For many of us, one of the most interesting and fun aspects of studying sociology is how relevant the discipline is to our everyday lives. This is even true of the methods we use to study sociology. Hardly a day goes by without reading or hearing about research that can help explain our lives: for example, we are learning that life expectancy in the U.S. is on the decline, which may seem counterintuitive. After all, we are the richest nation on earth with excellent medical care. But when we look a little deeper, we learn that for the wealthiest Americans, life expectancy is on the rise, while for those with the lowest socio-economic status (SES), it is on the decline. Since there are far more people of lower SES than the highest, the overall rate is pushed downward.

Describe a current, personal experience that is relevant to research methods. You can describe something that “passes for knowledge” that you observed at home, work, or the community; something you saw or heard in the media, or some other current event. Include a description of the information, how you think that information was created, and your own reaction to that information (to quote a scene from Freaky Friday, how does that make you feel?  Do you trust that information and to what degree?).

The text of the answer should be at least 250 words in length to get into the kind of depth you need. Include the source(s) in APA style after the text of the post