A research in South Dakota (3,111 middle school students) showed that the students that where exposed to in store beer advertisements in grade 7 (12-13 years) predicted onset of drinking by grade 9 (14-15 years) and the same goes for the exposure of alcoholic beverage advertisements in a magazine and in sports or music events. (Ellickson, Collins, Hambarsoomians, and McCaffrey, 2005)
A research in Dartmouth Medical School (5,000+ Vermont and New Hampshire students) between the ages 10 to 14 where surveyed for 13 to 26 months and the outcome was that the students that where exposed to movies that contained alcohol in the scenes where more likely to start drinking at the time of follow up. There was also another conclusion that the alcohol use in the contemporary movies was 92% out of 601 movies. And also in 52% of the movies that where G-rated. (Sargent, Wills, Stoolmiller, Gibson, and Gibbons, 2006)
A research by the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth in 1997 showed and estimatet 28% decrease in alcohol advertisement would result in a decrease by adolescent would from 25% to between 24 and 21% and that would decrease the adolescent participation in binge drinking from 12 to between 11 and 8%. (Saffer & Dave, 2006)
A research by Hollingwel & Ebel shows that a complete ban on alcoholic advertisments would result in 7,609 fewer deaths from harmful drinking and that it also would have a 16% drop in the alcohol related life year lost. (Hollingworth & Ebel, 2006)
A survey by USA Today came to the conclusion that youngsters see that they are being more influenced by the advertisements to drink in general than that they are being influenced to buy a particular brand of alcohol. (Horovitz & Wells, 1997)
A survey by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms believes that “alcohol advertising is influencing youth to drink alcohol beverages.”(Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 2001)
A survey by the Century Council (which is funded by the alcohol industry) came with the outcome that 73% of the people believe that “alcohol advertising is a major contributor to underage drinking.”(Century Council, 1991)
Research design and methodology
One of the most important aspects of making a good research proposal is starting with a waterproof research design that covers the most important aspects that need to be covered in a good research design. In the research design it should be very clear how the research is being done and what methods are being used. The research design is also a tool that helps with managing your time spent on research since you will be doing everything step by step. This also makes it easier for the reader to follow how the research has been done, and shows the reader the bond between the different variables. (Cooper & Schindler, 2007,)
The research question has to be converted to a causal hypothesis: “Is advertising liquor resulting in more underage drinking?” We have to take the type of variables into consideration and see which one is the dependent variable and which one is the independent variable. Here the “advertising liquor” is the independent variable. The independent variable causes an effect on the dependent variable. In this case the dependent variable is: “underage drinking”.
The null hypothesis is: advertising liquor is not resulting in more underage drinking.
In null hypothesis the independent variable is not having any effect on the dependent variable.
Advertising liquor is not having a positive correlation on underage drinking.
The alternative hypothesis is: advertising liquor is resulting in more underage drinking. In the alternative hypothesis the independent variable is having effect on the dependable variable. Advertising liquor is having realizing a positive correlation on the underage drinking.
To make this research feasible the collection of the correct data is needed, for this research the following data are needed: primary, secondary and tertiary sources followed by a questionnaire (which is primary data). The primary data is research that will be done by the researcher out of raw data. This is data that is not processed and that is collected by the researcher and processed by the researcher e.g. government data, data from a statistics bureau and interviews. Secondary data is the same data like primary but it is been manipulated so that it forms information and not just raw data e.g. academic articles and textbooks. Tertiary data is when you would use someone else’s view of secondary data that he has been using for his research e.g. bibliographies and Internet search engines.
In this research I will also make use of a cross-sectional study (survey). Surveys are cross sectional researches that are being done once, after that you manipulate the data in a way that it will suit your research the best then you analyse it to find the models of association. (Bryman & Bell, 2003). To collect the correct data you need to design a short and strong but effective questionnaire this can be done with multiple choice and open-ended questions. With this questionnaire you can collect the data that you require for you research to answer your research question. (Models of learning, 2008)
The sample of the people that are going to fill out the questionnaire will be 100 people consisting out of:
20 people spread out through India
20 people spread out through The Netherlands
20 people spread out through Belgium
20 people spread out through Germany
20 people spread out through The USA
The sample will help the researcher to understand how the advertisement of liquor influences the underage drinkers. Even non-drinkers can fill out the questionnaire and give their views about the questions since they are also being exposed to advertisements of alcoholic beverages.
Conclusion
In conclusion the research proposal gives the reader an idea why and how the research will be done. In the research it will be clarified if advertising liquor is resulting in underage drinking or not. Out of this research proposal a question is formulated, and then into a causal hypothesis, which will be tested. The test will show if there is a positive correlation between advertising liquor and the number of underage drinkers, which means that when there is more advertisement that results in more underage drinkers.
If the null hypothesis is being the outcome of the test then there is no significant effect between the independent and the dependent variable (no correlation between advertisement of liquor and underage drinking).
However if the alternative hypothesis is being the outcome then we know that there is a correlation between the independent and the dependent variable (that advertising liquor is resulting in more underage drinkers). Then we can have a conclusion if there should be more of less advertisements about liquor of not. This way marketers can also see if they should increase of decrease the money that is being spend on the advertising liquor.
The way all the information is being gathered will be all worked out in detail so if any other researcher wants to use the same methods its easy for them to follow it step by step and achieve the same outcomes and build further from there. In the business research the researcher will summarize the man theme in the research literature and draw the main point from show how each of the pieces of the research are build on the previous work that has been done by previous researchers. This research proposal also shows how I the researcher came to the research design. How the sample is taken and how many people and from what geographic parts of the world they have been selected will be explained in the research proposal. At the end the researcher will come to a conclusion if advertising liquor is having an influence on the underage drinkers or not.
