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Research Essay Assignment
SOC 354 Gender Studies: Gender in a Global Context -Russell Kleinbach & Medina Aitieva
Description: This is a “term paper” based on research covering either a gender issue in Kyrgyz (or other) culture or one of the issues raised from in-class course readings. Overall, it should 1) identify a research question, 2) present existing literature on the matter, and 3) include the method used (assumptions, laws, cultural norms upon which you base your judgments and reasoning).
Length: 6 – 8 pages not including the references and the front page. All assignments must be typed, double-spaced; don’t forget to enter your name!
Organization: In order to help you in completing this assignment (which comprises 25% of your grade!), here are some steps that you are advised to take. Your completed research essay will be comprised of 2 parts: the literature review and methods section. On Week 5: you should come to class with a topic to investigate for your research essay. On Week 7: article review is due [graded] On Week 10: research methods section is due [graded] On Week 12: first draft is due [not graded] On Week 16: final version of the research essay with annotated bibliography is due [graded]
Your final paper must include an annotated bibliography for at least 6 sources: 2 academic journals, 2 books/book chapters, 1 newspaper article, and 1 Internet source. An annotated bibliography for each source should briefly describe what were the studies about, how were conducted, and what were the major results and the weaknesses of the studies. Each annotation should be no longer than 100 words, double-spaced.
Literature review (article review): In crafting your article review you will have completed a significant proportion of the literature review of your final product. For this assignment you must find a social science research article from a scholarly journal on your topic of interest. You will receive a zero on the assignment if your reference is not a social science research article. You can be sure you’ve selected a research article if the article includes a Methods section. If you are not sure you’ve selected an article that meets the criteria of this assignment, please ask us. You also should attach a copy of your article (copy the whole article – even references) to your assignment. Without it we cannot determine if your review is accurate. The copy you provided will be returned to you. Answer the following questions:
1. What is the research question? 2. Why is this study socially relevant? 3. Was this study based on a theoretical perspective or did the study seem to be testing a particular theory? 4. Were any hypotheses stated? 5. What are the findings of the study? Were the hypotheses supported by the study? 6. What suggestions does(do) the author(s) make for further research?
Research methods: This assignment is very flexible; you have several options to choose from. You may do only literature based research, a field experiment, participant observation, in-depth interviewing, surveys, etc. You must provide us with research tools if any were used (questionnaire, field notes, observation notes, etc.)
YOU MUST TELL US which option you choose on WEEK 7. Failure to do so will result in a zero for an assignment. In addition, if you change your mind about the option you choose, you must receive permission from us, failing to do so will result in a zero for the assignment.
Your methods section should answer the following questions:
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