This week’s topic is about social change research, as I was reading it, I simultaneously related it to my own research. According to the definition depicted in our Canvas lecture, “Social change research comes in several different forms, but the general idea is that the researcher(s) are actively changing something in a social situation that they are a part of.” And my early research interests focus on a Chinese singlehood issue called the “leftover women” phenomenon. I was a member of this socially stigmatized community, and soon I left it because I got married.
I was a bit surprised by the definition of social change research in the lecture at first sight because I thought every research work is initiated to make a social change or solve a social problem. So when I read about the definition of social change research, I was like ok, this is new! The most surprising part of the definition to me is that the social change researcher must be “a part of it (the community)”. From there, I started trying to connect this definition to my own research.
When I began my research on the singlehood phenomenon, I was not a member of that community anymore. But I was still very interested in this phenomenon at the time I started my work. And I wanted to use my research to explore this issue and finally help people. Then, is my study qualified as social change research since I am not a part of that community anymore? Though, I do not really worry about finding out the answer to this question. What I care about is whether my research can make an impact on people’s lives in the real world in the end.
Last, I tend to believe that every serious researcher would expect their work to make a significant impact in the world someday. Let’s recall the definition of social change research, “Social change research comes in several different forms, but the general idea is that the researcher(s) are actively changing something in a social situation that they are a part of.” After all, if think of it in a broader way, we all belong to the same world community, and every valuable piece of research contributes to building a better world.
https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177148/modules/items/33983579
Tags: psych424, Social Change Research
I think you have a great blog post about Social change research. I would argue that because you have removed yourself from the community that you may now have the carity to see into that community have previous experience in that environment (Gruman, 2016).
Applied Social Psychology : Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Jamie A. Gruman, Frank W. Schneider, and Larry M. Coutts . SAGE Publications . 2016