RESEARCH PAPER ASSIGNMENTS

A major research paper is required of all students. This paper will involve selection of topic, review of the literature on this topic, formulation of research questions/hypotheses, development of plan for analysis of data, analysis of data using the computer and SPSS for Windows, and writing of final report. The paper is a major part of this course and counts forty percent of your semester grade.

The data that will be used for this project are the 1998 General Social Survey. A list of variables will be distributed. The variables are described in more detail in the codebook.

You should begin work on this project immediately and continue working on it throughout the semester. Sections of the paper will be handed in at various times during the semester. Each assignment is worth a specified number of points. The entire set of assignments is worth 100 points. A summary of the assignments and due days follows. The dates listed are only approximate. Some will be changed during the semester. However, the final report will definitely be due on Wednesday, December 8. Late assignments will be accepted for three weeks. Late assignments will be marked down two percentage points for each school day late. Assignments not turned in within three weeks will receive a grade of zero.

There is an excellent book on library research and writing research reports -- A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers by The Sociology Writing Group at the University of California, Los Angeles (St. Martin's Press). This material should be read before doing the following assignments.

 

1. Sept 3 Selection of topic. Look through the list of variables and the codebook and select a problem area that you would like to explore. You may include more than one topic. Remember that your analysis is limited to the data in the 1998 survey.
2. Oct 11 Review of the literature on topic. You should focus on articles and books published in the last ten years and "classics." The paper should include a statement of your problem and the review of the literature. (10 points)
3. Oct 25 Research hypotheses. State the hypotheses that you want to test. For each hypothesis, explain the rationale underlying the hypothesis. (5 points)
4. Nov 1 Plan for bivariate analysis. List the bivariate tables you want to run specifying the independent and dependent variables. (5 points)
5. Nov 8 Sample bivariate table with interpretation. Be sure to include the percentages, chi square, and measure of association. Table should be in final edited form. (5 points)
6. Nov 15 Plan for multivariate analysis. List the multivariate tables you want to run specifying the independent, dependent, and control variables. (5 points)
7. Nov 22 Sample multivariate table with interpretation. Be sure to include the percentages, chi square, and measure of association. Table should be in final edited form. (5 points)
8. Dec 8 Final Report. (65 points)

 

The final report should include the following sections: title page, abstract (less than 200 words), statement of the problem and the research hypotheses, review of the literature, research findings and interpretation, summary, footnotes, references, and tables. Include all tables discussed in the paper at the end. All quotations and the use of anyone else's ideas must be cited in the paper and the reference included in the reference section at the end. Use the format outlined in A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers for citing references. Footnotes should be used only for substantive comments that you do not want to include in the text of the paper.