Keith Hammacker

Social and Economic Effects of Gentrification on Minorities

Submitted to Courtney Sargent for Introduction to Sociology (SOC-101)

Summary:

My research paper is about the problems minority groups have been facing in housing issues with gentrification, the revitalization of a community that previously consisted of low-income minority residents who are being dislocated or economically disadvantaged due to the influx of wealthy newcomers, and addressing these issues with solutions that need to be employed in order to benefit all citizens.

General Education Connections

• Communicate ideas in written, oral and other modes as appropriate to a situation and audience
• Apply quantitative and scientific reasoning skills relevant to a field of study
• Employ various thinking strategies to develop well-reasoned judgments
• Evaluate sources of information for accuracy, relevance and reliability
• Cultivate intellectual and ethical practices that promote the wellness of self, community and environment
• Identify their roles as global citizens in a multicultural country and world

This assignment helped me develop many skills by learning to use digital library resources to find relevant journal articles, recognizing the importance of peer-reviewed articles and evaluating these sources for accuracy and relevancy.

I had to apply the scientific reasoning skills I learned in my Sociology class, along with evaluating strategies to identify relevant issues and solutions regarding my topic, using good judgment and thinking strategies when writing my paper.

In exploring and conveying the issues, I learned appropriate ways to communicate my research in my written paper while employing ethical practices in the proposed solutions to the problems. I further learned the importance of solutions that entailed multiculturalism within communities as ideal societies. The complexities of my topic forced me to work harder, which utilized more thinking and writing strategies.

Challenges

At first I chose too broad of a topic within gentrification, and it took a lot of narrowing down to form a relevant research issue. It was further challenging to investigate the vast areas of social and economic problems for the minority population in regards to gentrification because there are so many smaller superficial issues within the larger complex issues that must be addressed as problems. The solutions are complex measures and must be written about thoroughly in great detail. Also, the solutions were not easily available in my research and took a great deal of effort to find and put together.

Application

I learned a great deal about researching peer-reviewed journal articles for relevancy, to determine what the problem truly is and finding good solutions to the problems proposed. I learned how to effectively use digital library resources to search for detailed relevant information on my topic, how to communicate the problems and solutions in writing techniques, and combine the learned sociological topics from my class into my writing. This will help me become a better researcher and writer in my future classes as well as prepare me for effective research in my career.

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