Honors Social Science Inquiry (HNRS-110)

Three social issues that interest me is the issues with abortion, bullying, and racism/discrimination. Racism and discrimination is the social issue that is most important to me because as an African American male, I face the possibility of being discriminated every time I leave the house. The history of racism and discrimination in the African American community dates back before the 1800s and it continues to happen to this day. According to the article, The Black Lives Matter Movement, Crime and Police Brutality: Comparative study of New York Post and New York Daily New states, “Even though the era of Jim Crow is gone, once an African American is branded a felon, it becomes difficult to get a job because of having a criminal record. The sheer numbers of African Americans now languishing in prison across the country are a clear sign that not much has changed.” Racism and discrimination is not just an African American issue as it spans across the world. Every ethnic group faces a form of discriminations. The Hispanic group face citizenship discrimination, the Muslim group faces terroristic discrimination, and those are just a few examples to name. Citizenship education and the challenge of racism, discrimination and disadvantage is an article that states, “The idea behind citizenship education is that it will help both to integrate the demands of justice, equality and community and to prevent the increasing apathy towards politics and government, which may damage the health and stability of a modern liberal democracy.” Which is a valid point because instead of being united the way the United States is preached to be, we focus on our own individual ethnic group while we treat others as being beneath us.

Abortion makes the top two of social issues that are important to me because the way the situation is being handled.  Being pro-life or pro-choice should not be a one or the other issue. Women should have the right to choose what they want to do. What I feel like makes this an issue is the reason  women have when they go to get an abortion. Some women seek out abortions because of a one night stand or because they accidently got pregnant because they were not safe and protected when they have sex. Other women seek abortions because they were raped and do not feel comfortable raising after an incident like that. This may seem like a breach of women rights because it is their body that is at risk. WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AND SOCIAL EQUALITY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, is an article that talks about how women reproductive rights are being analyzed. The article states, “Current literature offers two types of models in terms of the impact of human development and social equality on women’s reproductive rights. The first model proposes that social and political equality guaranteed to women regardless of the levels of development is positively related to the levels of reproductive fights (Dixon-Mueller, 1993; Correa, 1994). The second model suggests that reproductive fights are likely to emerge at high levels of socioeconomic development (Li, 1993).” Solutions to abortions seem no where in sight which makes it an important topic to me because the issue has a versatile approach.

Last but not least, bullying is the third on my list of top social issues. Bullying is third on my list because bullying prevention has gotten nowhere in our society. Bullying has led to so many issues in our world today and the biggest one is suicides. Lots of teens has chosen suicide as a solution to being bullied because they feel like they have no one to turn to when being bullied. They feel alone and isolated when facing bullying and bullying comes in many forms, cyber-bullying, verbal bullying, and physical bullying. Bullying and Suicidal Ideation and Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis, is an article that identifies how bullying has transcended over the years and provides an analysis of bullying to suicide rates. The article states, “We searched multiple online databases and reviewed reference sections of articles derived from searches to identify cross-sectional studies published through July 2013. Using search terms associated with bullying, suicide, and youth, 47 studies (38.3% from the United States, 61.7% in non-US samples) met inclusion criteria. Seven observers independently coded studies and met in pairs to reach consensus.” That article does not include reasons for people being bullied. People are constantly bullied because they are different from what society deems to be normal and this causes rejection among the population, which is why bullying makes my top three list of social issues.

Chama, Brian. 2019. “The Black Lives Matter Movement, Crime and Police Brutality:

Comparative Study of New York Post and New York Daily News.” European Journal of 

    American Culture 38 (3): 201–16. doi:10.1386/ejac_00002_1.

Holt, Melissa K., Alana M. Vivolo-Kantor, Joshua R. Polanin, Kristin M. Holland, Sarah DeGue, Jennifer L. Matjasko, Misty Wolfe, and Gerald Reid. 2015. “Bullying and Suicidal Ideation and Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis.” Pediatrics 135 (2): e496–509. doi:10.1542/peds.2014-1864.

Singh, Basil R. 2001. “Citizenship Education and the Challenge of Racism, Discrimination and Disadvantage.” Contemporary Politics 7 (4): 299–318. doi:10.1080/13569770120106444.

Pillai, Vijayan K., and Guang-zhen Wang. 1999. “Women’s Reproductive Rights and Social Equality in Developing Countries.” Social Science Journal 36 (3): 459. doi:10.1016/S0362-3319(99)00017-8.

