Assignment Goal The goal of the assignment is to strengthen scientific thinking and writing. The objective is for each student to write an objective, logical, fact-based paper using evidence from high quality scientific research sources. Topics In general terms, your paper can examine selected consequences of social inequality. Throughout your textbook, the author presents examples of how social class impacts the lives of people. Some obvious examples are health, including mental and physical illness, or parents social class and childrens educational attainment. Each of the chapters on the major social classes examines the behaviors and consequences of that class. Your paper could explore on of these issues in greater detail. We are also seeing that race and gender are deeply interrelated with social inequality. You could dig deeper into one of the problems or issues identified in the book, or you could pursue some other thesis that links social inequality and race or gender. The paper could be based on the work of Karl Marx and would use mostly Marxs writings. The Major Social Factors Social class Gender Race/ethnicity Age Your Paper Must Have A Thesis! Your research paper must have a thesis. At the beginning of the paper, you must state your research thesis. It can be part of a short introductory paragraph or it can stand alone. The following explanations include materials that are courtesy of Empire State College, Online Writing Center. www.esc.edu/online-writing-center/resources/research/research-paper-steps/ Research Topic When you start working on your paper, you begin by selecting a topic. A topic is what the essay or research paper is about. It provides a focus for your writing. Choose an appropriate topic or issue for your research, one that actually can be researched. Many topics can be found in your textbook. Example: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Research Question The next step in developing a thesis is to formulate a research question. Start by listing all of the questions that youd like answered yourself. (This assumes you are curious about the topic!) Choose the best question, one that is neither too broad nor too narrow. In the early stages of your research, you can use a search engine to learn about the question and explore what high quality sources are available. Sometimes the number of sources you find will help you discover whether your 2 research question is too broad, too narrow. Example: Why have ADHD diagnoses risen so rapidly in recent years? Research Thesis A research thesis is your proposed answer to your research question, which you finalize only after completing the research. (Its okay to modify and revise the working thesis as you research more about the topic or issue.) Thesis example: The rise of A.D.H.D. diagnoses and prescriptions for stimulants coincided with a twodecade campaign by pharmaceutical companies to publicize the syndrome and promote the pills to doctors, educators and parents. (Factually correct example courtesy the New York Times) I will be glad to help you as you work your way toward your thesis, especially with topic selection and research question development. Examples The disparity between the richest and poorest in Country A and Country B is due primarily to differences in Cause X. The next hegemonic power will be Country H because of the emergence of the key conditions that produce such world powers. The rise of the American economy was the result of ideological elements A, B, and C. Upper-class education clearly illustrates the power of social reproduction. Your Analysis You may approach your thesis as a question that needs to be answered or as a statement that needs evidence to support it. Either way, your task is to compile factual evidence that supports or refutes your thesis or helps you answer your question. You should include statistics showing the importance or lack of importance of other social factors or other diseases, as the case may be. Scientific papers are honest about evidence, presenting facts that both support and refute the thesis or hypothesis. You should think critically about your thesis and ask yourself, Why does this happen or not happen? What causes this difference or lack of difference? Include answers to these critical thinking questions in your paper. Required Elements for the Paper Your paper should be 5 pages in length, single-spaced, using a 10-12 point font, with one-inch margins. If you prefer to double-space your pages, just double the length requirement. Your name The name/number of the course Date Title of the paper The body of the paper must incorporate a set of headings that shows the logical organization of the paper. 3 Citations in the body of the paper for all sources of information using the American Psychological Association style. This is the style used by your textbook. No footnotes. I will accept MLA style, as well. A list at the end of the paper of all references cited. Not a bibliography of all the sources you used to write the paper. Please number your pages. Do not save your document as an HTML, HTM, .pdf, or .wps file. When you save your document, title it with your last name, course number, and assignment number. Example, YourlastnameBSOC123ResearchPaper. Submit your paper in the Assignments area of Blackboard. Use An Outline And Headings An outline shows the logical organization of your paper with a set of headings. These headings are like those used in bold print in the main sections of the chapters of our textbook and the journal articles you will use. Grading Rubric for the Paper Your paper will be graded on both the extent to which it draws upon concepts developed in the course and the extent to which it does so with clear writing and appropriate documentation. The paper will be graded using the following five criteria and 0-4 point system. Grading Rubric for the Research Paper Category Exceeds Standard Meets Standard Does Not Meet Standard Thesis Exceeds (4) Meets (2) Does Not Meet (0) Clearly and concisely states the papers focus in a single, engaging, thought- provoking sentence. States the papers focus in a single sentence. Missing, incomplete and/or unfocused statement of focus. Use of Support and Evidence Exceeds (6) Meets (3) Does Not Meet (0) The paper effectively uses high quality factual and expert evidence that supports the thesis and main ideas. The paper does not adequately use high quality factual and expert evidence that supports the thesis and main ideas. The paper fails to use high quality factual and expert evidence that supports the thesis and main ideas. Organization and Development of Ideas Exceeds (6) Meets (3) Does Not Meet (0) Writer demonstrates logical sequencing of sociological ly relevant ideas through well-developed paragraphs; transitions are used to enhance organization. Headings and subheadings used effectively. Ideas have little sociological relevance and logical organization is not clear or fully developed. No evidence of structure or organization. No sociological relevance nor use of social factors. No headings or subheadings. Conclusion Exceeds (2) Meets (1) Does Not Meet (0) The conclusion is engaging, summarizes key points and restates the thesis. The conclusion does not adequately summar ize the key points or restate the thesis. Missing, incomplete and/or unfocused. 