Overview
Research Question: You will propose a research question within any area of medical
sociology covered in this course that asks about something that requires both
analytical and synthetic thought instead of a simple yes/no answer. Explain why this
the question is important for advancing a sociological understanding of health and illness.
(1 double-spaced page)
- USE THIS QUESTION
- Question: What role does SES status, race, and gender play in the development of Allostatic load in varied populations, and what inference does it make for the emergence of health defects down the line?
- Importance of question:
- Learning how people who are disadvantaged in ways out of their control since birth, and how certain illnesses affect them because of it can help doctors treat and change directions of these health disparities before it is too late.
.
Annotated Bibliography: You will then develop a 10-article annotated bibliography of
articles that provide empirical evidence to help you address your research question.
The critical abstracts you did for class readings are good preparations for this part of
the paper. They need not provide the exact answer or agree with each other. A
structured annotation includes the following components you should be familiar with
by the end of the course after finishing all critical abstracts: (Use the 10 articles linked below only)
- What was the main point or research question of the article?
- Describe the sample (e.g., age, gender, race of the people studied) with emphasis
on how this sample is necessary to answer your question.
- What data were collected?
- What did the study find?
- How does this study help you understand your question
Summary: You will finally summarize the problem in the context of related theory
and research reviewed above (1 – 2 double spaced pages). It should include:
- A presentation of the theoretical model (e.g., in a diagram)
- A statement of research hypotheses based on this model;
- Explanations of research gaps or limitations in existing studies to be
addressed in future research;
- Thoughts about broad implications of the study results