As I mentioned in my first blog post, I am adopted, so the social issue of abortion is particularly meaningful to me because if my biological mother had not chosen life, I would not be here today. I do not know the reasons as to why she could not raise me, but I am beyond blessed to have been given the chance to live. I am pro-life, but if I decide to base my project on this social issue, I am interested in analyzing both sides of the issue: those who are pro-choice and those who are pro-life. According to Wikipedia, “pro-choice” means believing that it is a woman’s civil right to decide whether to have an abortion or not since it is her body. Wikipedia also defines “pro-life” as placing emphasis that the growing embryo or fetus has the right to be born and that abortion is the act of killing a life.[1] I would like to research about adoption and the other alternatives to abortion and why people who decide to have an abortion do not choose to give birth to the child and put him or her in an orphanage or in the foster care system, for instance. I do not have much knowledge regarding the topic so I would be extremely interested in collecting and analyzing the results conducted in my project. There are certainly statistics I can use that will strengthen my project if I choose to do it on this topic, and I would construct a survey to gain a better sense of why it is such a prominent social issue. Some statistics include those gathered from New York Times: “‘about 8 in 10 Americans believe abortion is taking a life,” said Ed Goeas, president of the Tarrance Group, a Republican polling firm. ‘What you then have is a discussion about when it is acceptable.’” Additionally, the New York Times quotes Gallup which shows that “about 60 percent of Americans favor access to abortion in the first trimester (or first 12 weeks) of pregnancy, but close to 70 percent think it should be illegal in the second trimester.”[2] I would additionally examine the pros and cons of abortion being illegal and legal. Although abortion is a heated topic, like all social issues, it is important to look at both sides of the problem to gain a better understanding of it.

The social issue of immigration is a leading social issue today, especially in the United States. My parents own a preschool in North Bergen, New Jersey, a town filled with Hispanic immigrants. They help the parents pay for the education of their children with Urban League. Many of the immigrant parents are single and have had their children at a very young age. Most of my family members are immigrants, so I know many stories of the struggles immigrants face in assimilating and trying to adapt to a new way of life. I, too, am an immigrant, so this topic is especially important to me. Immigration is a significant social issue because of the concern of closing boarders and illegal immigrants trying to cross them. Immigration is another intense topic since, according to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, most Republicans view immigrants and refugees as a threat to the United States, whereas Democrats believe in continuing to embrace immigration as part of the nation’s history by being less controlling regarding border security. There are many statistics that would benefit my project if I were to base it on this social issue, especially since I am looking to analyze the claims made by Republicans and Democrats, including a statistic made by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs: 45% of Americans claim that limiting the amount of immigrants coming to the United States makes the country “safer.”[3] The belief that immigrants are “dangerous” and are “criminals” are occupying many people’s minds, and it is important to look past single stories that we may have heard of immigration and to educate ourselves on the bigger picture as well as on details and specifics.

A third social issue I would like to explore is mental illness. Recently, my church called The Most Blessed Sacrament in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey was burned down by a mentally unstable young man. This arsonist committed a horrible crime, but I sympathize with him. This event impacted me immensely since I have grown up in this church, and to see it in rubble has me destroyed. It also touched me in a way that my eyes have been opened to a world where people are fighting battles on their own that no one else is aware of. Mental illness is a major social issue and if I were to base my project on it, I would focus on how family structure impacts the mental health of a person. A preliminary study conducted by the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health shows that there is a connection between family structure and the levels of behavioral issues in children. They studied how single parents affected the upbringing of a child, and they also collected data on the rates of trauma and hospitalization. One statistic they established is that 71% of children “reported either a parent or a sibling with a psychiatric disorder.” [4] This is an alarming number which makes mental illness an even more urgent cause to worry about. If a child does not have a solid support system in his or her home, the child tends to keep to him/herself and may become anxious, depressed, or develop more advanced conditions of mental illness.

[1] “Abortion Debate.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, February 10, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_debate.

[2] Leonhardt, David. “Why Abortion Is Not Like Other Issues.” The New York Times, July 13, 2013. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/sunday-review/why-abortion-is-not-like-other-issues.html.

