SOC 382/AFS 352
RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS
SPRING 2008
W. DOANE

PROJECT PAPER GUIDELINES—Including interviews

Due Date:  Tuesday, April 29

Overview:
As noted in the earlier handout, the purpose of this assignment to give you an opportunity to undertake an in-depth exploration of an issue relevant to race and ethnic relations.  In other words, you were asked to raise a significant sociological question (or questions) about some aspect of race and ethnic relations, gather information, and reach a conclusion.  While the nature of individual projects may vary, the following guidelines should assist you in preparing your project paper.  Please feel free to consult with me if you have any questions.

Topic:
Please remember that I will be expecting you to submit a paper on the topic which you selected in your original project proposal.  While I will accept some minor evolution of your topic, wholesale changes will result in my not accepting your paper.  I also expect that you will either incorporate--or at least address--the issues raised in my comments on your proposal.

Developing a Thesis\Focal Issue:
After you have narrowed your topic and formulated a research question, you should begin to develop a focus (i.e, major issue, thesis) for your paper.  What is your paper about?  What point(s) are you going to attempt to make concerning your topic (i.e., How do you propose to answer your research question?  What is the major statement you want to make about racism, interracial marriages/relationships, differences in perceptions about racial issues, etc.?)?  This is perhaps the most important step in writing your paper, for your focal issue is the foundation of your paper, the structure around which the rest of your material is organized.  From then on, your approach to each bit of information is:  how does this relate to (support, extend, modify, etc.) my main point?  In essence, the purpose of your paper will be to develop your thesis, to provide a logical, well-organized presentation of evidence in order to convince your reader to accept your answer to the question(s) which you have raised.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS STEP CANNOT BE OVERSTATED.  IN MY EXPERIENCE, THE MAJOR PROBLEM WITH MOST UNDERGRADUATE PAPERS IS THE LACK OF A CLEAR FOCUS.

Organization:
A well-organized paper has an introduction which presents your thesis and provides a clear overview of the paper, a body in which information is presented to support or to extend your thesis, and a conclusion in which you summarize your arguments and explore their implications.  Throughout your paper, it is essential that each sentence/paragraph/section be connected to its neighbors.  Keep asking yourself:  What am I trying to say?  How does this sentence/paragraph contribute to my overall argument?  (HINT:  when writing your paper, it is useful to insert transitional sentences; that is, sentences which either (1) summarize or draw a conclusion for a paragraph/section, or (2) connect a paragraph/section to preceding material).

 As you plan your paper, I strongly recommend the use of one or more outlines to help you organize your thoughts.  The following outline is to help you with this process:

A. Introduction

State the purpose of your paper and introduce the issue(s) which you intend to discuss. Why do you consider this subject to be important?  What questions will you raise?  Provide your reader with some guideposts to direct him or her through your paper.  Be sure that your paper contains a good introduction.  Past experience has shown this to be a major shortcoming of most student papers.

B. Analysis

This should constitute the core of your presentation.  While there is no one "right" format for organizing the body of your paper, I strongly recommend the use of subheadings to set off different parts of your discussion (this helps organize your thoughts both for you and your reader).

 In addition, some of the following questions may help you in developing your paper.  Are there competing explanations in existing analyses of your core issue?  How can you explain the causes and/or effects of the problem?  How is this problem connected to other social issues?  Can you apply theories or ideas from class discussion or from your textbooks?  What explanations of the problem make the most sense to you?  [NOTE:  be sure that you analyze (i.e., explain) the issue.  When I evaluate your paper, I will be looking for evidence of critical thinking; that is, your analysis of the material.]  Use your research/interview material as evidence to support your positions.  Be sure to explain your reasoning.

C. Discussion and Conclusion

A good conclusion should summarize your analysis and reach some sort of a conclusion (i.e., what have you learned?  What are the implications of your findings for understanding race and ethnic relations)?  You should also attempt to leave your reader with some new ideas (e.g., what solutions or policy recommendations would you propose?  Can you offer any predictions for the future?).

Special Information for Interview-Based Papers—Please Read Carefully:

Unless you are interviewing public figures in their official capacity (e.g., district attorney, college president, director of security) you should use pseudonyms to preserve the privacy of your respondents.  Treat all interview material as confidential--do not discuss it with friends, etc.  I generally require students to meet with me to discuss research strategies and ethical issues.

Use interview material as data to support your thesis.  DO NOT provide long descriptive excerpts from your interviews.  Every quote should have a purpose in terms of contributing to your discussion. Look at how interview material is used in Racism Without Racists or other course readings.

Your paper should include a brief "methods" section following your introduction.  In this section, you should briefly discuss your subjects, your research strategy, how you conducted your interviews, and any difficulties which you encountered in doing your research.

While interviews will be your primary source of data, you may find it helpful to cite a few relevant sources.

Format (FOR ALL PAPERS):
Be certain that your paper conforms to the following guidelines:

Papers should be typewritten, double-spaced and neat.

Margins (top, bottom, and sides) should be no more than 1-1 1/2 inches.  A properly formatted paper should have between 24-28 lines per page.

If you use references, then your paper should contain an accurate list of references (this means that every source--including web pages--cited in the text of your paper should appear in the list of references). Information regarding the proper reference format for sociological papers is provided on a separate web page (click here for referencing information). Inaccurately referenced papers will be returned without a grade.

References and (especially) statistics should be as current as possible.  While you are encouraged to use internet resources, I also expect that you will cite relevant books and journal articles. Papers written using only a few web sites will receive lower grades.

Be sure that you use credible web sources, not blogs or opinion sites. Wikipedia is NOT an acceptable source (although you can sometimes use it to locate other references).

Use of quotations other than interview material should be kept to a minimum.  Long quotations (more than 4 lines) should be indented and single spaced.

Do not use the word "you" in scholarly writing.

Proofread your paper to ensure correct spelling and grammar.   Be sure that you have avoided plagiarism (material on plagiarism is provided on a separate web page--click here)! Papers containing significant amounts of plagiarized material will result in your receiving a failing grade for the course and may be subject to additional penalties.

Do not use a report folder (it is an extra expense for you and an inconvenience for me).  A staple will suffice.

Assistance:
Please feel free to consult with me at any time if you have questions, problems, or concerns regarding this assignment.  I am also willing to comment upon outlines or rough drafts.

Evaluation:
As noted in the syllabus, this assignment will comprise 25% of your grade for the course.  Evaluation (i.e., your grade) will be based upon the clarity of your presentation (i.e., organization, readability, and correct grammar), your use of resources, and the quality (depth, insightfulness, relevance to the course) of your analysis and discussion.  Please be sure to devote adequate time and space to this assignment (in most cases, papers should beat least 9-10 pages in length; short papers tend to lack depth).   Proofread your paper!  Spelling and grammar will affect your grade.

Late Papers/Extensions:
Extensions will be allowed only in extreme circumstances and by prior arrangement.  Late papers will be penalized!