Michael Taraboulous Ms.

Leslie Wolcott English 1102 14 November 2013 Project Proposal: Nationwide Survey The articles I reviewed on the problem of so few female engineers provided much statistical information. All the articles consistently stated there were a lack of female engineers and used approximately the same 2:8 ratio of woman to men in the field. I found that it was hard to find where they obtained this ratio. They would quote studies but it was general and did not state the number of participants and most studies only accumulated data in a small demographic area. Another area where I found a huge research gap in was the statistics collected of how effective programs that was established to encourage women into the engineering profession. Most of the time the articles stated it was difficult to keep up with the participants into college, so they were unsure how effective the program was. Even though I was impressed that so many programs were set up for females, there was little data supporting the effectiveness of each program. Most of the information that was obtained by a survey was questions asked immediately after participating in the program. It also was only with a small group of females, not nationwide.

In order to encourage more women to pursue a career in engineering the word needs to get out to more women. Even though many programs have been created to encourage female to join the field, not enough information has been collected all the way to their senior year to see if they are going to pursue the field in college. In order to close this gap in research, I propose a nationwide survey being administered to all schools beginning in middle school. I suggest the first few years, sending out a packet to all females with information on engineering programs, who to contact in their area, and literature on the different areas of engineering. Then every year the same survey can be administered and tracked in a data base to see if the females who have participated in some of the programs continue to pursue engineering. I have attached a copy of a proposed survey to administer. This project proposal should close the gap in my research, and prove to be a valuable tool in evaluating female engineering programs.

Survey-A Girls Interest in Math and Science Year _________ Please fill out the survey below. There is no right or wrong answer. Expect to receive literature in the mail within 2 months informing you of different programs and opportunities to learn more about fields in math and science. Name ____________________________

Address ____________________________ ____________________________ Please circle one: Grade: 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th Are you interested in math subjects? Yes No Are you interested in science subjects? Yes No Do you know what engineering is? Yes No Have you heard of any of these programs? Yes No Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day Yes No Science, Mathematics, Research, and Technology (SMaRT) Yes No Girls Exited about Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science (GE2MCS) Yes No Attracting Girls to SET Yes No Future Engineers Summer Camp Yes No If any of the above answers are yes. Please briefly explain your exposure to the programs: _____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Do you plan on studying engineering in college? Yes No Do you know what preparatory classes need to be taken? Yes No

Would you like to get information on contacts and programs to find out more about the engineering field? Yes No