Activity: Writing a Research Question

Pick a topic that really interests you. Don’t start by trying to figure out what is the “right” question to pick. Start by thinking of topics that really grab your attention and that you really want to know more about. Our videos may help you, or you can go back to one of the books or articles you read in your first two classes last semester if you need help.

Now because one of our PSLOs is to interpret the diversity of social experience as it relates to race, class, gender, age, sexual preference, religion, and nationality — choose one of those areas and apply it to your topic of interest. For example, if you chose voting habits as your topic of interest, you could apply age (or race or gender, etc.) to that topic in a research question: “How does age affect voting behavior?”

• Go to the GSS webpageLinks to an external site. again and make sure your topic is something covered in the questions. For example, if your interest is age and voting behavior, make sure the GSS has a question on age and at least one question on voting behavior. It is probably easiest to do this by going to the tab called “Get the Data” from there you can search on topics. MUCH easier than reading the codebook or questionnaire.

Narrow it down to a specific question. Make sure your question is specific enough that it can be answered in a short paper (5 pages). Now say the GSS has a question that asks: “How often do you vote?” or “Did you vote in the last election?” or “what is your political affiliation?” You can turn that into a specific question: “How does age impact the likelihood to vote?”

• Is your question sociological? You want to make sure that your question is sociological. A good basic definition of a sociological question is as follows: Sociological questions are questions that examine the social meaning or patterns of a phenomenon. The key here is that it has to be social – involving groups rather than individuals – and it has to address patterns or meanings. Let’s take the example of AIDS. Here are three very interesting questions about AIDS.
• What treatments are effective in prolonging the lives of AIDS patients?

Does having AIDS increase the likelihood a person will be depressed?

Does treatment for HIV vary by social class and ethnicity?

The first question is a medical question. The second is a medical and psychological question. Only the third is really a sociological question. Why? Only the third question looks at patterns among groups. Sociologists also look at questions of meaning. So another sociological question on AIDS could focus on the symbolic meaning of AIDS in contemporary America. The key is to make sure that you are looking at patterns and meaning for groups, not individualsDiscussion: What is your research question? Why did you choose this question?Tell us what your research question is?

What do you foresee as the top two ethics issues with your research question? In other words, what are the top two issues you will need to think about as you collect your data for your research question? In your answer, remind us of what your research question is.