The Relationship between Human Trafficking and Poverty within the US - Research Paper Example

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL Human trafficking: The relationship between human trafficking and poverty within the United s of Client of University Name of Class Human trafficking: The relationship between human trafficking and poverty within the United States Introduction This study is an examination in the relationship between poverty and human trafficking. In creating a study for research of this type, quantitative analysis will provide a resource that can identify variables for their descriptives and frequencies. SPSS analysis provides a wide variety of resources from which to create variances that can be analyzed for relevance and impact. According to Black (1999), research in the social science requires constructing a social model and assessing the way in which aspects of that model interact (p. 2). Through the use of a questionnaire survey, data will be collected in order to create a mathematical resource for information that will suggest correlations between poverty and incidents of human trafficking in the United States. The biggest issue in curtailing human trafficking is the inability for law enforcement to track and prosecute the incidents. The following table shows the number of suspected cases of trafficking and their type of incarceration. The second table shows the number of prosecutions between the years 2001 and 2005. Column1 Suspects Column2 Lead charge Number Percent Total 555 100 Peonage/involuntary servitude 63 11.4 Sale into involuntary servitude 155 27.9 Transportation for slavery /a 16 2.9 Forced labor /b 134 24.1 Trafficking slaves /b 49 8.8 Sex trafficking of children /b 129 23.2 Other /b,c 9 1.6 (Kyckelhahn &Motivans, 2006) The next table shows the number of prosecutions in the United States during the same period of time. Number of defendants Case concluded Column1 Number of defendants 78 Disposition Convicted 75 Guilty plea 57 Jury trial 18 Not convicted 3 Dismissed 2 Acquitted 1 Type of sentence imposed /a Prison 64 Probation 5 Other /b 6 Median prison sentence imposed 70 months Median case processing time 10 months (Kyckelhahn &Motivans, 2006) The following chart shows the concentration of suspected trafficking during the time period of 2001-2005. (Kyckelhahn &Motivans, 2006) Because of the difficulty in prosecuting these cases and in creating a viable system of discovering the victims and freeing them from bondage, the best course is through prevention. Through examining the causes and the reasons behind how this activity is propagated, it might be possible to diminish and eliminate the modern day slavery that occurs. Objective The objective of this study will be to establish a relationship between poverty and human trafficking in the United States. Purpose of Study As a study in human trafficking, this research will explore the ways in which poverty contributes to the issue. The purpose of the research is to identify those factors in poverty that create an environment in which human trafficking can exist. These factors will include, but not be limited to, income level in the country of origin, sex, and age. Secondary research will be used to create a foundation for the primary research, providing statistics that are relevant to the subject. The primary research will be conducted using quantitative techniques that will assess the identified three variables which increase the level of human trafficking in the United States. The proposed research will be useful for creating an understanding of the issue of human trafficking as it relates to economic and demographic factors. Research Questions 1. What is the impact of lower income levels in other countries on higher level of human trafficking in the US? 2. What age group living under poverty is more likely to be victims of human trafficking? 3. How does gender differentiate the levels of human trafficking amongst those living under poverty? Hypotheses Research Hypothesis: Poverty is a prominent push factor for human trafficking in the United States. Null Hypothesis: Poverty has no relevance in human trafficking in the United States. Data Collection, Tabulation, and Analysis Primary Research The research for this proposal will be conducted using theories of exploratory research. According to Stebbins (2001), using exploratory research for social science is defined by “the discovery of generalizations leading to description and understanding” (p. 3). The selected methodology for creating this research will be based upon quantitative research that will include data that is collected through questionnaires and is processed for numerical and non-descriptive frequencies. The data will be assessed through the responses as they are collected through the survey questionnaire. The questionnaire will be used to collect a large number of responses based on identified variables. The questionnaire will have a limit of 6 questions that are demographic in nature. The purpose of these questions will be to gather responses regarding individuals within the participant group. The questions will identify country of origin, status of their stay in the United States (legal or illegal), income, age, and gender. This information will be used to correlate human trafficking to levels of poverty as they are associated to age and gender. Sample and Subject Selection This survey will be conducted through collecting questionnaires from 450 participants. These participants will be selected through the geographical area of Student city by approaching local work agencies. Respondents will be approached through personal contact or via e-mail where possible. According to Muijs (2004), using survey research creates the advantage of allowing for honest answers based on real world situations. Where an experiment creates an artificial environment, survey research allows for anonymity that allows for a more relaxed sense of response that can provide a more realistic result. Additionally, survey research