How do I frame this sociological research question for the UC Berkeley Custodial Issue?!?

We are having a lot going on with the Wage Issues of our custodial staff. They are GROSSLY underpaid and it is a serious issue. I would like to do my sociological research on this but can't quite figure out what variables to make a prediciton on and how one would affect the other...anyone have any ideas? I can do a simple survey research method so it doesn't have to be complicated but it's due TOMORROW. To make up for my procrastination I would like to do a subject with some substance =) HELP!

How do I frame this sociological research question for the UC Berkeley Custodial Issue?!?
Document a case study of one or more of the lower paid custodial staff listing the effects that arise as a result of their lack of income. Pull out all the stops--health, suicide, divorce etc. Don't forget to include something about the knock on effects on family, students and the reputation of the faculty.
Reply:Hmmm. If you're trying to make the case that the custodians of Berkeley are underpaid relative to, say, custodians of other colleges, then the really accurate way to prove it is to do a t-test of of two sample means, in which you compare the mean income of the custodians at Berkeley against the mean income of custodians at several other colleges. To get the incomes of the custodians at your school, you could ask them for it, telling them it's all for a good cause and individuals responses will be confidential. However, you might have trouble obtaining the mean income of custodians at other colleges, since you don't go to those schools, and their administration may be reluctant to release that information.





However, if you simply want to show the administration of Berkeley how the students feel about the custodian's pay, you could ask the custodian's for their pay, taking the average, and then write a one question survey targeted to the students: "Our custodians make $XXX on average. To what extent do you feel that this is sufficient pay?" The choices could be a 5-point scale. As for predictor variables, I'd suggest asking for the student's level (Freshman, Sophomore, etc), as that can have a significant impact on the results (i.e., students who've been around longer have had the opportunity to need custodians more so than younger students)





Good luck.