Project
Due Date = Wednesday, December 12th
Submission to the Instructor – Sections 1-6
Section One – 25 points
Write a 1-2 page paper about your observations of society and the specific problem you are hoping to study within this research project. This should be 12 point, Times New Roman font, double spaced. It must be typed, printed, and stapled when submitted. Though this section is mainly your thoughts, it needs to be professionally written; use proper grammar and spelling.
Here is what I am looking for:
- Did you discuss observations you have made within society (be sure to state the specific society)?
- Did you explain the generalizations you have made because of these observations, giving specific examples and details to show you understand why they are generalizations?
- Did you connect these generalizations to a specific problem within society and show what you are hoping to gain from studying this information?
Section Two – 25 points
Go online and find 3 professional journal articles related to the problem defined in section one. While the articles do not have to be exact matches, they should relate as closely as possible.
Print each of the articles and include them with your project submission. (If you need help with this part of the project, consult a librarian – they are a great resource!)
Then write 2-3 paragraphs summarizing the articles and what you have learned from the information. This is the total length, not 2-3 paragraphs per article. Do NOT copy and paste here! You need to read each article and summarize the details. I highly recommend connecting the articles to what you plan to research and how you have benefitted from reading these articles. This section should be 12 point, Times New Roman font, double spaced. It must be typed, printed, and stapled when submitted.
Section Three – 25 points
Write a 1-2 page paper about the theory you have developed from your observations and generalizations. Be sure to include facts to support your theory. Anything not in your own words needs to have the correct citation. This should be ½ of your paper. The other ½ of the paper should be a discussion about the hypothesis you have created from this theory. Remember – the hypothesis is the exact statement you will be studying when completing research for this project. This section should be 12 point, Times New Roman font, double spaced. This section must be typed, printed, and stapled to when submitted.
I highly recommend you list the hypothesis statement and then write about why you chose this specific hypothesis to study and research; think about what societies and individuals could gain from the information/results.
NOTE – At this point, every student is encourage to have their hypothesis statement reviewed by the instructor. If you do not have your hypothesis statement completed correctly, you will not complete sections 4-6 correctly and could risk failing this project. I will not review hypothesis statements through email, you must bring it to class and have it reviewed or set up an appointment to have it looked over.
Section Four – 25 points
PART 1 - Determine your units of analysis. In other words, are you going to work with a specific group or random individuals? Are you going to target certain demographics, like age, gender, ethnic group, education level, etc.? Do you want people who are affiliated with certain clubs, hobbies, or interests?
You should have at least 3 specific units of analysis. This section should be a bullet-point list; it does not need to be complete sentences.
PART 2 – Determine your actual research design.
Survey – If you chose to make a survey, make sure there are at least 4 questions with clear choices for at least two of the four questions.
Experiment – If you chose to do an experiment, make sure you include the details about when and where you will conduct this experiment.
Participant Observation – If you chose to observe in a natural environment, be sure to explain where you will go and how you will ensure you don’t affect the results.
NOTE – At this point, every student is encouraged to have their research design reviewed by the instructor. If you do not have the correct design, you will not complete sections 5-6 correctly and risk failing the project. I will only review research designs in person.
Once you have section four completed, you will need to handout the survey, complete the experiment, or observe before you can move on to section five.
Section Five – 25 points
Write a 1-2 page paper discussing the results of your research. This should be 12 point, Times New Roman font, double spaced. It must be typed, printed, and stapled when submitted. Some questions to consider when writing this section:
- What was easy about your research? What was difficult?
- What surprised you about the research?
- What did you learn from the research?
- Was your hypothesis statement correct or not? Why?
- What do you think can be gained from the research you completed?
While these are some of the questions to consider, it isn’t everything. This is your chance to talk about the results; be detailed. This section is your own words, but professional grammar and spelling is expected.
Section Six – 25 points
Write a ½-1 page paper discussing if your research project is valid. Remember to consider everything related to validity; you may want to review validity beyond your textbook to get a clear response.
Write a ½-1 page paper discussing if your research project is reliable. Remember to consider everything related to reliability; you may want to review reliability beyond your textbook to get a clear response.
Note – Your grade is not affected by the answer to validity or reliability. Instead, your grade is based on how well you explained your responses.
One Final Note
I will grade all projects in order. This means if you submit only sections 2-6 or only sections 4-5, you will not receive a grade. I highly recommend you start at the beginning and do a little bit of the project each week.
Presentation to your Classmates – Sections 7-9
Section Seven – 25 points
Each student will create a handout to give to their peers for the presentation section of the project. A student should bring at least 4 copies of the handout to class, one of these copies should be given to the instructor. The handout should include:
1) A brief overview of the problem as discussed in section one.
2) Your hypothesis statement as determined in section three.
3) A brief overview of the research design you chose to use to study your problem.
4) The results of your research study. This part should be charts, tables, graphs, etc. to easily highlight your results. It should not be a lot of words or sentences to explain what you learned. The more interesting your results, the better!
5) Is your hypothesis statement correct or not correct? This needs to be a complete sentence.
Students are encouraged to use creativity when creating these handouts. It should be interesting to the viewer and make them want to learn about your topic in more detail. I highly recommend you consider what someone might read if this was posted on social media or detailed in a magazine. I will be grading the handouts and your peers will be reviewing them, so effort on this section is important.
Section Eight – 25 points
Each student will present their project to their classmates. Be prepared to discuss everything interesting throughout the process. Also, include all details about what you learned from the project and how society could benefit from your research. This is your time to show others what you found unique, surprising, or weird about the entire process.
Each classmate observing will be encouraged to ask questions of the presenter related to their project and results. These presentations are timed (10 minutes) and any group not staying on topic for the entirety of the time or not participating fully will see a reduction in their project grade. The presenter should be doing the majority of the talking for this presentation; it is a great time to share stories of what happened while completing all of the research.
Section Nine – 25 points
Every student will be asked to review their fellow classmate’s project presentation. There will be forms to complete. The responses from peers will help to determine a student’s grade for sections 7 & 8. However, responses will also determine a student’s grade for section 9.
Each peer review will consist of:
1) Did the presenter clearly explain the problem and why they chose this specific topic?
2) Did the presenter share multiple stories and reports about what was surprising and interesting about the research study?
3) Did the handout keep your attention and make you interested in learning more about the topic?
4) Did the presenter keep your interest throughout the presentation and make you more interested in learning about their research study?
5) Overall, how well do you think the presenter did in reporting their findings and helping you understand their research project?
There will be choices and room for notes to make it easier to complete the peer reviews. There will be time after each presentation to record responses. Presenters will not see these peer review responses.