survey research

The Daily Northwestern interviewed Iman Sediqe (Chef and Sociologist), who appeared on Fox Network’s cooking show “MasterChef” on April 22, about the intersection between cooking and sociology, her blog “Imanistan” and her “MasterChef” experience. She explains that “food can be something that crosses boundaries, crosses languages, crosses cultures and allows people to get outside of their comfort zone.” Sedique had a passion for making food and would share her beautiful food photos with thousands of her friends on Facebook. Her photos and YouTube videos were a great way to share her beautiful dishes with people who wanted to make Afghan food. When MasterChef reached out she was able to share “how beautiful Afghan culture is and how beautiful Afghanistan is.”

In an article for The Conversation, Katie E. Corcoran (Associate Professor of Sociology at West Virginia University) and Christopher P. Scheitle (Professor of Sociology at West Virginia University) argue that most U.S. adults occasionally attend multiple congregations of religious services. They fielded a nationally representative survey in 2023 asking over 2,000 adults about their religious beliefs and activities. Their analysis found that about 12% adults regularly attend multiple congregations and 45% occasionally multiple congregations. Corcoran and Scheitle’s research combats previous religious theory that assumes people are exclusively loyal to one place of worship. Their research “shows that many individuals across regions and religions take a more flexible approach. They might attend one place because they appreciate its worship style, but they also attend another to hang out with a particular friend group.”

The Chosun Daily ran an article about Lee Seung-yeon’s (Sociologist) book which critiques therapy culture and the “society of cutting ties”—a cultural trait found among the MZ generation. She expresses her concern over the phenomenon explaining that “human relationships [are] reduced to cost-benefit calculations, even as people feel increasingly lonely yet readily cut ties.” Lee Seung-yeon argues against therapy culture which reduces humans to psychological profiles. “In a culture where identity is understood monologically rather than dialogically, others are not seen as pathways to understanding oneself but as contaminants of one’s true self,” Lee Seung-yeon warns. “When pain is defined as a disease, those suffering are Othered as qualitatively different.”

Heather Hensman Kettrey (Associate Professor of Sociology at Clemson University), Heidi Zinzow (Professor of Psychology at Clemson University), and Megan Rebecca Fallon (Interpersonal Violence Prevention Coordinator at Clemson University) wrote an article for The Conversation discussing how students who have experienced sexual misconduct (or know someone who has) expect their university to mishandle these situations. They surveyed about 2,500 students and later interviewed students at a large U.S. university about their experiences and perceptions of sexual misconduct. Findings show that “college students who experience sexual assault also feel institutional betrayal.” A common theme from the interviews and focus groups “was that participants believed their university avoided addressing harmful behavior because administrators prioritized the institution’s reputation over student well-being.” In the participants’ own words their university is more focused on “damage control” than to “try and help the victim.”

Murat Haner (Assistant Professor  of Criminology & Criminal Justice at Arizona State University), Justin Pickett (Professor of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany), and Melissa Sloan (Professor of Sociology & Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, University of South Florida) wrote an article for The Conversation on U.S. political violence. In the 1970s, the bulk of political violence was aimed at property, now the targets are specific people. In a survey study, the authors found that belief in white nationalism was the strongest predictor for support of political violence and argued that “white nationalism poses substantial danger to U.S. political stability.”