Social Change Research – The Key to Our Future

Social change can become necessary at any time or in any place due to a multitude of possible reasons. These reasons include, but are not limited to, environmental factors such as climate change, demographic factors such as an expanding population, or technological enhancements such as the increasing popularity of online shopping (Social Change, 2015). Therefore, social change plays a major role in all of our lives and like anything else of value in our lives, we should not try to tackle these issues without first performing adequate research. Lynne McLoughlin (2005) confirms the importance of social change research with respect to the development of effective social change programs.

Research for any social change initiative must be performed in such a way that it truly identifies whether or not a problem exists. Biased research or research performed by someone with a personal agenda may not always yield accurate results. For example, participatory research is typically performed by members of the community, organization, etc. who want to uncover and find a solution for a problem they believe is occurring within their community (PSU WC, L13, 2015). One such example can be found in a 2013 article written by Simonds, Wallerstein, Duran and Villegas. The authors discuss the need for participatory research in communities experiencing abnormally high instances of cancer so that effective intervention programs can be developed and implemented (Simonds et al., 2013). Additional focuses of community-based participatory research can be obtained via a quick search of the internet. Some of these topics include medicine, education, land use and transportation.

While participatory research could result in possible issues such as lower objectivity, I believe it yields greater accuracy than the alternative, activist research. Activist research expands participatory research by adding the component of a specific desired outcome (PSU WC, L13, 2015). For example, companies wanting you to buy their products will market the product using research which fully advocates their use. Our lesson commentary provides the example of “milk, it does a body good,” however, a number of others come to mind (PSU WC, L13, 2015). Several years ago, General Mills was sued due to a slogan which claimed their Nature Valley granola bars were “100% natural” even though they contained several not so natural ingredients (General Mills, n.d.). Another example is the marketing of products as containing “less sugar” or “more whole grains” in order to make consumers believe the products are healthier than alternatives on the market (Schober, n.d.) Over the years, I also recall reading about research indicating the health benefits of consuming dark chocolate, red wine, and other foods. While I do not know if these were scientific research studies or products of activist research, they definitely help to support the sale of those products.

Regardless of whether or not social change research is conducted using participatory research, activist research or at times may lack full objectivity, it continues to play a key role in raising awareness of important social change issues. For those of us in a position to evaluate that research, we must do so with the same caution we would use to analyze any other research. We cannot simply assume that what we see or hear is the whole truth, especially when it is directly related to the marketing of goods or services.

 

References

General Mills to Drop “100% Natural” Claims on Nature Valley Granola Bars with Artificial Ingredient. Center for Science in the Public Interest. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2015, from http://www.cspinet.org/new/201411182.html

McLoughlin, L. (2005). The Role of Social Research in Effective Social Change Programs. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 21, 57-70.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2015). Lesson 13: Social Change/Participatory Research. PSYCH424: Applied Social Psychology.

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Schober, T. (n.d.). 10 Ways Food Advertising Tricks are Misleading You. Retrieved November 23, 2015, from http://www.coachcalorie.com/food-advertising-tricks/

Simonds VW, Wallerstein N, Duran B, Villegas M. (2013). Community-Based Participatory Research: Its Role in Future Cancer Research and Public Health Practice. 10.

Social change. (2015). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/topic/social-change.

1 comment

  1. Katherine M Simmons

    You make a great point about food companies bending the results of scientific studies to increase sales. For example, it is common to see labels claiming a product contains “less fat” or is “low fat.” Unfortunately, all that this really means is that some other harmful substance – usually sugar – has been used to compensate for the lack of “fat.” The same phenomenon can be seen with low-calorie foods. Thus health-conscious individuals seeking to consume a low-fat or low-calorie diet may actually be increasing their intake of something worse. Any time that a profit is to be made, it is crucial that as consumers we remain aware of the ways research can be manipulated to enhance sales. Great post!

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