Financial literacy and social change in post-college students

¶ … Financial Literacy of Post College Student and Non-College Student

The relevant research questions and hypothesis would be the following: Research question: Is there any improvement in financial literacy between a non-college student and a post college student.

Positive: significant differnce is found in quality of financial literacy in a post-college student as compared to a non-college student

Negative: no significant differences are found in quality of financial literacy in a post-college student as compared to a non-college student

My research idea will be tested with a randomized survey. Although a survey has various problems (some which are mentioned later), it does have the advantage of non-expensively targeting a vast amount of individuals and is best suited to this research question that cannot be evaluated as control study or other laboratory method. My intention is to examine a cross-section of students who are closely matched to each other. I will also do this as longitudinal research. It will be randomized (a completely randomized design) so as to preclude subjectivity that may well intrude in matters of selection. As see later, I may also decide to conduct a replicate design in order to test validity of resutls.

Since so many variables exist between individuals that may account for differences in their financial literacy, the best way to approach this study would be to do a pre-test, post-test methodology and to assume a longitudinal, cross-sectional approach. In this way, I would survey HS students who are planning to enter college and investigate their extent of knowledge on financial literacy before they actually enter college. I would later survey those same HS students once they graduate college and see whether improvement in financial literacy has been discerned. There may be confounding variables with this approach too in that it may be other factors that have caused increase (or difference) in financial literacy rather than college, but by cross-sampling the same population, I will be eliminating far more possibly confounding variables than by not doing so.

I will survey 924 HS students from one district that has a middle-class socio-economic status and follow these same students through university, up to their graduation. I will survey them 4 times altogether: once as pre-college students, twice during their college years at the end of each year, and finally, almost immediately after they graduate. This will indicate whether there is progression in their financial knowledge during their college years.

I may also choose a different socio-economic background made up of disadvantaged students to see whether a similar pattern can be seen. If so, the integration of both studies reinforced by their large sample, adds greater credibility to conclusions of study.

Most studies dealing with similar research (e.g. Chen and Volpe, 1998) use the survey approach. Bakken (1967) surveyed high school students using this same method as did organizations such as AMEX and the CFA (mentioned in Chen and Volpe, 1998).

The questionnaire helps survey participant's knowledge / experiences / evaluation on related / involved items and may either survey over time or be conducted as control study with a different population and assess results. Interviews are also useful in surveying the participant's opinion but interviews are most often done as qualitative approach where rich, in-depth evaluation is required.

The alternative to this method may be a survey control group where college students are compared with HS students but the discrepancy in so many variables makes this more confusing to do and less able to achieve validity.