Formulate in your own mind, a research question. Basic research is motivated largely by your own curiosity. Some students in Sociology of Gender narrow and focus their topics by posing a research question or query for which they do not yet have a satisfactory answer. For example, you might want to research whether there are differences in perception of body image between the genders with regard to tattoos. Here are more examples: When mom starts dating, does dad stop visiting? What is the extent of the role of males in the reproductive health of women? Does the unemployment of minority men foster the formation of female-headed households? Is depression more prevalent among women than with men? Do most women prefer bad boy characteristics in their selection of a potential partner? Should breast-feeding in public become more socially acceptable? What are the opposition positions to same-sex marriage? What are some of the experiences of immigrant Caribbean women in navigating the health care system in the United States with regards to the BCG vaccine? What shape or form did the feminist movement take in bringing about women suffrage?
Guidelines for Your Term Paper
Research Question:
In one or two sentences, state your research question or thesis/topic sentences:
Introductory Paragraph:
Take a paragraph or two to make broad general statements about your topic or the problem to be addressed in your essay. For example: The psychological impact of relationship violence against women is far-reaching. In other words, state what your paper is all about. What are you concerned with in this paper?
Body of Paper:
The body of the paper is essentially an exposition. An exposition means to set forth in detail what you have encountered in your readings. By reading and citing the work of various authors, you are conducting a literature review. It is a creative assignment for you, and an opportunity for you to develop a critical argument of your own, and a unique attempt to answer your research question.
Conclusion:
Restate your research question in a different way, reminding the reader of what you set out to do and have accomplished. For example: This paper has shown that intimate relationship violence against women is a microcosm of a more structural institutional objectification of women.
Requirements:
You are to submit a double-spaced, 2-3 page paper consisting of at least 2 citations in the body of the paper and a reference list at the end of the paper. Only one citation may be from the class text. Other citations must be from scholarly, academic journal articles. Students are required to use the American Psychological Association APA citation style.