Research Update

Over the past week and a half, I have not had a particular abundance of time to research polygamy through the past century. I have done some general research about the topic and have found that societies view of polygamy has, in fact, change through the years but does not seem to have changed as much as I expected. Although people have become more accustomed to polygamy and society in general has become more open about controversial topics (sexual orientation, domestic violence etc.), I have found that there is not that much dialogue on the topic of polygamy in the regular social scene. I have found some court cases concerning polygamous families (generally in Utah and Colorado) and I also think I might try to watch some episodes of the TV series Big Love.  I plan to look for more court cases from other states and regions of the country and will them compare them and sort them chronologically. I think that I am off to a good start and look forward to where my research will take me in the upcoming week!

Research Strategy

For my Secondary Analysis of polygamy, I will utilize a range of resources to document the change in societies opinion and acceptance of polygamy in the United States. I will limit my search on this change to the information that has been gathered since 1912 (a century). I will begin my secondary analysis by using websites to see exactly when this change occurred and will hopefully gather a list of set dates or years in which thinking on polygamy changed. I expect these dates to center upon important supreme court cases regarding polygamy, protests in the United States, and public figures speaking out on the topic. From there, I will use these dates to get more in depth information from New York times, the Washington Post, and USA Today regarding the public's opinion on these specific times. I will look for supplemental information in the supreme court online records and other reliable websites or historical records. I hope that this method of gathering research will help me to find how exactly the country has grown to accept or reject polygamy over time.

Research Method

Because the topic of polygamy cannot be directly observed in society, I think the best method for me to conduct my research is to utilize Secondary Analysis.  I plan to track the change (if there is one) in America's opinion on polygamy.  I will look at how public the topic of polygamy has become in the media and how the punishments for polygamous beliefs have varied throughout the years.  I will use court cases, articles, television shows, previously conducted surveys, and news reports, to track this change.  I hope that my research will provide a clear answer as to how society as a whole feels about the topic of polygamy.