sociology research paper

Your Name

The Date

Sociology 3A Research Proposal 1

TITLE

ABSTRACT

About 200 words. Provide a brief explanation of the project’s purpose, what you will do in your project, and what you hope to gain from your project. (Tip: write this after you’ve written the other components in part 1.)

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Usually about 2 pages long, this introduction to the proposal lays out the problem that will be addressed. You may select any problem related to sociological study. If you have questions about whether your topic is appropriate, please ask your professor or your TA. Select a topic you want to explore for the entire quarter because part 2 builds on part 1. In the problem statement you will want to use statistics, examples, news articles, or other ways to convince the reader that this is an important topic. Citations to the research literature are appropriate here, but do not use the research literature as a motivator. The problem should be a social problem that can be addressed or understood better through research. Do not use direct quotations from articles or other source materials. Summarize the argument in your own words.

LITERATURE REVIEW

About 2-3 pages, this part of the proposal lets you explain what research has been conducted on this topic to date and why your particular angle on the issue is warranted. You should cite at least 3 published articles or published books (more is better). Do not cite Wikipedia. Do not use direct quotations from articles or other source materials. Summarize the findings in your own words. Make sure every article or source you cite in the text is also listed in the references.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This will be about 1-2 pages and will describe the specific questions you intend to ask in your research proposal, along with any sub-questions. Make sure to review the materials from the syllabus on how to ask a good research question! You can add any explanatory information here about why you’ve selected those questions and how they will add to the literature, why they will help to address the problem, and how they will help to inform policy or practice on the topic. If you are proposing a community-engaged research project, it would be important to mention that here.

Start this section out by listing your research questions, such as like this:

[Ttransition from prior section…] The study will address the following research questions:

1. How is …..

2. In what ways are …..

OR

1. How is….

a. In what ways are…

b. How do people view …

c. How does this vary amongst subgroups of …

After you have listed your research questions, explain explanatory information about why questions were selected and how they will add to the literature, why they will help to address the problem, and how they will help to inform policy or practice on the topic. Here you can also discuss operationalization of key concepts. For example, if your questions talk about juvenile justice, make sure you tell the reader what you mean by that.

REFERENCES

Start this on a new page.

Notes: these should be in ASA style. Some examples are shown below.

Bursik, Robert J., Jr. and Harold G. Grasmick. 1993. Neighborhoods and Crime: The Dimensions of Effective Community Control. New York: Lexington Books. [Note: this is for a book]

Aseltine, Robert H., Jr. and Ronald C. Kessler. 1993. “Marital Disruption and Depression in a Community Sample.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 34(3):237-51. [Note: this is for a journal article, and it is volume(number):pages]

Schafer, Daniel W. and Fred L. Ramsey. 2003. “Teaching and the Craft of Data Analysis.” Journal of Statistics Education (11)1. Retrieved December 12, 2006 (http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v11n1/schafer.html). [Note: this is for an online journal article.]

American Sociology Association. 2006. “Status Committees.” Washington, DC: American Sociological Association. Retrieved December 12, 2006 (http://www.asanet.org/

cs/root/leftnav/committees/committees). [Note: this is for a website.]

Ziff, Larzer. 1995. "The Other Lost Generation," Saturday Review, February 20, pp. 15-18. [Note: this is for a newspaper article.]

Lafayette Journal & Courier. 1998. Newspaper editorial. December 12, p. A-6. [Note: this is for a newspaper article with author unknown.]

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