Sociology 419 - Culture and Society: Research Guide
Fall 2006
If you need additional help with finding scholarly articles for your assignment, you can go the Help Desk in the Information Commons; contact Ask a Librarian; or e-mail Mary Feeney at feeneym@u.library.arizona.edu or call at 621-4868.
Term Paper
Students will hand in a paper proposal (10%) and a final paper (30%). The student will choose a cultural phenomenon such as an object, symbol, or ritual, and compare its sociological meaning in two different societies, or across two different groups or two different time periods in one society. The paper will be completed in two stages. More detailed information and guidance on writing assignments will be provided at appropriate times. In brief, the three stages and deadlines are:
Term Paper Proposal (2-3 pages, due October 13): Statement of a comparative research question; explanation of its relationship to the concept of culture; hypotheses about how cultural meaning varies or is consistent across the two cases; annotated bibliography of at least 2 scholarly sources. Students will receive detailed feedback on their proposals.
Final Term Paper (minimum 10 pages, due December 8): Compare and contrast the two cases in relationship to your library research and theoretical readings from the course, to make a sociological argument about how and why cultural meanings vary.
Since you are required to consult at least two scholarly references, it is critical to understand the differences between scholarly and popular articles.
Take a look at the Popular vs. Scholarly Articles Guide to find out what the key differences are between magazine articles and academic journal articles.
Select Your Search Terms
Once you've decided on a topic for your paper, the first step is to pick your search terms.
Tips:
- Pull the keywords you'll use in your search from your topic. For example, my topic is: What have been the social or cultural responses to the arrival of major fast food companies in Asia or China ? So my search terms I would pull from my topic are: Fast food Asia Cultural
- What are some synonyms or alternative keywords?
- Link together your keywords with the word: AND. Link together synonyms or alternative keywords with the word: OR.
Use the table below to help define your search
Sample Research Question: What have been the social or cultural responses to the arrival of major fast food companies in Asia or China. |
Your research question: |
Key concepts for search: Fast food Asia cultural |
Your key concepts: |
Alternative search terms: McDonalds China social |
Alternative search terms: |
My basic search would be:
(fast food or macdonalds)) and (asia or china) and (cultur* or social or society)
When I consider other keywords, other searches might be:
Want help in setting up your search stategy see: Search Strategy Builder