Senior Research Project
Introduction:
Through this assignment, you will gain hands-on experience with the research and
writing process. Instead of learning facts from lecture or a textbook, this project will give
you the experience of actually conducting social research. Furthermore, you will be given
the opportunity to conceptualize and analyze a research project from beginning to end.
The goal of this project is not only to increase your understanding of the research process
but to also provide you with a solid example of your written work that can be used when
applying to graduate school programs.
Note: Any failure to follow the instructions below will result in a lower grade in this
course.
Instructions:
1. The paper must be typed, using standard double-spacing, 1” standard margins on
BOTH sides and top and bottom, and 12 pt font of Times New Roman or similar
font style. A minimum length for the paper is 30 pages (40 pages max.), exclusive
of the cover page and bibliography.
2. A title/cover page is REQUIRED for this paper. The relevant information should
include the title of the paper, your name, course number and title, and date.
Furthermore, all pages must be numbered.
3. EXCESSIVE typographical, grammatical, and/or spelling errors will result in a
lower grade for this assignment. Furthermore, this assignment must be in
American Sociological Association format (ASA). The style guide can be
purchased at the BYUI bookstore for your reading pleasure.
4. Plagiarism must be avoided! Proper citation of your sources in ASA format will
help deter the temptation to plagiarize the work of others. If plagiarism is
discovered, the student may fail the course.
5. Your paper must also include a bibliography in ASA format which lists all of the
sources you have analyzed and included in your research project. Failure to
follow ASA format will result in a loss of points on this project. Note: the cover
page and bibliography are not included in the thirty pages of text that are
required. Be sure to type thirty full pages that present your group’s research.
Structure of the Paper:
Tips:
1. Don’t use "I" when writing your group research paper. Researchers seldom, if
ever use "I" in research writing. Use instead: the researcher(s).
2. Do not include the title of the article in the body of your literature review. Cite
the researcher (e.g. Meeker (2004) discovered ….) not the title of the article.
3. Each of the following sections should be bold and centered in the same order
without the numbers (of course) in your paper.
Outline:
1. Introduction (3-4 pages approx.)
a. This section of your paper should grab the readers’interest. What is the
topic of your research? Why is this an important topic in which to do
research? What events got the researcher interested in the topic? Make
the reader want to continue reading your work.
2. Literature Review (10-11 pages approx.)
a. This section consists of the research articles that you have analyzed for
your project. Use the researchers’ names instead of the title of the
articles. When possible, talk about the findings of similar articles in
the same section of your literature review to show that you can analyze
the findings of multiple articles in an efficient manner.
3. Methodology (5-6 pages approx.)
a. This section should follow the outline below with subheadings on the
left margin and bolded (minus the roman numerals).
i. Variables
1. Describe your dependent variable and your independent
variables. Be sure to identify the multiple variables that
comprise your dependent variable and include the
appropriate table discussed in class. Include the
questions asked and the responses available to
participants who responded to the questions you are
using for your dependent/independent variables.
ii. Hypotheses
1. Simply list (1. 2. 3.) your three (minimum) hypotheses
in a clear manner so the reader can determine the
direction of the relationship that you are suggesting.
iii. Study participants
1. What were the characteristics of your sample? This will
be descriptive statistics that describe the characteristics
of your sample.
iv. Sample Selection
1. How was your sample selected?
2. Describe how the GSS goes about getting their
representative sample of the US population for their
surveys.
v. Survey Instrument
1. How many questions did your survey consist of? What
types of questions? What topics did they deal with?
2. Describe the characteristics of the GSS survey.
vi. Survey Administration
1. How was the GSS conducted?
2. Mention that you’ll be conducting secondary analysis
on info gathered from the GSS.
4. Data Analysis (5-6 pages approx.)
a. In this section of your research you will describe the findings for each
of your three hypotheses.
b. In each paragraph you will report the proper statistics that explain the
outcome of your multiple regression analysis. Be sure to include the
appropriate graphs that will be discussed in class.
c. This section involves reporting of the data. Refrain from interpreting
this information until the discussion section.
5. Discussion (5-6 pages approx.)
a. This section should follow the outline below with subheadings on the
left margin and bolded
i. Hypotheses
1. Analyze the findings from each of your hypotheses.
Determine whether it was or was not supported
according to your multiple regression analysis.
ii. Limitations
1. What were the limitations of your study? (e.g. sample
size, sample selection, wording problems etc.)
2. Be sure to mention the inherent shortcomings of
multiple regression analysis (quantitative analysis) .
iii. Future Research
1. What should researchers investigate in future studies?
What research should be done to better understand your
topic or area of interest?
GOOD LUCK! Remember to keep in mind the reader (me in this case) when you are
writing. Personally, I don’t enjoy a lot of technical jargon. Thoroughly discuss your work
in your own words using ASA format when needed and enjoy the experience.
Schedule and Deadlines
September 7th
September 14th
September 21st
September 28th
October 5th
October 12th
October 19th
October 26th
November 2nd
November 9th
November 16th
November 23rd
November 30th
December 7th
December 14th
December 16th
Choose a topic and present it in class (informal)
Intro 1st Draft
Be in the process of compiling your literature review
Literature Review 1st draft, Intro 2 draft
Introduction 3rd draft
Literature Review 2nd draft
Methods 1st draft
Lit. Review 3rd draft
Methods 2nd draft
Data Analysis 1st draft
Methods 3rd draft
NO CLASS – HAPPY TURKEY DAY
Discussion 1st draft, Data Analysis 2nd draft
Discussion 2nd draft, Data Analysis 3rd draft
Discussion 3rd draft
FINAL PAPER DUE!