SOC 260 Research Portfolio

Research Portfolio/Literature Review (10%): Students are to actively work on this assignment throughout the semester. You will be collecting 8 different research studies that correspond with different types of methodologies that we will be learning about. These studies must be “good science” and all 8 of these studies must have been published in a refereed, peer reviewed, scholarly journal. You are to pick a topic of sociological interest as well as a foundational approach—positivism, interpretive, critical (Chapter 2) and collect 8 research studies related to your chosen topic with your foundational approach in mind. You will write a one page note card summary for each article that briefly summarizes the study, states its hypothesis, describes it methodology, and briefly explains its findings (see Chapter 4,Figure 4.2 for an example). Next, you are to write approximately a 3-4 page literature review citing all 8 studies. Finally, provide a reference sheet at the end with all citations. Your portfolio will consist of all eight scanned, PDF articles, eight note cards, a literature review and a reference sheet. Points will be given or deducted for each section of this portfolio.

The following is a not an exhaustive list but includes nine different methodologies or approaches from which to choose. Examples include: 1) Survey –primary data (researcher designed survey and questionnaire); 2) Survey --secondary data (data comes from a survey that has previously been conducted); 3) A quasi-experimental design; 4) Field research (qualitative); 5) Content analysis (qualitative); 6) Historical comparative; 7) Applied or policy; 8) Quantitative using trend analyses; and 9) Quantitative using regression analysis, or 10) Quantitative using a longitudinal design.

This Research Portfolio should be completed within 10-12 pages. It may be longer. Title page is separate. Submit the Research portfolio in 12” font, double spaced, with any foot notes or notations at the end. Use ASA reference style (guide sheet found on Bb). Students may use APA if they are familiar with that citation format. Your final portfolio is to be submitted via Chalk & Wire as one document accessed through Blackboard. Directions will be given prior to the due date. Please contact me, directly, if you have trouble submitting via Chalk & Wire. If I request your articles than they will need to be scanned and sent in a pdf file if not already saved in a pdf or a direct link to the article might be acceptable. If I have questions and you do not have a full and complete bibliographic reference, you will lose points. Research Projects must be submitted to Chalk & Wire by the due date. Any late papers will lose points.

Further notes to discern what type of methodology is used in your study/article

Survey (Chapter 7). Describe if the research is primary or secondary data—Did the researcher conduct the survey herself or did she access data from a survey that had previously been conducted? Mention the type of sampling design. Is it a random probability design (simple random, stratified, cluster, etc.) or a non-probability design (purposive, convenience, snowball, etc)? Please review Chapter 6 and look to Table 6.4 and Table 6.1, to help you identify sampling strategy.

Quasi-experimental design (Chapter 8). You may us an article that refers to the experimental design in general, it does not have to be designated as a quasi-experimental design. However, identify what type of experimental design is used. Please review chapter 8 and refer to Table 8.1.

Field Research (Chapter 11). This is a qualitative analysis design. Be clear that your article describes a field research endeavor and not simply or only in-depth interviews. Field research is more comprehensive but may include in-depth interviews.

Content Analysis (Chapter 9). This is a qualitative analysis design. Review . Be clear about what “text” are being analyzed and the general thematic categories that are discussed.

Historical/Comparative (Chapter 12). These can be two separate designs or can be combined. A historical approach and interpretation provides for data that tends to be heavily narrative but may include numbers and looks at an issue over time as occurred in the past. Comparative simply compares to large scale (macro level) data. If combined, a historical approach and narrative is combined with a comparative approach. Generally this design is used to answer big questions. Research design may refer to cross-cultural studies, a case-study approach, primary sources, etc. Please see Chapter 14 to help you identify if your article can be treated as a historical analysis, a comparative analysis, or a combination.

Applied or policy-This would include program evaluations and policy analysis. Make sure a study has been conducted of choosing the policy analysis.

Quantitative design—You may further identify the type of data analysis (Chapter 10) and use this category for more than one article. 1) Trend data analysis compares data generally collected through a survey over time or institutional data that has been collected over time. Trend data compares changes over time in the data. 2) A regression analysis will clearly identify the independent and dependent variables and will discuss association between the variables. Please identify these as well in your discussion. 3) Longitudinal analysis looks at a cohort over time and goes back to interview (survey) the same cohort or the same individuals over time. This tends to be secondary data—survey already conducted and researchers are creating their own research question to ask of the data. Do not confuse longitudinal design with trend data analysis.