SOC 3341 Paper 3: Final Paper

Grading Rubrics

(75 points possible; 15% of grade each)

Paper 3 should be in double-spaced, in 12 point font formatted with one-inch margins in a word document between 10-15 pages without counting the reference.

Each paper topic has to discuss with Dr. Hus with references following ASA style. Please check quick tips from ASA website if you don’t know how to use ASA style—http://www.asanet.org/sites/default/files/savvy/documents/teaching/pdfs/Quick_Tips_for_ASA_Style.pdf

There will be THREE papers (150 points; 30% totally) offered during the semester.  You will be required to write three papers. The first paper is worth 25 points, the second is worth 50 points, and the third is worth 75 points. The papers are graded in this way because as the course progresses and with guidance from my feedback, your writing and understanding of sociological content will develop. Therefore, we expect improvements on each paper. I will discuss the details of these papers well before they are due and will post instructions on the Blackboard website for this course (under “Assignments”).

***You must submit papers in Word (.doc) format via the Turnitin link on our Blackboard course site by 10 PM CST on the day they are due. Please ask me in advance if you are not sure how to submit a paper via the Turnitin link. Wrong format or late submission will cause an zero score according to the syllabus.

Paper 3:                                 75 points/ 15%

Grading Rubrics:

• 15 pts (3%): the paper was submit via Turnitin on Blackboard on time and complete (following the correct format and ASA style based on textbook topics be maximum 10-15 pages long without references). Also, the Turnitin report shows no plagiarism or cite the whole paragraph (less than 25%) from other scholarly works.
• 15 pts (3%): Each concept in the paper should be clearly defined and explain in your own words (have to come from class materials, so please put the page number from the textbook same as the KEY TERMS section behind each chapter with the page number in textbook). Please don’t cite definition from the dictionary or Wikipedia. Also, please use the original citation from book.
• 15 pts (3%): the paper is detailed and well-written with citations and reference included; no major spelling or grammatical errors (1 point deduction for any writing problems up to 15 points; no citations and reference takes 10 points off). Also, the references should has its own section and all references should come from Google Scholar during the current years (2010-2022). Please provide the comprehensive literature review without using unreliable sources.
• 15 pts (3%): Clearly explain how the concepts are used to make sense of the paper based on class materials and the literature review from current empirical studies to provide clear sociological perspective on your topic. 1-2 pages introduction with key terms. 3-4 pages are including literature review, not just summary of the literature. 4-5 pages describe the data and method, and 2-5 pages are the results and your answers to your unique research questions.
• 15 pts (3%): Developing an argument regarding a key issue for future research on your topic, i.e, income gap, population in poverty, interracial relationship, mental health, life expectancy etc. Use the assigned readings as the basis of the paper supplemented with a brief literature review.

***In your paper 3: final research paper, first introduce your research question build up from Paper 2, and then rephrase existing knowledge on the issue and then identify either a theoretical or an empirical gap in that knowledge based on 10-15 literature using Google Scholar to search empirical studies (between 2010-2021) or using the class materials in the textbook. Finally, describe your own data and try to present the results from your own calculation of the data similar as the research I have shown in the class. Then, the last section/page should be the discussion and the answers to your unique research question based on the Paper 2, and students can discuss future research or suggestions from the data to provide contribution to the field with your own conclusion.

In other words, this paper should look like a miniature research project containing introduction with research questions, a comprehensive literature review including 10-15 empirical studies (more literature will show more understandings of research questions), the data and method section, and the answers or solutions to the research questions including future steps and limitation of the research project to explore in the future research.

Paper 3 Section Details:

Section 1:  Overview of Research/Introduction

The first section (1-2 page) is to write an introduction that focuses on a substantive topic of your choice that is relevant to the class as we discussed in our first meeting. You have to build up from the other two papers with your own research questions and how this paper is related to our class to provide general guidance of your own research questions and hypotheses.

Section 2:  Comprehensive Literature Review using Google Scholar to search currently empirical studies  

This section should be based on one of the topics covered in the assigned readings or on a closely related subject in marriage and the family. Please cite using ASA style and make sure rephrase the in-text citation using your own words to avoid the plagiarism concerns. Students can review the Turnitin report after the first submission.

Literature Review:  The class readings should be the take-off point for a thorough literature review on your chosen topic.  The literature review should comprise approximately two-thirds of the paper 3 including over 10-15 empirical literature (3-4 pages; more literature included will have better scores or understandings of your research questions). Please use Google Scholar to search currently empirical studies since 2010. Also, please provide the reference following the ASA style. Less than 10 literature will cause an zero point of this section, and the textbook have to be included in the reference. However, the textbook doesn’t count for the minimum 10 literature.

Section 3:  Data and Method

Describing a Data to answer research questions:  Students have to describe what kind of data to use for answering research questions. Also, please provide detailed citation of data and the data collection processes same as we did in class PowerPoint slides or please review ASA tips for more details.

Describing a Research Method:  The second part of section 3 should be devoted to answer: What kind of data you use in this paper? Who would your subjects be?  Would you use a quantitative or a qualitative method? Define your own dependent and independent variables and how to measure these variables in your paper. You need to go into great details including how to calculate your data and present your own results (4-5 pages totally, and graph don’t count in this section).

Section 4:  Discussion and Results

This section is the discussion of your preliminary results of your research questions, and students have to discuss the strength and weakness of this research project. What’s the future steps to submit this paper for publication?

Data Suggestions: Please review United States Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/) or ICPSR websites.

Steps:

1. In this paper 3 (75 points, 15%), students have to include: 1) Introduction (1-2 pages) based on two previous papers; 2) Literature review (3-4 pages), 3) Data and methods (4-5 pages); 4) discussion and results/answers/ solutions (2-5 page) for the future research/contribution.
2. Please submit it via Turnitin on Blackboard before the deadline (
3. Please set up a meeting with me next week to discuss this paper to get more help if students need to have more guidance.