the cocktail party standard
This blog generates some good cocktail party material. That’s one of my favorite standards to use when judging the value of social scientific work. While reading the research, I envision myself at a party and visualize whether or not the crowd around me grows or shrinks as I attempt to mix wit and charm in describing the empirical patterns and theoretical explanations. If the crowd grows, then the topic meets the cocktail party standard.
What other topics in social science meet the cocktail party standard? I can immediately think of two: happiness research and research on sex workers.
How much of your own research meets the standard? I’d say about 60% of my research does (my research on happiness, religion, and conflict). The other 40% fails the standard miserably.
Discussions of research on rap music tends to generate lively discussion, right up until someone gives offense. I think that’s a different standard: research likely to unveil prejudice…
Jenn Lena
July 1, 2008 at 11:18 am
I’m writing a paper on gender attitudes and Islam right now. It definitely meets the standard but too often people laugh and say I’m wasting my time.
trey1
July 1, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Hmm… I would say that my international treaty research is 20% cocktail standard… 30% if I use some showmanship. Or 50% if there is more than one mathematician in the group. My WoW research is about 60-70% cocktail standard without trying very hard. But yet I still feel research on international treaties is far more valuable.
Jesse
July 1, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Saying “I write about the giving and selling of body parts” certainly does better than saying “I am an economic sociologist.”
Kieran
July 1, 2008 at 1:57 pm
This is one standard to consider when evaluating potential research projects but it obviously shouldn’t be the dominant one.
Michael Bishop
July 3, 2008 at 2:46 am
Yes, Kieran, saying (confessing?) that you are an economic sociologist is probably not a great way to start off the cocktail party. What you need is a good economic sociologist joke. Like, “A rabbi, a priest, and an economic sociologist are sitting in a bar…”
mikemcbride
July 5, 2008 at 8:53 pm