RESEARCH PROJECT
From the syllabus
RESEARCH PROJECT (essay and presentation)
Working in groups of 3 or 4 created in the third class, a research project will be undertaken, the starting point being one of the chapters in the text. Chapters will be assigned randomly. The key topic of the research project is the topic in the chapter as this pertains to social inequality and justice. In effect the topic is one of social inequality and justice thus the social inequality is to be explored in depth and how social justice is or can be realized thus exploring solutions to see inequality eradicated. Additional academic sociology sources (e.g. textbooks, academic journal articles, research institute papers) must be found and consulted, at least three (3) sources per group member, which complement, expand and reiterate chapter material in order to provide further in-depth information about the chapter topic and associated contents. You can assume that the audience has read the chapter prior to coming to class. The presentation is essentially presenting the additional research incorporating some of the chapter contents in a logical and cohesive manner. The presentation will not simply be a lecture style presentation of the topic. An interactive component will also be required which engages all the students in the class whereby material is exemplified in an experiential way. The presentation should be 45 minutes. A group essay is to be written on the topic, incorporating the information from the additional academic sociology sources with the chapter contents. In addition to the group essay, each group member is to submit an individual report which includes four parts: i) a detailed log of their contribution to this group work (a form will be supplied that must be completed); ii) an evaluation of yourself and of the other group members as to the distribution of the work and whether it was fair; iii) a personal reflection noting what you learned about yourself undertaking this project; and, iv) a personal reflection noting what you learned about the subject matter. The two written submissions are due one week after the presentation.
STEPS TO COMPLETE THIS PROJECT
1) Assignment of chapter/topic and groups: Done in class.
After being assigned the chapter/topic, your group will have a discussion of how your group will work together. This is VERY important so that the group works well together. Honesty and knowing how you work as a student is key here.
2) How your group will work together:
You should identify each other’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of group academic research projects, e.g. research abilities, writing, public speaking, leadership, organization, etc… You should take the opportunity to improve your skills, not simply fall back to what you feel you do best. No one group member is to be responsible for one aspect of this assignment, e.g. having only one group member do the writing is not acceptable. You also need to decide how your group is going to communicate – via email list, facebook, phone or ___?___, and decide on type (virtual or face to face) and frequency of meetings.
You should also share expectations about what and how the work will be accomplished. For example, if some groups members procrastinate or only tend to work best under pressure this may impact the whole group and be disadvantageous if there are others who wish to work on a consistent basis and not leave everything to the last minute.
Any challenges that may present themselves that would inhibit a group member from completing the work should be openly identified, e.g. erratic work schedules or family obligations. If a group member is unable to do something that was agreed upon, e.g. attend a meeting or find some piece of information, then a process should be agreed upon where that group member notifies the group or someone in the group of this instead of simply not showing up or not doing the work. If you drop the course, then please let your group members know you will no longer be in the group.
Each group member will keep an individual log of all aspects of the work they undertake on this project, and this will be submitted to me with the project research paper. This log will contain detailed information, including the times you worked on the project and what you were doing in this capacity, e.g. reading, research, writing, meeting, etc… You must also note the tasks that you are responsible for, how you completed them and when they were completed. As well, when any decisions are made either in a meeting or via some other form of communication, these should be noted and assigned a deadline for when agreed upon action is to be completed. Each time a task is designated for one or more group members to do, a deadline should be agreed upon, and it should be noted when the task is completed. It is expected that if a group member is to undertake a task then they are to complete it as the other group members expect.
