For this research exercise I used JSTOR to find a scholarly article on my topic, which is about the relationship between conspicuous consumption and socioeconomic status. This article is called Low-income Families and Coping through Brands: Inclusion or Stigma? and it is featured in the academic journal, Sociology. This article covers the “coping strategies” used by low-income families in regards to conspicuous consumption. According to the author, low-income families engage in conspicuous consumption of popular brands in order to provide their children with access to these brands. Access to popular brands allows children to feel accepted and apart of a larger group. Without access to such brands, children may feel stigmatized and ostracized, because they are not part of the group. Material items are a form of scrip for children. This allows them to interact with other children, and provides a means for social acceptance. This article uncovers the powerful control that brands have over our lives, especially among children.

I would assume this article’s research topic is conspicuous consumption and low-income families, and the research question is “What are the social effects of conspicuously consuming popular brands among low-income families and single mothers?” Because this study is comprised of 30 in depth interviews with different families, the type of data needed to answer this question is reports of acts, behavior, and events, and the data gathering method is in depth interviews. The method of data analysis is qualitative, because the author did not count the reports of acts, behavior, or events, but rather describe them. Overall, this data appears to be legitimate and trustworthy because it appears in a well respected academic journal, and the conclusions came from deep and thoughtful results that arose from the in depth interviews.