If I were a sociologist . . .

. . . I would tell my students to think big, and originally, even if they started small, and unoriginally. I'd challenge them to come up with a grand research project, something like: why do groups of humans flock to do certain things and why? Oh, I know, studies have already explored that. But dig deeper. Watch people at a store or at a mall. What are the influences of smell or building design or age or race or clothing or crowdedness or gender? There's lots to explore. And lots to learn about humans as individuals and in groups.