Topic: Title: Prospectus

Order Description

Prospectus
School Enrollment is negatively related to Smoking among Teenagers Ages 14-18 Years old in Indiana

You have made a tremendous leap to elevate your Prospectus! So, I commend you for that.
Here are problematic areas: while the gap in the literature has been articulated, the problem statement is unclear. You need to clarify if you want to study the effect of school enrollment (rates or none thereof) on smoking among these adolescents in Indiana. Or do you want to study the opposite, vis-a-vie, the effect of smoking on school enrollment (rates/no rates).
Once this is properly defined, then you can address the positive social impact aspect of your study. Right now it is very confused.
Please say more about the theory on which your work is grounded. The tenets of this theory will inform your research questions, which will in turn inform your research design and instruments. To this end then, I highly recommend that you consult with your Methodology expert committee member, before you continue.
So, here’s your immediate task: make the corrections indicated here to get a clean copy. Then email the clean copy (where you have incorporated the feedback) and an exact copy of this paper to your Methodology Committee expert member. After their review and feedback, incorporate their comments and submit another clean copy in combination with their comments.
Good Luck!

Problem statement
Cigarette smoking in the US has been cited as the single largest preventable cause of morbidity and mortality not just among adults but among teenagers. It causes more deaths every year than AIDS, motor vehicle accidents, alcohol, heroin, homicide, cocaine and suicide combined. It is also the largest single cause of preventable death within the US (CDC, 2015). Over 480,000 deaths result from cigarette smoke annually in the US with about 41,000 of these being a result of exposure to second hand smoke (CDC, 2015 ). Illnesses that are related to cigarette smoking cost the US economy $300 billion annually with approximately $170 billion being spent on direct medical expenses. Among cigarette smoking related diseases, lung cancer is the leading causes of mortality followed by coronary heart disease and chronic obstructive heart disease (American Lung Association, 2011). In Indiana, the percentage of high schools students who have never tried to smoke is lower than the national average (51% versus 55%). However, a higher percentage of students (57%) are trying to quit smoking when compared to the national average at 50% (The Office of Adolescent Health, 2011).
According to a report by CDC (2015), the rate of smoking decreased with increased level of education suggesting that higher rates of cigarette smoking are associated with reduced enrollment rates. Another study established that the prevalence of smoking among individuals with at least 12 years of education was lower than individuals with less education, or those with GED or high school diploma (American Lung Association, 2011). Increased smoking among US teenagers has been associated with increased mortality, increased incidence of other smoking related diseases like stroke (Shah & Cole, 2010). However, there is very little information on the effect of smoking on school enrollment rates in the United States. Many studies look at the effect of education attainment on smoking rates but not the effect of smoking on school enrollment.
Purpose of the study
The main focus of the study is to determine the association or relationship between school enrollment rates and smoking. Through a quantitative study approach the study shall determine the impact of smoking on the rates of school enrollment. The study variables are smoking which is the independent variable and school enrollment which is the dependent variable. Many stud[ies]y findings indicate that increased education is associated with reduced smoking rates . However, very few studies have looked at how smoking affects education enrollment. The key issue is to determine how smoking within a unique and vulnerable group of individuals affects school enrollment.
Significance of the study
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2013), education and health are key drivers of economic growth. The OECD notes that a 30 year old with a tertiary level of education can live an additional 51 productive years. Health and education contribute significantly and directly to improved social-economic status of an individual and overall economic growth. Smoking directly affects the health and education of individuals. This study looks at the impact of smoking on school enrollment in the state of Indiana. The study hypothesizes that smoking has a negative impact on school enrollment rates. There is very little information on the impact of smoking on school enrollment. The study findings shall form basis for similar studies that would have a wider scope by giving an indication of the association between the two variables.
Considering that schools are a major part of the social and physical environments of the youth, it is necessary to examine how their engagement in this environment relates to cigarette smoking in Indiana. The findings of this study will be instrumental in redirecting the use of resources as well as the areas of target to realize maximum efficiency and effectiveness with regard to preventing and stopping the onset of cigarette smoking (Perra et al., 2012; Gilman et al., 2007). The OECD (2013) notes that increase in educational attainment have been associated with higher employment opportunities, higher income, have access to networks and improved social status. As such, the formulation and implementation of such a policy (based on the findings of this study) would result in improved health, improved education attainment and overall improved social economic conditions of individuals and economic growth of the country.
Background of the study