[3] Kafura, Craig. “Republicans and Democrats in Different Worlds on Immigration.” Chicago Council on Global Affairs, February 3, 2020. https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/publication/lcc/republicans-and-democrats-different-worlds-immigration.

[4] Behere, Aniruddh Prakash, Pravesh Basnet, and Pamela Campbell. “Effects of Family Structure on Mental Health of Children: A Preliminary Study.” Indian journal of psychological medicine. Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd, 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5559994/.

Although society is a place for individuals to come together, it often poses as a foundation for many social issues to progress.  Despite having come a long way in certain regards, many still suffer negative experiences on a daily basis. There are complex issues that affect individuals; however, three of the most overarching social issues experienced today are economic inequality, gender inequality, and racial inequality.  Without solving these three issues, society may never be able to rise above its own constraints.

Economic inequality is indicative of a failing financial and economic system.  Beginning at a young age, most individuals dream of acquiring wealth and a secure financial status.  Despite the high frequency of the dream, it is accomplished by very few. The economic disparity between individuals is seen on a routinely basis, and it is especially magnified in today’s climate.  I want to choose this issue because it affects every part of the community, and it is so easily seen within the community. I also want to choose this because it is a crucial matter that prevents individuals from moving upward in society.  In fact, “People in the lower rungs of the economic ladder may experience diminished economic opportunity and mobility in the face of rising inequality.”^1   There are billionaires such as Jeff Bezos while there are children in impoverished cities who are unable to attend school or know where their next meals are coming from.  With the increasing use of social media, one is able to see the widening gap between social classes: influencers typically impact younger generations and allow for the gap to deepen.  For example, using companies such as Amazon only adds to the inequality experienced by millions. In order to conduct deeper research, the two aspects I would like to focus on is education to see how financially disadvantaged individuals are even more disadvantaged because of society’s opportunities being set against them.  I would also like to focus on the rapid wealth that the rich are emassing, “The wealth gap between America’s richest and poorer families more than doubled from 1989 to 2016.”^2   I can include some historical context to compare whether the gap has widened or narrowed over time as well as analyzing the factors in that contributed to the issue.  Statistics are readily available that can help me research this issue.

While progress has been made towards gender equality, society is a long way from attaining equality.  Women are inherently disadvantaged compared to men in society. Still, however, genders apart from women experience discrimination in more oppressive forms.  This issue widely affects the community because as more people gain the confidence to live life as authentic as possible, more oppressions seep into their lives, especially for those who do not identify as being male or female, i.e. those a part of the LGBTQ+ community.  There has been increasing violence in the transgender community. I want to choose this topic because of the different sectors that succumb to this issue. Gender inequality can be seen in workplaces, cultures, and daily norms. Because of its presence in different sectors, a specific aspect, such as I the gender inequality faced on a daily basis, would have to be focused on so that the research conducted can be deeper.  For example, “Women are 47% more likely to suffer severe injuries in car crashes because safety features are designed for men.”^3   Statistics such as these can help with researching the topic because it is interesting to see the different parts of society that favor and cater to men compared to the other genders.  Because gender inequality has been an issue throughout history, a historical element could be incorporated where the project could explore the areas in which equality has increased as well as areas that still lack equality.  For example, women gained voting rights in 1920; however, it is 2020 and transgender individuals cannot serve in the military. Inequality should decrease, not remain stagnant or regress.

Perhaps one of the most complex, overarching social issues is the racial inequality of minority groups within the nation.  Personally, I grew up in a diverse neighborhood with classmates who came from backgrounds from all over the world. Although I am part of the majority race in this country, I want to choose this social issue because of its presence in so many other societal issues and parts of society, such as school/education, law enforcement, and job opportunities.  To avoid superficial research, I want to focus on racial inequality in the law and the legal system, police brutality being the focal point. In 2015, “Racial minorities made up about 37.4 percent of the general population in the US and 46.6 percent of armed and unarmed victims, but they made up 62.7 percent of unarmed people killed by police.”^4   Police brutality largely affects racial minorities, Black individuals in particular.  In addition, Black people are more likely to be arrested for drugs despite them not being more likely to sell or actually use them.^5   These prejudices are not newly-established as they have been existing for centuries.  The same practices have been done and will continue to be done unless there is change.  The historical background in which I would like to include in the framework for my research, in particular, is the Civil Rights Movement in the 1940s-1960s and compare those events with the events happening today.  Despite times changing, many of the same mentalities and injustices are exhibited present-day. In this case, statistics will show an overwhelming similarity in racial inequality.

