Sociological Critique

Purpose:  The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize you with the way sociologists conduct research and communicate their findings to the public.  By completing this assignment, you will learn how research is conducted and presented in sociological journals. You will also learn how to critique a journal article.  This assignment is worth a possible 75 points.

Directions: Using the College’s online databases, locate a peer-reviewed article that is based on a social issue or problem of interest to you.

A. Identify your social issue or problem.

1. Using the College’s online databases find a peer-reviewed article in sociological journals that is based on a sociological concept or topic of interest to you

 2. Read your article and identify the major components of the study (i.e., the Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Discussion)

• Write-Up: Refer to the Scientific Method located in chapter 2 of the text book. For the article you choose you are to analyze each component of the Scientific Method used in the article.  Specifically, you are required to do the following:

1. Briefly define the problem in your own words.

2. Give a brief overview of the literature cited discussing how the article relates to your sociological concept or topic of interest and what you have learned as a result of reading this research study. Additionally, your over view should include the following.

1.    What is the contribution of this research study to the field of sociology?
2.    In your opinion, do the research findings support the hypotheses or the research          

Question?  Explain.

•    How does this research impact you and the general public?

3. Identify the hypotheses or research questions. If hypotheses, identify the independent and the dependent variable (s).

4. Identify the research design used. You do not have to describe or go into detail just identify the design used.

5. Briefly present the conclusion.

6. Briefly identify two (2) ideas presented for further research. If two ideas are not presented you are to give a possible idea for further research.

7. The paper should be at minimum two pages and no more than 3 pages and in essay form.  The minimum pages do not include the title or reference page.

•  Criteria for Grading

You will need to use two sources to write this critique analysis.  The first source is your textbook.   (Use the current edition of the textbook that we are using for our course).  Your textbook will assist you in better understanding your article and writing your critique.

The second source is an article from a peer-reviewed journal published within the last five years that addresses a sociological concept or topic of interest to you.    The article you select to write your critique analysis must be data-driven. That is, the research study must incorporate the experimental or correlation research design.  Moreover, the article must have the major components of a research study (i.e., An Abstract, introduction, Methodology, Results, and Discussion sections) you must use the ASA Style manual or the APA Style Manual (7^th Edition) to write your paper. Here’s the format for writing your paper:

              1. Title page with the title in the middle of the page

       2.  Page numbering in the upper right corner beginning with 1 on the title page

              3. In-text citations in ASA or APA format (that means the citation follows either the quote or the  

                   Paraphrase of the information provided.     

       4.  A reference page at the end (called References) in ASA or APA format