Cigarette smoking among teenagers has been an issue of concern due to the adverse effects of smoking (RTI International, 2010). Smoking not only exerts a huge economic burden to the economy in the form of treatment and management costs of associated diseases, but also results in lost productivity and poor quality of life (CDC, 2014 ). In view of this, the US government set a national Healthy people 2020 objective of cutting down the cigarette smoking rate among teenagers/ adolescent to below 16%. According to a National Youth Risk behavior Survey of 2013, the US had a teenage smoking rate of 15.7% (CDC, 2014). In Indiana, cigarette smoking is still a major issue of concern. The Office of Adolescent Health (2011) notes that Indiana’s percentage of students who have never smoked is lower than the national average at 51% while the national average is 55%. However, a bigger percentage of high school students are trying to quit compared to the national average. It is also worth noting that according to IN.gov (2016), the prevalence of smoking has been on a steady decrease since year 2000. The decline can be attributed to the intervention programs initiated by the state government (ITPC, 2015).
The rate of enrollment in US high schools has been projected to be on the increase. The changes in school enrollment are highly indicative of demographic changes (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). In the years 2012 to 2013, 30% (about 14.8 million) of students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools. Between the years 2000 to 2013 the US national enrollment rate rose by 2.6million students in public schools. In the national scenario, enrollments rates within the state have been increasing steadily over the years. In the year 2015-16 the number of students who enrolled in public schools was 5,861 with whites accounting for the biggest share (Indiana Department of Education, 2015). It is however worth noting that the increase in enrollment rates within the state is due to demographic factors. As such, this study will control changes in demographic factors and increase the internal validity of the study.
Annotated Bibliography
Tercyak, K., et al. (2007). High school seniors smoking initiation and progression one year after graduation. American Journal of Public Health, 97(8), pp.1397-1398.
This study evaluated the association between attending school smoking and alcohol use among 12th graders. The study established that cigarette smoking is associated with missing school and alcohol consumption.
ITPC. (2010). The status of Indiana’s youth tobacco use. Retrieved from
http://www.in.gov/isdh/tpc/files/2008YTS_DataSheet_OtherTobaccoProducts_Sept_201 0.pdf
A recent study by the ITPC (2010) measuring the prevalence of smoking among Indiana’s youth indicated that there has been a decline in Tobacco use between 2000 and 2008. Youth in high schools had a 20% decrease. This report gives value on high school smoking trends.
Primack, B., Walsh, M., Bryce, C., & Eissenberg, T. (2009). Water pipe tobacco smoking among middle and high school students in Arizona. Pediatrics, 123(2),
This study measured the prevalence of various forms of smoking within the state of Arizona and looked at relationships/associations between different socio-demographic variables and smoking. This study gives important information on smoking as a variable and how different socio-demographic factors influence smoking. This info would be especially useful when controlling for confounders.
California Department of Public Health. (2015). California Tobacco facts and figures 2015. Retrieved from
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/tobacco/Documents/Resources/Fact%20Sheets/2015F actsFigures-web2.pdf
The study report by the California Department of Health indicates that smoking among high school students has been on the decrease both nationally and in the state of California. This report gives an indication of the prevalence of smoking among high school students and would be valuable to the current study on smoking among Indiana’s high school students.
Theoretical Framework
The protection/risk explanatory framework (Costa, Jessor, & Turbin, 2006) explains the variation in smoking patterns noted among high school and college students. Risk factors increase the probability of students engaging in smoking. Protective factors reduce the likelihood of students engaging in risk behavior such as smoking. Socio-demographic factors vary across different ethnic groups. For example, the family as a demographic factor may be a risk or a protective factor. Further information on socio-demographic factors and the effect on engagement in risky behavior across different communities are necessary for purposes of policy formulation. The framework will enable the study to gather data that explains the association between school enrollment and smoking in addition to risk and or protective factors that promote and or protect against engaging in smoking by high school students (Costa, Jessor, & Turbin, 2006)
Research Questions
• What is the association between the rate of smoking and rate of school enrollment?
• What is the association between different socio-demographic variables and smoking?
• How do different socio-demographic variable[s] affect smoking and in turn affect school enrollment among Indiana’s high school students?
Nature of the study
Sukamolson (2010) defines a quantitative study as an approach that utilizes numerical data to explain certain observed phenomena. The study will adopt a quantitative approach where a cross sectional study design will be used . Specifically, the study will collect numerical data using various data collection methods such as self administered survey and use mathematical formulae to manipulate the data in order to explain the association or the relationship between smoking and school enrollment among teenagers aged fourteen to eighteen (14 to 18) within the state of Indiana. In accordance with the cross sectional study design guidelines, the data will be collected at one point in time and the association between the two variables determined.
This quantitative analysis, which will use secondary data from government agencies as the data collection methods, will use regression analysis to determine whether one of the variables predicts the other variable. In essence, the regression analysis will be instrumental in determining the strength of the relationship between the two variables in consideration (Blaikie, 2003).