Though these three social issues are significant in today’s society, there are many others that possess equal importance and just as much urgency to rectify.

Bibliography

(Image 1)   George-Parkin, Hilary. “Why Companies Need to Get Comfortable With Taking a Stand on Social Issues.” Footwear News. Footwear News, February 6, 2019.

(Image 3)   Glynn, Sarah Jane. “Explaining the Gender Wage Gap.” Center for American Progress, May 19, 2014.

(Image 2) ^1 and ^2   Horowitz, Juliana Menasce, Ruth Igielnik, and Rakesh Kochhar. “Trends in U.S. Income and Wealth Inequality.” Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project, January 19, 2020.

(Image 4) ^4 and ^5   Lopez. “There Are Huge Racial Disparities in How US Police Use Force.” Vox. Vox, November 14, 2018.

^3   Whiting, Kate. “7 Surprising and Outrageous Stats about Gender Inequality.” World Economic Forum, March 8, 2019.

The risk of emotional, mental, or physical harm to a child by a parent or caregiver, known as child abuse, is a global, social issue and is an unfortunately relevant problem in the United States. Child abuse has immediate effects on the individual, as well as long-term effects. The most common effects of child abuse occur within the individual’s mental and emotional health. The effects that an individual who has experienced child abuse can vary based on variables such as the age that the trauma occurred, the extensiveness of the trauma, and the way the individual copes with stress. Anxiety, depression, PTSD, and difficulty concentrating and connecting with others are all possible and frequent effects of child abuse. While occasionally perpetrators are careful not to leave physical marks on a case of child abuse, often victims of child abuse have bruises, swelling, sprains, burns, pain, difficulty walking or sitting, and some experience sexually transmitted infections or diseases. The immediate and long-term effects of child abuse have serious impact on the victim. While child abuse does have a direct effect on the individual, the results of child abuse can also affect the community. The family or friends of the victim often experience a loss of connection and feel pushed away from the victim.

Victims of child abuse are amongst various ages but research from the American Society for the Positive Care of Children shows that there is a higher concentration of child abuse in children under the age of one and then decreases slightly from the age of one to the age of seventeen. Child abuse has been recorded for most, if not all of history. Dating back to the 16^th and 17^th centuries, children were viewed as property of their fathers, which can be argued as classifying as child abuse. Many organizations, such as the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children works to help children and families affected by this social issue. Child abuse has been a big issue, and remains a big issue that needs to have more attention brought to it.

Gun control, police actions and brutality, and aggression are common topics linked to crime and violence, especially in the United States. Research from “Violent Crime: The US and Abroad” shows that the US has more guns per capita than anywhere else in the world. While gun ownerships is not the lone contributor to crime and violence, citizens of the United States feel as though gun possession needs to be more controlled. While some research has shown that US violence and crime rates are decreasing, violence is still a concern as the National Violent Death Reporting System has done research that states that more than seven people die a violent death per hour. Violence can change a community’s way of living and value but it is interesting that under President Donald Trump’s rule, it has been reported that crime rates have decreased. Larceny and theft, burglary, motor vehicle theft, aggravated assault, and robbery are the top five type of crime in the United States. Larceny and theft are the most common and more than 7 million cases of it are reported each year, making up sixty percent of all reported crimes. When comparing crime rate in the US to crime rates in other countries, articles have shown disputing results as some say the US is the most violent, and other say we are average. The US Department of Justice’s article displays crime rates across the years and answers many questions about crime and violence in the US. Crime and violence will always be seen as an issue and what will stop it?

Poverty, financial deficit of developing countries, and the lack of materials and necessities are all common reasons that education has become a global issue. According to the article, “Right to Education: Situation around the world”, more than 72 million children are unschooled around the world. It is also shown that more girls and women are unschooled than boys and men. Cultural and traditional custom hinder women from obtaining equal or any education. The lack of funding, specifically in undeveloped countries, is a main reason that the world struggles in the topic of education. Without proper funding, schools cannot access materials such as desks or textbooks, they cannot afford teachers who are properly schooled or trained, and they become stuck in an environment unsuitable to educate in. Countries may also experience foreign conflicts or war that hinders the ability to make it to a school safely. Distance itself is an issue in education as some countries have a rare amount of schools that may just be too far away for some potential students or they are in an unsafe neighborhood or environment. In many of these underdeveloped or smaller nations and countries, hunger and poor nutrition also contribute to the lack of education. Without the proper diet, an individual’s brain does not fully develop which can lead to poor grades, and the lack of ability to achieve the full learning potential. Education all around is expensive and various countries cannot provide a good quality of education because of it.

