Custom «Progress Report 2 Student Loan Debts» Essay Paper Sample

Student Loan Debts

Student loans are helpful in that an individual can comfortably finish their studies. The problem comes in when the individual has to pay back this loan. Many people end up defaulting not because of ignorance but because they fail to get well-paying jobs. The research will aim at proving whether age is one of the factors that affect the loan repayment rate because I believe that as one grows older, their responsibilities increase, and the ability to repay the loan decreases.

Design

The researcher will use the survey research design when conducting the research. The survey method is useful in gathering both qualitative and quantitative information, which will be helpful in the research. Even though any information can be collected using this research method, the research will mainly concentrate on gathering quantitative data. The main strength of this method is flexibility. The researcher can conduct it from their home or office. The survey could be done over the phone, email, the internet, or in person. Also, it is reliable in that, the questions posed to all the participants are framed in the same way meaning that the data gathered will reflect people’s opinions about the concept asked, unlike interviews where the researcher can reframe the question for each respondent.

The main weakness of the survey method is validity. The questions elicit general answers like yes or no or agree and disagree, unlike in other methods where the researcher can get detailed responses. In cases where the survey is done over the email or the internet, it is hard for the researcher to elaborate on a question the respondents don’t understand. This is the best method because of its flexibility. Other methods would require the researcher to meet with the respondents which can be quite challenging.

Sample

The survey method often uses a random sampling technique. The people to partake in the survey are individuals who have graduated from university but are yet to pay their student loans.  The sample size will be 500 people. The people to participate will be randomly selected from this population. Individuals between 25 and 45 years old will partake in the survey. Individuals above 45years will not be included even though they still have student loans. Furthermore, people who graduated in the past two years will not be included even though they fall under the age group to be included in the research.

The research will use simple random sampling. The limitation of this sampling type is that it is ineffective with large populations. For the researcher to have accurate results, they need to have a list of the entire populations, and it is impossible to have a list of all individuals with student loans.

Measures

Age and student loan debt are the X and Y variables. The research wants to find out if the rate of paying debts and age are correlated. Age represents the independent variable; the student loan debt represents the dependent variable. The assumption the researcher will be working on is that as people grow old, their repayment rate increases and their student loan debt decreases. I defined the measures to get used in this research because I was curious to find out whether age affects student loan debt.

Example of questions to be used in the survey

What age group do you belong?

1)      25-29

2)      30-34

3)      35-39

4)      40-45

What is your outstanding student loan debt so far?

1)      $0-$5000

2)      $5001-$10000

3)      $10001-$15000

4)      $15001-$20000

5)      $20001 and above

What is your repayment rate?

1)      Weekly

2)      Monthly

3)      Bi-monthly

4)      Quarterly

5)      None of the above