2) Describe the research question and give some background information in your own words. 

3) Which theory(s) did the author use? 

4) What did this contribute to the research design?

5) Is the research design qualitative or quantitative?

6) How did the author sample (gain respondents or data?) 

7) Did the author use random sampling? 

8) What is the sample size?

9) What research method did the author utilize? 

10) What are the advantages of this research method? 

11) What are the disadvantages of this research method?

12) What ethical measures did the researcher take to protect their participants?

13) In your own words, what results did the author find?

14) Why are the results important or sociologically relevant?

 

How the word “fag” is used to demote the masculinity of the target receiving the insult.

 

2) Describe the research question and give some background information in your own words. 

 

The research question is asking what the social definition of the word “fag” is. It is used in multiple ways to diminish and take advantage of a socially weaker or vulnerable target by claiming they are homosexual, in a negative sense.

 

3) Which theory(s) did the author use? 

 

The author uses queer theory to describe how the word “fag” demoralizes a victim to a lower social standing by putting masculinity at the peak of social status.

 

4) What did this contribute to the research design?

 

This contributes to the comparisons between sexual orientation and social status.

 

5) Is the research design qualitative or quantitative?

 

The research design is qualitative. 

 

6) How did the author sample (gain respondents or data?)

 

The author used the snowball method to gain their respondents and data.

 

7) Did the author use random sampling? 

 

No, the author used select subjects instead of random.

 

8) What is the sample size?

 

She sampled a total of 61 men and women.

 

9) What research method did the author utilize? 

 

The author used the interview method.

 

10) What are the advantages of this research method? 

 

The interview method has the advantage of being able to receive personal experience and stories from an individual.

 

11) What are the disadvantages of this research method?

 

It can take longer to interview 61 individuals. 

 

12) What ethical measures did the researcher take to protect their participants?

 

The researched changed the names of the individuals to protect their identities.

 

13) In your own words, what results did the author find?

 

That the word “fag” is used mostly between white, straight males to demote the social status of the individual they are targeting.
 
 

14) Why are the results important or sociologically relevant?

 

The results are important because people who are homosexual feel diminished among their peers for the use of the word “fag” in a derogatory manner.

2. How would you define losing your virginity? Losing your virginity can be interpreted by many different factors, such as religion, century, and male or female perspective. 

3. feminist and theory of body discipline.

4. It allowed them to look from interpretive frames, and social identity. 

5. It is qualitative because he asked open ended questions. 

6. He used purposive snowballing sampling method. 

7. No he used recommended people from professional contacts. 

8. 61 women and men 

9. Grounded theory 

10. He developed a guide for coding the interviews which he reread and was able to identify similar themes and topics. 

11. He would lose parts of individuals ideas and opinions. 

12. All were anonymous and the individuals could choose where they wanted to be interviewed and could stop whenever they wanted and signed a paper. 

13. Everyone perceives virginity and defines sex differently based on factors such as gender, beliefs, age, and sexual identity. 

14. Individuals used definitions and interpretations of virginity loss as tools for constructing sexual identity both socially and personally.

1.      The research was on the ambiguity of having sex is subjective and the fact that the term “losing your virginity” in the US is subjective. 

2.      The first question the researcher had was “to what sexual experiences do women and men refer when they talk about virginity loss or the first time they had sex” and “how do people interpret virginity loss.” 

3.      The author used the theory of social instruction and as well as social and personal social identities. 

4.      The openness of the questions allowed for those being interviewed to remain honest, thus not skewing the answers to what they may have thought she wanted to hear. 

5.      In the research, both qualitative and quantitative data was presented. 

6.      The author gained her sample with professional contacts and special interest organizations. 

7.      The author did not use random sampling. 

8.      The sample size was 61. 

9.      The author used the snowball method and then interviewed the people who agreed to be part of the research. The interviews were semi-structured. 

10.   Many of the questions were open ended, thus it helped with those being interviewed, allowing them to overcome reluctance to participate in the research. 

11.   The disadvantages of the author’s method were that they were not random samples, thus making many of the answers similar in views. 

12.   Not only did the author not pay those being interviewed, but she also kept the identities anonymous. 

13.   The author found that many of the younger participants are more open to what the “definition” of virginity loss is, they also are more accepting of changes (ie: LGBTQA+ rights) 

14.   The research is important because it shows social change. 

1)      The topic of study is what virginity loss means. 

2)      The research question is about what losing your virginity means and what qualifies as losing your virginity. Our background information is losing your virginity means when the penis penetrates in the vagina. 

