What question is guiding your research? (What do you want your research to understand?)
All of my research aims to reflect on what it’s like to be a member of the LGBTQIA+ community in professional settings. This is a broad topic that relates to whether or not members of this community are able to obtain/retention a job as well as overall equity in the workplace. I hope to uncover a variety of topics by answering this one question.
Why this question? (Help us understand how it connects to your career/personal interests)
This question allows for me to explore different forms of gender/ sexuality across a variety of professional settings. By using this question, an extensive scope of both secondary and primary sources become available to me. I have also found that while this question allows for me to choose from a bigger selection of articles/texts, I also have to make sure that my writing flows together. All of the personal experiences, statistics, and other forms of writing that I choose to include, must come together in a way that clearly supports my claim.
How will your professional/internship/organizational/course work inform your inquiry? (What connections can you see with the work that you are a part of in the world beyond the course?)
I am an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community and I am also an African-American female in STEM. I understand what it feels like to be a member of a minority group because of this I am very passionate about advocacy for underrepresented individuals. At this point in time, I am building my network through internships, career fairs, and other forms of social engagement and have been able to learn more about the types of discrimination in the STEM field alone. There are 2 articles that I included in my preliminary note-taking exercise that connect directly to LGBTQIA+ representation in STEM and I am excited to relate some of the experiences that I have gained with those from the article.
What fields (academic and professional) matter most in your inquiry? (Where are you going to be looking for source material?)
Most of my sources are primary sources coming from members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The second most used sources in my research are from allies of the community that strive to advocate for equity. The third type of field I am pulling from are purely statistical articles that will support my stance through unbiased data and help the reader visualize the magnitude of my argument.
The fields you decide to engage with will have a significant impact on the direction you go with your inquiry–it sounds like you’re primarily interested in the experiences of LGBTQ people in the workplace. Where do you hope to find their voices and perspectives?