In other areas of the world, different circumstances can explain the topic of education. While in the US almost all students receive an education, the continuing of schooling into college has become an almost necessary element to a good future and job. College is too expensive for most and this either ends with students not attending college at all, attending a two-year facility, or tons of money in loans and debt. Education is very different in all parts of the world but each country shares a common social issue and that is the topic of education.

Social Issues have existed for as long as society has. The people affected, the place, and the importance always changes over time. In modern-day, three social issues afflicting society include LGBTQ+ rights, homelessness, and the criminal justice system.

As for LGBTQ+ rights, there is a movement to be more inclusive and accepting for same-sex relationships, parenting, bias-free education, and non-discrimination protections. Unfortunately many reject the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, “Sexual orientation ranks as the third-highest motivator for hate crime incidents (17 percent of total attacks).” 1 Many times the reason behind this hate is due to religious beliefs that homosexuality and transgenderism are a sin. Personally I know many people who are not discriminatory but are anti-LGBTQ+, which makes for extremely awkward situations. I choose this topic because I believe people should be able to love who they love and be who they wish to be. No one has the right to stop people from having control over their bodies and relationships. One specific issue involves LGBTQ+ youth. There is a gross lack of education on sex and history as well as biased and unsafe schools. “Five population-based surveys of high school students found that bisexual, lesbian and gay youth reported strikingly higher rates of sexual abuse and forced intercourse than their heterosexual counterparts (Saewyc et al. 2006).” 2 “LGBTQ youth represent as much as 40% of the homeless youth population. Of that population, studies indicate that as many as 60% are likely to attempt suicide” 3 There is plenty of history that can be taught about movements in America, like Harvey Milk, as well as the history of LGBTQ+ around the world. There are numerous surveys and facts that support issues youth face. No matter your belief about homosexuality, the pain, and death that children face is an obvious failure by society.

The second issue faced by too many is homelessness. This is the greatest fear for many in the realm of economic issues. Too many times have I gone to a city and passed by someone who is struggling to survive.

The winter is especially bad, as homeless and left outside to the elements. This can affect anyone in my personal community or in the world. For those in this situation not due to their own agency shows how society has failed to help people. There is plenty of statistics on this subject. For example, “564,708 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in the US. 36,907 (6.38%) are children, 47,725 (8.33%) are veterans, and 269,991 (47.6%) are disabled and unable to work.” 4 AS for history, researching other subjects like unemployment, poverty, abuse, mental illness, substance abuse, children being kicked out of their homes and so on. Understanding that most homeless aren’t homeless due to lack of effort, but outside societal forces that they cannot overcome alone. Focusing on how children can become homeless or unemployment is a good way to explain how and why people lose their homes. This can help people have more empathy and understanding causing them to help out more. Many people blame victims or the homeless for their situation when other factors may play a major part. 

The third and final social issue is the criminal justice system. Many debates have been fought over the dramatically increasing prison population, the cost of incarceration, the death penalty, and “revolving door in and out of prisons.”5 I choose this issue because crime affects everyone and the current system is not reforming prisoners. I also want to dive deeper into looking at why people commit crimes. For example, did they face abuse, did they not have access to education, are they impoverished, do they struggle with addiction and so on. Statistics on this topic are easily available and numerous studies have been done. As for history, one can look at the last few decades and look at how the criminal justice system has increased. For example, “the war on drugs” is just one example of how incarceration has changed. Something to focus on is the drastic inequality in representation. Men of color especially are shown as criminals and are concentrated in the inner cities. “The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that 35% of state prisoners are white, 38% are black, and 21% are Hispanic.”6 Historically, possessing crack had more prison time than cocaine. People of color were more likely to have crack while whites were more likely to have cocaine despite them being practically the same drug. An interesting documentary called 13 goes in-depth about blacks in the criminal justice system. Police brutality and targeting based upon race is also connected to this social issue.

