Social Science: Writing a Research Paper

8/13/2019 Social Science: Writing a Research Paper

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HOW TO DO A SOCIOLOGY RESEARCH PAPER / REPORT.

Compiled by Julian Heidt

Developing a Hypothesis

Step One Do yo!" p"eli#ina"y "evie$

Let us suppose you have chosen to write a hypothesis about a topic covered in this chapter. Yourpreliminary review would consist of reading through the chapter.

Step T$o W"ite yo!" hypothesis

What you write might look like one of the items below, all of which are based on information contained

in this chapter. Look them over and note the characteristics that are common to all of them.

a%Cultural change is caused by a limited number of factors, and it is possible to identify which factor ismost significant at any particular time.

&%ocial change occurs as a result of the phenomenon of continuous progress, with each new society

building on the e!periences of its predecessors.

'% "ositive behaviour#modification programs are more effective than negative behaviour#modification

programs.

(%$o win grater influence in society, women must rely on themselves to break the patriarchy

e%$he reductionist theories of %arl &ar! cannot correctly e!plain social change because there are suchvast differences among human societies.

Check each e!ample to see which of the following criteria apply to all of the above e!amples.

It is $"itten in the )o"# o) a 'on'ise state#ent.

It "e)le'ts a position &eing ta*en &y the $"ite"

It is a"g!a&le+ an( a 'ont"a"y position 'an &e ta*en

It "e,!i"es "esea"'h to (ete"#ine $hethe" o" not it is t"!e.

It is a signi)i'ant #atte" to so'ial s'ientists.

It is a 'o#ple- notion+ (ealing $ith a n!#&e" o) va"ia&les.

It is not $"itten in the )i"st pe"son.

It 'an &e teste(


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Step th"ee Che'* yo!" hypothesis

'efore you finally settle on your hypothesis, check it against the characteristics of hypotheses, as listedabove, to see if it meets all the criteria re(uired of a hypothesis.

In'l!sive Lang!age

Step One I(enti)ying P"o&le#ati' A"eas

You might think that using inclusive language means avoiding the use of terms like )spokesman* or

)stewardess* while it is true that spokesperson and flight attendant$o"* as nongen(e" spe'i)i'

te"#s+ !sing in'l!sive lang!age #eans #!'h #o"e than this.

$he +merican "sychological +ssociation +"+- dentifies three ma/or areas that re(uire particular

attention. $o adhere to +"+ guidelines in their documentation of their studies, social scientists mustremove bias in the language they use to describe.

e.g.

disabilities

se!uality

race and ethnicity

Your first step, then, is to spot any language relating to the above three areas.

Step T$o Re'ognie $hy 'e"tain Lang!age 0ay 1e P"o&le#ati'

$he +"+ outline the principles involved in language use the three areas identified0

2. Disa&ilities

$he guiding principle for non#handicapping. Language is to maintain the integrity of individuals aswhole human beings by avoiding language that a- implies that a person as whole is disabled e.g.,

disabled person-, b- e(uates the person with their condition e.g., epileptics-, c- has superfluous

negative overtones e.g., stroke victim-, or d- is regarded as a slur e.g., cripple-.

3. Se-!ality

"roblems occur in language concerning lesbians, gay men, and bise!ual persons when language is toovague or concepts are poorly defined... 1irst, language may be ambiguous in reference, so that the

reader is not clear about its meaning or its inclusion and e!clusion criteria. econd, )homose!uality*

has been associated in the past with deviance, mental illness, and criminal behaviour, and thesenegative stereotypes may be perpetuated by biased language.


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4. Ra'e an( Ethni'ity

$he problems of racial2ethnic designation are twofold0 +uthors must determine when to report these

descriptions and how to refer to ethnics minority samples or other special interest groups. 3esearchers

must determine the e!tent to which their investigation should report real or potential racial2ethnicvariables are unimportant to the investigations, authors should state the basis for this assumption....

+uthors are encouraged to write in accordance with the principles of cultural relativism, that is,

perceiving, understanding, and writing about individuals in their own terms. $hus, indigenous self#designed nations are as important as designations by others, although authors must be cogni4ant of the

fact that members of different groups may disagree about their appropriate group designation and that

these designations may change over time.

