T‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍ask: Work with three to four other students to choose a top

T‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍ask: Work with three to four other students to choose a topic, develop a sociological research question about it, and design an empirical study that would answer that question. Write this up as a realistic plan for future research—but DO NOT collect any actual data. (Actual data collection requires University permission which we unfortunately do not have time to obtain.) Purpose: The plan I am asking you to write is very similar to a real-world “research proposal,” the document sociologists create in order to obtain funding and institutional approval for their studies. By doing this assignment you will gain experience in applying concepts and theories, making research decisions, working with a team, and writing up your ideas logically and persuasively. Grading: This assignment is worth of 25% of your course grade. Your score will reflect the quality of your group’s research plan, adjusted for your individual effort. If you refuse to work with a group or don’t engage until it is too late to do so, you can still submit a plan individually but it will receive a 10-point penalty. Late penalties (2 points per weekday after a 7-day grace period) will apply if needed. Schedule of Tasks and Deadlines Dates Tasks Week 1 3/1 to 3/7 Read these instructions thoroughly! (nothing due) Week 2 3/8 to 3/14 Group Check-In – DUE Sunday March 14, 11:59 pm Find your group using the Groups tool (under Communications). In your small group discussion, post a greeting with one or more topic ideas. After most members check in, discuss your topic and other decisions you need to make by next Sunday. Note: You MUST use the iCollege discussion to check in so I can see that you did it. If you do not check in by 11:59 on Sunday 3/14, there is a grade penalty and I may assign you to a different group. After check-in, you can move discussion to other apps if everyone agrees. If your group members don’t check in, contact Dr. Damarin for guidance. NOTE: At any time during this project I would be happy to set up a Webex meeting with your group to offer guidance and answer questions. Just let me know, keeping in mind it may take a few days to find a time we can all meet. Week 3 and Spring Break 3/15 to 3/28 Progress Email – DUE Sunday March 28, 11:59 pm During this week your group should hold discussions in order to: –Choose and focus your topic. It should be sociology-relevant! –Choose a theoretical paradigm and discuss how it applies to your topic, considering how social structure, culture, interaction, etc. play a role. –Use those discussions to create a research question which meets meet the criteria in Module 3, “Sociological Research Questions.” –Choose a major research design. This should be the design which produces data that will be most useful in answering your research question. (You can choose two designs if needed, but no more.) –Examine the outline below and divide writing tasks among group members based on interest and ability. You may want to assign 1-2 people to take charge of assembling and editing the final plan. Then by Sunday night, have one group member send me an email via iCollege with your focused topic, theoretical paradigm, research question, research design, and any other details that seem important. I will evaluate and reply with comments and suggestions. Week of 4 3/29 to 4/4 Progress: Put it all together. There is nothing due this week but group members should complete their writing tasks and share them. Everyone should help make sure the pieces fit together logically—., the data collection methods match the research question. Week 5 4/5 to 4/11 Final Paper: Research Plan – DUE Sunday April 11, 11:59 pm Finish it up! Those assigned to take charge of assembling the final paper will have a lot to do this week, but everyone else should be available to answer questions about their part, help edit and proofread, etc. Submit using the iCollege Assignments tool, following the instructions below. Week 6 4/12 to 4/18 Group Participation Survey – DUE Sunday April 28, 11:59 pm or ASAP! The sooner I get your group’s surveys, the sooner you get your grades. RESEARCH PLAN OUTLINE Note: Real-world research proposals have a very set format: they say things in a specific order so that readers can understand what is being planned and why. For instance: To understand the research methods, readers need to know what the research question is. Thus, the question has to come first. And since the research question must be based on theory, it needs to be stated after the theory discussion. I would like your plan to follow this order, outlined below. Title Pick a descriptive and intriguing title! Examples: “Does Immigrant Status Impact Mexican Americans’ Political Views?” or “How Gentrification Affects Crime Rates in Major . Cities” Introduction (1 substantial paragraph) Introduce and describe your topic. If it is broad (., fake news), describe the particular aspect you would focus on in your research (., the spread of fake news on Facebook and Twitter). Justify your topic choice by suggesting why it is important or interesting. Theoretical approach (2 paragraphs) Identify which theoretical paradigm you are using to analyze your topic: functionalism, conflict theory, interactionism, or a variation (., feminist theory). In 3 or more sentences, describe the paradigm’s basic ideas and assumptions. Then, probably in a new paragraph, discuss how the theory applies to your topic. Be specific and concrete. Conflict theory: Identify specific groups, inequalities, and actual or potential conflicts. Functionalism: Identify social institutions and their functions or dysfunctions for society. Interactionism: Identify specific interactions and how they shape symbolic meanings or vice versa. Where possible, note the roles of culture, structure, socialization, and other relevant social factors. [NOTE: In a real-world research plan, this section would also include a literature review. I am not asking you to do that here!] Research question and design (1 paragraph) State the research question your study would aim to answer very clearly. Use phrasing such as “We will study the question of…” or “The question this study addresses is …” The question should be clearly related to the theoretical discussion (above) and it should meet the rest of the criteria described in Module 3. (This can be hard—I am happy to help.) Then identify which research design you would use to collect data to answer your question. Your choices are surveys, in-depth interviews, field research, experiment, and secondary data analysis. You can combine two but no more than two! In a few sentences, justify your choice of designs by explaining how the data it yields (qualitative vs. quantitative, large vs. small sample, etc.) will help answer your question. *Bonus:* Include a sentence or two on whether your study emphasizes causal explanation, interpretive sociology, or critical sociology. Research details (2+ paragraphs) Provide as much detail as you can on how you would do your research, including: Research procedures: Surveys & interviews: What would you ask about? Provide a detailed list of top‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍ics. Field research: What groups or settings would you observe, for how long, and what would you look for? Experiments: Describe your procedures and how would you limit outside influences. Secondary analysis: What kinds of data would you look for, where would you look for it, and how would you assess its quality? Population and sample: Describe your study population, or the types of people, events, or other things your research question focuses on. Describe how you would sample that population so as to make data as generalizable as possible. (Note: Field research doesn’t use samples but you should still consider generalizability in choosing particular settings/groups to study.) Data analysis: We haven’t studied data analysis, but write a sentence or two on how you would interpret your data and what you might expect to see in your results. Conclusion (1-2 paragraphs) Study limitations: No research is perfect; there are always unavoidable problems with the sample, data, or other issues. What are the unavoidable flaws in your planned study? Significance: Make an argument that even if your proposed study has limitations, it should still be done. Why? Why should we care about your question? Why is your study the best way to answer it? Who might find the results of this study valuable? *Bonus*: If you are pushing for excellence, use two or three of these concepts in your research methods discussion: random sampling, variables, independent and dependent variables, correlation/causation, reliability, validity, verstehen, Hawthorne effect, value neutrality, code of ethics. Note: “use” means apply the concepts in detail, don’t just “name drop” them. Additional Instructions Sources: You can do well on this assignment using only the course textbooks and lecture notes. You do not need to use any other sources, . from library or online research, but if you wish to do so you may. For information about theory and methods, rely on the lecture notes first, then OpenStax or OpenText, then ask me for additional resources. I will not accept poor-quality web sources like Investopedia. Any source you quote, paraphrase, or borrow ideas from must be cited and appear in a reference list—see below. Formatting: I expect 3 or more typed, double-spaced pages of prose (essay style, no bullet points), excluding any title pages, images, or reference lists. Use a 12-point font and one-inch margins. You do not need to include a title page or running header (as in APA formatting) though you may if you wish. If no title page, put the following information at the top of your first page of text: the names of all students who contributed, the course name (SOCI 1101: Introduction to Sociology), the date, and (important!) the title of your plan. If you quote or paraphrase any sources, use in-text citations and provide a reference list. Submission: Save your plan as a .docx, .doc, .odt, or .pdf file. Please, no .pages files or links to Google Docs! You will submit this as an attachment—do not paste it into the window. GROUPS: Have one person submit the finished plan. In the Assignments tool, choose “Final Paper – Groups.” Note that if I see multiple submissions from your group, I will grade the most recent and ignore the rest unless you communicate otherwise. INDIVIDUALS: If you were unable or unwilling to work with your group, follow the instructions above but choose the assignment “Final Paper – Individuals.” Save a Copy: All group members should save a digital copy of the final (submitted) version of your plan. Why? You should always do this in every course, at least until you receive your final grade. Assignments should be saved longer if they are high quality work that you might be able to use as a “portfolio piece” to showcase your abilities to others. Group Participation Survey: As soon as your group has submitted your plan, you should complete the group participation survey—click the “Assessments” tab, then “Surveys.” The sooner everyone does this, the sooner you get your grade. Citations & References: If you quote or paraphrase a source, including textbooks, lecture notes, articles, websites, etc., you must provide an in-text citation and a full reference at the end of the plan. I prefer that you use APA citation and reference formatting. The APA Style Guide in the Resources Module has instructions on formatting in-text citations and references, with many examples on p. 3. More from the GSU library: If you quote or closely paraphrase the lecture notes in this course, the in-text citation would be (Damarin, 2021) and the reference format would be: Damarin, A. (2021). Title of specific note [Lecture note]. Retrieved from iCollege. Copying, quoting, or using ideas from sources without citing them is plagiarism, a form of cheating. If I detect plagiarism, all group members will receive an assignment grade of 50 (less than one paragraph) or 0 (a paragraph or more). Please let me know if you have questions about when or how to cite sources! Research Plan Grading Rubric Criteria & Levels of Performance Very Weak Needs Improvement Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations Column total 55 points 70 points 85 points 100 points Completeness: addresses all requirements Omits or barely addresses many reqs (10 pts) Omits or barely addresses some reqs (12 pts) Adequately addresses all reqs (15 pts) All reqs met, some detailed/thoughtful responses (18 pts) Good grasp of theoretical perspective Missing or little/no grasp (8 points) Partial understanding (11 points) Accurate understanding (13 points) Sophisticated use of perspective (16 points) Research quest. meets instruction 3 criteria Problematic: meets few criteria (10 pts) Problematic: meets only some criteria (13 pts) Meets all criteria; some explanation (16 pts) Meets all criteria; good explanation (18 pts) Research method suitable for topic, theory, question, data, population Method unsuitable +/or not explained at all (10 points) Method not fully suitable +/or not well explained (13 points) Method suitable; adequate detail in explanation (16 points) Method suitable; good detail in explanation (18 points) Good detail on how research would be done Few details +/or many concepts incorrect (12 pts) Limited detail or some concepts incorrect (14 pts) Suitable detail, most concepts correct (17 pts) Good detail, expert use of concepts (20 points) Readability; grammar, diction, citations Major errors; hard to understand (5 points) Errors harm clarity but paper is mostly readable (7 pts) More than 3 errors but still readable (8 points) Assignment has at most 3 errors and is clear, polished (10 points) NOTES: –Your individual grade may vary from the group grade depending on your individual contribution, which I will assess based on the Group Participation Surveys and other communications. –There are penalties for refusing to work with a group (10 points) and for lateness (2 points per business day after a one-week grace period). –This grading rubric is subject to change if it produces results that are inconsistent with my overa‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍ll assessment of assignment quality. Regardless, it is still a good guide to what I am looking for.

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