Sample Research Proposal on INTERVIEW ON THE IMPACT OF VEGETARIANISM AND MEAT EATING ON HEALTH

INTRODUCTION                 In today's modern world of technological advancement, rapid pace of living, and struggles for economic and social sustainability, health plays a more crucial role. The world today is characterized by pollution and environmental degradation that people are expected to live shorter lives than people from the old years. Every individual is exposed to dirty air, polluted water systems, stress and various diseases in his daily efforts to survive, thus, compromising their health. Accordingly, choices of lifestyles and personal diets become the primary response of people in maintaining general well being and getting a chance at a longer life. People exercise and go to the gym to ensure physical fitness and relieve stress as well. Still, most engage in special kinds of diets that suit their lifestyles and daily requirements for nutrition. The issue of diet in the contemporary world is greatly influenced by the dilemma between vegetarianism and meat diets. Vegetarianism is typically considered as the healthiest way of preserving health because of the high mineral and vitamin contents of vegetables. However, meat products are a rich source of protein and concentrated calories that help individuals gain energy for daily activities especially in today's more rigid world. Hence, the question of what is the best diet for people of the modern world is an ongoing issue (McDougall 2003). According to McDougall (2003) human history has always been characterized by wide and thorough discussions on the extent and attributes of human food requirements, and contradicting views relative to the benefits of meat and vegetable food products. Advocates of both all meat and no meat diets enthusiastically promote their preferred diets in various measures primarily by highlighting the shortcomings of the opposing diet. However, there is still a lack of agreement on the issue of proper nutrition for the human body and the ideal diet is still nonexistent to date.               Vegetarianism is the dietary practice of consuming or living on vegetables, refraining or totally ceasing the use and consumption of dairy products, and totally eliminating the consumption of animal and meat products (Vegetarian Network Victoria 2006). Today, approximately 12.4 million people in the United States call themselves vegetarians and constantly find themselves advocating that healthy diets can be meatless (Maurer, Sobal, & de Gruyter 1995, p. 143). Furthermore, statistics in the United Kingdom showed that 7 percent of the British population were vegetarians in 1999 and most of them are in the ages between fifteen and twenty-four years old. It is also anticipated that the entire British populace would become vegetarians by 2035 while all Americans would adopt the practice by 2075 (Fox 1999). Advocates and followers of vegetarianism claimed that the practice is healthy. Vegetarians are less likely to suffer cancer, heart problems, and high blood pressure. In 1994, a study by the British Medical Journal revealed that vegetarians were 40 percent less likely to have cancer, 30 percent were at lesser risk of developing heart disease and 20 percent were at lesser risk of dying due to any cause. It is reported that a vegetarian diet is a significant source of all necessary nutrients for the human body. Like meat, vegetables can also be a good source of protein. Protein-rich plant products include lentils, potatoes, soy beans, nuts, seeds, chick peas and grains. Also, calcium and iron abound in vegetables. Calcium increases the rate of the body to properly absorb iron by 30 percent. Vegetables rich in iron are whole grains, soy products, legumes, and green leafy vegetables (Australian Vegetarian Society 2006). On the other hand, the primacy of animal protein as a source of human food is the most heavily promoted explicit value used by meat advocates. Meat diets advocates argue that meat is an indispensable part of a healthy diet and high protein intake is vital for the people of the modern society. Meat is glorified as the essential source of proteins that replenish muscular strength and human energy necessary for the rapid pace of contemporary living. Furthermore, a study on food distribution within British families asking for what the family needs to properly eat revealed that meat was mentioned by the women more frequently than any other food. In fact, only five women among the 200 participants in the survey thought meat was not an important item of the family diet. Meat, or fish as its substitute, was usually viewed as an essential ingredient of the main meal of the day and a proper meal was most commonly defined as meat and two vegetables (Fiddes 1992, pp. 12,13,176).               The issue between "no meat" and "all meat" diets is still widespread. There seems to be a difficulty establishing an agreed-upon perspective on how meat and vegetables can help preserve and maintain health and well being of people. This in-depth interview recognizes the need for additional information on the topic of the health impacts of vegetables and meat. It would utilize a structured and thorough interview with six individuals – one physician, one dietician/nutritionist, one female vegetarian, one male vegetarian, one gym instructor who consumes more meat in his diet, and one typical individual who eats both meat and vegetables and does not follow any specific kind of diet – in order to gather information based on actual experiences and personal ideas. The interview wishes to add to the existing literature on the topic of vegetarianism and meat eating for health.     OBJECTIVES OF THE INTERVIEW                 The in-depth interview on the topic "The Impacts of Vegetarianism and Meat Eating on Health" aims to accumulate information and ideas on the health benefits and risks of both animal and plant products. Specifically, it aspires to answer the following questions: What is vegetarianism? What is an "all-meat diet"? What are the health benefits and risks of vegetarianism? What are the health benefits and risks of eating meat?   The pilot interview aims to gather data from health practitioners, actual vegetarians, and vegetable and meat eaters in order to form a body of raw and first-hand data on the topic. The interview aspires that the actual experiences of health practitioners, vegetarians and meat-eaters would supplement the existing literature and information on the impacts of vegetarianism and meat-eating on human health.     THE PARTICIPANT GROUP                 The in-depth interview would solicit the participation of a group of six people. The participant group consists of one physician, one dietician/nutritionist, one female vegetarian, one male vegetarian, one gym instructor who consumes more meat in his diet, and one typical individual who eats both meat and vegetables and does not follow any specific kind of diet. The members of the group are chosen for their expertise on the topic and their actual experiences with vegetarianism and meat eating. The in-depth interview recognizes the fact that the members of the participant group have varying perspectives on the topic that would ensure the accumulation of bias-free and diverse information.             