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Research Interest/Fit


TheCrow

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I'm a junior looking to apply to graduate programs next fall. I've started to look through department websites, look at faculty research interest, and the like to identify schools to give further review and those to mark off the list.

 

Despite having looked through every thread on this subforum, I'm still confused about how developed research interest should be and how close they should be aligned with faculty at the campus. Is something like, "I'm interested in the impact of the distribution of economic resources and power on crime/deviance?" too broad/vague? Is something like, "I'm interested in the impact of the distribution of economic resources and power in what behaviors are recognized as deviance or criminal in adjudication of nonviolent juvenile action, using statistical modeling and social dominance theory" too specific?

 

Also, I'm interested in making serious use of statistical methods. I'm taking the graduate methods sequence in sociology at my current university and I have a sufficient mathematical background for graduate study in statistics. I've identified three universities that will allow students to seek a joint PhD in sociology and statistics--many more that will allow students to earn an en route MS in statistics. I'd like to mention my interests in making serious use of statistics, but without suggesting that my interests lie outside of the department I'm applying to (or seeming that I might be distracted from the real point of the PhD in sociology by work in statistics). Is there a risk in coming off as too interested in advanced methods training?

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Ahhh yes the too broad or too specific debacle.  I'm in psych and eventually narrowed down my interests to 3 broad topics.  For each topic I have very specific things I wish to focus on.  So how I mentioned them depended largely on the school I was applying to and the faculty member I was trying to say I *fit* with.  The faculty members website profile, cv, and publications was helpful in letting me know how best to present this information.

 

For example, lets say my broad research interest is attention deficit disorder, but specifically I wonder about the differences between diagnosing and treating adolescent girls versus adolescent boys.  Ok so University Z has Dr. Smith who lists one of his research interests as attention deficit disorder.  His publications indicate a variety of subtopics including many focusing on adolescents, diagnosis, and treatment.  I would mention my specific interest and highlight related projects I had done.

 

Now on the other hand lets say University M has Dr. Jones who lists attention deficit disorder as a research interest.  However, his publications include only subtopics aimed at adults.  Does that mean he has zero interest in adolescents?  Not necessarily and I could contact him to ask.  In this case I might just mention the broad research interest and be sure to highlight various projects (whether broad or specific) that I've done related to this topic.

 

As for your desire to pursue Sociology and Statistics?  I do not think there is anything wrong with you emphasizing your desire to incorporate Statistics if you're applying to programs that allow you to study both.  They might think it strange if you weren't genuinely interested in both.  If you're applying to programs that don't offer a dual PhD, an en route Masters, or specialization in Statistics then you might want to downplay that slightly.  Instead you could mention how you'd like to incorporate more coursework in that area because it relates to your research interests.  Regardless, if you lead with Sociology and explain how Statistics enhances that then I think you will be ok.

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I think you want to express, more or less, three things: 1) the general topic area you're interested in.  This is the area you intend to work in no matter what. For me, it was religion and politics (with an implication that I wanted to do some work on Turkey).  For you it seems like it's crime and inequality/economic resources.  2) a more specific topic that could be a thesis or dissertation topic.  This topic is liable to change and everyone knows it.  For me, it was a comparative study of secularism in Turkey, France, and probably India.  I ended up not doing this, in large part because Ahmet Kuru had just written Secularism and State Policies toward Religion: The United States, France, and Turkey the year before I applied to grad school.  My adviser knew about his book before it even came out but still accepted me because she knew my interests (within the broader scope of religion and politics) would change, and that I was asking interesting questions, even if this specific question wouldn't pan.  This part, I think, is a lot about showing that you know how to ask interesting (but feasible) questions.  Literally none of my cohort is doing their specific from their SOP, but everyone is working in some variation of their general topic.  3) you want to make it clear what methods you'd use.  These too can change.  I obviously was suggesting a comparative/historical project, and while I'm still interested in comparison, I'm doing a much more ethnographic project.  No one is going to be mad that you're learning too much statistics (if you use them to do sociology/criminology).  People want to hear that you'll continue to develop your skills, whatever they are.  That's part of the reason you're going to grad school.  They don't necessarily where you get them, as long as you get them.  They're much more interested in how you're going to use them.

 

You can kind of do this with something like "I want to look at ______, specifically I'm interested right now in the intersection of _____  and ____.  I'd like to explore ____ theory using ____  (and more details about what you could be interested in).  My ____ skills let me do ____ research, etc."

 

tl;dr Put it all it.  Don't worry.

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If you are really into statistics you want to include that, because you want a supervisor that can help you in that area. I only applied in the UK, where they want you to be really specific, but even there most of the profs said my project would be changing. They just wanted to know that I could put together a feasible idea. 

 

In your case, I like the second sentence you suggested better. It is specific, but you might mention other theories that you could use, or other topics that could stem from that if you wanted a broader range.

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I'm a junior looking to apply to graduate programs next fall. I've started to look through department websites, look at faculty research interest, and the like to identify schools to give further review and those to mark off the list.

 

Despite having looked through every thread on this subforum, I'm still confused about how developed research interest should be and how close they should be aligned with faculty at the campus. Is something like, "I'm interested in the impact of the distribution of economic resources and power on crime/deviance?" too broad/vague? Is something like, "I'm interested in the impact of the distribution of economic resources and power in what behaviors are recognized as deviance or criminal in adjudication of nonviolent juvenile action, using statistical modeling and social dominance theory" too specific?

 

Also, I'm interested in making serious use of statistical methods. I'm taking the graduate methods sequence in sociology at my current university and I have a sufficient mathematical background for graduate study in statistics. I've identified three universities that will allow students to seek a joint PhD in sociology and statistics--many more that will allow students to earn an en route MS in statistics. I'd like to mention my interests in making serious use of statistics, but without suggesting that my interests lie outside of the department I'm applying to (or seeming that I might be distracted from the real point of the PhD in sociology by work in statistics). Is there a risk in coming off as too interested in advanced methods training?

 

Is there a risk in coming off as too interested in advanced methods training?- I say no. Many sociology departments seem to offer specializations in Quantitative Methods and I observe many sociology professors to have backgrounds in economics, stats, quant. It's a common integration. Too broad/too specific- ehh. when you're truly looking at schools for fit, you should be specific to the extent that your research goals clearly align with what's going on with the school. JMO

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