Sociology 3320 - Deviance

                  GUIDELINES FOR TERM PROJECTS

1.   Build as many strong "bridges" as you can between whatever you are focusing on and course materials (readings, lectures, etc.).  (You do not need to do any outside reading unless we have not covered your topic.)

2.   Your paper should be based on a field observation, an interview, or your own field study of something, rather than being the traditional comparison of books grabbed from the library.

3.   The subject must have something to do with deviance.

4.   The topic should be as personally interesting to you as possible.

(Note: The above appear in the order of my sense of first priorities.)

     (Note: If you do not center your paper on a "field experience", THE PAPER WILL NOT COUNT !!!)

Examples:

You may wish to write about a visit to a type of law enforcement or correction setting you have never experienced before, or some other type of an agency dealing with deviance.  One good way to organize such a paper is to write down your expectations before you make your visit and then write up your paper in the form of evaluations which draw on course materials of how reality differed from your preconceived notions.

You might wish to conduct your own small research project into delinquency.  For example, you might want to survey attitudes of deviant compared to social control agents.

You may wish to write a paper on the effect of some educational process on people who are working in the occupational area you plan to enter.  For example, you might want to talk to a violence prevention counselor in a woman's shelter and try to relate her remarks to course materials. 

Format:

It is not necessary that the paper be longer than 5-6 typewritten (or the hand-written equivalent) pages to get full credit on the project; longer ones are fine, but will not get any special points for length.  Do not feel as if you must limit yourself to five pages if you really get into the topic.

Your paper should have footnotes and a bibliography; however, the particular style is up to you.  If in doubt, cite sources too often rather than take a chance on plagiarism.  You do not have to cite lectures.

A few spelling errors or errors in grammar or composition will not cause points to be taken off.  However, if there are many such errors, I reserve the right to take off one or two letter grades so you may want to have someone you respect academically proofread your paper.

You should have a brief discussion of the limitations of your methodology and the limits on the generalizability of your results.  Tell how you would redo the study to make it better if you had all the time and money you needed.

Don't forget to include the SOCIOLOGY!  For example, discuss the effects of traditional sociological variables like race, socioeconomic status, gender, age, rural-urban differences, etc. where appropriate.

If you interview or question people, be sure to tell us who -- i.e., what is their race, age, gender, educational background, etc.?  And under what circumstances did the interview take place?

Finally, be creative since you have a rare chance to do so, and I hope you find you enjoy your project.

NOTE: THE STUDENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PREPARING A SECOND COPY OF THEIR OWN PAPER IN THE FORM OF A HARD COPY OR ON DISKETTE.  KEEP THAT COPY IN CASE THE ORIGINAL COPY BECOMES LOST OR DAMAGED.

SOCIOLOGY 3320

 DEVIANCE TERM PROJECT

ELEMENTS OF EVALUATION

OBJECTIVE:

Paper centered on a "field experience

Something to do with deviance.

Be creative                                             60 points

4-5 typewritten (or equivalent)

May be longer but not necessary                          5 points

Should have specific references

to course reading (page numbers) and

lectures                                                 5 points

For interviews or studies on someone, include

sociological descriptions (race, age, educational

background, sex, etc.) and condition under which

they were interviewed. Include sociological variables

in paper sec, race, SES, education, rural-urban, age,

etc.)                                                    5 points

Should include a brief discussion of the limitations     5 points

of the methods and the generalizability of the

findings

Build as many strong "bridges" as you can between

whatever you are focusing on and course materials

(readings, lectures, etc.) You do not need to do any

outside reading unless we have not covered your topic.    20 points

                                          TOTAL POINTS      100