The physician would be helpful in providing information on health, healthy practices and activities, and benefits and risks of the various food products including vegetables and meat. There is also a high probability that the physician would know the real nature of vegetarianism and meat eating. The physician can provide answers to the four specific interview questions. Secondly, the dietician/nutritionist is the key person who can render answers on the general food requirements of people, the daily nutritional requirements based on gender and age, and the various ways of preserving health and maintaining physical fitness. The participant group also consists of two vegetarians, one male and one female. The two vegetarians have different genders in order to gather varying ideas and perspectives on the benefits of vegetarianism to women and men. Women and men have different activities and nutrition needs. Thus, the practice of vegetarianism would pose varying benefits and risks on both genders. The gender-related differences in the benefits and risks of vegetarianism would be provided by the two vegetarian participants. Furthermore, the participants for the in-depth interview consist of a male gym instructor who constantly engages in strenuous physical activities and adopts a diet of more meat as a source of protein for muscular strength. The gym instructor is the primary source of information pertaining to the health benefits of protein and the importance of incorporating meat products in one's diet. Finally, the participant group includes one typical individual who eats both meat and vegetables and does not follow any specific kind of diet. This participant would provide the balance among all the different information from the other participants. This individual does not have academic and practical expertise on health and nutrition as well as experiences with a certain type of diet. He is an ordinary person who consumes whatever food is available at hand. He would be instrumental in providing raw information on health and nutrition entirely based on personal opinion.             THE INTERVIEW METHODOLOGY AND PROCESS                 The in-depth interview is carried out in four phases. The first phase includes the identification and selection of the members of the participant group. The physician and dietician/nutritionist are selected because of their academic and professional expertise on the topic. Both participants are employees of the local hospital and are somehow familiar to the researcher. The two vegetarians are friends of the researcher while the participant who does not have a specific diet is a colleague. The gym instructor is selected when the researcher visits the local fitness center and asks the help of the manager to identify a certain individual who can provide the necessary information on the topic. The manager names the person to be the appropriate participant. The second phase involves the preparation of the interview questions, the Letter of Informed Consent to Participate in the Study, and the dissemination of these letters to the six participants. The Letter of Informed Consent is a letter to be distributed to the members of the participant group informing them of the objectives of the in-depth interview, the specific questions to be answered, the reason why they are selected to participate in the interview, the most convenient time and place for them to have the interview, and how the interview would be conducted. The letter should also guarantee the confidentiality of all information that would be gathered through the interview. The four interview questions should be distributed with the letter of informed consent before the actual interview. This is done to give the participants ample time to go over the questions and formulate their responses. This would also ensure the smooth flow of the actual interview process. The third phase is the actual interview. The researcher would facilitate the interview on the schedule and venue specified by each participant. The researcher would go to the interview venue with a copy of the interview questions, pen and paper, and tape recorder. The tape recorder is important for two reasons: in ensuring that the entire conversation is on tape so that the interviewer can consult on it for ideas not taken down on paper, and to give the interviewer more time to focus on the interview rather than on taking notes. The actual interview is a face to face interaction wherein the interviewer and the participant both have a copy of the questions. The interviewer would first ask for the personal information of the participants followed by their responses on the four specific interview questions. The researcher would take down important notes while the tape recorder records the entire interview. After the interview, the interviewer would thank the participants for their cooperation and would inform them of the availability of the narrative report. It is important that each participant receives a report of the results of the interview to show respect and appreciation for their participation in the entire activity. The final phase entails the accumulation, analysis, interpretation and arrangement of information into one coherent presentation. This phase requires the interviewer to tabulate the responses of the six participants on each of the interview questions. There is a need to use basic statistical methods in determining the percentage and rate of occurrence of each response. The interviewer also has to analyze and interpret all the information gathered from the interviews based on personal perspectives and existing literature on the topic. The interviewer has to consult books, journals, Internet sources and other academic references in order to relate the information gathered from the interviews with what the literature states. This would help the interviewer to determine if there is an existing gap between the information provided by the participants based on academic, professional and personal practice and what the literature says about the topic. The interviewer would be able to establish a correlation between the interview information and the existing literature so as to determine the accuracy of both sources of information. The last phase also requires the interviewer to prepare a narrative report on the findings of the interview, what gaps it fills relative to existing literature on the topic, and the implications of the findings to health and society. The interviewer can include conclusions and recommendations for future endeavors regarding the same topic.   PERSONAL LEARNINGS AND PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED                 The in-depth interview was an attempt to gather information and data based on personal and professional expertise and experiences on the topic. The interview was a tedious undertaking with several steps to follow. It does not merely entail the actual face to face conversation between the interviewer and the participants. Rather, there was a need to design all aspects so that everything would go along smoothly. The activity involved the formulation of interview questions, identification of the most suitable persons to be interviewed, accumulation and analysis of data, and preparation of a narrative report. Thus, it was a challenging activity that called for the patience, motivation and commitment of the researcher. The greatest difficulty that I encountered was finding the most convenient time of the participants to have the interview. All the participants are employed; four are married and have families, while two are single. Thus, each of them has their own responsibilities to fulfil both for work, family and personal. At first, I was actually uncomfortable asking for their participation in the interview since it would take much of their time away from personal and professional obligations. Hence, I utilized both personal approach and formal letter in informing them about the nature of the interview and why they were chosen to participate. I personally asked for permission to use them as subjects of the interview to show respect for their occupations. It was helpful that most of the participants are familiar to me. This made it easier for me to convince them to be a part of the activity.                         The entire activity was a learning experience. Despite of the meticulous process and tedious activities, I felt a sense of fulfilment. I was able to learn the value of hard work and patience. The entire interview process taught me to be persistent and dedicated. It aroused in me a sense of pride from accomplishing something that requires details and enormous amount of mental and physical strengths.