Statistical Sociology – Research Paper Proposal
OBJECTIVE & OVERVIEW: The purpose of this assignment is to apply the skills learned throughout the semester to a social science research topic of interest to you. For this assignment, you will propose a research project you have designed yourself. You must choose your own research topic, devise a researchable research question, and then use the latter to structure your research proposal. The study you propose can be either quantitative or qualitative (but not both), and you must propose to collect your own data and design your own measures (rather than using available data, like the Canadian census, or established measures, like a standard depression inventory). Assume for the purposes of the research proposal that you have a period of up to three years in which to conduct your study. You are required to consult the literature for this proposal but you are not required to actually collect or analyze any data.
EVALUATION: Your project will be graded according to the specification of the research question(s) and the appropriateness, quality, and clarity of the proposed research methodology. Be as detailed and precise as possible, in line with the guidelines. As you design your study, ask yourself: If this study were undertaken, how successfully would it answer the research question(s) it poses? How well does it meet the standards for valid social science research?
PART 1 & PART 2: The research proposal assignment will be divided into two parts. Details regarding Part 1 (10% of your final grade) are provided below. Details for Part 2 (20% of your final grade) will be provided closer to the due date. As you draft Part 2, you must follow any instructions and implement any corrections suggested by the TA who has marked Part 1.
FORMAT FOR PART 1: Include the following sections in your assignment, which should be 4-5 double-spaced pages in length, with page numbers clearly labelled. Before drafting each section, review the relevant textbook and lecture materials. You may order the sections as you wish, but please use bold headers for each section.