Step Th"ee 5se In'l!sive 6o'a&!la"y an( Style

$he final step is to replace the problematic terms with more acceptable language. $hirty years ago,your high school5s rules might have said something like the following0

)+ student who has been absent should always bring a note of e!planation from his parents*

$his statement is regarded as biased language today. 6ot all students are male, and not all live with

both parents. nstead the wording might be changed to read as follows0

)+ student who has been absent should always bring a note of e!planation from his or her parent or

guardian.*

nclusive language can sometimes be a little more awkward to use, but the goal of inclusiveness

supercedes the goal of easy reading.

7nacceptable "referred 3eason

8isabled "erson "erson who has- a disability. "ut person first, not the

disability.

troke victim ndividual who had a stroke. 7se emotionally neutral

language.

e!ual preference e!ual orientation e!uality is a biological

function, not a social choice.

9ne hundred aboriginal people

were sampled.

9ne hundred +boriginal people

:; Cree,


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C"eating a S!"vey

Step One 7o"#!late a hypothesis 8see a&ove%

Step T$o Develop yo!" ,!estions

6ow you can develop a seires of (uestions that you will ask people to answer, for the purpose of

proving or disproving your hypothesis.

Sa#ple ,!estions

=. 8o you have a part#time /ob>

?. What is your level of academic performance>

8o this by imaginating the possible responses. 1or e!ample, @uestion < might be hard to answer if the

hours vary. t could be ad/usted to )How many hours a week do you work on average>* or )How manyhours did you work last week>* @uestion ? could also be hard to answer. t could be ad/usted to )What

was your overall average last semester>*

Step Th"ee C"eate #!ltiple'hoi'e ans$e"s )o" yo!" ,!estions

f you allow respondents to write in their own answers, you might not get usable results. 1or e!ample,some respondents might answer @uestion ? with a letter grade, while others might answer with a

percentage. $o eliminate this problem, you can create multiple choice answers. &ultiple choice

(uestions have two advantages0 =- they set ob/ective limits for the respondents5 answers to your(uestions, and


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St"!'t!"ing Yo!" So'ial S'ien'e Resea"'h Pape"

Your research paper will contain the following components0

$itle page

+bstract

ntroduction

Avidence main body-

Conclusion

mplications

3eferences

+ppendi! optional-

+uthor note

Step One C"eate yo!" int"o(!'tion

9ne of the most critical components of a research paper is an effective introduction. +s the nameimplies, this component introduces the reader to your topic by focusing attention on what you intend to

do in the paper. +fter reading the introduction, the reader should know a- what your paper will

e!amine, and b- what it will try to prove.

Step T$o P"esent yo!" evi(en'e 80ain &o(y%

Having e!plained to the reader what you are trying to do in your paper, now you must do it by

presenting the evidence you have discovered that pertain to your thesis. ome of the evidence available

may be contradictory, but you must be intellectually honest by presenting evidence that both supports

and challenges your thesis. You must not merely select the information that supports it and ignore theevidence that does not. $his cimponent will undoubtedly be the longest component to your paper,

probably taking up between E; F; B of the total report.

Step Th"ee Develop yo!" 'on'l!sion an( i#pli'ations

'y this point in your research paper, you will have introduced all then new evidence that you willpresent. n the balance of the paper, you will review what you have already presented, evaluate its

meaning, and asses its implications for further study.

Step 7o!" Co#plete a((itional 'o#ponents

+fter stages = to ? are finished, you should create a title page and write an abstract to appear at the

beginning of your paper. n addition, you should document your references and write an appendi!optional- and author note to appear at the end.


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Int"o(!'tion )o" a so'ial s'ien'e "esea"'h pape"

Component "urpose Guidelines

ntroduction 1ocuses the reader5s attention on

what you intend to accomplish in

the research paper.

8o not label.

8iscuss relatedbackground information

to provide conte!t for the

paper

8evelop key (uestionsthat arise regarding the

topic.

dentify problems fromyour list of key

(uestionsthat the paper

will try to address.

8efine the scope of the

investigation, by

identifying subheadings

if necessary.

"resent the thesis of your

paper what it is you aretrying to prove or

demonstrate.

A!plain how your paper

will contribute to agreater understanding of

the sub/ect area.


