Advancing the Scientific Knowledgebase
Your study should advance the scientific knowledge base in your field by meeting one or more of these four criteria:
- The study should address something that is not known or has not been studied before.
- The study should be new or different from other studies in some way.
- The study should extend prior research on the topic in some way.
- The study should fill a gap in the existing literature.
Specifically describe how your research will advance scientific knowledge on your topic by answering all of these 3 questions. Include in-text citations as needed.
Advancing Scientific Knowledge
Demonstrate how the study
- will advance the scientific knowledge base;
- is grounded in the field of psychology;
- addresses something that is not known, something that is new or different from prior research, something that extends prior research, or something that fills a gap in the existing literature.
Describe precisely how your study will add to the existing body of literature on your topic. It can be a small step forward in a line of current research but it must add to the body of scientific knowledge in your specialization area and on the topic.
To respond to this question you will need to:
- Provide a paragraph that describes the background of your study and how your research question relates to the background of the study.
- Then, in a second paragraph discuss previous research and demonstrate exactly how your study (answering research question) will advance the scientific knowledge base on this topic. Include in-text citations and place the references in the reference section.
The US society is still overwhelmed with stereotypes and bias as regards gender roles. It is believed that males should occupy high posts and earn money while women should focus on their children and households. Such beliefs affect the way females take up roles in society. Females are often paid less and prevented from occupying high posts. Importantly, US women often share the common beliefs concerning the roles and power distribution in society (Helgeson, 2015).
This trend is especially remarkable as many US women have become financially and socially independent compared to the previous generations. This study will attempt to unveil the reasons for the persistence of females’ gender stereotypes concerning the distribution of gender roles in society.
The topic has received quite considerable attention in the academic world. Helgeson (2015) provides an analysis of the existing literature and states that researchers mainly focus on the extent to which the trend persists. Thus, researchers try to identify whether females share the stereotypes mentioned above and to what extent. Researchers also try to define the correlation between women’s background and their beliefs.
However, there is little attention to particular accounts of women. It can be beneficial to examine females’ perspectives on the matter. For instance, Aluko (2015) explored the experiences of women who enjoy certain financial independence. The researcher found that women still did not make decisions due to the notion of obligation. However, the researcher does not attempt to explain why the notion of obligation persists. More so, women’s views on the experiences that influence the way they see gender roles distribution have not been considered.
This study will address this gap as the experiences that contribute to the development of gender stereotypes in women will be in the researcher’s lens. It is necessary to add that women’s gender stereotypes under study include females’ views on the distribution of gender roles. The researcher will explore the way such experiences as family history, education, and psychological traits contribute to the development of gender stereotypes.
Theoretical Implications
Describe any theoretical implications that the proposed study may have for understanding phenomena. For example, will the study generate new theory, provide a description of the lived experience of the participants, or provide a description of a cultural phenomenon?
The research will employ the case study methodology with some elements of the empirical phenomenology model as it will develop a psychosocial lesson based on the analysis of the lived experiences of the participants. This qualitative research approach will be instrumental in identifying experiences that affected women’s beliefs as seen by women. The analysis of females’ accounts will help the researcher describe the peculiarities of the phenomenon.
This knowledge can be further used in quantitative research. Researchers may try to identify the extent to which each of the experiences described affects the development of gender stereotypes in females. The theory concerning factors affecting the development of gender stereotypes in women can be developed based on these studies.
Practical Implications
Describe any practical implications that may result from your research. Specifically, describe any implications the research may have for understanding phenomena for practitioners, the population being studied, or a particular type of work, mental health, educational, community, stakeholders, or another setting.
This study can have a variety of implications in the sphere of mental health, education, social work as well as women and the overall society. The study aims at explaining the development of gender stereotypes in women. These stereotypes often result in the development of depressive symptoms as women are unable to realize their potential (Helgeson, 2015). Understanding the reasons for the persistence of gender stereotypes in women will help mental health professionals and social workers explain female clients the reasons of their psychological state.
Practitioners will also be able to develop a set of coping strategies that will help women to get rid of the stereotypical views. Women will be able to take up more active roles in society. IO psychology can also be enriched by the findings as female employees’ behavior can be explained. More so, practitioners will be able to develop strategies that will increase females’ engagement, motivation, and performance. Finally, the study can become one of the first steps in the process of societal change.
For instance, it can be found that education plays a central role in the development of gender stereotypes in women. The curriculum, as well as the entire system, can be modified to create a truly egalitarian society. It has been acknowledged that women’s active participation in social life is beneficial for the development of society. However, a lot of barriers still prevent females from being active members of society. This study may help change this trend.
- Reviewers
- Does the study advance scientific knowledge in the field and the specialization area by meeting one or more of these four criteria?
- Does the study address something that is not known or has not been studied before?
- Is this study new or different from other studies in some way?
- Does the study extend prior research on the topic in some way?
- Does the study fill a gap in the existing literature?
- _____YES or____ NO
- Reviewer Comments
Contributions of the Proposed Study to the Field
Contributions to the Field
Your study should make a contribution to your field based on the approach used to conduct the research:
- Ethnography – The study should produce a description of some psychological dimensions of culture.
- Case Study – The study should develop a psychological or psychosocial lesson to be learned from the case.
- Grounded theory – The study should generate new psychological or psychosocial theory or an emergent psychological or psychosocial theory.
- Phenomenology – The study should yield a description of the lived experience of the participants.
- Heuristics – The study should yield a description of lived experience which includes the experience of the researcher as well as those of the participants.
- Generic Qualitative Research – The study should answer the question using qualitative data.
Describe how your study is grounded in and/or adds to knowledge in the field of psychology.
This study involves elements of the case study and empirical phenomenology. On the one hand, the study focuses on a phenomenon of the persistence of gender stereotypes in females. The study will explain the phenomenon and will add to knowledge through the analysis of particular reasons for the development of the phenomenon. On the other hand, the study employs the elements of the empirical phenomenology as it is based on the analysis of females’ accounts.
This approach enables the researcher to identify views on the phenomenon, which can help explain it. This study will describe possible experiences (as seen by women) that result in the development of gender stereotypes. The findings of the study can be further analyzed and generalized. They can also be used to develop a theory concerning the nature stereotypes existing in society.
References
Provide references for all citations in APA style. Submit your reference list below.
Aluko, Y.A. (2015). Re-evaluating the empowerment potential of women’s paid work. International Journal of Gender and Women’s Studies, 3(2), 190-201.
Helgeson, V. (2015). Psychology of gender. New York, NY: Psychology Press.