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What themes do you see in these projects? It makes sense for students to pick topics related to some aspect of their experience—media, gender, race, achievement, sports, relationships (with peers, with parents, with siblings), substance use, and health. On occasion students undertake topics related to some medical or emotional problem familiar to them, for example, a relative or acquaintance with a seen or unseen disability. Doing such research is possible, although it requires great care and sensitivity. There is a difference between asking people about their attitudes toward sensitive topics, such as those with seen and unseen challenges, and asking people with those challenges to participate in the research. In general, projects that study sensitive topics (e.g., individuals who are taking medication for Parkinson’s disease) and/or vulnerable populations (e.g., individuals with autism or children) require a series of permissions from “gatekeepers,” a process that involves a full meeting of your institution’s institutional review board (IRB; a committee that evaluates the risks and benefits and ethical issues involved in research done with human subjects; see Chapter 4). Such involved projects are better suited to courses longer than a semester, such as a two-semester senior honors study or graduate thesis.

A word about nomenclature—the federal guideline (the revised Common Rule) that governs research with humans retains the use of the term “subjects” in reference to human beings, whereas the American Psychological Association’s Code of Ethics uses “participants” and reserves “subjects” for research with infrahuman species. In this book, the term subjects will be used when referencing the revised Common Rule, its underpinnings (e.g., The Belmont Report; federal legislation), or its jurisdiction (e.g., IRBs).

Research ideas often emerge in situations where people are trying to solve a practical problem, such as those who work in your institution’s offices of dining services, buildings and grounds, campus safety, or housing. For example, offices connected to student life are interested in the amount of money spent to maintain the facilities that students use. Investigations of graffiti, litter, breakage, and other concerns may produce useful and meaningful research projects. People who work in these offices are important sources of information (and ideas).

Figure 2.2 Sources: The Student Sphere

Basic research: Research that focuses on testing fundamental theories or principles, with the goal of generalization.

Applied research: Research designed to answer practical questions; typically contrasted with basic research.

One distinction made in types of research is whether the research is basic or applied. In basic research, the aim is to test fundamental principles or theories, with an expectation that the knowledge would be generalizable beyond a particular set of circumstances. The goal is to add to the base of scientific knowledge, without an expectation that a practical problem will be solved en route. In applied research, the focus is on solving a particular real-world problem (e.g., reducing graffiti in residence halls), with a particular set of conditions or circumstances. The scope may be relatively narrow. However, even when the research is applied, it can still be framed in the context of a theory. For example, applied research on residence hall design may be framed in the context of theories of crowding.

Finally, simply observing what goes on around you can produce good ideas for research. Some investigators find it helpful to carry a small notebook (or use a smartphone) to jot down ideas that occur to them in the course of daily life, whether it is the length of time it takes you to find a specific product when the grocery store changes its organization of products by aisle or the clientele of a particular bar or restaurant and its associated ambiance. A particular restaurant in town went out of business within a year of opening, and some patrons attributed this closure to the negative reviews of the restaurant’s service posted on Yelp.com. Investigating people’s belief in the validity of such reviews (and whether they had ever written a review themselves) and more broadly in the validity of information on social media might make an interesting research project. What these examples indicate is that ideas for research surround us. Many very good research projects come from observations of daily life.