Social change research is at the frontline of a society’s moral fabric. Mahatma Ghandi once said, “A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.” Some groups in society are marginalized and exploited. They have no voice and feel there are no mechanisms to change their circumstances. By definition social change research is concerned with providing interventions and data to help advance the exploited group’s circumstances in society and create a more perfect union (Brydon-Miller, 1997). However, to have effective social change you must include input from these exploited populations. It is their input that allow researchers to create a “user friendly intervention.” It is this program that acts as a mechanism to push for social change. It is here that activist researchers are not standing idly by, they are interjecting a certain value.
An example of an activist research intervention is early voting. As an American, voting is one the greatest acts a citizen can exercise. Yet, voter participation among minorities, young adults and the poor which are marginalized groups are extremely low. Many researchers wanted to increase the voting turnout in these populations. They wanted to find out what can be done to improve voter turnout. So, researchers went into churches, colleges and different locations to reach these targeted populations. After input from the exploited groups, they discovered that many people did not have transportation to the voting precinct, did not register or their work hours were not conducive with the voting schedule. Armed with this data, many advocacy groups’ such as ACLU, GOTV and the NAACP lobbied various states to enact early voting which expanded the hours that voting stations would be open. The end result is that voter participation among the youth, minorities and the poor all increased during the 2008 election (Circle, 2010). Their increased participation rate had a significant impact on the 2008 presidential race. A secondary benefit is that it created a greater sense of empowerment to these people (Davis, 2010).
In the end, societies are measured by the treatment of the marginalized and less fortunate among them. It is social change researchers who are at the frontline of helping create a better society. Through their interaction with these populations, they are able to design and implement interventions to bring about the change that is needed for these groups to gain greater access in society.
References:
Brydon-Miller, M. (1997), Participatory Action Research: Psychology and Social Change. Journal of Social Issues, 53: 657–666. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1997.tb02454.x
The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Retrieved from
http://www.civicyouth.org/new-census-data-confirm-increase-in-youth-voter-turnout-in- 2008-election/
Davis, J. K. (2010). Voting as Empowerment Practice. American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, 13(4), 243-257. doi:10.1080/15487768.2010.523352
I really like that we’re doing research this and I’m interested to see statistics from the 2012 election as well as the upcoming 2016 election. I think that if we can continue to improve ways to ensure more of the population can vote, then the government might be able to start doing better for its citizens. I would also like to see if there are any other factors that influence low turn out among these groups besides the ones you mentioned. Even if there is better access to vote, I wonder if these groups have access to the information on the candidates as well, to ensure they make a well informed vote. I’m not insinuating that they are inferior or dumb, it’s just that if we’re talking about homeless people or single household families or minority groups that don’t have a vehicle or time to take from work then maybe they don’t have access to a computer or are able to afford the luxury of cable and a t.v. With everyone now being in a electronics and media based world, it would be hard to stay informed on all the latest info on the candidates without the immediate access to a television or the internet. Heaven forbid anyone buy a newspaper anymore, but that’s a different matter. I loved that you brought this topic to light and it was very wonderfully researched and written.