4 Grading Rubric for the Research Paper Category Exceeds Standard Meets Standard Does Not Meet Standard References Exceeds (2) Does Not Meet (0) The paper includes at least 5 high quality sources and uses proper in-text source citations in the body of the paper. The paper includes fewer than 5 high quality sources and does not use proper in-text source citations in the body of the paper. Adapted from Center for Teaching Excellence at Cornell University. Used with permission. Your Thinking, Please The main ingredient of your paper should be factual information and statistics from high quality sources. Your opinions about the topic or those of anyone else without substantial scientific evidence are not relevant and should not be included in the paper. You may use as evidence the statements of qualified experts, but you must make sure those sources are reliable. Your recommendations should be supported with evidence. I want you to apply skeptical, critical thinking to everything you read. You should make your sources work hard to convince you that they have the best evidence and the best reasoning, as I will expect you to work hard to convince me. gh Quality Web-based Sources Each sociology sub-discipline has relevant journals to which you should give priority. The USCB online journal database offers access to full-text copies of most of these journals. Peer Reviewed Journals Here are some of the better-known academic journals in sociology. American Journal of Sociology American Sociological Review Social Forces Journal of Health and Social Behavior Social Science and Medicine American Journal of Public Health American Journal of Epidemiology At least one of your cited references must come from a journal in the USCB online library database, which can be accessed from the sociology LibGides: http://guides.uscb.edu/sociology?hs=a Click the Find Articles tab. My experience is that Academic Search Premier or JSTOR are good starting points for a sociological web search. Make sure you also search Academic ASAP, Extended and Social Sciences Full-Text. Always search for full-text articles. If you need additional help with on-ground or online research, please use the USCB library staff or let me know. Web Resources for Countries CIA World Factbook 5 A website that provides a basic set of information about each country of the world. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html The US State Department website has information about each major region and country of the world, as well. http://www.state.gov Member States of the United Nations Country web sites and information (click UNdata logo after country name.) http://www.un.org/en/members/index.shtml International Statistical Agencies The US Census Bureau listing of country-specific websites (most in English) http://www.census.gov/population/international/links/stat_int.html BBC News Click on one of the six major regions of the world, then page down to the list of country profiles. The Media tab for each country is particularly useful for finding English language websites where available. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ Beware Poor Quality Sources To me, one of the main differences between a high school-level research paper and a college-level paper is that college-level papers do not use encyclopedias as direct sources. If your topic is something you dont know much about, an online encyclopedia can help you learn enough to get started. But do not use sources such as Wikipedia.com, Britainica.com, about.com, or Encarta.com as cited references in your research paper. I will return as Incomplete any research paper that uses these kinds of sources. Questionable Sources: Foundations, Advocacy Organizations, and Non-Profits Many advocacy organizations for problems and policies provide source information and statistics. You must vet this kind of source to make sure that the evidence you gather from it is reliable. (Vet means To examine carefully; to subject to thorough appraisal; to evaluate (dictionary.reference.com.)) Some sources that you will find are not governmental or academic but still can be trusted to provide reliable data and information. An example is the Population Reference Bureau (www.prb.org). The way to tell if a source like this is reliable is to click the link for information about the organization. In the case of PRB, a quick scan of the senior staff members show that they are experienced demographers with backgrounds in highly respected organizations. An example of an advocacy organization is the Center for Immigration Studies (www.cis.org), which appears to have a strong political agenda of reducing immigration into the US. This is not an unbiased, objective source. If you must use material from questionable sources, be very cautious when making generalizations based on their information. Questionable Sources: All News Media Some news media are less guilty of hype than others, but all of them want to attract attention and they have learned that conflict and controversy sell. Even the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC, which tend to be more fact-based in their news coverage, still must be read skeptically. Most media outlets exaggerate, present incomplete information, and even misrepresent 6 the facts in order to create or exaggerate conflict and controversy. You should always attempt to verify information used by the media. If you cant verify by going to the original source, you must be very cautious about making generalizations based on this information.
