For as long as I can remember my main focus in society has been centered around children. During the application process while I discussed my research interests with Julie and Clifford, Julie brought my attention to an interesting article posted on BBC News discussing how UNICEF has found that children in the Netherlands are the happiest in the world. This discovery puzzled me. As I reviewed the article, I felt that it didn't completely the answer how? Some of the information provided to more of a "blanket statement".
While initially my research interests were going to be more based in racial diversity and its effects on the overall productivity of the Dutch culture and society, I think I will attempt to put together a way to determine how the Netherlands creates such happy children and how their happiness effects their productivity as adults.
Based on discussion of what the purpose of a research question is, I will try to understand the societal phenomenon of creating happy children.
IDEAS: Children is something I know a lot about as having spent most of my life completely fascinated by them. Their ability to learn is amazing, and often I feel their do not receive appreciation for their brilliancy. I will base most of my questioning about children on the article mentioned above. It claims that Dutch children are made to be the center of the home resulting in their happiness, but I think that there is something lacking in this because it creates a sense of selfishness.
QUESTIONS: Why are Dutch children the happiest in the world? With this sense of the power that is established within a child-centered society, what are these individuals like when they become adults? What can the United States learn from the Netherlands child raising methods in order to create happy children and a happy society? Though my question are generally broad, I think they will narrow down as I create the methods to my social research.
EVIDENCE: Because of the broadness of my research interests, I will try to be as efficient as possible with the places that I will search for evidence in order to find my answer to happiness. I think it will be necessary to examine the opinion of children from various people and how their ideas effect how they raise their children, as well as talk to children, college students and then grown business people and see what their overall opinions are. Because of our location being Amsterdam, I don't think I will have the opportunity to travel to more rural places to see how their views of raising children changes. I hope to find my answers in the schools, on the streets and at businesses. I hope to find multiple locations where I can discuss this topic with several people at once. Though it may not be correct to do so I hope to find my evidence in the form of discussion with some minor surveying.
So that's my research idea. Please comment/critique it as much as necessary because it is still in its early parts of development and will need a lot of work before it's perfect.
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3 comments:
Since it may be difficult to talk to children, would talking to the parents to a good idea?
Julia, yea as I have thought about this more, I have changed my method in which I would obtain data. I think it would be great to do an interview with a well-established child psychologist, as well as set up time that I could observe children in their natural environments. I agree with you that children might not be the greatest source of good information.
hi irina (comment pasted from shirley's blog)- great ideas and i particularly like how you both bring your own experiences to bear on the questions you pose.
a couple of suggestions: continue to work through the big questions you pose and try to find a specific issue to study. this will help make your project more manageable. an important part of getting at a specific question is to refer to the relevant literature surrounding immigrant children experiences. you'll learn what is already known and it will help you articulate your project proposal.
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