Workshop: Problem-Solving Sociology Workshops: Evanston, IL 2018-2019

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

This project consists of a series of workshops for graduate students at the pre-dissertation stage in problem-solving sociology. In line with research that shows that many fundamental advances in basic science have resulted from the pursuit of answers to specific, applied problems, problem-solving sociology is an approach that argues that grappling with real-world problems can lead to breakthroughs in the understanding of society. The workshops will guide the students in the development of dissertation research proposals oriented toward solving social problems. The project has the potential for influencing the field of sociology by broadening the perspectives of scholars entering the field. From applicants from around the country, 36 students will be invited to two-day workshops held at Northwestern University. The goal of the workshops is to provide feedback on research design at a very early stage, and to allow scholars to develop thematic networks and communities with other researchers in their age cohort conducting similar research. The workshops aim to help students avoid three traps common in scholarship that studies social problems: the trap of simply describing or complaining about a problem, the trap of studying only the victims of the problem rather than the process that is causing the problem, and the trap of resting content with critiquing others' proposed solutions without proposing solutions of one's own. The goal of each workshop will be for each participant or group of participants to develop, by the end of the second day, a short proposal for a research project to develop a sociologically informed solution to the specific problem being discussed. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.