Running Head: ALCOHOL USE IN RECREATION: A RESEARCH PROPOSAL 1

Alcohol use in Recreation: A Research Proposal

Alyssa Gonzalez, Prestan Walker, Kody Hodgen

RCLS 425

Dr. Matt Chase

April 26th, 2019

Eastern Washington University

Alcohol Use in Recreation: Research Proposal

ALCOHOL USE IN RECREATION: RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2

Alcohol use among undergraduate college students has long been associated with

recreation participation. The purpose of this research proposal is to study the effects and

outcomes of alcohol consumption when incorporated with recreational activities. For

undergraduate students who partake in these activities, the overall well being of the student body

and potential incidents are a concern. These concerns fall under the amount of control and

responsibility students use when mixing alcohol with daily life. This proposal is broken down six

main sections: concerns with this issue; model, criteria and data types being used; audience,

group members and sample population; conduction of focus groups and questionnaire;methods

being used.

Why

Background

Recent Conversations According to Woodyard and Hallam (2010), 43% of students will

indulge in heavy alcohol use with in a two week period (p. 533). In recreation this can be a

concern for risk management. There are many situations that can come from the use of alcohol

and recreation. Some of these include; “drinking and driving,physical violence, conflict with

peers, spontaneous and perilous sexual activity, and property damage” (Woodyard & Hallam,

2010, p.533) Alcohol is a large part of recreation and can be found in a large amount of activities

and celebrations. College students have multiple occasions and festivals that contribute to the

heavy consumption of celebratory drinking. Large events such as weekly tailgating parties and

Spring break create heavy alcohol consumption for college students. This does not exclude

holiday and traditional celebrations such as, Halloween, New Years Eve., Saint Patrick's day,

and other celebrations (Woodyard & Hallam, 2010, p.533) . As alcohol can cause risk, it is also
ALCOHOL USE IN RECREATION: RESEARCH PROPOSAL 3

an element that brings interest to many when they are recreating. The purpose of this study is to

discuss the effects of alcohol and participation of alcohol consumption with recreational activity.

Past history Alcohol has been incorporated in many individuals lifestyle for hundreds of

years. As cultures and times change the way we recreate with alcohol is always changing. In

2010, it was reported that 18% of undergraduates were affected by the effects of alcohol

(Woodyard & Hallam, 2010, p.533). Even with interventions, when put in social situation

including that include alcohol, individuals will have a harder time staying abstinent from

drinking. In college there are many ways to put alcohol in the path of many undergraduates. One

that has been in place for many years is the participation in Geek life and intercollegiate sports

(Ward & Gryczynski, 2007, p.273). As these are great organizations that can bring individuals

together creating community awareness. But for most, the presence of alcohol during these

recreational events can cause a shift in the way the student body looks and acts as a whole (Ward

& Gryczynski, 2007, p.273).

Current History Today, “alcohol is the most misused substance on college campuses”

(Thompson & Romo, 2016, p. 688). It was reported that, 73% of undergraduates will have drank

alcohol within a time span of a year (Thompson & Romo, 2016, p. 688). The social norm for

alcohol over the years has become a more lax conception when it comes to recreation. With

this,the private view of alcohol and recreation start to make its way to social media creating a

social, pressure to meet those of their peers. With increasing recreation there is an increase in the

use of recreational alcohol (Thompson & Romo, 2016, p. 688).

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Purpose Statement

The purpose of this study, is to research and discuss the participation of alcohol

consumption when incorporated with recreational activity. The components being measured

include college students knowledge of alcohol and recreation.

Resources

There are many resources to consider in order to determine the effects a research study

will put on an organization or company. For this study, there are a few resources needed. All

participation in this research is conducted voluntarily by RCLS 425 students, and are not getting

paid for their time during this project. Fees involved are; a forty-dollar technology fee for each

one of the three researchers, fifteen dollars budgeted to snacks for focus group participants, and

two dollars and thirty cents for materials. Total funds used is one hundred and thirty-eight

dollars. For materials, twenty three pieces of copy paper will hold 46 half sheet surveys. The

time spent on this study over a span of 10 weeks can be broken down into pieces. Each week,

group will meet at least 2 time a week up to three hours at a time. In addition to individualized

work estimating at least 4 hours a week.

Personnel Direct $0
Tech Fee Indirect $40(3) = $120
Recording
Device Indirect $0
Snack Cost Indirect $5(3)=$15
$0.10(23)=$2.3
Paper product Indirect 0
Gas Indirect $40(10)=$400
Total: $537.30

What
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Model

We will use the goal free model as an approach to help define our criteria for our

proposed research question(s). The Goal-Free model is used specifically designed to “examine

an organization, group of participants, or program irrespective of a goal (Henderson, Bialeschki,

Browne, 2017, p.49). This model is to determine what is actually happening (Henderson, et al.,

2017, p.49).The implementation we are using is the mixed method approach. This will allows for

two different data types to be measured, and a more complex analysis of the data collected

(Henderson, et al., 2017, p.265). For the purpose of this research, we will be examining a group

of participants and their knowledge and/or experiences on a research topic.

