Module 4: Social Issue Investigation
Identifying an issue of personal and social concern Interrogating assumptions, biases, and representations through topic research Creating a brief report for future study (p. 206).
This module teaches the basics of doing research locally, hence ‘social issue investigation’. Let’s think about some social issues. In this module, social issues refer to some social problems that draw your attention and you really want to study. Some of the pertinent social issues are child abuse, civil rights, crime, criminal justice, disability rights, domestic violence, gambling, hate crime, health care (see medicine), homelessness, immigration, mental illness, etc. If you want to see some more social issues, you can click HERE. What is an investigation, then? According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, investigation means “to observe or study by close examination and systematic inquiry” (See HERE). In the context of this module, the ‘close examination and systematic inquiry’ is no other than small research:
By embarking on a brief research journey, we will consciously think about the research process and how to go about it ethically and responsibly by finding reliable sources and considering the role bias plays in the circulation of information. Since this module is about introducing you to the process of research, your instructor might not ask you to produce what you think of as a traditional research paper. (p. 206)
When we talk about research, we, once again, go back to Module 1 to recall positionality. While doing your research you cannot transcend or escape your positionality. How can we be unbiased, then? FYCH reads:
Before pursuing the answer to your research question on a social issue, it’s important to recognize that bias is an unavoidable part of our being humans who see the world from a particular point of view, called positionality or subjectivity. Think back to our discussion of subject position in Module 1” (p. 207).
Nevertheless, we are expected to remain ethical and responsible while conducting research. Here, ethical and responsible research means following reliable sources, conducting data ethically, analyzing and interpreting data systematically, and reporting the findings honestly. Thus, research, in this module, is more an exploration of an unknown territory that we want to see and share. It is like using google map. Our role is like entering a correct address where we want to reach, which is no other than research questions. While navigating, we may reach some familiar locations where we may want to take rest and enjoy and we may quickly cross the locations that we are not familiar with. As a researcher, we need to navigate all the locations being less biased and more objective without deviating from the main destination. Hence, it is argued that “when we encounter information that aligns with our belief systems and values, we often agree with that information at face value, because of something called confirmation bias. (p. 207). Similarly, research is not a stand-alone activity; it exists in relation to other research conducted before ours. Therefore, one of the ethical dimensions of research is to engage in conversations with reliable research already existing on the topic. Therefore, to “portray information in responsible ways”, it is advised that we are expected to review peer-reviewed research articles to the best of our research ability (p. 208).