Doctoral Dissertation Research: Whites' Racial Attitudes in the Detroit Metropolitan Area: Does It Matter How We Ask?

这是博士学位论文研究计划助学金下的一个奖项。这是一项关于白人种族态度和衡量他们的适当科学方法的研究，重点是这样一个事实，即白人更支持种族平等的抽象原则，而不是旨在实现这些目标的政策。这项研究调查了这种“政策/原则差距”的两种解释：1)调查研究没有捕捉到真实的种族态度，这是由于社会期望压力，要求根据被认为是普遍的社会规范做出反应；2)预测原则和政策之间完美关系的模型是不够的，必须考虑额外的态度、信仰和价值观。为了解决这些问题，本研究在正在进行的底特律地区研究中加入了最新的数据收集和分析。这项研究涉及到研究方法论和社会学理论的重要问题，其结果将有助于建立关于美国种族紧张局势的知识库。除了这项研究将获得的科学成果外，这一奖项还将对一位非常有前途的学生完成博士论文的研究提供实质性的帮助。从而为国家未来的科学人才和下一代社会科学家的深入培养做出贡献。

This is an award under the Grants for Improving Doctoral Dissertation Research Program. It is a study of whites' racial attitudes and the appropriate scientific methodologies for measuring them, focusing on the fact that whites are more supportive of abstract principles of racial equality than they are of policies directed at achieving these goals. This study investigates two explanations for this "policy/principle gap:" 1) survey research is not capturing true racial attitudes due to social desirability pressures to respond according to what are perceived to be the prevailing social norms; 2) models predicting a perfect relationship between principles and policies are inadequate, and additional attitudes, beliefs and values must be considered. This study attaches fresh data collection and analysis to the on-going Detroit Area Study in order to address these questions. %%% The research engages important issues in both research methodology and sociological theory, and the results will contribute to the knowledge base concerning American racial tensions. In addition to the scientific gains to be achieved by the research, this award will materially assist a highly promising student in completing research for the Ph.D. dissertation. Thus it contributes to the future scientific manpower of the nation and the thorough training of the next generation of social scientists.