Criteria Criteria is used to be able to create a clear understanding of standards and

expectations a study will follow (Henderson, Bialeschki, Browne, 2017, p.19). One example of

criteria are goals, and objectives set by an organization or company. Problems that can occur

with this is, incorrect and unclear written standards (Henderson, et al., 2017, p.20). Criteria is an

important aspect due to the clear standards that will determine the lay out the rest of the study

(Henderson, et al., 2017, p.20). In this study we will be using research questions as our criteria.

The main research question for this study is: To what extent do RCLS 425 students deem it

appropriate to include alcohol and recreation? Criteria and guiding questions being measures are:

● To what extent does the RCLS 425 student deem it appropriate to recreate with alcohol?

● To what extent do RCLS 425 students believe that having access to alcohol during an

event/ program will increase recreation participation?

● To what extent does does alcohol effects impardness in recreational participation?

Data Types When putting together research, the data collected is the evidence that will

help determine the findings of this study (Henderson, et al., 2017,p. 113). There are two types of
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data types to collect information; qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative data is measured to

follow statistical data used to create theory, which would best be used for the Goal-Attainment

method (Henderson, et al., 2017,p. 116). Data collection for this type is almost done through a

numerical scale survey. The data is easy to interpret and allows for fast collection electronically

or paper copies (Henderson, et al., 2017,p. 116). Qualitative data is a more specific and helps

develop theories as well as would fall under the Goal-Free model (Henderson, et al., 2017,p.

117). This type requires more intricate participation from the surveyors, involving open ended

questions. For this study we will be using both methods to collect data. This allows for both

collection and analysis of the data giving more depth for criteria(Henderson, et al., 2017,p. 120).

Who

Potential Audience

Our research aims to help understand why undergraduate students believe that

incorporating alcohol is appropriate for recreation participation. With this in mind, many could

benefit from the research presented. Hopefully our “potential audience” would be those who are

involved with student life especially in the field of recreation and leisure services. Fellow

peers/students in the RCLS program, faculty members in the physical education, health, and

recreation (PEHR) department, as well as researchers and practitioners could be enlightened and

learn from this information and use it for further understanding as it relates to undergraduate

students and alcohol consumption.

Group Members

The group of individuals conducting this research proposal project include three fellow

RCLS 425 students; Alyssa Gonzalez (20 years of age), Prestan Walker (24 years of age), and
ALCOHOL USE IN RECREATION: RESEARCH PROPOSAL 7

Kody Hodgen (22 years of age). Each group member are juniors at Eastern Washington

University. All are declared majors of the RCLS Recreation and Leisure Service Program,

specifying in Recreation and Tourism Management with minors in Experiential Education and

Group Facilitation.

Sample Population

The data collected by our group for our research will be provided by a sample of students

from Eastern Washington University (EWU). From what information I could find provided by

EWU’s website, the school was founded in 1882, the university tributes its name to Benjamin

Pierce Cheney, who provided the original grant to start the school. It wasn’t until 1977 that the

official name of the school became Eastern Washington University. Cheney, WA in which EWU

is located has an estimated 10,790 citizens, which is actually smaller than the universities student

body. According the EWU’s website, the number of students enrolled as of 2017 were 12,607.

However, the students we will be sampling in our research are specific to the department of

Physical education, Health, and Recreation (PEHR). Students in the field of physical education,

health and recreation work towards becoming professionals in the field and are “committed to

enhancing the quality of life through the promotion of wellness” (Eastern Washington

University, 2019). With eight different majors offered through the department; exercise science,

health and physical education, outdoor recreation leadership, public health, recreation and

tourism management, therapeutic recreation and physical education, we will be focused solely on

the majors offered through the Recreation and Leisure Services (RCLS) program.

RCLS Students Sample The RCLS program offers three majors: Outdoor Recreation

Leadership, Recreation and Tourism Management, and Therapeutic Recreation. These majors are

all accredited through the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA). Since this
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research is specific to the number of students in the RCLS program, our sample with be drawn

from current enrolled student registered in RCLS 425: Evaluation in Recreation and Leisure

Services for Spring quarter, 2019. With 45 students currently enrolled in the class, the sample

includes students from each of the three majors. To give perspective to the number of students

declared in each major there are: (30) Outdoor Recreation Leadership majors, (34) Recreation

and Tourism Management majors, and (28) Therapeutic Recreation majors. Since RCLS 425 is

one of the program’s core accredited classes, students from each of the majors are required to

take the class.

