Academic Process Of Sociological Research

In the United States, suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 10 to 14-year-olds (CDC, 2015) and for 15 to 19-year-olds (Friedman, 2008). In 2013, 17.0% of students grades 9 to 12 in the United States seriously thought about committing suicide; 13.6% made a suicide plan; 8.0% attempted suicide; and 2.7% attempted suicide in which required medical attention (CDC, 2015). These alarming statistics show that there is something wrong with the way suicide is handled in today’s society. In order to alleviate the devastating consequences of teenage suicide, it is important to get at the root of what causes it all: mental illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (2013), mental illness is the imbalance of thinking, state of mind, and mood. Approximately 90% of all suicides are committed by people with mental illnesses (NAMI, n.d.). This shows that there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide. If mental illnesses are not treated, deadly consequences could occur. It would make sense that if there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide across all ages, the same should be thought for adolescents. Approximately 21% of all teenagers have a treatable mental illness (Friedman, 2008), although 60% do not receive the help that they need (Horowitz, Ballard, & Pao, 2009). If mental illnesses are not found and treated in teenagers, some of them may pay the ultimate price.

The mental stability of college students has dropped to a staggering low, so low that 1 in 4 college students have reported that the have had suicidal thoughts and actions. That's just the amount that have reported that they are feeling suicidal. So many college students struggle with mental illness and receive no help or guidance in curing and dealing with their illnesses.

Many sociologists argue that theoretical issues are the most important factors to affect choice of method. Theoretical issues refer to what we think society is like and if we can obtain an accurate and truthful picture of it. There are four different concerns regarding theoretical issues which influence sociologist’s choice of research methods. Validity is a method that gives a true or genuine picture of what something is really like, which helps the researcher easily find out the truth. Sociologists argue that the use of qualitative methods such as Participant Observation gives a more valid, truthful account as it

Mental health among college students has been proven to be a relevant social issue that our society faces. There are certainly a few different institutions that play a large role within the development of this social issue. The first institution, and the primary institution at play with this issue, is the higher education system. In terms of mental health and having access to resources, college students haven’t always been as lucky as they are today. One study in 2007 explains the story of Junior at Syracuse University (Kravets, 3081). Anita Rutman had a history of mental health issues; she even found herself being admitted to a mental health hospital. One morning in February, she threw herself off of the eighth floor of Boland Hall and landed on a patio and fortunately lived. However, her attempt stemmed from the university sending her letter three days prior that informed Anita that the school was planning to dismiss her because of her suicidal tendencies (Kravets, 3081). Anita later sued Syracuse for ten million dollars for malpractice and negligence in handling her condition.

In the United States, suicide is the third leading cause of death for 10 to 14-year-olds (CDC, 2015) and for 15 to 19-year-olds (Friedman, 2008). In 2013, 17.0% of students grades 9 to 12 in the United States seriously thought about committing suicide, 13.6% made a suicide plan, 8.0% attempted suicide, and 2.7% attempted suicide in which required medical attention (CDC, 2015). These alarming statistics show that there is something wrong with the way mental illness is handled in today’s society. Also, approximately 21% of all teenagers have a treatable mental illness (Friedman, 2008), although 60% do not receive the help that they need (Horowitz, Ballard, & Pao, 2009).

I finally started my first year of college at Miami Dade College in January 2014. During my adaptation to the new educational system, my Abnormal Psychology class professor mentioned how important it would be to participate in an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training. I consider this to be very useful in today’s society where many individuals suffer from depression.

They further explain, “Data shows that nearly 10 percent of postsecondary students had "seriously considered" suicide in the 2015-2016 school year, yet lack of funding for behavioral health resources across all sectors remains one of the largest barriers for postsecondary institutions to address its students’ behavioral health challenges” (p. 1). University of Washington (2013) explains further, “The

Suicide is the act of killing yourself. It is the 11th leading cause of death in America (CDC 2009). I have never had any intentions on committing suicide and I never really understood why people commit suicide that’s why I chose this topic to help me understand what problems people go through that makes them do such a thing. Sociology is the study of social behavior and the culture of humans. There are numerous reasons like financial stress, family problems or mental health disorders that lead to suicide. The number one cause of suicide is untreated depression. The issues that were just listed are some social conditions from society that results in a suicidal

One strength of using participant observation to investigate the idea that ethnic minorities are treated differently within the education system is that it allows the researcher to join in. They will be placed in the same situation that teachers find themselves in routinely, which will allow them to see things through the teachers eyes. This means that the researcher will be able to see things from the same perspective as teachers. This would allow the researcher to create a close bond with the teacher/s and this would mean that they would be more likely to confide. This is particularly important as this is a sensitive subject area. Teachers may only show their true feelings, opinions and

A sociologist would link the two correlated variables socialization and child abuse together and determine how it impacts a child’s social skills. Socialization is a process in which individuals learn to think and act in certain ways based on their social contact and skills. Child abuse occurs when a caregiver is negligent or abusive and cause’s emotional, mental, or physical harm to their children. According to a Miami University article, children that have been abused develop severe social (emotional and behavioral) problems. More than one third of abused children develop language delays (written and oral language is severely impacted) which negatively impacts the socialization of children.

The principles of the sociological scientific method include professional competence, integrity, professional and scientific responsibility, respect for people’s dignity, and diversity, and social responsibility. Sociologists have the ability to modify the structures of a society based on their research alone, meaning that sociologists have an immense amount of power. As a sociologist, adhering to the principles of the sociological scientific method is important in order for the the immense amount of power that sociologists have to stay in control. Following the principles of the sociological scientific method does not allow the sociologists to abuse their power within a society.

While sociological research is being recorded, a good sense of reliability and validity is essential for one to have. If one does not have the most honest VARIABLE being observed for their research, they might lie about what they have done. Or, the researcher could lie and all the information gathered would be tainted. If one is not directly honest with one's findings, people will not believe them without solid evidence.

The first step of the sociological research model is to select a topic. In this case, my topic is extending the school day. My second step is to define the problem. I want to specifically learn if extending the school day would increase students’ overall process through a given school year. The third step is to review the literature. I will find books on the subject of an extended school day, read reports of school that have adopted this system, and search the Internet for accounts of individuals who have researched this topic. Next, I will formulate my hypothesis, which is: “Extending the school day will result in higher academic achievement and increased learning on the part of students.” Next, I will choose my research method. For my purposes, I think it would be best to choose an experiment, with one school serving as the experimental group and one as the control group. Next, I will collect the data. I must be sure to make sure the experiment measures what it is supposed to measure. I need to determine the correct definition of academic achievement and determine how I will measure it. I will determine academic achievement based on letter grades that students receive on average. The seventh step is to analyze the results and test my hypothesis. The last step is to share the results. In this case, I might share my results by publishing them in an article or a journal. I will also compare my findings to other theories of colleagues to determine they support or disagree with

Often more extreme social and academic pressures, can increase anxiety and depression in students (Potter et al., 2004). And so some universities have support groups formed on campuses to help students. But the question is, “Do the students patronize them?” Emory University (2015) suggests that there are specific risk factors for university students in association with suicide, including academic pressures, use of drugs and alcohol, decreased social

Campus mental health statistics paint an alarming picture of the incidence of suicide rates on college campuses and by some measures they are getting worse. Almost one in three students have admitted to considering suicide. Mental health needs on campus are real and serious, they are also growing, which is