SOC101: Week 1 Assignment

SOC101: Week 1 Assignment

SOC101: Week 1 Assignment

Each week day morning, you might purchase a caffeinated beverage from your favorite coffee shop. As you wait to receive your order, you notice some customers adding cream and/or sugar to their coffee. You read somewhere that 65% of coffee drinkers add cream and/or sugar. How was that fact determined? Sociologists use a variety of research methods – surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, content analysis, and so forth when they study human behavior.

In this assignment, you will select a research method for doing a small sociological research study. For example, you might use a 10-question survey to determine attitudes about texting while driving. You will conduct your research and summarize your findings.

Assignment Details:
Perform the following tasks:

· Complete the reading assignment and the interactive lesson before attempting this assignment.

· Attend the instructor session to prepare for this assignment.

· To complete this assignment:

· Choose one of the following methods to conduct research for a sociological purpose:

· Survey, Interview, Focus Group, Observation, or other method

· Note: Review Week 1 readings on the intent of sociological research studies.

· Use the worksheet to track your research.

· Identify the research method that you will use.

· In a 50-word paragraph, write your survey, questions, or other indications on the topic that you are researching.

· Write a 200-250 word summary of your research findings; In addition, summarize what your learned about the research method used.

· Check your written draft against unintended plagiarism.

· Ensure that your responses are free of spelling and grammatical errors.

· Use the proper naming convention when saving your assignment:

· SOC101_wk1_assn_jsmith_mmddyyy

· Submit your assignment for grading.

Grading:

Grading Criteria

Possible Points

Points Achieved

Indicated clearly which research method was used.

10

Stated clearly the sociological purpose of the brief research study with support from the textbook.

20

Summarized the findings of the research method used and any other learning about this research method.

30

Total Possible Points

60

Assignment Worksheet:

1. Identify the research method used.

2. In a 50-word paragraph, write your survey, questions, or other indications on the topic that you are researching and explain the sociological purpose of your brief research study.

3. Write a 200-250 word summary of your research findings. In addition, summarize what your learned about the research method used.

Brief Research Study

1. Identify the research method used.

[Write your response here.]

2. In a 50-word paragraph, write your survey, questions, or other indications on the topic that you are researching. Be sure to explain the sociological purpose of your brief research study.

[Write your response here.]

3. Write a 200-250 word summary of your research findings. In addition, summarize what your learned about the research method used.

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument SOC101: Week 1 Assignment