Observation Report

Custer SOC&101

Gender Socialization Observation Assignment

Objectives: 1) analyze how children experience gender socialization in mainstream U.S. culture, 2) practice collecting qualitative data through analysis of existing material culture, 3) practice applying course concepts to the world around you 4) practice locating and incorporating scholarly sources; 4) practice APA style citations and references.

Minimum Length: 1000 words (not including reference page or Appendix); put the word count at the end of your assignment; submissions that do not meet the minimum word count will automatically receive a 10% deduction and may be returned for revisions.

Connections to Course Terms/Ideas: You should include, define and connect your research to at least five sociological terms/ideas that you have studied in this course.

Required Citations and References: 1 academic (scholarly) journal article and at least one reference to course material (using APA style)

Format: This is an original research report so you will want to organize/format your paper following the research process. Read the handout Format for Scientific Reports and use the appropriate headings.

Documentation of Observation: You will attach an appendix to your report that contains two sources of documentation.

1) Visual Documentation

Include at least two original photographs in your field notes to document your observations. It is best if you are in the picture, but others needn’t been present. Pictures from the Internet are not acceptable as they do not document your observation.

2) Field Notes

You should include your field notes from the observation. These should be typed or handwritten (if you handwrite them they should be scanned into a PDF file) and should be attached to the paper as an appendix.

Part I: Observation

Visit a store that sells both clothing and toys. You should spend a minimum of one hour recording your observations. Examples of stores that work well for this assignment are: Wal-mart, Fred Meyer, or Target. Take a notebook, phone, or laptop to record your observations. Remember, your goal is to make a comprehensive, detailed description of what you saw. Make a list of the items intended for boys and a separate list of items intended for girls. If you observe gender-neutral items put them in a separate list. Be sure to pay attention to and describe the fabrics, colors, textures, patterns, decorations, functions, writing, and images of the toys/clothing you observe. Your field notes should contain only observations, not analysis or judgements. Remember, your purpose is to focus on the material culture, so you do not need to observe people for this assignment. Also, you are NOT conducting any interviews or interacting with the members of the culture.

You will hand in these Field Notes. If you handwrite them, it is acceptable to scan them for online submission. Please include at least two pictures to document your observation.

Part II: Report

Since you are collecting original data, you will write your paper as a scientific report (though you will not include any hypotheses, since this is a qualitative study).

Introduction: Before beginning your observation, frame a research question about the messages presented in children’s toys and clothing. Make sure your research question is relevant (i.e. it relates to what you have been learning in class) and can be answered simply by observation of children’s material culture. In the introduction of your report your research question should be very clearly stated. You should also state why this research is important/interesting. Examples:

· Do children’s toys/clothing send gendered messages?

· What are the gendered messages sent in children’s toys/clothing?

· Do children’s toys/clothing encourage aggression among boys and passivity among girls?

· Do children’s toys/clothing promote traditional gender roles?

· What are some of the components of material and non-material culture

Literature Review: Summarize what we already know about this topic from past literature. Include relevant information from your course readings and at least one academic journal article.

Methods: Describe the methods and sample that were used.

Results: Read through your notes. Were there any recurring incidents or themes? Reread your notes several more times, considering what you’ve learned about culture. Report what you observed in the results section of your report. This section should not include analysis. Provide examples of gendered messages sent to boys and girls.

Remember, you will be submitting your field notes for this assignment, so you may want to refer to the appendix that contains your field notes in the results section. However, it is not sufficient to simply refer the reader to your notes. You need to provide your own summary in the results section in addition to attaching your notes at the end of your paper.

Discussion: In this section you analyze your results. Why do you think you found what you did? How do your findings fit with the past literature you discussed in the beginning of your paper? What course concepts help us to understand these findings? What are the limitations of your research? What should future researchers consider if they decide to study this topic?

Don’t forget to include citations and references in APA style where appropriate!

Grading Rubric

% Possible	Dimension	Sophisticated	Developed	Developing	Absent	Your %
5	Frames a clear and appropriate research question	5	4.25	3.75	0
10	Uses appropriate research methods and clearly describes them.	10	8.5	7.5	0
20	Provides a detailed description of what was observed. Includes at least two pictures and detailed field notes in appendix.	20	17	15	0
20	Uses at least five sociological concepts, terms, theories, or perspectives from course materials throughout the report and clearly defines/explains them.	20	17	15	0
5	Identifies the limitations of the study	5	4.25	3.75	0
20	Effectively incorporates relevant material from at least one academic journal article (goes beyond just inserting quotations)	20	17	15	0
10	Mechanics (format, spelling, grammar, etc…) and organization ( paragraph order, transitions, and topic sentences; follows format for scientific reports with appropriate headings)	10	8.5	7.5	N/A
10	Includes cites and references using APA format with minimal errors	5	4.25	3.75	0
100					Your %

Revised 2/20