Sociology Reflective Paper – Literature

Assignment Description: For this assignment, you will report and analyze the findings of your research during the semester. Your paper should: (a) report the findings from your analyzed interviews; (b) integrate those findings with scholarly sources on the topic; (c) apply a theory or concept to create an analysis of the findings, and (d) make recommendations for CCEC. This should produce an analysis of the issue that is supported by evidence from your own research and by the existing literature. Identify key themes in your findings, and then compare your own research findings to the existing literature. Do your findings support the existing knowledge base on this topic? Did your research produce any new insights not found in the existing literature? Your paper should also include a reflective, thoughtful analysis of your research experience.

The paper should follow the structure below:1. Introduction and Background (15 marks; approximately 1-2 single-spaced pages). This section should include: a. A brief introduction to the topic that grabs the reader’s attention and clearly shows the importance of the issue (approximately 1 paragraph)b. A brief paragraph that describes what your paper will do (overview of your paper and its major sections)c. Finally a brief discussion of your key terms and guiding theory and/or concept(s), citing key literature. A discussion of the research literature on this topic. It is okay to “recycle” content from your literature review, but you must correct any mistakes / incorporate feedback received on the earlier version. This will be the bulk of section 1 of your paper. What is the current state of knowledge on this topic? .

Further Description

What have previous studies found? Cite at least 5 scholarly sources (books, scholarly journal articles, and perhaps a source of reliable official statistics if applicable). The more sources you read, the stronger your paper will be! When possible, try to focus on books and articles that are “close to home” (e.g., Canada or other “western” countries) and recent (past 10 years, unless it is a key theoretical text or source of a key concept). You are encouraged to engage critically with the literature and identify strengths/gaps/outstanding questions. You should also justify the importance of doing research on this topic. Why is research needed on this topic?2. Methods (10 marks; approximately 1 single-spaced page).

This section includes a description of the methods you used to carry out this project (e.g., philosophy and approach, collaboration with partner organization, recruitment, interviewing, coding method, analysis, etc.) Begin with your philosophy of science, then briefly discuss your methodological framework (e.g., Grounded Theory, Case Study, etc.). Cite references to show that you’ve done background reading on your philosophy and methodology. Then discuss your methods – what you actually did. Be sure to discuss, using concrete examples, how your coding contributed to your findings.

In summary

Refer to key literature from the qualitative methods field – e.g., literature on interviewing, coding, etc. Helpful references are listed on the last slide of each class lecture. Other helpful sources include: scholarly journals (e.g., International Journal of Qualitative Methods; Qualitative Research; Qualitative Inquiry) and qualitative methods textbooks, which can be found in the library. I would like to see at least 5 scholarly sources cited in the methods section.

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