Sociology Research Paper: Poverty and Crime

A 2nd quide to help you complete the Research Portfolio

8 articles make up the Research Portfolio (pick from the list that follows)

1) Qualitative

2) Other qualitative examples include:

a. Field research (ethnography)

b. In-depth interviews with a small sample or case-studies

3) Survey design with primary data (the researcher’s own survey)

4) Secondary data analysis (use of an already existing data base derived from a survey)

5) Quasi-experimental design

6) Evaluation research (applied)

7) Action research study (applied)

8) Social Impact Assessment research (applied)

9) Trend analysis-comparative analyses by years, decades of subject

10) Longitudinal study-study subjects over time; includes panel or cohort study

11) Cross-sectional study-compares subjects over same time period

12) Historical-comparative analyses

13) Quantitative studies using descriptive statistics (frequency distribution, measure of central tendency, standard deviation, z-score, correlation, percentage tables, chi-square, simple or multiple regression analyses)

You are to write a one-page note card (Ch 4) for each article and summarize all eight articles in a 3-4 page literature review. Please adopt a theoretical position—positivistic, critical, interpretive--and try to find articles that tend to be written from the perspective you have chosen. It will not generally be obvious. You have to pick up on the author’s point of view if the article does not explicitly give you a statement of theory. Theories, too, are described more specifically than the three categories we have here—positivist, critical, interpretive. In fact, most articles will fall under “positivistic” if quantitative and most qualitative articles will fall under interpretive. Critical is usually an author/researcher who is explicitly questioning existing paradigms and is offering a critique. For example, a feminist perspective might be considered a critical perspective. Try to integrate your articles the best you can in a coherent literature review. Please cite (in-text) as well as provide a complete refence list of each article used.