3)      The theory the author used is the Functionalism Theory. 

4)      This theory added information based on standings and beliefs like sexual orientation. 

5)      The research design is qualitative. 

6)      The author sampled using the snowball sampling method, where respondents were found through professional contacts or organizations. 

7)      No, the author did not use random sampling. 

8)      The sample size was 61 woman and men. 

9)      The author used in depth, semi- structured interviews. 

10)   Some advantages of this method are that the respondents could speak freely, at any length they wanted and to do the interview anywhere they wanted. 

11)   Some disadvantages of this method were that the responses weren’t as structured as they could have been because of the freedom each respondent had. 

12)   Some ethical measures the researcher took were making sure each participant remained confidential and anonymous. They could also stop the interview whenever they felt uncomfortable. Again, they could also choose the interview location to be most comfortable. The researcher also got approval from the institution on the interview protocol. 

13)   Some findings of the research were that most everyone believes that vaginal-penile intercourse is considered virginity loss. Everyone also believed that to lose your virginity you have to have a partner involved. It got trickier when same-sex relationships were brought up and how their virginity loss takes place. Some believe that oral sex counts as a way to lose virginity while others don’t. Also some believe that non-consensual sex (rape) is a way to lose virginity while others don’t. Overall it was found that the younger people in the research were redefining virginity loss and it will always be changing. 

14)   These results are important because virginity loss has a big role with gender, sex, and sexual orientation which are important parts of sociology. 

2)    The research question is the argument that boys become/feel more masculine through making others feel less masculine via the term “fag.” Boys in the article match up with the characteristics of the people that most of us have attended school with ourselves. The fag complex is just one example of stereotypes. 

3)    The author used a couple of theories in her article to help her own studies. Queer theory and feminist theory were two that the author used specifically. Queer theory integrates insights about the relationships between gender, sexuality, and power with attention to male masculinity. 

4)    This contributed better understanding to the research design. She uses more specific theories to describe the elements she is studying. 

5)    The research design is qualitative. She used ethnographic research. 

6)    The author gained data by interviewing students and then observing their behavior in their high school setting. She gained respondents by “conducting presentations in a range of classes and hanging around at lunch, before and after school, and at various events and then taking volunteers for further interviews in a setting that the interviewee selected. 

7)    The author used volunteers and therefore she did not use random sampling. 

8)    The sample size is 49 students (36 boys and 13 girls). 

9)    The author utilized observation and surveying as her research method. 

10) The advantages to this method of research are that observing them in their natural habitat relieves the student of pressures imposed by a research setting that they are unfamiliar with. The interviews/survey method allows you to get more personal questions without the fear of other people being aware of your answers. 

11) The disadvantages of this research method are that students may be less willing to answer survey questions without hearing how other people feel about the topic. Also, observations can be biased from the researcher’s standpoint. 

12) The ethical measures are changing the high school’s name to River High and changing participants names. 

13) The author found that the word “fag” is used to promote one’s own self confidence by identifying others as queers, thus ripping them of their masculinity. 

14) The results are sociologically relevant and important because “fag” may be a racialized term, as well as sexualized teasing. 

-The ambiguity of defining “Virginity Loss”

2) Describe the research question and give some background information in your own words. 

-The question is how different groups of people define what losing your virginity really means. Some people thought of virginity as a gift, some put a negative stigma behind losing it, others think you can lose your virginity in oral sex or anal. 

3) Which theory(s) did the author use? 

-Socially constructed theory

4) What did this contribute to the research design?

5) Is the research design qualitative or quantitative?

6) How did the author sample (gain respondents or data?) 

7) Did the author use random sampling? 

-no

8) What is the sample size?

-61

9) What research method did the author utilize? 

-Grounded Theory: developed to optimize analysis of qualitative data, the grounded theory approach stresses the inductive development of the analytic categories guiding the researchers inquiries.

10) What are the advantages of this research method? 

-This strategy helps the researcher focus on the meaning of experiences to study participants 

11) What are the disadvantages of this research method?

-Views were similar because it wasn’t random

12) What ethical measures did the researcher take to protect their participants?

-She kept the identities anonymous and did not pay them to answer; she also made the participants comfortable

13) In your own words, what results did the author find?

-Most people stated that virginity loss is penetration of the vagina, but this varied depending on age and sexual orientation

14) Why are the results important or sociologically relevant?

-It goes to show that virginity is something that society puts a meaning behind.