Sociology 217

Jean L. Potuchek

TERM PAPER

The term paper provides an opportunity for an in-depth exploration of the social causes, characteristics or consequences of some particular aspect of gender that interests you. The final product should be about 15-18 pages long. There are three basic types of papers that you may choose from:

The Library Research Paper

This type of paper uses the published scholarly research literature to answer a specific research question. The question should be narrowly-focused and should be about the relationship between a dependent and an independent variable. If the independent variable is a categorical one, the comparison categories should be made clear in the question. Although the question should be formulated so that it can logically be given a "yes" or "no" answer, most research questions will turn out to have more tentative, contingent, or qualified answers. Your goal in this type of paper is to read as much of the relevant research literature as you can, and to develop an answer to your research question that is as accurate as possible, given the available research literature.

The Original Research Paper

In this type of paper, your focus is once again on answering a clearly specified research question or on testing a clearly formulated hypothesis (or set of related hypotheses). In this case, however, instead of relying primarily on the published research, you will carry out your own research. This may involve collecting your own data for analysis (for example, through content analysis, field research, survey research, or experiment) or analyzing existing sources of data (for example, U.S. Census data or data from the General Social Survey). In this type of paper, you not only report on your findings; you also use the relevant scholarly literature to help you formulate your research and consider the implications of your results.

The Review Essay

Unlike the first two types, this type of paper begins with a broader research topic or question. The goal here is to read all of the relevant scholarly work and to write a review that organizes, analyzes, and synthesizes that literature. The review essay may focus on theory about the chosen topic, on empirical research, or on both. The paper goes beyond just reporting what has been done; it develops new ways of thinking about the topic and suggests directions for further research or theorizing. Of the three options, this is the most difficult type of paper to write -- both because the volume of research that must be done is so great and because a successful review essay requires a thorough and in-depth knowledge of the work being reviewed.

The term paper is expected to be a major, semester-long research effort and will be evaluated as such. Therefore, it is essential that you choose a topic and get started early. In order to help you in this regard, the term paper assignment is divided into several stages:

Topic and Bibliography Due: January 26

At this stage of the research process, you need to identify the general topic area that you are interested in researching and begin doing some reading to help you understand how sociologists approach this topic. On this date, you will turn in a typed description of your topic area and a bibliography of at least five items that you can read to learn more about the issues of interest to sociologists in that topic area. I strongly suggest that this bibliography include at least one each of the following: a review essay about your topic, a theoretical discussion of your topic, and empirical study in your topic area.

Research Proposal and Preliminary Bibliography Due: February 9

By now, you should have read several general sources about your topic area and used that information to help you formulate a specific plan for your paper. On this date, you will turn in a proposal that includes the following:

1. Specification of what type of term paper you are planning to do (library research, original research, or review essay).

2. The specifics of your proposed paper.

If you are doing a library research paper, this will include your specific, narrowly-focused research question.

If you are doing an original research paper, this will include your specific research question or hypothesis and detailed information about both the source of your data and how you will analyze those data.

If you are doing a review essay, this will include the topic or question you are reviewing, whether your review will focus on theory, empirical research, or both, and any parameters you will use to limit your review (e.g., specific scholarly journals or specific dates).

3. A preliminary bibliography.

If you are doing a library research paper, this bibliography must include a minimum of twenty scholarly sources (scholarly books and journals, but notpopular magazines, journalistic accounts, or newspapers). Of these, at least ten must be reports of original research published in sociology journals.

If you are doing an original research paper, this bibliography must include a minimum of twelve scholarly sources that can help you formulate your research or interpret your results.

If you are doing a review essay, your bibliography should include a minimum of thirty scholarly sources appropriate for review in your paper. The exception is if your review essay will focus entirely on theory; in that case, your preliminary bibliography should include a minimum of ten theoretical treatments of your topic.

During the week following your submission of these proposals, I will meet with each of you individually to discuss your proposal and any changes that need to be made to your research plan.

Individual Progress Assessments Week of February 23

During this week, I will meet with each of you individually to discuss your progress on your research and to provide any needed guidance or assistance.

First Draft Due: March 30

You will submit two drafts of your paper. The first draft should be a complete version of your paper, including bibliography. I will not grade the first draft; rather, I will write extensive comments on it. These comments will be designed to help you clarify your argument and to revise, rewrite, and polish your paper. This will provide you with an opportunity for extensive feedback on your paper prior to receiving a grade. (Note: You should plan to spend considerable time revising your paper after you have received comments on your first draft.)

Final Paper Due: April 30

This will be the final, polished product of your semester-long research effort. If you spend time and effort on each step of the research process, you will learn a great deal and will end up with a paper to be proud of.

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General instructions: All steps in this term paper assignment must be typed. Although only the final paper will be graded, failure to submit any of the earlier steps will result in penalty points being deducted from the final term paper grade.

	Topic and Bibliography	Due: January 26
	At this stage of the research process, you need to identify the general topic area that you are interested in researching and begin doing some reading to help you understand how sociologists approach this topic. On this date, you will turn in a typed description of your topic area and a bibliography of at least five items that you can read to learn more about the issues of interest to sociologists in that topic area. I strongly suggest that this bibliography include at least one each of the following: a review essay about your topic, a theoretical discussion of your topic, and empirical study in your topic area.

	Research Proposal and Preliminary Bibliography	Due: February 9

	By now, you should have read several general sources about your topic area and used that information to help you formulate a specific plan for your paper. On this date, you will turn in a proposal that includes the following:

			If you are doing a library research paper, this will include your specific, narrowly-focused research question.
			If you are doing an original research paper, this will include your specific research question or hypothesis and detailed information about both the source of your data and how you will analyze those data.
			If you are doing a review essay, this will include the topic or question you are reviewing, whether your review will focus on theory, empirical research, or both, and any parameters you will use to limit your review (e.g., specific scholarly journals or specific dates).

	3.	A preliminary bibliography.
		If you are doing a library research paper, this bibliography must include a minimum of twenty scholarly sources (scholarly books and journals, but notpopular magazines, journalistic accounts, or newspapers). Of these, at least ten must be reports of original research published in sociology journals.
		If you are doing an original research paper, this bibliography must include a minimum of twelve scholarly sources that can help you formulate your research or interpret your results.
		If you are doing a review essay, your bibliography should include a minimum of thirty scholarly sources appropriate for review in your paper. The exception is if your review essay will focus entirely on theory; in that case, your preliminary bibliography should include a minimum of ten theoretical treatments of your topic.

	During the week following your submission of these proposals, I will meet with each of you individually to discuss your proposal and any changes that need to be made to your research plan.

	During this week, I will meet with each of you individually to discuss your progress on your research and to provide any needed guidance or assistance.

		First Draft	Due: March 30
		You will submit two drafts of your paper. The first draft should be a complete version of your paper, including bibliography. I will not grade the first draft; rather, I will write extensive comments on it. These comments will be designed to help you clarify your argument and to revise, rewrite, and polish your paper. This will provide you with an opportunity for extensive feedback on your paper prior to receiving a grade. (Note: You should plan to spend considerable time revising your paper after you have received comments on your first draft.)

	Final Paper	Due: April 30
	This will be the final, polished product of your semester-long research effort. If you spend time and effort on each step of the research process, you will learn a great deal and will end up with a paper to be proud of.