rough draft
Theoretical Framework Worksheet
DUE DATE: PLEASE COMPLETE THIS WORKSHEET IN PREPARATION FOR CLASS ON 10/5. EACH STUDENT WILL HAVE 10 MINUTES TO PRESENT + RECEIVE FEEDBACK + FINALIZE THEIR THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK. To make the most use of the time, it is important that you are prepared.
Please note: THIS WORK-SHEET WILL BE REFERENCED WHEN WRITING THE “THEORY/THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK” section of your seminar paper.
Preparation to Complete Worksheet:
1. Please review your Classical Theory (SOCY 2101) and Contemporary Theory (SOCY 2101) notes/books to identify a theoretical framework that you will use for your project. Please identify atleast 1-2 frameworks so you have a back-up.
2. Please pay attention to the literature you have gathered and note the theoretical frameworks used by those scholars. Might they be appropriate for you?
3. Read the theory that you plan to use identifying the following:
a. The name of the theorist who developed the theory. Ex: Erving Goffman’s theory of Dramaturgy
b. The name of the author whose book you have referenced to understand the theory. Ex: Charles Lemert’s textbook on sociological theory in which you read Goffman’s theory.
c. The name of the theoretical framework. Ex: theory of dramaturgy
d. Key ideas that make up the theoretical framework – you need to state & explain atleast 3 ideas from the theory AND apply it to your project.
After completing your reading, complete the worksheet in the following steps, using the example I have provided of my own research project:
1. Clearly state your research question as finalized in class.
a. Example: How do Catholic interfaith couples in Mumbai, India negotiate religious identity and religious practices with the Catholic religious leaders in planning and implementing their wedding ceremonies?”
2. Identify your theoretical framework(s) by name and the name of the theorist associated with the framework. Please note: the theorist is often different from the author of the book in which you read about the theory, unless the book was written by the theorist:
a. Example: in my research, I’m using the theoretical framework called “Lived Religion” as theorized by Nancy Ammerman
3. Identify 2-3 ideas from the theory. Please note: in the theoretical framework section of your paper, you will both identify the ideas and develop them further in your writing. In this worksheet ONLY identify the ideas.
a. Example: Ammerman (2016; 2020) theorizes the following about lived religion:
i. LR is “religion embedded in practices of everyday life”
ii. LR is traditionally theorized to be outside institutional contexts; Ammerman argues of the importance of theorizing its work in institutions
iii. LR focuses on people’s agency in their religious practice and in living religion
4. Apply the theoretical framework to your project – consider how the theoretical ideas apply to your project. In your final paper, you will need to write 1-2 paragraphs of application. Just jot down some ideas now.
a. Example: In my project, I am theorizing how interfaith couple’s negotiations occur both outside the context of the institution (i.e. within their families, with their partners) and in the institutional context (i.e. with church leaders). These negotiations are key to the kind of wedding ceremonies they are able to have. Further, their agency in planning and implementing the ceremonies is a key part of their negotiations. In this way, wedding ceremonies became a way by which they are living religion in their everyday life.
5. QUANTITATIVE PROJECTS USING DATASETS ONLY:
a. State your hypotheses:
6. Cite your source – please cite where you are getting your information about the theoretical framework from. You have several options here: (1) you have read the theorists’ original writing and so cite them; (2) you have read about the theory in a theory text book in which case you will cite the author of the text book while identifying the name of the theorist; (3) you have read about the theory on a sociology theory website in which case you will cite the URL. Please be VERY CAREFUL NOT TO PLAGIARIZE HERE – DO NOT QUOTE IDEAS WITHOUT CITING THEM.
a. Example: I read Nancy Ammerman’s original work, so I’ll cite that here: Ammerman, Nancy. 2016. “Lived Religion as an Emerging Field: An Assessment of its Contours and Frontiers.” Nordic Journal of Religion and Society, 29(2): 83-99
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