Research Report
Intro to Sociology
Grady Lowery, Fall, 2015
100 points possible
Your final report in this class includes research about a major social event or trend that you choose.
Please read the instructions and email specific questions you have to the instructor.
Objective A: Students will develop critical thinking skills by researching, analyzing and writing
about a social trend or event that has affected their lives.
Objective B: Students will practice using sociological concepts and theories to analyze a macro level
social event or trend and how the event or trend affected them and their family on the micro level.
Research:
1. Choose one macro level social trend or event that has affected your life or your ancestor’s
lives directly. The event or trend should be related to one of these topics: social deviance or
control, social stratification or solidarity, globalization. Consult these sources for ideas about
trends and events:
Talk with family members or the instructor to get ideas about what major events or trends
have affected your family
Textbook chapters 6, 7, 9 or timelines on the inside back cover of your book
NSCC library online databases John E. Mayfield Library | Nashville State Community
College – Nashville, TN
o America’s Historical Newspapers
o American History in Video (click on their New Site)
o Historical New York Times
o In First Person
o Issues and Controversies in American History
o World History in Video (click on their New Site)
2. Locate at least 2 scholarly sources of information about this trend or event, read and take notes
on them, and record the citation in works cited document. Scholarly sources are more
objective factual studies of social topics that are conducted using scientific methods. Objective
sources should be written by individuals who have no personal interest in the topic. Editorials,
personal accounts or autobiographies are not appropriate. To locate scholarly sources, follow the
directions below or use Google Scholar.
Use the Mayfield library’s online databases, go to the NSCC website and click on
“Academics”. Then look at the list on the right and click on “Library”. Scroll down to the list
of “Database Collections”.
If your event or trend is recent (within the last 12 years), scroll down to the list of databases
and click on “General Topics”. I recommend these databases: EBSCO, Social Sciences Full
Text
When you search for articles to use in your Research Report, you will need to go to EBSCOhost
through the Library’s database. The instructions for it are in the instructions for the Research Report.
The search page will look something like the information below. Type key words that you want
information about in the boxes at the top, and scroll down to the box labeled "Limit your results" and
click on "Full Text" and "Scholarly (peer reviewed) Journals". These will help you to find the types
of articles that you need for the report.
Use the table below as a guide to determine if the articles you find are scholarly. An article should
meet most of the criteria listed in the column under “Scholarly Sources”.
Scholarly Sources = Professional Journals & their
Websites
written or reviewed by experts in the discipline
written for researchers or practitioners in a
particular discipline
professional society or organization or university
whose goal is to contribute to scientific
understanding
provide in-depth analysis of topic or report of
original research
uses technical language which may not be
understood by lay person
printed in black and white
illustrations include graphs and tables
articles are usually long
almost always include a list of sources consulted
Please email me when you have questions about the research or how to search for it. Happy
hunting.
Observation: Read the 2 sources that you found and take
notes on them in your own handwriting or type them into a
document. You will attach these notes to the end of your
report. Include details about at least 3 of the following items:
first-hand, eye-witness stories that provide facts about the trend or event
statistical facts about the trend or event
arguments about the causes of the trend or event
arguments about how individuals or institutions should react to its effects
arguments about how and what to change in society to prevent it in the future
Report Format:
Use Microsoft Word (.doc) or convert the document to .rtf. I CANNOT open documents
from a program in the "cloud" such as google doc, pages, or anything else. If I cannot open
it, I cannot grade it. You receive 0 points.
Use 1-inch margins, double-spacing between the lines, 12-point font.
Type your name, topic of the report, date & course section number on the top left side of the
first page.
Questions in the “Report Content” sections A-D should be answered in 3-4 typed pages.
Because this is a scientific report and NOT an essay, you can simply respond to each
question as it appears in the instructions, and write in full sentences to be sure that your
meaning is clear.
Avoid using any creative or flowery descriptions, or personal biases or opinions (unless they
are requested).
If you copy something that someone else writes or says, use quotation marks “” around the
quote, cite the source (search Purdue OWL).
You should include a separate page with bibliographic citations of the sources of information
that you consulted for this report. Be sure to include these sources: textbook, books, articles,
and websites.
Report Content:
A. Introduction: Use at least 3 concepts from chapters 6, 7, or 9 when you
discuss your topic & type the concepts in bold letters.
What trend or event did you research?
What social changes occurred that are related to this trend or event?
Why did you choose this trend or event? How did/does it affect you or your family?
How have you or your ancestors reacted to it?
Examine the timeline in the back of your textbook (after page 467). What major social
milestones occurred in the 100 years before the event or trend that you studied?
What social milestones might have caused the event or trend that you studied?
Examine the timeline and the items related to technology. What inventions in technology
occurred in the 100 years before the event or trend that you studied?
How might these inventions have contributed to the change?
B. Analysis of Scholarly Research: Use at least 3 concepts from chapter 2 to
analyze the articles you found and bold the concepts when you type them.
Respond to the following questions.
o
o
o
o
What did you learn from the scholarly sources that you read?
How did the researchers/authors of each article collect their data? What methods did
they use?
What was the hypothesis or research question that each article posed?
What was the conclusion of each article?
C. Deductions about Causes: Examine Chapters 1, 6, 7, and 9, and choose
ONE of the theories. Think like a sociologist. DO NOT use a psychological or
biological perspective.
What theory explains the causes of the trend or event that you researched? Use at least 3
underlined concepts or bullet points from the box with the theory to explain the causes of
the trend or event . Bold the concepts and theory name in your report.
What facts did you find in your objective sources that support this explanation?
D. Conclusion: Think like a sociologist and use your research about
the trend or event to describe…
What are possible ways to prepare for it or to avoid it in the future?
What is the best way for people in U.S. society to deal with this trend or event
in the future?
Give specific examples that support your argument.
E. Works Cited: This list should include all of the sources that you located and
used in this report. You can use MLA or APA style, or anything else that you
are familiar with. Again, refer to Purdue OWL.
F. Notes on Articles: Can be hand-written or typed. I will not grade the
assignment unless it has the work-cited page and notes about the articles
attached.
Grading Hints: Before you submit your report, read it out loud to yourself
and make corrections based on my grading criteria.
This assignment is worth 100 points. I will score your report using the following criteria…
location and discussion of 2 appropriate scholarly sources of information
complete responses to questions with college level English skills
support for ideas with valid social facts
demonstration of critical thinking skills
correct use of concepts from chapters 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, and type them in bold letters. It
is not enough to simply insert the concepts into a sentence. You must use them in a way that
fits their meaning within the sentence.
