Research Methods

When it comes to figuring out the mindset of a young girl starting puberty and getting her period, the best method is talking to that actual age group. For my research I plan on interviewing my specific audience of girls ages 11–17, interviewing my gynecologist, researching studies from doctors who have found the best way to approach teaching young girls on periods, and surveying women of different ages.

When it comes to interviewing young girls, I plan on asking questions such as: What do you know about periods? Who taught you about periods? Do you feel educated enough on the subject to know how to handle when it happens? What would you like to more know about? If you have gotten your period, what do you wish you knew?

When interviewing my gynecologist, I plan to ask her how does she approach talking to young girls about periods? How do you prioritize importance of information? Do you just talk about the anatomy and the facts or do you also give tips? What kinds of questions do young girls ask pertaining to periods?

For the research studies, I plan on finding as many perspectives as I can. It’s important to see how young girls react to certain topics within the concept of periods. What are girls most curious about? How can I educate and empower girls to the best of my ability through this topic?

I want to survey women of different ages because although this project is geared towards younger girls, it’s important to hear peoples stories. Figuring out how things have gone wrong in the past and how I can make a change for future generations of women. Normalizing periods starts with figuring out the problem so that I can fix it and make it more comfortable for all girls. I want to ask women about their first period story. Their uncomfortable experiences. What they wish they knew at a young age. What information they still might not know and wish to figure out.