For this assignment you will :
Take research-informed social action to address the problem in your community. Social action can be in the form of:
Social Policy ( Examples: writing and sending letters to elected officials, meeting with an elected official, etc.)
Social Advocacy (Examples: educating others about the problem, helping others in the community to address the problem, volunteering, mobilizing others, etc.)
Innovation ( Examples: create a policy proposal and share it with a policy maker. Create and implement a program. Work with advocacy groups to try an untested or unique approach.
*Please note that posting something to social media, YouTube, TikTok, etc. is NOT considered taking a social action. This is a very passive way of spreading information but is not an acceptable “social action” for this assignment.*
Add information to your presentation about the social action you took to address the social problem. You just need to have the written part of the presentation organized.
Note: While there is an expectation that you will make edits and changes to Milestone 2 before your final submission, this “Milestone 3” assignment *ONLY* grades the new slides on the social action. You can submit all of the presentation, or you can choose to only submit the slides on social action.
and write a reflection answer the following questions (try to relate to sociology):
(1) define concepts discussed across the theoretical modules and readings, (2) summarize a few main points of the readings, (3) critique the readings (e.g., What do you think? From your perspective, was the main point right or wrong?), and (4) offer alternative explanations or improvements if you disagree with the readings.
Purpose:
The purpose of this paper is to create a survey using the knowledge that you have obtained throughout the class.
Directions and Grading:
In this assignment you will design your own survey with 10 items/questions. You will go through each step listed below and create a paper that is at least 4-6 pages in length – not including your title page.
Step 1: Choose your topic
In this section of the paper, you will outline your topic choice. You can pick any topic that interests you and this topic can come from any field. For example, you could pick a topic about political attitudes, which type of entertainment people enjoy, attitudes about crime and punishment, opinions about the federal government, or any other issue you choose. Just be sure that you can create a 10 item/question survey using your topic.
You will need to outline your topic choice and why you picked this topic for your survey. This section should be at least one strong paragraph in your paper.
Step 2: Data
This section of the paper has three parts. First, you will decide whether or not you want to conduct a research project using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods. This answer will determine the type of items/questions you include in your survey. Explain your reasoning behind your choice. What are the advantages and disadvantages behind your selection?
Second, you will decide if your items/questions will be closed, open-ended, or a mixture of both. Remember, your choice of quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods will determine the type of items/questions that you choose for your survey.
Finally, what will be your method of data collection? Would you conduct the survey through personal interviews, over the telephone or computer, through the mail, or through email? Why did you choose this method of data collection and what are the advantages and disadvantages of your chosen method?
Step 3: Research question and variables
Once again, this section of the paper consists of multiple parts. First, you will need to first come up with your overall research questions. For example, if you picked attitudes toward crime and punishment, then you would need to think of a research question that will address this topic. So, you could create a research question such as “how do college students view crime and punishment in our society?”
Second, you will determine the independent variable (IV) and dependent variable (DV) in your research question. Clearly state your variables in this section of the paper. Explain why you picked your independent variable and dependent variable. Start by defining independent and dependent variables and show that you understand why your independent variable is in fact your independent variable and not your dependent variable. Do the same for the dependent variable.
Step 4: Hypothesis
In this section of the paper, write a hypothesis about what you think is the likely answer to this research question. Remember, your hypothesis should be testable and falsifiable. Explain the reasoning behind your hypothesis and how it is both testable and falsifiable.
Step 5: Survey items/questions
For this section, you will create the actual items/questions that will go in your survey. You have to create at least 10 items/questions for this assignment. You can create more if needed for your topic. These survey items/questions can be laid out in bullet form in the paper. You will be graded based on validity of the items/questions and whether or not the items/questions follow the design requirements mentioned in the contents this week.
Step 6: Explain the validity and reliability of the survey
In this final section, you will explain why your survey is valid and reliable. How does the survey address your original topic? Would participants be likely to give the same answers if they took your survey over again?
Also, you can watch the following video to learn about important pitfalls to avoid when designing questions for your survey.
