The George Washington University and Medical Center
Office of Human Research, IRB Protocol

1. Summary and Purpose
A trend in the Vietnamese American community today is the growing number of Vietnamese women working in the nail salon industry. Nationwide, more than 300,000 men and women are licensed as manicurists. This project will provide an in-depth study of Vietnamese immigrant women in the nail salon industry in the Washington, DC, and Maryland area. Major research topics are the circumstances that caused the women to come to the United States, the reasons and circumstances that shaped their decision to enter the manicure industry, and how their lives have changed through their involvement in the manicuring industry. The results will shed light on how women’s work in this particular field has affected their lives and their perceptions of “the American dream.”

2. Research plan
The research project will be carried out during the summer session: May - August 2005.
I will conduct two focus group discussions, individual interviews and participant observation.

End of May

• Weeks 3-4: Stay in Washington, D.C. to gather background information and preliminary investigation of potential sites and individuals. Connect and form relationships with community members and organizations. Lay out foundations and goals with contacts in the Vietnamese community and advisors at The George Washington University.

June:

• Week 1: Make site visit to nail salons in Georgetown and Columbia Heights in Washington D.C. to conduct participant observation and note potential focus group participants.
• Week 2: Make site visit to nail salons in Silver Spring and Rockville in Maryland to conduct participant observation and note potential focus group participants.
• Weeks 2-3: Begin focus group selection from nail salons in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Speaking to participants and scheduling a time and location that is most convenient to the subjects.
• Week 3-4: Conduct focus group discussion in Washington D.C. with subjects from Georgetown and Columbia Heights. Focus group discussion will be a combination of subjects from both sites. Discussion will last roughly one hour and a half.

July:

• Week 1: Conduct focus group discussion in Maryland with subjects from Silver Spring
  and Rockville. Focus group discussion will be a combination of subjects from both sites. Discussion will last roughly one hour and a half.
• Week 2: Conduct two individual interviews with subjects from Washington, D.C. store locations. Interviews will last for roughly one hour each. The first interview will take place during the beginning of the week and the second at the end. Participant observation of D.C. store visits and visits to the homes of subjects from focus group and/or individual interview subject will also take place.
• Week 3: Conduct individual interview with subject from Maryland store location. Interview will last for roughly one hour each. The first interview will take place during the beginning of the week and the second at the end. Participant observation from Maryland store visits and visits to the homes of subjects from focus group and/or individual interview subject will also take place.

August:

• Weeks 1-4: Continue participant observation through visits to social settings with subjects from Washington, D.C. and Maryland area. Stay connected with subjects for clarification and follow up. Begin to formulate research paper.

Throughout the course of this study, I will analyze data that I gather from the focus group discussions, individual interviews and participant observation. Most of the data analysis and all of the write-up will be conducted in the fall of 2005.

3. Study Objective
The ultimate goal of this project is to contribute knowledge about my own community and findings that will contribute to educational literature about the Vietnamese community. It is my hope that the product of my research project will provide more attention to Vietnamese women and their contributions to the Vietnamese community. I will share my findings with national Vietnamese organizations in order to create more interest and attention to the experiences of Vietnamese women in the nail salon industry. I will present my findings at the 2006 annual Cotlow research conference and present a written report to the Department of Anthropology’s Cotlow committee. I also hope to submit my project to the Smithsonian exhibit on Vietnamese Americans in Washington, D.C. set to open in 2006.

4. Study Population
The main population of this study will include Vietnamese women involved in the nail salon industry with specific focus on Washington, D.C. and Maryland Area. Women will range in ages 20-45. In order to gain historical and periphery information, community leaders, historians and experts will also be interviewed.

5. Risks and side-effects
The risks and side-effects involved in this study are minimal because of the absence of biological information required in data. Data will only be gathered through interviews and observations. Miscommunication as a result of language differences (Vietnamese and English) is the only possible risk that is anticipated at this time.

6. Endpoints of research
The endpoint of the study is a research paper that has analyzed a very specific and important population in the Vietnamese community. The research paper will be presented at the annual Cotlow Research conference and distributed to various Vietnamese organizations throughout the country. The endpoint of the study is a research paper that has investigated the story behind Vietnamese women and their involvement in the nail salon industry. There will be a conclusion drawn on the cultural and social implications of the nail salon industry on Vietnamese women and the American dream.

7. Statistical explanation for the number of subjects to be enrolled
My main research population will consists of 10-12 Vietnamese women ranging from ages 20-45 years old who are manicurists in the Washington D.C. and Maryland area. The age group of 20-45 years old covers an array of experience in the manicure industry and will provide my study with a diverse range of qualitative data.

I will focus on two different cities from each of the locations:

• District of Columbia: Georgetown, Columbia Heights
• Maryland: Rockville, Silver Spring

I have chosen to concentrate my study on the Washington D.C., and Maryland areas because of my experience with the demographics of the communities. These areas consist of growing Vietnamese communities where many nail salons have been established. According to the 2000 census the demographics of Vietnamese make up the following:

 

Location	Total Asian Population	Total Vietnamese Population
Washington DC	15,189	1,095
Maryland	210,929	16,744

[Posted 05/14/05]