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The #ain &o(y o) a so'ial s'ien'e "esea"'h pape"


Avidence main body- 8emonstrates that you have

undertaken varied research and

assembled it into a logicalargument

8ivide the main body

into labeled sections.

ummari4e evidence

from ma/or sources.

dentify ma/or sources

from which evidencecomes.

dentify different

arguments,interpretations, or schools

of thought relating to the

sub/ect.

7se direct (uotes and

paraphrases fully

acknowledged by

citations- from ma/orsources to demonstrate

your understanding of

what is crucial material.

Create tables or figures

that summari4e statistical

evidence clearly andeconomically.

uggest factors that youconsider to be relevantwhen e!amining the

validity of each

argument, interpretation,

or school of


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Con'l!sions 9 I#pli'ations )o" a so'ial s'ien'e "esea"'h pape"


Conclusion ummari4es evidence presented

in the main body, and establishes

whether or not your thesis iscorrect.

'riefly review ma/or

pieces of evidence

presented in the mainbody.

dentify the key pieces of

evidence that support oroppose your thesis.

uggest whether the

weight of the evidencesupports or contradicts

your thesis.

uggest how your thesisneeds to be modified if

it does.

uggest reasons why

your thesis is incorrect if it is,.

mplications dentifies the significance of the

paper5s conclusions. 'roadens

the focus of the paper to suggestother factors that could be

considered in the future.

dentify how the paper5s

conclusions relate to the

social science disciplineit represents.

dentify other factors that

might be considered if

further studies on thesub/ect were to be

undertaken, and thepossible impact of those

factors on your

conclusions.

dentify any other factorsthat you think may give

the sub/ect of the paper

and its conclusions abroader scope for society

as a whole.


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Int"o(!'to"y se'tions o) a so'ial s'ien'e "epo"t.


$itle "age ummari4es the main idea of the

report Give the author5s name.

Give author5s academicinstitution.

Give full title.

"rovide running headabbreviated title of :;

characters ma!imum,

which is placed at the top

of each page in thereport-

+bstract +llows potential readers todecide if report is relevant to

their studies, through this briefbut comprehensive summary

'e accurate

create a self contained

paraphrase. 8o not usespecific (uotes from thereport.

"lace most importantinformation first.

8o not e!ceed =


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0ain 1o(y o) a so'ial s'ien'e "epo"t.


&ethod 8escribes in detail how the

e!periment or observation was

conducted.

8ivide into labelled

sections e.g., sub/ects 2

participants, materials,procedure-

8escribe what you did

and how you did it indetail, so that reader

could, if desired,

reproduce the e!perimentor observation.

3esults ummari4es the data obtainedand the method of analysis.

"rovide tables and

figures to display results

clearly and economically. "rovide statistics to help

reader understand your

analysis, and possibly to

arrive at alternativee!planations.

8iscussion Avaluates and interprets results

and their impact on your

hypothesis.

Clearly state whether

results support or

contradict your

hypothesis, eitherpartially or fully.

dentify the conclusionsyou have come to as a

result of your research.

6ote and e!plain any

similarities between yourresults and those of

others as described in

related readings in yourintroduction-

Comment on the degree

of importance of yourfindings.


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Con'l!sions 9 I#pli'ations )o" a so'ial s'ien'e "esea"'h pape".


3eferences "rovides comprehensive

summary of all works cited inthe previous components

"rovide in alphabetical

order all relevant detailsfor print sources.

+uthors-. 8ate. )+rticle

title.* &aga4ine2'ook$itle. "lace0 "ublisher.I

"rovide all relevant

details for electronicsources. $itle. 9nlineI.

+vaoane at

http022reference. 8ate ofretrieval.I

'e concise but not

e!haustive. 8o not add

references not cited in themanuscript.

+ppendi! "rovides additional material. nclude only material

about specific matters

that are so detailed thatthey might distract from

the body of the

manuscript.

nclude an appendi! onlyif it is necessary. $his

element is not are(uirement.

+uthor note Links the reader more fully withthe author.

"rovide universitydepartment or

organi4ation of author.

dentify sources offinancial support.

8isclose whether or not

this report is part of alarger study.
http://reference/http://reference/

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Social Science: Writing a Research Paper