After this group sharing and learning process, you can now begin the process of undertaking the necessary research to complete the project. Note as this is a 2nd year university course, the project is descriptive in nature, that is, focusing on the existing research that has been conducted by other academics in this area. Your personal opinions are not to be included; these can be included in the individual reflection component of the project. This description will need to include an historical perspective, finding information which explains the phenomena being explored from the past up to the present day. Focus nationally (Canada), if not regionally (Maritimes), provincially (NS) and locally (Halifax/Dartmouth). Do not focus on an international perspective unless there is a local or regional component and/or information is relevant to a local/Canadian context . However, you may wish to include some cross-national or cross-cultural comparisons but this is not required. At times data from the US may be more readily available or extensive than that from Canada. You need to be explicit in your paper and presentation if you are discussing other than Canadian information, explaining why non-Canadian material is relevant to the Canadian situation.
3) Initial research: Read the chapter and note down all the relevant concepts and ideas discussed as this pertains to the chapter topic. It is a good idea to create a framework of this information or an outline of the material that is discussed and consider what aspects the group wishes to focus one, what points or ideas should be further explored and thus researched.
4) Gather additional research: The library presentation at the beginning of the course will provide you with the skills needed to gather this information. The point of departure should be the references at the end of the chapter: The library academic journal databases should be consulted in order to find some of these references. As there are often dozens of references, abstracts should be consulted initially to determine what is the specific content of the respective reference. You are seeking material that is not too general but not too specific. You want materials that provide a deeper understanding of the chapter topic and the contents the group wishes to emphasize, and/or that reiterate and reinforce the information, and or that provide different perspectives or data arriving at the same conclusions, that provide relevant statistics to if possible Halifax or the region or province or that contrast to the local perspective. Sources of data in terms of statistics may include municipal or provincial governments (respective gov’t department(s) that deals with the issue under exploration) and federal government (Statistics Canada for example and respective gov’t department(s) that deals with the issue under exploration). If you are lacking some understanding of the chapter contents, then you will have to seek additional academic materials which further elaborates or explains the material. Each group member is responsible for finding at least three (3) relevant additional sources. A list of these sources must be provided to me two (2) weeks prior to the presentation.
5) Organize information: Start organizing the material you have gathered in some sort of logical order, figure out what pieces might be missing from the picture and find this information. You will most likely need to provide some initial definitions or explanations of relevant key concepts that you are exploring and these must be sociological definitions, not from general dictionaries. A good place to draw these definitions is from introductory sociology textbooks. REMEMBER: Every time you have acquired some information which is going to be used, either simply for ideas or definitions or theories or quotes, note down all the bibliographic information at this time since it will be a waste of time later to go looking for this info to add into your paper/presentation later and bibliography. .
6) Write a draft essay and simultaneously create an outline for presentation: Determine what aspects of the topic you want to present to the class, what are the key points you want the class to know and remember, creating a blueprint. You are not to present all the information from the essay or chapter and the additional sources as it will be impossible to do so. Determine a sequence of the material to be presented that makes logical sense. If necessary make sure to provide segways between parts of the presentation so the audience can follow the flow of information presented. Build in interactive components to the presentation, either throughout and or in the beginning and or at the end. Estimate the length of time required for each part of the presentation.
7) Create the presentation: Create a script of the presentation with all the necessary details of what will be said. Then determine how each group member will be incorporated into the presentation and assign respective parts. Always do a dry run of it prior to the actual presentation to make sure it falls within the required time allotted – 45 minutes - and to make sure the coordination and sequence works.
8) Review and complete the essay: An essay should begin with an introduction and end with a conclusion followed by a bibliography. The introduction should briefly inform the reader of the purpose of the essay, the topic under exploration, the aspects of the topic that will be discussed so that the reader knows what is forthcoming, and then ends with a segway to the next part. Any key concepts and respective definitions should be provided here. Next, if relevant, a brief history of the topic can be provided to give some background. Next, the aspects of the topic to be discussed are presented in a logical sequence, incorporating statistics if relevant. The conclusion is essentially the introduction rephrased adding some points of summary.
