautiful. This data is important because it will serve as a base line for conversation and activities to improve body image in prepubescent girls in the group Mission Beautiful. Field notes will be compared to interviews with the girls. I will also look for patterns within racial body image as well. This will involve comparing the body image of all Hispanic students, the body image of all Caucasian students, and I will also compare the multi-racial and African American student (each race having only one representative) to that of the races that have more than one representative.