Research Article Assignment
The goal of the social sciences is to explain, predict, and understand, with the main goal being to produce knowledge. Once knowledge has been produced it is important that sociologists share this knowledge and communicate with one another. One of the ways this knowledge can be shared is through its publication in professional journals. To understand what is happening in sociological research today it is essential to be able to read and evaluate the professional literature.
Your assignment is to read, discuss, and evaluate a professional sociology research article focused on a specific issueof your choosing. Please see how to access sociology journals at the end of this assignment.
Your answer should total a minimum of 1500 words; post your word count at the top of the page; it must be at least 1500 words, you are free to go over that word count of course. This assignment is due by the date I announce in class, submitted via Canvas. To submit your assignment please click on the assignment and then attach a Word (doc or docx) file. Please note that no late papers will be accepted; no papers below the minimum word count will be accepted; paper must be submitted via Canvas as a doc or docx file.
IMPORTANT: For this assignment you are to put your article’s ideas into your own words; do not direct quote; rather, state the ideas in your own words/summarize. You will not receive credit if you do direct quoting from the article.
In your paper please do not put the headings; simply write your paper in paragraph form, following the order below. You do not need a references/bibliography page; the only section where you need parenthetical citations are in the literature review.
THE FOLLOWING ARE SPECIFIC SECTIONS THAT MUST BE COVERED:
- INTRODUCTION
What is the title of the article? Who is (are) the author(s) of the article? What is the name of the professional journal the article was published in? What was the date of publication? (This information should be in complete sentences).
* Conceptualization
1) Statement of the Problem/Topic
What is the research problem/topic? In other words, what is the author investigating?
2) Social Theory
Does the author state a specific social theory that is being investigated? Does a specific social theory emerge from the study? If the author does not explicitly state/refer to a theory, then state that the author does not explicitly state a theory. Then elaborate on the research topic, exactly what is the author studying?
- LITERATURE REVIEW
What references does the author make to previous research on this topic? Discuss the previous research findings that are mentioned in the article. Here be sure to include parenthetical citations just as the original article does. Remember for this assignment you are to put ideas into your own words; do not direct quote, rather, state the idea in your own words, then include the parenthetical citation. Example: Research shows that men and women strippers pose in different ways and reveal our society’s ideas about gender (Katz 2006).
- CURRENT STUDY
1) Variables
What are the major variables in the study? In other words, what are the specific issues being investigated?
2) Hypothesis/Hypotheses or Research Question
What is the major hypothesis of the study? If the author does not propose a hypothesis, then elaborate on what is the specific research question being investigated?
3) Sample
Who was included in the study? How many individuals were included in the study? What is the sampling technique?
4) Research Method
Which method(s) is used for collecting the data? When and where were the data collected? Who collected the data? What type of data analysis was used (quantitative such as statistics, qualitative such as grounded theory for interviews, etc.)?
- CONCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS
1) Conclusions
What conclusions were drawn from this study? Are the hypotheses supported? If the hypotheses are not supported, is there an explanation for this deviation? Were tables/charts/etc. presented in the results? If so, what information was contained in these tables/charts/etc.?
2) Limitations
First, discuss the limitations of the study as noted by the author. Second, you must offer your own ideas of this study is limited. How would you modify this study to address the concerns of the author and/or you?
For this assignment you may choose an article that deals with any current social issue of your choosing from any peer-reviewed sociology journal. Go to http://www.fau.edu, click on Libraries, click on Databases, type in SOCINDEX FULL TEXT, then click on SOCINDEX FULL TEXT. Under “Limit Your Results,” select “Full Text” and also “Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed Journals.” Click “References Available.” For Publication-Type select “Periodical.” For Document-Type click “Article.” For Year of Publication set the years 2000-present. Select “PDF-full text.” Finally, at the top of the screen type in search words for a topic of your choosing. When selecting a full-text journal article on which to complete this assignment, please make sure your selected article actually conducts a study; that is, there is a methodology, etc. In other words, please make sure your article includes all of this assignment’s required sections.