Reference list:
Austin, EW, Meili, HK. (1994). Effects of interpretations of televised alcohol portrayals on children's alcohol beliefs. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media
A.W. Stacy, J.B. Zogg, J.B. Unger, and C.W. Dent (2004) Exposure to Televised Alcohol Ads and Subsequent Adolescent Alcohol Use American Journal of Health
Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2003). Business Research methods Oxford: Oxford University Press.
B. Horovitz, M. Wells (1997) Ads for adult vices big hit with teens USA Today
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (2001) Findings of Research Study of the Public Opinion Concerning Warning Labels on Containers of Alcoholic Beverages U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Century Council (1991) Poll shows many people believe industry encourages teen drinking Alcohol Issues Insights
Cooper, D.R., & Schindler, P.S. (2006). Business Research Methods (9th ed.). New York: Tata McGraw-Hill.
Federal Trade Commission, Self-Regulation in the Alcohol Industry (1991), A Review of Industry Efforts to Avoid Promoting Alcohol to Underage Consumers, Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission.
H. Saffer and D. Dave (2006) Alcohol advertising and alcohol consumption by adolescents Health Economics
J. D. Sargent, T. A. Wills, M. Stoolmiller, J. Gibson, and F. X. Gibbons (2006) Alcohol Use in Motion Pictures and Its Relation with Early-Onset Teen Drinking, Journal of Studies on Alcohol
Kotler, P., Keller, K.L., Koshy, A., Jha, M. (2007). Marketing Management, a South Asian Perspective. Delhi. Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. Licensees of Pearson Eduction in South Asia.
Murray, H. (1986). Advertising’s Effect on Sales – Proven or just assumed. International Journal of Advertising. Vol. 5 Issue 1, p15-36.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2000), Special Report to the US Congress on Alcohol and Health. Bethesda (10th), MD: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
NZPA. Student in coma after binge drinking.
Retrieved from the World Wide Web. Augustus 31st 2008.
P.L. Ellickson, R.L.Collins, K.Hambarsoomians, and D.R. McCaffrey (2005), Does Alcohol Advertising Promote Adolescent Drinking? Results From a Longitudinal Assessment.
W. Hollingworth, B. E. Ebel (2006) Prevention of Deaths From Harmful Drinking in the United States: The Potential Effects of Tax Increases and Advertising Bans on Young
Drinkers Journal of Studies on Alcohol
Yoo, B. and Mandhachitara. (2003). Estimating Advertising Effects on Sales in a Competitive Setting Journal of Advertising Research
All the information in this questionnaire will be handled highly confidential and will not be spread to third parties. Please fill out the questionnaire as honest as possible, thank you for your time and participation
This is a questionnaire about the relationship between advertisement and underage drinking.
Name (Optional): ………………………………………….
Age: ……....years
Gender: Male Female Circle your gender
Country: ………………………………………….
Nationality: ………………………………………….
1. At what age did you have your first alcoholic beverage?
…..….Years Not a sip from someone else’s drink but a whole glass/shot
2. After your first alcoholic beverage did you continue drinking alcoholic beverages until the age of 18?
Yes No I did not drink Circle the correct answer
3. Until the age of 18 how many alcoholic drinks did you drink per week?
………Glasses and or shots
4. Did you parents permit you to drink alcohol when you where younger than 18?
Yes No Circle the correct answer
5. Have your parents ever seen you drunk?
Yes No Circle the correct answer
6. Do you know other families that allow their children under the age of 18 to have alcoholic beverages?
Yes No Circle the correct answer
7. How did you get the alcoholic beverages?
Friends purchasing parents clubs Circle the correct answer(s)
Other…………………………..
8. Why do you think other people younger than 18 consume alcohol?
O That way they can party better
O Because of their feelings e.g. they are sad/depressed
O Because it is against the law
O They want to be part of the rest e.g. the rest of their friends do it
O Because of boredom
O Other……………………..
Tick the answer(s) that are/is most applicable to your thoughts
9. What do you think about the use of alcohol by underage teenagers it is a
O Serious problem
O small Problem
O Not a problem at all
Tick the answer that is most applicable to your thoughts
10. What is your opinion about the heavy alcohol use of underage drinkers in the last 10 years?
O It is the same
O It has increased
O It has decreased
Tick the answer that is most applicable to your thoughts
11. In your opinion who is responsible for the underage drinkers
O Liquor stores/clubs/pubs/restaurants
O The parents of the underage drinkers
O Advertisements
O Their friends
O No opinion
O Other………………………………………
Tick the answer(s) that are/is most applicable to your thoughts
12. In your opinion how can we decrease the amount of underage drinkers?
O Harder penalties
O More education about alcohol in mass media (TV, Radio, E-mail)
O Banning the advertisements of alcohol
O Alcohol free clubs/pubs/restaurants
O Other…………………………………………
Tick the answer(s) that are/is most applicable to your thoughts
13. When you had your first drink where you influenced by advertisements e.g. the Bacardi advertisement, Heineken advertisement, Amstel advertisement, Budweiser advertisement, Smirnoff advertisement, Martini advertisement?
O No
O Yes…………………………………………… Which one(s)
14. In your opinion do you think alcohol advertisements influence underage drinkers? (Take in consideration commercials like James Bond ordering a Martini “Shaken but no stirred” or the Bacardi Song etc.)
O Yes
O No
15. The space beneath is left empty if you want to add more information that you think is relevant for this research.
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Thank you for your time and effort!