Overall, these issues affect many people and have been at the forefront of the current social issues facing America. 

Work Cited

1 and 2 Marzullo, Michelle A, and Alyn J Libman. “Research Overview: Hate Crimes Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transexual People.” hrc.org. Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 2009. https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/Hatecrimesandviolenceagainstlgbtpeople_2009.pdf?_ga=2.23063165.716889190.1581088277-332703889.1575742720.

3 “Youth Homelessness.” The Trevor Project. Accessed February 7, 2020. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-involved/trevor-advocacy/homelessness/.

4 “U.S. Homelessness Facts.” Front Steps, January 11, 2018. https://www.frontsteps.org/u-s-homelessness-facts/.

5 “Read ‘The Criminal Justice System and Social Exclusion: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief’ at NAP.edu.” National Academies Press: OpenBook. Accessed February 7, 2020. https://www.nap.edu/read/25247/chapter/1#2.

6 Nellis, Ashley. “The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons.” The Sentencing Project, June 14, 2016. https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/color-of-justice-racial-and-ethnic-disparity-in-state-prisons/.

Surveys have been around for generations, yet when approached by a random individual to take a survey, most people would say no. This is because the modernization of society has resulted in companies profiting from selling the data acquired from conducted surveys. People, including myself, have become more skeptical of surveys also because, with all this technology, we are constantly being sold something, and have trouble “to know what is legitimate and what is just an attempt to sell them something.” However, as reported in the New York Times article, “Why People Hate Taking Surveys,” a “Transparency Initiative” was created in order to bring back the faith in surveys by creating more standards and regulations must follow in surveying. But whether these are actually followed or have helped build trust back in surveyors.

Through research I conducted myself and articles that I have read, surveying is better than traditional research methods because of how technological our society has become. Nowadays, with online surveys, individuals can just click on a link and respond to questions in real-time. Especially, with programs such as Google Forms, the resulting data is automatically organized and compiled based on the answers received, ultimately saving steps and time that would be needed to interpret and go through the data. Conducting research through online surveys is also a notably less expensive process as well because there is a greater reach in less time. Another aspect of online surveys that prove they may provide more accurate information because some individuals may feel more comfortable being more specific or answering questions more truthfully anonymously through their phone or computer rather than in a face-to-face interview because of the fear of experiencing judgment from others.

What is also interesting about the impact of surveys, is because of technological advancements, people all over the world of different cultures will be able to respond rather than research conducted by word of mouth which allows for more opinions and perspectives to be represented. That is the beauty of surveys. Everyone has different world views because of the environment they grew up in and what resources they had access to and so on, therefore, different topics matter to different people. Overall, their more pros than cons of surveys because of how much easier it is to get more people to participate in the study and therefore, gather more information on more demographics than traditional research methods.

For example, when looking at the issue of the wage gap: this is an issue which may be more important and concerning for women because they are the ones that are receiving the short end of the stick in that situation, whereas men are being paid the wages and receiving the promotions that women deserve just as much. An individual’s race also plays into the importance of certain social issues over others. For example, bringing the previous example of the wage gap further, Kimberle Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality, women of color are even further oppressed and receive even fewer wages and promotions than a woman of caucasian background. Therefore, women of color may find the wage gap even more pressing than caucasian women might.

References:

1. “Online Surveys versus Traditional Market Research.” Online Surveys compared with Traditional Market Research. Accessed February 6, 2020. http://www.marketingmindsresearch.com/case_study.html.
2. Thee-brenan, Megan. “Why People Hate Taking Surveys.” The New York Times. The New York Times, June 5, 2014. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/06/upshot/why-people-hate-taking-surveys.html.

Today we are often inundated with requests for our opinions. How many times have you been asked to take a survey by a brand in exchange for a potential reward? In a world where everyone wants our data for everything, it can feel obnoxious at times. The digital age makes it almost too easy to ask everyone what they think of everything nearly all the time. It can be very overwhelming. Even my college sends out surveys for its students to take all the time. For someone to want to take your survey, it must seem interesting while not appearing to be too difficult to respond to. People need to want to take your survey, as so many are shoved in their faces on the regular. This is unfortunate, especially considering how useful a survey is as a method of research.

