INDEPENDENT RESEARCH

PROJECT

Lee BeckmanWissahickon High

School

TITLE

The Effect of the Gender of Elementary School

Students on Hand Washing Frequency and

Quality

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Does the gender of elementary school

students effect their hand washing

frequency and quality?

HYPOTHESIS

If the student is male, then the student will be less likely to wash their

hands with a high quality.

HYPOTHESIS RATIONALE

It is generally believed that men have poor

hand washing habits in comparison to girls

BASIC CONCEPTS

Human Behavioral Study

Psychology

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

Outside of Bathroom

Get Permission

DESIGN DIAGRAMIV: Independent Variable – Student Gender

DV: Dependent variable – Hand Washing Frequency and Quality

CONSTANTS: Position of observation outside of the bathroom, time of the day, time of the week, same school.

Levels Male FemaleTrials 30 (Students) 30 (Students)

MATERIALSAutomotive Transportation

Tally chartAccess to an elementary school

Stopwatch

PROCEDURE Go to Lower Gwynedd Elementary.

Sit in hallway Observe hand washing quality

Record hand washing qualityAppropriately, Inappropriately or Not at All

RESULTS

Hand Washing Quality

Appropriately Inappropriately

Not at All

Totals

Male (Students

)

15 8 7 30

Female (Students

)

12 15 3 30

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Expected:

Observed:

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Chi-square test for independence

.01 < P value > .05 (95% confidence)

Chi Squared Critical Value = 3.84 1 Degree of Freedom

STATISTICAL ANALYSISNull Hypotheses

MaleIf males wash their hands at

random; there will be no significant difference in the preference.

FemaleIf females wash their hands at

random; there will be no significant difference in the preference.

STATISTICAL ANALYSISMale Calculations

Chi Squared Value = ∑ [(Observed – Expected)^2 /

(Expected)]

[(15-10)^2/ (10)] = 2.5 [(8-10)^2/ (10)] = .4 [(7-10)^2/ (10)] = .92.5 + .4 + .9 = 3.8

STATISTICAL ANALYSISMale Results

Chi Squared Value - 3.8 < 3.84

Less than a 5% chance that the data is random

Observations are significant Reject the null hypothesis

STATISTICAL ANALYSISFemale CalculationsChi Squared Value =

∑ [(Observed – Expected)^2 / (Expected)]

[(12-10)^2/ (10)] = .4[(5-10)^2/ (10)] = 2.5 [(3-10)^2/ (10)] = 4.9.4 + 2.5 + 4.9 = 7.8

STATISTICAL ANALYSISFemale Results

Chi Squared Value - 7.8 > 3.84

Greater than a 5% chance that the data is random

Observations are not significant

Accept the null

RESULTS GRAPH

BACKGROUND RESEARCH 15 to 30 seconds for hand

washing (Lifespan 2010)

Vigor of their hand washing (Lerner 2010)

Sufficient drying of hands Contamination by touching faucet

or wastebasket again (Carter 2008)

SOURCES OF ERROR AND THEIR IMPACT

Age of StudentsKnowledge, Independence and

Maturity Cause of Hand washing

(Activity, Task, etc.)Likelihood of Hand Washing (By Task)

Peer Persuasion (Group Hand washing)Testing Effect of Peer Persuasion

SOURCES OF ERROR AND IMPROVEMENTS

Age of StudentsObserve Students of Certain Age

Cause of Hand washing (Activity, Task, etc.)Observe Students Only from

Bathroom Peer Persuasion

(Group Hand washing)Observe Only Alone Students

REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS

Address problems of hand washing tendencies at Elementary Schools.

Teach others of the proper and effective ways to hand wash.

EXTENSIONSIf the high school student is male,

then the student will be less likely to wash their hands with a

high quality.

If the student is older, then the student will be more likely to wash their hands with a high

quality.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Mrs. Pietrangelo Mrs. West

Lower Gwynedd Elementary School Principle

Staff and StudentsOf Lower Gwynedd Elementary School

My Parents

BIBLIOGRAPHY Carter, Pamela J. Lippincott's Textbook for Nursing Assistants: a

Humanistic Approach to Caregiving. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. Print.

"Designing an Observation Study." Sciencebuddies.org. Web. 06 Oct. 2010. <http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Soc_observation.shtml>.

"Hand Washing, Your Best Defense!" Fsu.edu. Florida State University, 2000. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. <www.safety.fsu.edu/guardian00dec.pdf>.

"Hygiene." World of Microbiology and Immunology. Ed. Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Gale Science In Context. Web. 5 Oct. 2010.

"It's In Your Hands." Lifespan. 2010. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. <http://www.lifespan.org/services/infectious/handwashing.htm>.

ANY QUESTIONS?