Starting Research

I've began pouring through academic articles in search of research material for my project. I found a semi-annual publication that published academic journal articles called "Annual Edition: Global Issues" which has proven to a be a valuable source of information to me. I find myself skimming through material at first, then, when something catches my eye, I'll begin to read it in depth. I'm trying to keep the research process as organic as possible, though perhaps this is coming at the expense of organization at times. One thing I've found that really helps is that I'm genuinely interested in my topic of research, and I read much quicker as a result.

Allapattah

Allapattah is a classic example of a melting pot. Primarily white until the late ‘50s, Allapattah experienced a demographic and cultural transformation sparked by the displacement (by the construction of I-95) of African Americans in the 1960’s. Later, Central American immigrants began to pour in; eventually transforming Allapattah into a predominantly Spanish-speaking community. And though today Allapattah is much safer than it has been in the past, some problems still persist: for one thing, there is a very real (and visible) homeless presence. Also, unless you’re especially fond of Hondurian cusine, you may find yourself driving for a bite to eat. Allapattah can best described as a “friendly” and "close-knit" community with a rich cultural heritage.

Starting from scratch

After having my initial proposal denied, I've had to start thinking of a new project from scratch. What I came up with is something relating to important (in the sense that they effect all of our lives) global issues, and college student's perceptions of them. So far I've narrowed the list of issues down to: globalization, resource scarcity, energy policy, environmental issues, and security issues. I believe this project will be both practical (from an information gathering standpoint), as well as informative (in the sense that I should be able to attain good qualitative information rather easily).

A little progress...

After much thought, I've mostly settled on the topic of pedophelia in the Catholic Church and it's possible causes. As far as a framework, I'm considering social constructionism. This topic interests me because I've seen and heard so little in terms of explanation for why the priests do what they do. And in this way, I think  social constructionism is a good fit, in terms of providing a strong framework from which to approach the issue. It might be difficult but I think that if I could find a 'victim' to interview, that it could really strengthen my project; this should no doubt be helped by the sheer number of victims out there.