Final Paper Guidelines Your paper must be submitted via Moodle by 11:00PM on Monday June 8. Late exams will not be accepted. No Exceptions! Description This research paper will provide you with the opportunity to conduct a sociological analysis on a topic of your choosing. You must utilize of the three main sociological theoretical frameworks (structional-functionalism, social conflict or symbolic interactionism) in your paper. You will need to develop a research question, complete outside research and use course concepts to analyze and organize your findings. 1) Select a topic (social issue) of your choice. 2) Develop at least one research question. 3) Write an informational paper on your topic using scholarly sources to answers your research question(s). Suggestions for selecting a topic: Pick a topic about which you can find information easily. Choose something about which you are interested — you will read and write about it for several weeks, so it might as well be something you will enjoy exploring. There is a list below of general subjects from which you might select a specific topic. This list is very general – use it to spark an idea for a specific, well-developed topic. You need to think through how you will conduct an analysis of your particular topic, what question(s) you will answer, and what your specific focus will be. Most importantly, be creative and have fun with it. Some Potential Topics Poverty Race, Gender, or Class and the criminal justice system Women in the sciences, engineering, medicine, vet medicine Capitalism Sports Globalization Domestic violence Military (Socialization, Group Processes, Gender, Social Control) Health, illness, and health insurance Magazines and culture (sports, teen, women’s, men’s etc.) Gangs – male and/or female Deviance School Violence Same-sex marriage Race relations Environmental concerns, impact, mobilization Toys, games and gender socialization Sweatshops/labor use by multinational corporations in 3rd world countries Education Consumption (in one country or compare countries) Illicit drug use and/or related policies Aging (look at physical health, financial concerns, widowhood) Effects of social networks Mental health Crime Political affiliation Once you have selected a topic for your research paper, you need to focus and narrow it into at least one specific research question. Your question should be one that: • lends itself to sociological analysis • is not a “yes” or “no” question • has more than one plausible answer • you can get the information to answer is answerable in the page length allotted Questions to answer for your topic selection & description Name your topic: I am studying ____________________________________________, Imply your question: because I want to found out who/how/why _____________________________________, State the rationale for the question and the project: in order to understand how/why what _________________. State how/which sociological theory provides insight to your topic. Identify how each article contributes to addressing your topic. Your paper should follow a general flow; give consideration to writing your introduction, body and conclusion, however keep in mind that you may have subtopics within each. Be sure you stay on topic and fully address your question. It is very important that you do not write your paper as just a summary of the articles, for example, do not organize your paper and talk about each article one by one. In other words, your paper should include the following basics: • Introduce your topic • Define your question • Identify why your question is important • Outline what others have found out about your topic (gathered from your articles) • Which sociological theory applies to the topic and explain why • What your conclusions are based upon what you have read