Nick's Place

Research Questions

1. Why do people choose to come out of the closet?

2. Did any homophobic comments/actions affect the decision to come out?

3. What age do people choose to come out of the closet?

4. Are there specific steps that a person goes through when coming out?

5. Who does the person choose to tell first?

6. What are the most common fears experienced when coming out?

7. What adjustments are most important after coming out of the closet?

8. Did the subjects make any special considerations due as a result of sexually transmitted diseases?

9. Does age of the person have any affect on the above items?

10. Are there differences between men and women relating to all of the above decisions?

Population

The primary population under investigation will be college age people in southwest-Ohio area. While most subjects will be between the ages of seventeen and twenty-seven, a limited number of older subjects will be included in the population to provide a comparison and to satisfy research questions number nine. Many students will be associated with Wright State University, but an effort will be made to include students and non-students from the southwest-Ohio area.

Methodology

The research will be conducted through survey containing both closed-ended and open-ended questions. The survey will be distributed and completed in both paper form, and electronic from. (email and/or web form) The researchers will not provide clarification, or be present during the completion of the survey. The exception that will be made is in the case of disabled students, where the researcher will only read the questions verbatim, and write down the participation's responses verbatim.

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