BREAKDOWN OF ASSESSMENT OF GROUP CHAPTER RESEARCH PROJECT
Research paper 84 points total
NOTE: Remember to refer to the syllabus for additional criteria regarding written work. Type and double space the submitted paper. This report is essentially a formal academic research paper, which will be much more comprehensive in the exploration of the topic than your presentation. You are NOT to present a report based on your presentation. Only use 1st person in the individual components of the report. The paper is to have a logical sequence to the information presented. Each section should segway into the next, not just jumping into another section or issue being discussed. It is advised you use section headings. You are to assume that the reader is NOT familiar with the topic. The information is NOT to be in point form. You must use complete full paragraphs & sentences. Proper use of English is to be used, avoid using contractions, abbreviations, ‘streetspeak’ or ‘techo’ speak, e.g. using the word “like” instead of “such as”, “things” (far too vague).
Annotated bibliography submission
8 points – additional academic sources
Contents:
3 points – introduction of topic and outline of what paper will discuss
10 points – historical context: what was taking place economically, politically, socially and culturally that resulted in the existence of the social inequality
6 points – inclusion of relevant definition of key concepts, theories, correct use of concepts
35 points – Analysis of social inequality, with inclusion of textbook chapter contents, inclusion of statistics if appropriate, discussion of further evidence to chapter contents and findings from other research conducted – the additional sources found, other dimensions or perspectives of the social inequality, connection to other social inequalities if relevant, policy discussion, discussion of how social inequality is to be addressed and transformed into social justice: (6 points chapter contents, 12 points additional research , 4 points local content, 8 points solutions, 5 points statistics)
4 points – conclusion – summary, future considerations
Total 58
Organization of paper:
2 point – 3rd person used throughout
2 points - Bibliography
4 points – Source citations
2 points – Organization, logical flow to material presented, section headings
Total 10
Individual component:
2 evaluation (self and each group member)
2 personal log
2 reflection learning about self
2 reflection learning about topic
Total 8
58 + 10 + 10 + 8 = 84 points.
Organize and include the following in the research project report:
Introduction: introduce the topic and provide an overview of what is to be discussed in the report, include any relevant definitions of concepts, and assumptions if any are being made.
Conclusion: summarize what your project was all about and what were some findings you arrived at about the topic.
Bibliography: list of materials used: academic books and/or journal articles, media, community organization, interviews, websites with date of retrieval, etc…, using a recognized style, e.g. APA or MLA – be consistent with this list as well as with your citation style throughout your paper.
Source citations: Citations throughout the research paper should be evident and frequent, and not simply for actual quotes used, as you are drawing upon other people’s research and not discussing your own ideas or opinions. If you do not undertake this citation, then you are in effect plagiarizing other people’s work, and penalties will be applied in the assessment of the paper.
Personal reflection: what did you learn about yourself in undertaking this project and what did you learn about the subject matter.
Evaluation of Contribution with personal log: Assess your contribution and that of each of the other group members to this project, essentially evaluating yourself and the others, speaking to whether there was a relative equal division of labour in this project. Attach your personal log to this.
Presentation Assessment Breakdown – 35 points total
This assessment will include peer review assessment – a form will be completed by each student as they watch a presentation.
Group component – 15 points
Content – 5 points considering following areas including but not limited to: demonstrating having done research, relevancy of material presented, demonstrating comprehension of material, ability to convey the material to audience in understandable way and determining students comprehension, logical flow to material presented, providing definitions of relevant concepts and explanations
Style – 5 points considering factors including introducing topic, group members and what presentation will include, coordination, providing segway in between different sections covered of topic and in between switching from one group member to the next, balanced division of work between group members, visual aids used and usefulness of these, providing conclusion/summary
5 points – Activity: engaging the class, relevant to topic and areas being discussed, creativity, useful in learning/understanding/reinforcing material
Individual component – 20 points
Style – 10 points: articulation, good volume of voice, good pace of speaking, minimal reading, if reading then paraphrasing material read, making sufficient eye contact with audience
Content – 10 points coverage of key areas, demonstrating understanding of areas and having done additional research
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