1. Alone or with a partner, select your topic. Choose from:
The NFL/Super Bowl
FIFA/The World Cup
The Oscars
One of the 5 social institutions (government, religion, economy, education, family)
2. Briefly analyze your topic three times, using all three classic social theories: functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interaction
You should use the same topic for all three analyses. You can create your analysis by answering the questions “Questions Theories Ask” from the handout (attached). This can be a short analysis, you can aim for 2-4 sentences.
You may opt to use statistics readily available online to support your analysis.
Submission Instructions:
Submit your work by typing in submission text or uploading a file. All students should submit their own work, even if they worked in a group.
Submit by Friday 1/31
Evaluation:
Students who submit all 3 analyses will earn 100%.
My country is Pakistan .
As you may have noticed on the syllabus, next week begins your Postcards from the Edge project. This is a very interesting assignment that many students love. There will be more information on the assignment and the expectations in the next module; however I am including your country assignments in a separate link in this module so that you can begin to gather information while watching the videos in this module. You will find this information to be helpful when compiling the statistics and facts for your project next week. It is very important for you to contact me immediately if you do not see your name assigned to a country on this sheet. You must complete your project on the country which you are assigned…switching and reassignments are not allowed.
Attached is a list of the country that you have been assigned to for your upcoming project. The Postcards from the Edge project will be due on 2/9. The project will count towards 20% of your overall grade in this course.
Assignment Rubric: Postcards from the Edge Rubric.docx
If your name is not listed here you must contact me immediately. Additionally there will be no switching or changing country assignments. You must complete the project on the country that you are assigned to below.
You should review the USA Postcard slide presentation in the Postcard Module, which gives you clear instructions on what to include in your postcard and how to find the information. Your assignment must be submitted as a PowerPoint presentation. You can also review student postcard examples. The country you have been assigned is listed in Postcard Country Assignment.
You should provide, at a minimum, content for each of the 15 topics below in your presentation. (Refer to the Rubric on Canvas for the point value for each topic). Each of the following topics should have their own slide(s) and labeled the same as the criteria title in the rubric.
The postcard grading rubric outlines what you will be graded on for your postcard assignment. You will submit your postcard online through this link. The assignment is worth 20 points of your total grade.
This assignment is due at 11:59 pm on 2/9. I recommend that you not wait until the last minute to turn this project in as sometimes there are technical difficulties. As we all know, Canvas and technology are sometimes unreliable so be sure to give yourself ample time to allow for any submission errors that may occur. There will be no late assignments accepted, regardless of the circumstance.
You may only upload your assignment in a Powerpoint presentation or PDF format.
CONTEXT: To answer these questions better, I need to tell a little about myself. This Class is a Socilogy community organizing class. I live in a small town, Monmouth Oregon. I am half Mexican and half white. I hope to be a therapist in the future.
Overview
This is an assignment that is designed for you to take a look at where are you coming from into this class, where you would like to go after you take it, and how you want to go about it while you’re in and learning. You need to answer all these questions to the best of your ability and sense of comfortable sharing and security. No one but me will see this statement.
Instructions
Part One: Where are you coming from?
If you describe yourself as a nexus point of multiple communities, groups, and organizations what will these multiple communities, groups, and organizations be?
Is/are there any one/s particularly near and dear to your heart?
Can you bring an example of how your life is shaped by your membership in these communities, groups, and organizations?
What brought you into this class?
Part Two: Where are you going?
What problems do you see for your community?
Are there any specific instances of injustice, lack of access, inequality, discrimination?
How do these problems translate into your own life?
How do you see them translating into the bigger history? (do not afraid to imagine and paint your mental picture of what you think the big history is, there is not a place in this assignment where I would mark you wrong)
What kind of change do you want to see in the world?
What kind of change do you want to bring in the world?
What are the qualities and skills you feel that you have to bring about this change? What are the qualities and skills that you might be missing?
Part Three: So, This Class.
Let’s start where you left off with the Part Two, specifically the qualities and skills you have and the ones you might be missing.
Which skills and qualities do you think you are most likely to develop in this class?
Is there anything that you would like to do in this class to further develop the qualities and skills you are aspiring to develop?
Take a look at the class syllabus once again.
What are the assignments you are most excited about?
What is the reading you are most excited about?
What parts of the coursework do you find most challenging and why?