Revised Summary/Plan/Udate

I am sticking with the research and plan I have since the beginning. I'm going to use the Archival Research method as I said I would, and I'm still focusing on the things that make young people, under the age 18, want to join a gang, such as power, a sense of belonging/identity, etc. I'm also going to look at their backgrounds and environments they grew up in because I think that has a lot to do with them joining a gang. For example, if a kid grew up in a poor, bad neighborhood and have been around gangs, they most likely will be influenced to join one because they've grown in up that type of area and have been in presence with gangs.

The statistics are really helpful, and will definitely help me with my research. They really help me look further into my research and benefit it as well. I have finally found a YouTube video that I will be using, actually two of them. One of them is about real teenagers who talk about someone they know who has been or is in a gang, and why they joined gangs in the first place. Then, I have a YouTube video that is global. It's about gang members from London who talk about all the things they do, and how they feel about the things they have committed. This gives us a really good insight on how gangs function and what they actually do.

Research Update

The research so far has been going pretty well! I have found numerous sites on more statistics, and have been looking up articles on why people join gangs. All of the sites I have been on so far have been extremely helpful and intend to use most of them for my research project. Most of the articles are pretty repetitive on why people join gangs, although some do bring up something different from the articles. Most likely, I will probably take those different things from the various articles and make a list.

I have looked on YouTube and have found some videos for the reason why kids join gangs. Not a lot of them have jumped out at me, so I'm going to keep searching. Once I find the one I want to use, my research project will be in pretty good shape. I'm extremely excited to get my project started.

My Strategy/Plan for Gang Research

As I said in my previous post, I still plan on using the Archival Research method for my research on gangs. I will be focusing mainly on what reels young people into joining gangs. I'm going to focus on kids under the age 18, and their environments in which they grew up in, and see how that affects and plays into their decision into joining a gang.

I will be looking at statistics on all different aspects. I will use statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and others sources such as Court Service Unit of Virginia and the University of Nebraska studies. The statistics I will be using from the FBI are: gangs demographics, total number of gangs from the year 2000 to now, percentage of gangs who are under 18, and how many gang members are in poverty or come from a low income family. 

As well as statistics from various sources, I will be including a video from YouTube. I will try to find a video on a teenager being interviewed on why he or she joined a gang in the first place.

I picked this area on the topic of gangs because I find it really intriguing. I am extremely curious on why kids under 18 join gangs. I want to explore their surroundings and environment, and get some insight on why they felt they needed to join a gang.

Research Method

The research method I chose for my topic, gangs, is Archival Research. I really want to go more into why people join gangs. I want to go more into the environment they grew up in, the influences that persuaded them into going, and psychological reasons. This research method is broader, and I want to get as much insight as I can. I want to fully understand why people join gangs.