Soc 3307f Research Report

Overview Typed, double-spaced, 12 point font Length: pages Finished report should have a  Title page  Table of Contents  Abstract  Bibliography  Use ASA/ASR format found at:

Report Sections Introduction (1-2 paragraphs) Literature review (3-4 pages) Methodology (2-3 pages) Findings/Results (2-3 pages) Discussion and Conclusion (3-4 pages)

Title Page, Abstract, Table of Contents a.Title Page: The title page should include the title of the study; your name and student ID number, course section number and the date of submission. The title of the study should clearly reflect the goal of the research. b.Abstract: The abstract should briefly state the goals of your research, methodology, briefly outline your most important findings and the significance of your research. It should be no more than words (about half a page, single spaced). Much of the abstract can be drawn from the text of the report. You should probably write the abstract last. c.Table of Contents: The table of contents should list all of the major subheadings of the report and note the page numbers on which they first appear. Again, see Van Den Hoonaard Ch. 8 or Berg Ch. 12 for how to do this.

Introduction Brief introduction (2-3 papagraphs) to the area and to your own research problem. This section integrates a revision of your research problem statement submitted on Sept. 26th

Literature Review (3-4 pages) The literature review should discuss previous research done on the topic you have chosen and should rely mostly on recent academic journal articles. The utility of the literature review is that it situates your current research within the broader context of previous research. Summarize and discuss the research and findings described in the articles you have chosen following the guidelines given in class. You will need at least 5-7 relevant articles from sociological journals and/or book chapters that are directly related to sorts of themes that you are studying. Although previous studies may not have used YouTube videos as their source of data, there will be papers that focus on very similar themes to the ones you are examining. The goal here is to relate your topic to what has been previously published, show what is known and not known about the topic, and state how your study will further advance knowledge in that particular area.

Methodology (2-3 pages) A full description of procedures and strategies used in your research. It should include a brief description of the setting where research took place (i.e. describe what YouTube is and how it works) and a description of your sample: the type of sample, your selection strategy, and the number of videos chosen. Discuss in detail how the observational data for this study were collected, organized and analyzed. How did you select the appropriate videos for your study? What types of information did you look for and gather from the chosen videos? How did you organize and document your observations? How was your coding done? What analytic strategies were used?

Results (2-3 pages) This section will present your relevant findings and the results of your qualitative analysis. Include specific examples where necessary and make sure you include citations for the examples. In essence, your results section is a revision of your rough coding notes submitted on Nov. 14.

Discussion and conclusion (3-4 pages) Discuss your findings. How do your findings relate to previous research in the area? How has your research contributed to existing research? What are the implications related to your research? What could you have done differently? What directions could future research take?

Presentation (Nov. 28/Dec. 5) You will give a brief oral report of your most important discoveries (your findings) in class. Your talk should be no more than 10 minutes long and may include one or two powerpoint slides or handouts. Please make sure your talk is concise and to-the-point, and watch your time!

Examples Linkletter, Gordon, Dooley The Choking Game and YouTube Linkletter, Gordon, Dooley The Choking Game and YouTube Church YouTube Politics: YouChoose and Leadership Rhetoric… Church YouTube Politics: YouChoose and Leadership Rhetoric… Kelly, Feeley, Watson The image of you: constructing nursing identities... Kelly, Feeley, Watson The image of you: constructing nursing identities...