Sociology

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Honors Project Course Information

SOCIO:496—Senior Honors Project: Computer Science (1–3 credits)
Prerequisites: Senior standing in Honors College, sociology major, and permission

Original research leading to the completion of senior honors related to student’s area of interest under faculty supervision. Requirements and evaluation of project determined by student's honors project sponsor and approved by departmental honor’s preceptor.

General Information

The purpose of the Honors project in Sociology is to provide students with the opportunity to conduct original sociological research under the supervision of a faculty project sponsor. The information below presents specific departmental guidelines, expectations and advice for honors students preparing to participate in the honors research experience in Sociology. A suggested outline for the thesis proposal and the final thesis document are also included.

Coursework Preparation

Honors Students are encouraged to take Social Research Design (SOCIO:301), Data Analysis (SOCIO:302) and Sociological Theory (SOCIO: 460) prior to engaging in the honors research project. We also advise taking a substantive course related to the student’s area of research interest which will help in developing a research question, literature review, and overall research framework for the project.

Finding a faculty project sponsor

Sponsors for sociology honors projects are generally faculty from the Sociology Department, but not always. In the past students have worked with faculty and instructors from outside the department that have expertise in sociological research areas. It is important to obtain permission from the Sociology Department’s Honors Preceptor before beginning projects outside of the Sociology Department. Summer internships have also been used as honors projects, but permission must be obtained before the project begins.

Readers

Each proposal will have two readers beyond the sponsor which will be agreed upon by the student and the sponsor at the time of submitting the research proposal. The role of the readers is to give feedback and suggest changes for the final thesis.

Timeline

The Department of Sociology recommends that in the first semester of their junior year, students seek out a faculty sponsor for their sociology honors project. Students should then try to work with their sponsor to decide on a topic for the research project early in the second (e.g., spring) semester of their junior. This is especially critical if the honors student plans to use their final thesis as part of an application to graduate school or other professional pursuits following graduation.

Students should consult the Honors College website as soon as possible to become familiar with the requirements, calendar, and submission process for all honors projects. This information can be found on the Honors Project Website. We recommend that students identify an sponsor and complete the research proposal process as soon as possible during their junior year as many research projects may take between 6 and 12 months to adequately conduct the necessary research and analysis (e.g., some projects may require original data collection). Identifying a faculty project sponsor early on is the best thing a student can do to have a successful project experience.

The final year will be spent completing the research process (i.e., data collection, analysis, writing the final thesis document) under the supervision of your project sponsor. Students should have close and consistent communication with their sponsor to ensure that the research is done according to agreed-upon research guideline and to ensure timely completion of the project before graduation. Become familiar with these project deadlines follow them closely.

Honors Project Expectations

In general, the grade for the project is based upon completion of a written paper in the form of a scientific journal article. Advisors should set clear expectations regarding the content and form of the final honors thesis. The final thesis is expected to follow the form and style guide of the American Sociological Association. This guide can be found here: ASA Style Guide.

Students should be sure to ask a potential project sponsor about their expectations concerning how their work will be graded, how long the proposed research is expected to take to complete, how many honors thesis credits they should take and when (i.e., summer, fall or spring), what form the final written work is expected to take, and if they expect the research to be presented in any form in addition to a formal paper (e.g. poster presentation at a meeting).

Credit Hours

An honors project in Sociology is usually 3 to 6 credits with a maximum of 4 credits counting toward the degree. Students who sign up for more than 3 credits usually require 2 semesters to complete their project. Students are expected to perform 3 hours of research-related work each week for each credit hour enrolled. If a project extends past one semester (this is common) the student will receive the grade of “Incomplete” (I) for the first semester and subsequent semesters until the project is completed.

Suggested Research Proposal/Project Outline

This suggested outline is intended as an aid for students and their project sponsors in preparing the thesis proposal and/or project. For the proposal, the nature of the problem/question to be investigated and the type of research being done will result in different points of emphasis within the sections outlined below. Students will work closely with their sponsor to complete the proposal and the final project and written thesis.

1. Statement of problem
   In this section you present the general problem to be investigated. Your discussion should be no longer than necessary. The goal is to simply and clearly explain the problem and orient the reader. Literature may be cited in this section.
2. Literature review and research questions
   In this section you briefly explain the theoretical orientation you will use to frame your research problem and review the literature relevant to the topic at hand. This review of the literature should lead you to a more specific statement of the particular issues/questions you plan to address in the thesis. This section could be combined with Section I.
3. Methodology
   In this section you briefly describe the strategy (i.e., method) you will use to investigate the problem (e.g., survey, interviews, observation). The particular research methods employed depends on the nature of the problem and/or the state of knowledge in the area. This should be worked out in consultation with your advisor.
4. Data Analysis
   In this section you will indicate how you plan to analyze your data to address your research questions.
5. Contribution of thesis/project
   In this concluding section, identify what you think will be the primary contributions of your proposed thesis. These might be substantive, relevance for application, theoretical, and/or methodological.
6. References
   This section will include all of the complete citation information for all sources cited in the paper. Citations and references should be presented using ASA formatting (ASA Style Guide).

Be sure to discuss with your advisor whether your research requires approval from the Institutional Review Board for the protection of human subject. If your advisor thinks it does, you can work with her/him to complete the application process.

General Guidelines

• You must receive a grade of "B" or higher on your Honors Research Project to graduate as an Honors Scholar. If you do not achieve this grade you may still meet the requirements to graduate as an undergraduate student in your major. Please contact your Honors Advisor for more information.
• When there are multiple students involved in an Honors Research Project, each student should be included as authors on the final report, even if they are not part of the Williams Honors College. Every student should receive the proper recognition for thier contributions.
• Every committee must be composed of a Sponsor and two Readers. More information on these roles is available here.
• Students expecting to work on an honors project involving the use of human subjects should be aware that such projects may need to be evaluated by the University of Akron Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB reviews all proposals for research involving human participants to insure appropriate ethical and safety standards are observed. Depending on the nature of the proposed research, IRB review and approval may be required prior to moving forward with your study. In the same way, any research involving live animals will require review by the University of Akron Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC). Please communicate with your project sponsor regarding the need for IRB or ACUC consideration as it relates to your specific project. Information concerning research applications and review procedures can be obtained via the University of Akron Office of Research Administration (ORA).