allows for a wide number of responses at a low cost, creating efficient and ways in which to study relationships and situations (p. 44). Statistical Evaluation Techniques The data that is collected will be analyzed using regression analysis with SPSS will be examined in order to find both descriptives and frequencies. According to Healey (2009), SPSS descriptives allow for discovering the mean, medium and maximum with the standard deviation. This is valuable in discovering the ways in which one variable will affect another. Frequencies will be used to discover percentiles, deciles, and quartiles for the variables (p. 85). This is valuable in determining the number of times an event will occur within a group of potential answers. This will help discover the way in which poverty affects human trafficking as frequencies of commonalities in experience can be assessed. Secondary Data Secondary research provides an overview of research that has been previously conducted that is associated to the current research of the study. Secondary research is gathered from a variety of sources which will include evidence from the human trafficking database IOM. IOM is a major cross-national foundation of primary data on acknowledged victims of trafficking. Previous studies on poverty and its associations to human trafficking will be examined for further information on income levels, gender, and ages as it relates to the issue. In conducting secondary research, information of a historical nature can be incorporated into the current study giving it a deeper dimension and relevance. According to Schutt (2009), secondary research has become a stronger methodology within a study because of the access to information that has been developed through the internet. This allows for a more broad search of information than has previously been available in history (p 455). Therefore, databases of information will be searched in order to find academic material germane to the study. Books, journal articles, and internet sources will be used to create a foundation upon which the primary research can be assessed. Analysis Outcome Required for Hypothesis Support The data that is gleaned from the questionnaire will allow for results that will either prove or disprove the research hypothesis. According to Brudney, Bohte, and Meier (2009), “a hypothesis is nothing more than a statement about the world that may be tested to determine whether it is true or false” (p. 188). Through statistical modeling, the relationship between poverty variables and human trafficking will be assessed. In order to accept or deny the hypothesis it will be necessary to take into consideration assessment variables that are identified as impoverished. Secondary research statistics will provide parameters for income that will determine what level of income is assigned as impoverished. According to Archer and Tritter (2000), rational choice theory provides that the most frequent circumstance most likely represents the truth of the reality. Therefore, using regression analysis through SPSS will allow for frequencies and descriptive to provide answers based on rational choice theory that are determined to be true due to the concept that if it appears true, it must be true. While the topic may have a more defined understanding that can be discovered through further investigation, this cursory research will provide a foundation for further discovery. Rational choice theory provides a foundation for understanding based on the idea that what is rational based on the analysis of the data will have proven the hypothesis to be true. Conclusion This research intends to discover the relationship of poverty to human trafficking within the United States. In doing this research, it is hoped that an aspect of society can be revealed through causality, providing a framework for which to search for solutions to a serious social problem. Human trafficking, the use of slaves, is alive and well in the United States. According to Soodalter and Bales (2009), slaves are not only taken against their will, but taken with the promises of a good job and education in exchange for duties that provide for a household or business. Most often these situations become violent and control is maintained through fear and pain. Children are often the targets of this kind of offer that turns into terror (p. 4). Therefore, this research is intended to create a dialogue that can further the investigation into slavery as it still exists within the United States. Through the use of data that is collected through survey and SPSS analysis, this research intends to show causality through poverty. The results of the research can contribute to the overall knowledge of the issue. References Archer, M. S. & Tritter, J. S. (2000). Rational choice theory: resisting colonization. New York: Routledge. Black, T. R. (1999). In Doing quantitative research in the social sciences: An integrated approach to research design, measurement and statistics. London [u.a.: SAGE Publications. Brudney, J. L., Bohte, J., & Meier, K. J. (2009). In Applied statistics for public and nonprofit administration. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Healey, J. F. (2009). In Statistics: A tool for social research. Belmont, CA: Thomson / Wadsworth. Kyckelhahn, T. & M. Motivans. (2006). Federal prosecution of human trafficking 2001-2005. Bureau of Justice Statistics. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=887 Muijs, D. (2004). In Doing quantitative research in education with SPSS. London: SAGE. Schutt, R. K. (2009). In Investigating the social world: The process and practice of research. Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press. Soodalter, R., & Bales, K. (2009). In The slave next door: Human trafficking and slavery in America today. Berkeley: University of California Press. Stebbins, R. A. (2001). In Exploratory research in the social sciences. Qualitative research methods, 48. Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.: Sage Publications. Read More