With a healthy awareness for the many ways that bias can affect the results of a survey, one can retrieve some viable data. The most important aspect of a survey is how well the questions and formatting work to help prevent as much bias as possible from affecting the answers from each respondent. Surveys are especially effective when it comes to social science as well, considering how trying to run experiments to test out complex real world problems can be difficult in comparison to other more traditional sciences which may use other research methods. Within more traditional science, there are many unchanging patterns and rules which govern how the world works. In social science, it is not that simple as people are highly variable. What may be true in one scenario may not be true in the next. This is why we often need the voices of the people themselves when it comes to research in a social science.

As for the world views of the other survey respondents, I am not entirely sure if they will share a similar world view as me. I like to think that most people are progressive in this day and age, but most people are not well-informed on modern social issues, and by no fault of their own. That sort of knowledge and awareness must be sought out, as it might only be skimmed in public education. There is also the factor of ones own gender, race, and social class. These aspects can have a real impact upon ones world view, which can definitely have an impact upon a response to a survey. Gender, race, and social class all together have a very real impact on the way someone lives their day to day lives in a society that is divided along those lines. These factors create a substantial enough change in the way someone grows up and lives their life, that we have to be conscious of them when considering survey respondents. A man has a very different experience than a woman, a white person has a very different experience than a black person, and a poor person has a very different experience than a rich person. These all influence perspectives.

“Questionnaire Design.” Pew Research Center Methods. Pew Research Center. Accessed February 5, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/methods/u-s-survey-research/questionnaire-design/.

The process of using surveys has always been simple. People could walk in a booth and express their opinion on a topic and walk out with no questions asked. But as time progressed surveys began taking a new direction with the way they were being given to the people. Surveys began to be used as a way to get a percentage from a target group of people, such as African Americans or Hispanic people. But one thing that has been learned throughout the years is that not everyone expresses the same opinion. People tend to have different views on things because of the fact that they feel differently on a particular subject. Ethnicity and race are not the only factors that contribute to an opinion. Gender, religion, and culture also are defining factors in what makes a person think the way they do and feel the way they do. Opinions vary due to many factors and that fact alone is something that everyone ignores. Feelings about abortion can be used as an example. Issues with abortion has become one of the biggest social issue in this generation. So when being surveyed about abortion, the main question is always, are you pro-life or pro-choice? 

Plenty of surveys have been conducted asking people how they feel about this social issue and there is never a clear cut number of people who feel such a way about the topic. Looking at the chart above, you can see how the opinions vary and that’s without looking at them from a boy/girl perspective. Other studies have been conducted about abortion and a survey was taken from social work students. Social work students were chosen because it is in the job description of a social worker to advise their clients about abortion. They provide the information and resources that can help a person make a life changing decision. The article; Religiosity and Personal Beliefs Regarding Abortion: Results from a Survey of Social Work Students in the United States, states, “Survey data were collected from 504 social work students, who were asked about their practice and education experiences and their personally held beliefs about abortion. Linear regressions showed that higher religiosity was significantly associated with greater endorsement of anti-abortion attitudes.” In religion, it is against the customs to partake in certain activities and abortion is one of them. So even religion begins to play a part in the direction a survey can take and abortion is just an example of how a survey can draw out different opinions. But in the end that’s what a survey is searching for. So believe me when I tell you that no one has the same opinions on a topic. We can agree with another person or share similar views but our opinions on a topic will most likely never be the same. For example, the way I see abortion is that I have no issue with a woman going to get one. If that is what she feels she needs to do then by all means, do what you must. But I would feel differently if a woman wanted to have an abortion with my child. I know I would not be okay with that. So it can be said that I am pro-choice in general but pro-life when I am involved. That is something I am sure that not too many people share the same opinion as me but would agree with me. So with that being said, I do expect that people will not share the same opinions as me but factors such as gender, race, and social class will impact the world and will be reflected in surveys. 

Bird, Melissa, Stephanie Begun, and Kimberly McKay. “Religiosity and Personal Beliefs 

Regarding Abortion: Results from a Survey of Social Work Students in the United States.” Women’s Reproductive Health 5, no. 2 (April 2018): 117–31. doi:10.1080/23293691.2018.1463742.

Frazee, Gretchen. “New Abortion Laws Are Too Extreme for Most Americans, Poll Shows.” 

PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 7 June 2019, 

www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/new-abortion-laws-are-too-extreme-for-most-americans-poll-shows.