Student presents research on Black men’s dating choices at national conference
Subject
Dante Thomas; Penn State; Research
Description
Penn State Abington senior Dante Thomas recently won two awards for his undergraduate research project, “Black Men’s Romantic Partner Preferences: Exploring How Race and Color Matter,” and presented his study by invitation at the prestigious Eastern Sociological Society’s annual meeting in April. The early stage project investigated how Black men’s dating choices shape racial and color hierarchies.
Thomas earned second place in the Division of Social Sciences at the annual Abington College Undergraduate Research Activities (ACURA) exhibition, and he received a third place University Libraries Undergraduate Research Award for excellence in information literacy.
Presenting at the sociological society’s national conference was a new and unexpected experience for Thomas, a psychological and social sciences major, he said.
“People were so positive about my project, and they asked good questions about my research,” he said. “I was nervous going into it, but it was more informal and open than I expected.”
Working under the guidance of Elizabeth Hughes, assistant professor of sociology, Thomas underwent extensive training to master the complex dynamics necessary to successfully interview subjects for qualitative research.
“I talked to each man in the sample for about 90 minutes,” said Thomas. “Interviewing them in person made their answers stronger and more profound. If the interviews weren’t in person, the exchange of information wouldn’t have been as genuine.”
The project is a testament to the time Thomas invested in the process, including repeatedly reviewing the research protocol and questions, conducting practice interviews with Hughes and others, and assessing the results of the test interviews and analyzing ways to improve his technique.
“I’m not sure you would have gotten the same responses without Dante as the lead interviewer,” Hughes said. “He made people feel comfortable with intimate conversations. Dante paid attention to the responses and was aware of clues for follow-up questions. It appeared natural, but he worked hard to develop key skill sets.”
Hughes explained that there is a broader value to participating in undergraduate
Creator
Regina Broscius
Source
Publisher
psu.edu
File
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