Secondary Data Types and Sources of Information
The data collected will be quantitative data that will be used to address the study question. The data will be obtained from the following sources:
• CDC teenage behavior survey data
• Indiana Department of Education
• Indiana Board of Health.
• National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)
• OECD family database
• Self-administered questionnaires that are anonymous
• US census Bureau
• Youth Tobacco Survey
Possible Analytical strategies
Correlation (r) will be used to determine presence of an association between the two variables. The strength of the association and the direction of the association shall be used to characterize the type of association between the two variables. The Z statistic will be used to determine whether the observed association is significant and that it cannot be attributable to chance. Demographic data will be collected and multivariate analysis used to establish any association between the two variables in each of the different groups (grade 9 to 12).

References
American Lung Association. (2011).Trends in tobacco use. Retrieved from
http://www.lung.org/assets/documents/research/tobacco-trend-report.pdf
Blaikie N. (2003). Analyzing Quantitative Data: From Description to Explanation. London, UK: SAGE Publications
California Department of Public Health. (2015). California Tobacco facts and figures 2015. Retrieved from
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/tobacco/Documents/Resources/Fact%20Sheets/2015F actsFigures-web2.pdf
CDC. (2014). Cigarette smoking among US high school students at lowest level in 22 years. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0612-yrbs.html
CDC. (2015). Current cigarette smoking among US adults aged 18yrs and older. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/resources/data/cigarette-smoking-in-united-
states.html
Costa, F., Jessor, R., Turbin, M. (2006). College student involvement in cigarette smoking: The role of psychosocial and behavioral protection and risk. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 9(2), pp. 213-224.
Indiana Department of Education. (2015). Enrollment 2015- 2016. Retrieved from http://www.duneland.k12.in.us/domain/31
IN.gov. (2016). Youth. Retrieved from http://www.in.gov/quitline/2332.htm
ITPC. (2010). The status of Indiana’s youth tobacco use. Retrieved from
http://www.in.gov/isdh/tpc/files/2008YTS_DataSheet_OtherTobaccoProducts_Sept_201 0.pdf
ITPC. (2015). Indiana tobacco control 2015 strategic plan. Retrieved from http://www.in.gov/isdh/tpc/files/IN_2015_Tobacco_Control_Strategic_Plan.pdf
National Center for Education Statistics. (2015). Public school enrollment. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cga.asp
OECD. (2013). Education indicators in focus. Retrieved from
https://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/EDIF%202013–
N%C2%B010%20%28eng%29–v9%20FINAL%20bis.pdf
Office of the Adolescent Health. (2011). Indiaa substance abuse facts. Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-health-topics/substance-abuse/states/in.html
Perra O., Fletcher A., Bonell C., Higgins K., and McCrystals P. (2012). School-Related Predictors of Smoking, Drinking, and Drug Abuse: Evidence from the Belfast Youth Development Study. Journal of Adolescence, Volume 35, Issue 2: 315-324
Primack, B., Walsh, M., Bryce, C., & Eissenberg, T. (2009). Water pipe tobacco smoking among middle and high school students in Arizona. Pediatrics, 123(2),
RTI International. (2010). Results from the 2008 Indiana youth Tobacco survey. Retrieved from https://secure.in.gov/isdh/tpc/files/2008_IYTS_Report_Final_3-10.pdf
Shah, R., & Cole, J. (2010). Smoking and stroke: the more you smoke the more you stroke. Expert revs Cardiovas There, 8(7), pp. 917- 932. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2928253/
Sulkamolson, S. (2010). Fundamentals of quantitative research. Retrieved from http://www.culi.chula.ac.th/Research/e-Journal/bod/Suphat%20Sukamolson.pdf
Tercyak, K., et al. (2007). High school seniors smoking initiation and progression one year after graduation. American Journal of Public Health, 97(8), pp.1397-1398