The paper should be approximately 4-5 pages, double-spaced, 1 inch margins, and 11-12 inch font
Guidelines
First, choose an article from Mapping the Social Landscape that you understand & that interests you.
On a blank piece of paper, write in a couple of sentences the author’s main point(s).
In the next couple of sentences, write how the article is related to concepts that we have talked about in class or in your textbook. For example, I posted an article titled “Racism & Research” by Alan Brandt. Brandt`s article is related to the section on research methods. What concepts from Brandts`s article are also discussed in the textbook? Or things we’ve discussed in class? (You do not need to include Brandt’s article in your paper! This is only an example!)
After you’ve done the above steps, begin to look for reliable outside sources. If you chose Brandt’s article, you could search for academic articles on ethics in social science research. I highly recommend that you use our library’s research tools in order to find a reliable outside source: https://www.iupuc.edu/library/articles/index.html
Use the outside source(s) in your paper and illustrate/describe how the outside source supports or refutes the author’s argument.
Finally, do you agree with Brandt’s argument? If so, state scientific support (your outside source, for example). If you disagree, you will also need to use scientific evidence (your textbook and your outside source) to support your point of view.
One thing to avoid in your paper is subjective language. What I mean by this is stating things like “this is awful” or “this shouldn’t be this way,” etc. Keep your sociological, scientific hat on!
