For this assignment, design and propose a research design for an original empirical research project of your choice. You will select a research topic, review relevant literature, construct three hypotheses to be examined empirically, address concerns for scientific ethics and objectivity, and design a measurement instrument. When finished, you'll have carried out a study up to the point of gathering data.

The research proposal should be approximately 10-15 pages long. It contains five parts: (1) the research question; (2) the literature review; (3) hypothesis construction; (4) a discussion of objectivity, ethics, and sampling; and (5) the research instrument. The entire assignment is worth 20% of your final grade. It's due May 3.

 

Part one: the research question

In a brief section, introduce and briefly elaborate on your topic. Make your case for why it is important (e.g., it has important sociological implications, it's unaddressed by previous research, it's of personal concern to you). Conclude by stating an overarching research question that can motivate your writing in the rest of this assignment. Make clear what kind of analysis you will pursue: description, explanation, understanding, exploration.

 

Part two: the literature review

Find two sociological journal articles that contain theories relating to your research question. (One of these "articles" may be a chapter from Carter's Doing Sociology with Student CHIP; in that case, discuss the findings you arrived at by doing the analysis yourself.) Here's a list of acceptable sociology journals.

To search for articles successfully, start by looking for articles that examine the same concepts which underlie your research question. If you have two or more concepts (e.g., because you're investigating a causal relationship), then search for works that address these concepts in combination (e.g., articles theorizing the same relationship between concepts) or individually (e.g., articles where one or more of your concepts have been theorized as variables in different conceptual relationship). As you search, you may find that...

a. No one has previously researched your topic (very unlikely). If so, then search for research which may shed light on how your topic may have been addressed in the past.

b. There's an "infinite" amount of previous research on your topic (more likely). In this case, you'll need to make some decisions about narrowing your topic.

Read your two articles and write separate literature reviews that explain what each theorized and discovered about your topic. Don't write general "summaries." Instead, organize these reviews around how the researcher theorized relationships between concepts, how variables were indicated, how samples were obtained, and how research designs were constructed. You don't need to refer to all the information presented ineach article; cover only that which is relevant to your topic and research question. Finally, briefly relate what parts of the authors' studies have informed your research design (particularly if you reject how they studied the topic).

Citations and bibliography: Use proper citation style within the text and write a bibliography for the two articles according to the ASA Style Guide. You won't not get full credit on this assignment if your citation style is incorrect.

 

Part three: hypothesis construction

State three research hypotheses (H₁-H₃) that can be investigated empirically. Formulate these as potential or predicated relationships between concepts that speak to your research question and previous research on it. These hypotheses should be concrete enough that they can be tested.

Identify and operationalize the dependent variables (DV) and independent variables (IV) for each hypothesis. Likewise, for each hypothesis identify and operationalize two control variables that may affect the observed outcomes (e.g., demographic factors like gender, race, class, etc.) Organize your writing in the following format:

Tip: If you use the same variables for more than one hypothesis, just copy and paste the same material.

 

Part four: objectivity, ethics, sampling

In a brief essay, discuss potential problems with your scientific objectivity. What were your preconceived beliefs or prior knowledge about your area of study before you began this research? What beliefs and paradigms do you subscribe to regarding the people or topics you're going to study? Are there issues relating to your positionality vis-a-vis the population you're studying? How might any these affect your analysis or conclusions if you aren't careful? Address these and other potentially relevant questions of objectivity, where possible proposing mitigating steps you will take: having others administer a survey impersonally, creating specific criteria for observing your variables, having someone else measure the observations, etc..

In another essay, discuss potential ethical problems in your study. Could your subjects be harmed by your research, in carrying it out or after it is published? Who are the audiences for your research, and do they have "biased" concerns for the practical implications and policy recommendations that you might reach? Do larger questions of "studying up" vs. "studying down" affect this study? Address these and other possibly relevant questions of ethics.

In a third essay, explain how you'll design your sampling strategy and select participants to study. This part should read like a detailed set of instructions that someone else could follow and execute without your help. Your essay should cover the following questions: Who or what is your target population? What is the unit of analysis? What sampling method will you use, and how many stages will it require? Why use this sampling methodology as opposed to others that are available? If applicable, what is your sampling frame?

 

Part five: the measurement instrument

Design a measurement instrument based on one of the options below.

Survey research: Construct a brief questionnaire (about 15-20 questions) that addresses all aspects of the hypotheses you constructed in part three. A questionnaire should be ready for self-administration, so include clear instructions to your respondents about how to fill it out, complete it, and return it to the researcher. Pay careful attention to issues of design: sequence of questions, pros and cons of closed- vs. open-ended questions, question phrasing, exhaustive and mutually exclusive closed-ended responses, the overall convenience and attractiveness of the questionnaire, etc.

In-depth interviews: Construct an interview schedule that includes questions for all of your variables, as well as introductory comments to your respondents, explanations for answering questions, and follow-up questions or probes. Explain how you'll analyze the interviews to measure your variables if it isn't already self-evident. Address how you'll deal with potential interviewer effects (e.g., through your appearance, the time and place of the interview)..

Other methods (participant observation, experiments, content analysis, etc.): Describe the setting for gathering your data, write instructions for 20-25 explicit observations to be made, explain how you'll code and/or analyze these data to measure your variables, etc. Please consult with me if you choose one of these other methods.

Your measurement instrument will be evaluated for the validity and reliability of the observations it would produce. If you have good reasons for using a less than optimally valid or reliable measurement instrument (e.g., questionnaires aren't appropriate for your subjects), then state these reasons.

Finally, make sure your citations and references follow the conventions of the ASA Style Guide. Use the spell-check function on your word processing software! When finished, the end product should read like the first half of a (very explicit) research article, organized as follows:

 

Criteria for evaluation of research proposals

Here are some of the questions I will be asking as I evaluate your proposals:

1. Have you clearly operationalized your research question(s)? Is your proposal vague and insufficiently specific on key issues?

2. Have you succeeded in making the case that the study is worth doing? Does it have important implications for a social science audience? Does it have implications for public policy, social theory, or social change?

3. Have you selected the most appropriate research design and methodology to explore the specific research question(s)?

4. Will your research instrument be likely to generate data that provide answer(s) to your research question(s)?

5. Are you aware of what are likely to be the major methodological obstacles and ethical issues facing your study? Have you come up with a convincing case that these can be successfully resolved?