Sociology Research Paper

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Research Proposal Project Part 4: Final Research Proposal Project Due: Sunday, December 9 by 11:59pm

Overview: For this portion of the project, you will revise all of the prior components you completed this semester and write it up into one final paper.

Requirements: I reserve the right to refuse an assignment for not following these requirements.

• 12 point font, Times New Roman • One inch margins on all sides • Paragraph format • Double-spaced pages • Proofread for typos, spelling and grammatical errors • The use of headings is encouraged to specify different sections of the proposal,

especially as you begin to put each piece together into a full paper • Include page numbers at the bottom center or right corner of the page • No bullet points, weird spacing, or fancy formatting • No graphics, tables, or charts • Use ASA-style formatting:

http://www.asanet.org/sites/default/files/quick_tips_for_asa_style.pdf • Save your work as “Last Name First Name Part 1” or something else very

specific to this assignment • Do not use any special characters in the saved file name (# % & $, etc) • Save as a .DOC or .PDF only. No other file formats will be accepted.

It is your responsibility that the correct file is uploaded. I will only grade the file you upload to the dropbox. Double-check that you upload the correct file. Save your work often. Save the dropbox receipt eCourseware sends via email as proof of your submission.

Plagiarism and inappropriate group work: Please review the “Academic Integrity” section on the syllabus. Each assignment in this class should be your own original work and will be submitted through the university’s plagiarism software. Papers written for other classes may not be submitted for credit. Assignments found to be in violation of these policies will receive a zero.

Inappropriate collaboration includes, but is not limited to: copying someone else’s work to pass off as your own; changing just a few words to make it seem like your own; allowing someone else to complete your assignments for you. Take ownership of YOUR work!

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Directions: 1. Revise your proposal based on any feedback I gave you in Parts 1, 2, and 3. 2. Write up the INTRODUCTION section. This should introduce your topic broadly, state your research question(s), and provide a study rationale. 3. Write up the LITERATURE REVIEW based on the five sources you found for the annotated bibliography assignment. Read “How to Write a Literature Review” and “Avoiding the Laundry List Lit Review” on eCourseware under Content Research Proposal Part 2 and 4 for tips on how to craft this section. 4. You absolutely MUST use in-text citations in the literature review. These should be in ASA format. Failure to use in-text citations will result in a failing grade on this assignment. 5. Write up the PRESENT STUDY section. This is essentially restating what your topic is and how it contributes to the existing knowledge on your topic. You will end this section with a statement of your hypotheses. 6. Write up the METHODS section with the subheadings “Data & Sample” and “Measures.” Data & Sample:

• Paraphrase the essential information from the YRBS User Guide o Name and year of data set o Who conducts the survey o How often it is conducted o What kinds of schools are included o Sample design o Student response rate o Sample size (N = )

Measures: • Starting with the dependent variable, give the exact question asked from the

YRBS. Give the answer choice categories. • Repeat this for the independent variables, exactly as they are found in the YRBS. • You should not include any other variables that are not found in the YRBS. Stick

to this format (one DV, 3 IVs).

7. Provide a REFERENCE page. This should be a separate page at the end of the document. List all of the sources you cited in your paper (no more, no less).

• List each source alphabetically by the first author’s last name. • Follow ASA formatting: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/583/03/ • Include a citation for the YRBS:

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o Reference page citation: o Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2013. Youth Risk

Behavior Survey Questionnaire. Available at: www.cdc.gov/yrbs.

o In text citation: (YRBS 2013)

• Use “Hanging” indentations. In Microsoft Word: Paragraph  Indentation  Special  Hanging

Grading Rubric: 100 Possible Points Criteria Possible Points

Introduction section meets criteria above and from Part 1 25

Literature review section meets criteria above 25

Methods section meets criteria above 25

In-text citations and reference page in ASA format & from peer- reviewed academic sources (minimum of 5 sources) 15

Well-written, formatted and organized, proofread for grammatical, spelling, and stylistic errors. 10

No in-text citations = F on assignment

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Example Structure for Part 4

INTRODUCTION

Introduce your topic broadly. Look at journal articles to get an idea of how this looks in

published research. (THINK: BIG PICTURE)

Research Questions

Provide your research questions here, keeping in mind that your writing should be reader

friendly. That is, provide context for your questions rather than only listing the questions and

moving to the next section. Your research questions will ask about the effects of your

independent variables on your chosen outcome (dependent) variable. Do not include hypotheses

until the section labeled PRESENT STUDY. (THINK: HOW DOES YOUR PROPOSED

RESEARCH GET AT THE BIG PICTURE WITH SPECIFIC QUESTIONS?)

Study Rationale

This section should explain why your chosen topic and research questions are

sociologically relevant and important. You should cite any statements you make that draw on

prior knowledge, statistics, or background information on this topic. This section should NOT

include any personal anecdotes. You are taking the role of a social science researcher. Remain

objective in your writing. (THINK: WHY IS THIS STUDY IMPORTANT?)

LITERATURE REVIEW

In this section, you will organize the prior research on the topic you chose. Please review

the resources for writing up a literature review that can be found on eCourseware. You must cite

at least five academic journal articles in this section. You must use in-text citations. Use direct

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quotes sparingly. Work on paraphrasing the important information from prior research into your

own words. This shows a greater depth of understanding. Review the ASA formatting for in-text

citations (link above). This is typically the longest section of a proposal (2-3 pages).

PRESENT STUDY

This is the section where you restate what you propose to study, why, and how. Think

about how the literature review examines the prior knowledge on this subject, including any

unanswered questions about this topic. What will your study add to this knowledge?

State at least one, but up to three hypotheses. You should relate each independent

variable to the dependent variable you chose. An example hypotheses statement is below. “Hours

studying” is the independent variable and “GPA” is the dependent variable. This hypothesis

statement also predicts how studying will impact GPA (i.e., more hours, higher GPA).

Hypothesis 1: Students who spend more hours studying will have higher GPAs.

Hypotheses 2: Repeat for second IV.

Hypotheses 3: Repeat for third IV.

METHODS

Data & Sample

This is the section where you will paraphrase the information about the 2013 National

Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) from the codebook. Be sure to include the information

from Step #6 from the directions above.

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Measures

This is the section where you will describe your variables. Start with the dependent

variable you chose. Provide the question exactly as it is asked in the YRBS. Provide each answer

choice from the survey.

In the next paragraph, do the same for each of your independent variables. Look at the

methods sections in journal articles you have read for this assignment for tips on how to write

and frame this section. Use one that you like as a model.

On the next page….

REFERENCES

Last Name, First Name. Year. “Title of Article.” Journal Name. Volume Number (Issue

Number): page numbers of article.