Sudhir Venkatesh is an Indian native who was a student at the University of Chicago beginning a journey studying sociology in the 1980s. Throughout this journey there will be riveting moments I personally did not want to end and some that make me want to stop reading. Sudhir takes the readers throughout the lives of gang members and ones living in poverty to further explore this section of Chicago. Venkatesh starts his excursion in the housing projects of Chicago to complete research on urban poverty and their effects on others. He will soon stumble upon some men who do not welcome him warmly; he has come across the Black Kings. This gang specializes in the distribution of crack and they happen to be a part of the housing project he is
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This research method can have pros and cons that may help the researcher or hurt the research. The pros to this method include being able to create structure for the project, being able to create a sense of understanding with the participant, and through first hand experiences the researcher can gain a better understanding of their topic. However, the cons were some of the things Sudhir experienced while trying to gather data. Some participants may not answer the questions truthfully or feel they are not comfortable with the questions being asked and this research method can be very time consuming. Sudhir’s next step is taking his research and traveling on foot asking individuals questions and observing their everyday lives. This method allows the participants to feel as if they do not have to answer uniformed questions, they can add in detail that may not be an option on the survey. He was able to write down as much as he could while observing, I feel this was the best method. You can learn a lot about an individual by watching their day to day activities and how it affects them first hand. Sudhir was able to start a writing group for some of the women in Robert Taylor that helped him gain insight into what goes on in the background, but also allowing these women to feel safe as they share their stories with one another. He learned they often had the same stories and struggles but they were unique to the individual. The next research method is where Sudhir most likely learned the majority of his research. By following J.T. around the projects Sudhir was allowed all access to anything he needed. He was able to attend meetings, visit apartments, and even go to Black Kings meetings with the higher individuals who ran the drug industry. By completing the participant observation, Sudhir lives to tell an amazing story of the projects, he learns the problems are not rooted in
This research method can have pros and cons that may help the researcher or hurt the research. The pros to this method include being able to create structure for the project, being able to create a sense of understanding with the participant, and through first hand experiences the researcher can gain a better understanding of their topic. However, the cons were some of the things Sudhir experienced while trying to gather data. Some participants may not answer the questions truthfully or feel they are not comfortable with the questions being asked and this research method can be very time consuming. Sudhir’s next step is taking his research and traveling on foot asking individuals questions and observing their everyday lives. This method allows the participants to feel as if they do not have to answer uniformed questions, they can add in detail that may not be an option on the survey. He was able to write down as much as he could while observing, I feel this was the best method. You can learn a lot about an individual by watching their day to day activities and how it affects them first hand. Sudhir was able to start a writing group for some of the women in Robert Taylor that helped him gain insight into what goes on in the background, but also allowing these women to feel safe as they share their stories with one another. He learned they often had the same stories and struggles but they were unique to the individual. The next research method is where Sudhir most likely learned the majority of his research. By following J.T. around the projects Sudhir was allowed all access to anything he needed. He was able to attend meetings, visit apartments, and even go to Black Kings meetings with the higher individuals who ran the drug industry. By completing the participant observation, Sudhir lives to tell an amazing story of the projects, he learns the problems are not rooted in