Regulating E-Cigs (Research Paper Sample)

Regulating E-Cigs
Student’s Name
Institution
Regulating E-Cigs
Regulating E-Cigarettes has been a contentious issue for a time now. The need to take the issue seriously has intensified after E-Cigarettes sales skyrocketed between 2013 and 2014.Many claim that it is just as dangerous as the regular tobacco cigarette and should, therefore, be subjected to the same regulations. The following research investigates whether E-Cigs should be regulated the same way as regular cigarettes. The summary of the hypothesis is that E-Cigarettes should be regulated because there is the need for the standardization of products and consumer education. The following are the methods best suited for this research study.
Population
The research population is the collection of individuals, objects or elements that the study focuses on (Beck, 2003). The population in the study will entail the government, research firms, and all E-Cigarette users. The population will be accessed through direct, personal contact. The population is not a hard-to-reach one and so should not be difficult to access. Moreover, it will not be hard to obtain data that will represent the whole population. The high prevalence of E-Cig smoking, the little impact of victimization and the risk factors involved in regulation ensures that there is rich data in the population.
Qualitative Data Collection
The research is qualitative, and it aims at determining whether E-Cigs should be regulated the same way as the regular cigarettes. Interviews, issuance of questionnaires and documentary-review will be used to ensure the collection of suitable data. Interviewing will be the major data collection tool and will be used to gather data from government officials and other industry administrators. Interviewing is suitable since it provides data spontaneously and is open-ended (Cooper & Schindler, 2006). More data may be gathered. Questionnaires will be apt where the respondents need more time to answer the questions (Beck, 2003). The questionnaires will be administered to policy experts and E-Cig users. Lastly, the documentary review will provide a good background for this research. Related studies will be reviewed to establish their findings and any mitigating factors that may skew this research.
Sampling Method
The research will use Purposive sampling. The rationale is that it will net the sample that can provide the most useful information (Marnie, 2012). The usability of the data collected will, therefore, be significantly enhanced. The sample will be selected carefully to net current or previous E-Cig users, the government officials directly responsible for E-Cig regulation, and relevant authorities on the subject. Most probabilistic sampling techniques such as simple random, systematic and cluster would have provided a lot of unhelpful samples alongside helpful ones (Boyatzis, 2011).
Sampling Frame
The sampling frame is that part of the population that has been selected for study, and the researcher is sure can provide the data or information required (Beck, 2003). The samples will consequently be drawn from the sampling frame. The sampling frame used consists of E-Cig smokers, E-Cig manufacturers, and authorities and commissions tasked with regulating the E-Cig sub-industry.
Sampling Size
The appropriate sampling size for this research is 70 respondents. The number is appropriate because the research is a qualitative descriptive one. Quantitative research tries to net as many samples as possible in a bid to achieve representativeness (Marnie, 2012). However, qualitative or mixed research aims at generalizability of the findings and only have to argue representativeness based on the qualities of the samples selected (Boyatzis, 2011). Any samples close to 30 respondents is apt. Furthermore, the research does not anticipate robust statistical analysis. What is more, the subject matter promises widely distributed results. Given the anticipated large standard deviations, the chosen size is apt. The research will then show how the small sample is representative (Beck, 2003).
Qualitative Methods
The major qualitative method used will be content analysis that involves interpreting the meaning of the data collected through interviews and questionnaires. The data collected will be overviewed, annotated and coded (Beck, 2003). The concepts or themes that emerge inductively from the data will then be recorded, and a constant comparison performed. Constant comparison technique will be used to draw out similarities and disparities in the texts to hedge against subjective induction and deduction by comparing data mined to previously analyzed texts.
Statistical Tests
The research will employ limited statistical tests to support the results noted in qualitative methods. Descriptive statistics such as measures of central tendency and dispersion will, therefore, be used instead of inferential statistics (Marn...