Cole_1_DQ3

There are several things wrong with using college-age students in research about romantic relationships. They do not accurately represent all ages that pursue romance. The values and traditions that people ages 18-23 practice are significantly different than those of the previous generations. Because the research conducted on them is sometimes a mandatory part of a college class, students can alter the statistics through lies out of spite. They do not for the most part have the wisdom or self-control to make intelligent decisions when it comes to love, and as the book states, young subjects of college age only represents a segment of about 5% of the life span. The very implications behind the name “student” indicate a different lifestyle than someone with a career, with kids, or retired. College students contain demographic similarities, which results in a frequent trend. With this in mind, the biggest weakness in using college-age students in research is that they only represent a small fragment of a diverse population, leaving the rest largely overlooked. All generations should be used in research if researchers expect to discover new and valuable information regarding relationships.