When

Timing

For this evaluation we will be using an assessment to establish a baseline for student's

knowledge and opinions about alcohol consumption and its use in recreation. According to our

lecture notes in RCLS 425 of Spring 2019, assessment evaluations are used in our research

because this approach is a specific form of applied research (Chase, 2019). As researchers, our

interests are not to establish any facts or principles about our topic, but rather to provide a further

examination of the needs and interests of our sample population, our peers, professors, as well as

fellow researchers and practitioners in the field. Our plan aligns with the general outline of an

assessment evaluation which according to Henderson, Bialeschki and Brown (2017), is “defining

what we know (about our topic), developing a plan of action, collecting data about what is”

(p. 79) and determining if there are any discrepancies between the two. In this case, we would be

determining or measuring student’s current knowledge of recreating while consuming alcohol

and our data would provide that information.

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Timeline The timeline we have set for our overall written report falls in accordance with

the RCLS 425 syllabus provided by Dr. Chase spring quarter, 2019. This syllabus provides an

outline for the due dates for - proposal; focus groups; survey implementation; group

presentations; and final written report. The due dates are assigned as follows:

● Proposal (April 26th, 2019)

● Focus Groups (May 6th/7th, 2019)

● Survey Implementation (May 20th, 2019)

● Group Presentation (May 28th - June 5th, 2019)

● Final Report (May 6th, 2019)

Where

Sample size, composition, and technique.

The sample size for this research proposal is 6 people in the focus groups and a total of

42 people for the questionnaire. The sampling technique that we will be using for our

questionnaire and for our focus groups is convenience sampling. We are using this technique

because we are using the students within our class and they are already available to us.

How

Methods

We are using a descriptive design with a qualitative component, which is the focus

groups, and a quantitative component, which will be our questionnaire. The use of these two

kinds of data types together is called a triangulated method or a mixed-mode method. “Within
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method triangulation includes the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data using the

same method” (Henderson, Bialeschki, & Brown, 2017, p. 264). We are using this method

because it allows us to use both open-ended and closed-ended questions within our questionnaire

and focus groups (Henderson et al., 2017, p. 264). We are using the focus group method because

it is faster than personal interviews with each student and they are very low cost. Focus groups

allow us to get many answers at once but they also allow for social conversation with the rest of

the group. The questionnaire that we are using will be twelve questions long and will take about

five minutes to complete. “The questionnaire is the actual physical or electronic form used to

conduct a survey” (Henderson et al., 2017, p. 152) Some of the questions will be collecting

demographic data and some will be collecting ranking data to help us understand the population

we are surveying. The questions will also be using the Likert Scale to get feedback out the

participants attitudes toward the use of alcohol in recreation. The organization of the

questionnaire will be easy to follow and the readability will be written at an eighth grade reading

level.

Analysis Techniques

The analysis techniques that we will be using for the questionnaire will be univariate

because we will be asking for some demographic data. By using univariate analysis we will be

able to see how factors like age and sex play a role in the participants views of alcohol use in

recreation. The analysis technique that will be used in the focus groups will be qualitative data

analysis and interpretation because we will be analyzing group thought and attitudes which will

be more prone to interpretation than a simple check box or “circle one” answer. “Interpretation

involves attaching meanings and significance to the analysis, explaining descriptive patterns, and

looking for relationships and linkages within the data” (Henderson and Brown, 2017, p. 339).
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The use of word pictures and summaries will provide descriptions of what actually happened.

Also in this technique, we are trying to get both the outer and inner perspectives which would be

the actual words used by interviewees and the interpretation of those words by the interviewers.

Special Considerations

There are no special considerations that need to be made for this project.

References

Henderson, K. A., Bialeschki, M. D., Browne, L. P. (2017). Evaluating recreation

services: Making enlightened decisions (4th ed.). Urbana, IL: Sagamore Venture

Publishing.
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Physical Education, Health & Recreation. (2019). Retrieved from

https://www2.ewu.edu/cale/programs/pehr/pehr-degrees

Thompson, C. M., & Romo, L. K. (2016). College students' drinking and posting about alcohol:

Forwarding a model of motivations, behaviors, and consequences. Journal of Health

Communication, 21(6), 688-695. doi:10.1080/10810730.2016.1153763

Ward, B. W., & Gryczynski, J. (2007). Alcohol use and participation in organized recreational

sports among university undergraduates. Journal of American College Health, 56(3), pp.

273-280. doi:10.3200/JACH.56.3.273-280

Woodyard, C., & Hallam, J. (2010). Differences in college student typical drinking and

celebration drinking. Journal of American College Health, 58(6), 533-538.

doi:10.1080/07448481003621734