Sociology Question

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This assignment aligns with the following course objectives:

• evaluate the importance of social institutions including marriage, family, the media, educational, political and economic structures in a diverse and global society;
• evaluate major sociological theories by focusing on the main concepts, ideas and critical assessment of each theory from a historical, social and political context;
• use appropriate technology to evaluate and validate research sources while applying the sociological perspective;
• find, evaluate, use, and cite appropriate academic resources related to sociological topics;
• apply the steps of the scientific research process to a research project, and
• evaluate the nature and significance of social inequalities in a global society focusing on social class, race, age, gender, and other areas of diversity.

Assignment Overview:

This assignment is designed for you to develop your intended research paper topic, related to a form of social inequality, for the semester. This is a two-page assignment that will follow the steps in the research process. This is not the final paper. You will have the duration of the semester to complete your research. Rather, the proposal is step one in writing your final paper and is valued at 30 points. Your completed research paper will be valued at 100 points.

Focus of the Research Paper Proposal:

The proposal will focus on an area of social inequality within society. The proposal should focus on the experiences of a specific social group based on selected sociological variables such as age, race, gender, social class, sexuality, etc. within a social institution. Thus, your proposal will examine how a group experiences social inequality within a specific social institution such as the family, education, politics, economics, the criminal justice system, the health care system, the military etc. The point of your proposal is to include research that provides evidence of differential treatment and outcomes that contribute to differences in lived experiences within society.

How to Develop Your Sociological Research Paper Proposal:

• Step One: Select a specific social institution that you want to research regarding social inequality. For example, you may want to research a social issue impacting family, education, media, social media, health care, economics, politics, the criminal justice system, the military etc.
  
• Step Two: Which sociological variable(s) do you want to include as the focus of your research as it relates to the social institution that you have selected? Social variables are categories such as age, race, gender, sexuality, social class, etc that have an impact on the lived experiences of people in societies. Social variables allow sociologists to examine how a specific group of people are impacted by a social issue. It is important to note that although your proposal will “drill down” on one variable, there is an “intersection” of variables that impacts a group’s lived experience. For example, there is an intersection among race, class and gender in shaping people’s realities. Thus, as you continue your research it is likely that you will also include additional variables.
  
• Step Three: Based on your selected social institution and social variable, what is the specific social inequality issue that you want to research? Your topic must clearly state the institution and the variables for your paper. For example, a research topic could center on:
  

Proposal Format:

Now, that you have developed your idea for your research paper proposal, please follow the format below to write your proposal.

Your two page proposal should include the following information and be typed in this format with headings to identify each section:

Proposed Topic: Please state your specific topic for research.

Definition of the Problem: Explain how your selected topic presents a problem for selected groups and institutions within society? Further, explain how this issue presents a concern to the overall structure and function of society. How is this topic relevant to the discipline of sociology? What specific concepts and theories can you apply from previous chapters that frame the "sociological" perspective of this topic?

Review of the Literature: Using the required number and types of sources required for this assignment (listed at the bottom of this page) provide a two-paragraph review regarding current information on this topic. In other words, what research exists relevant to this topic? What seems to be the general consensus on the topic? What are the opposing positions on this topic? You may use these same references for your actual research paper as well. This should be the majority of your proposal as the research will frame the direction of your paper.

Thesis Statement: After you have completed a preliminary review of scholarly sources on your topic, develop a strong thesis statement that you intend to guide the research in your final paper. Keep in mind that a thesis statement is not a question. Rather, it is a bold statement that you expect to support through your research.

Required Sources:

Include a reference page that lists at least six sources that you used to develop your proposal. Your reference list should include the following types of sources:

• At least two professional journal articles from the library databases. I would recommend that you use SOCINDEX.
• Your textbook
• A reputable website
• Other scholarly sources

References should be cited in the most recent version of the  American Psychological Association(APA) format.

Assignment Details:

1. This assignment must be typed double-spaced in a standard 10-12 size font.
2. The assignment should be 2 pages long. This does not include your reference page.
3. Grammar is important and will be evaluated in this assignment.
4. You will be required to use a total of six sources, listed above, for this assignment.
5. Cite sources in the APA format.