Final Empirical Research Paper – DUE BY , April 24th!
Your final paper will consist of a 10-15 page report of your original research (this page minimum does not include the references page or appendixes). You must follow the traditional journal format, which includes the following sections: 1) Title page 2) Abstract, 3) Introduction, 4) Literature review, 5) Methodology, 6) Findings, 7) Conclusion, 8) Works Cited Page, and 9) any Appendices (questionnaire). This is where you integrate all of your papers. However, the final paper should not simply be just a “copy and paste” of previous assignments. You need to read my notes from earlier submissions and make corrections. Below is a general outline you should follow for your paper. Each section should start on a new page with the appropriate heading.
Title Page
See the following link for an example of how your title page should look in APA format. You do not need a running head.
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/title-pageLinks to an external site.
Abstract 1-2 paragraph(s)
The second page of your paper should be your abstract. If you presented a poster, your abstract should be complete. If not, begin with your topic and motivation for the topic. The abstract discusses the problem or research question, then briefly discusses your approach, methodology (data generation method), key findings, and conclusions. The following website provides a good guide and sample. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-write-an-abstract-in-sociology-4126746Links to an external site.
Introduction 1-2 page(s)
Begin with your rationale (Writing Assignment 1). Perhaps you start your essay with a hook, or you can use a vignette from an interview or an interesting statistic, or you can identify a gap in the field. Remember that this sets up why your project is important. During your literature review, you may have found some information to strengthen the argument of why your project is important. Now, you can integrate that information into your rationale.
Near the end of your introduction/rationale, you should explicitly state your research question (note that this differs from Writing Assignment 1, where you stated your research question first). In other words, for the research paper, the rationale should build to your research question, so it should come somewhere near the end of the introduction section. Do not just leave your research question as a sentence all alone. Integrate it into a paragraph. Possible titles for this first section might be “Introduction,” “Purpose of the Study,” “Research Question,” or “Statement of the Problem.”
Literature Review 3-4 pages
Next, frame and clarify your study in terms of existing theory and research. What have other scholars written about your research topic? This section should be based on your literature review paper. If you did not cite peer-reviewed academic journals for that assignment, you will need to do some research and rewrite this section. Elaborate on what the existing literature says regarding your research question. You need at least (10) journal articles (peer-reviewed) or a combination of two (2) books and eight (8) articles. While you should have a lot of in-text citations in this section of your paper, your reference page does not come at the end of this section. It needs to be placed after the conclusion of your entire paper. Possible titles for this section might be “Background,” “Conceptual Framework,” “Literature Review,” “Theoretical Framework,” or “Theory.”
Methodology 2-3 pages
You should include your research design (based on Writing Assignment 3) here. Tell the reader how you conducted your study. Unlike the abstract and the introduction, this is the section where you need to be more specific about your methodology. How were the surveys administered—through in-person, online, email, or text channels? What was the sample size—how many respondents participated? What types of questions did you ask? While you do not want to list all of your survey questions within the body of your paper, you may want to summarize a few questions or the topics they addressed. So, instead of listing your questions, discuss how you conceptualized, measured, and defined your independent and dependent variables.
In addition, you should discuss how respondents were recruited for the survey and what sampling process was utilized. Was it a convenience sample? Can you ensure the reliability and validity of your study? Potential headings for this section could be “Methodology,” “Data & Methods,” “Research Design,” or “Study Design.” Again, your survey or survey questions should not be in the body of your paper. If you’d like, you can include your survey as an appendix at the end of your paper.
Findings 2-4 pages
Remind the reader of your research question and what you found! Present your data analysis or results (based on Writing Assignment #4). This section should encompass all the tables featured on your poster. You should also discuss the sample demographics, univariate data, and bivariate data. Possible titles for this section might be “Finding,” “Results,” or “Data Analysis.”
Conclusion 1-2 page(s)
Remind the reader why your study is important. Summarize your findings. Did your findings support or contradict your hypothesis? Were there any unexpected findings? What are your study’s limitations? Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently if you had to do it again?
References Page
Include at least ten (10) references formatted in APA style.
Formatting
Make sure you follow APA formatting! See the APALinks to an external site. guidelines hereLinks to an external site.. If you have questions about formatting, please reach out to me.
This paper should be approximately 10-15 pages long, not including your references or measurement appendices (survey). Please number your pages according to APA formatting.
