SOC b2500 Sociological Writing (“Making Sociology Speak”) B. Nadya Jaworsky Office 3.66 Consultation Hours: By appointment REQUIREMENTS FOR WEEKS 11-12 •2-3 page proposal that expands your initial sentence, including: development of research question and potential hypothesis or answer; touch upon literature available; how you will actualize – method; hint at your potential argument – due MONDAY, MAY 10, 2021 at 13.00. •Meeting with me BY WEDNESDAY, MAY 19: –Elevator story (90-seconds) –“Stuck on an elevator” story (5-10 minutes) –Receive feedback on the 2-3 page proposal – – FINAL ESSAY TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS •3,000-3,500 words ~ 9-12 pp. •2.5 cm. margins, 12-pt or larger font, double-spaced and left justified •PLEASE REMEMBER TO NUMBER THE PAGES and INCLUDE YOUR NAME! Ideally, you would do this in the header or footer. •-Title page and abstract (150 words or less) •-Text w/footnotes (I prefer them to endnotes) •-References (using ASA format) – FINAL ESSAY TIMELINE –FINAL ESSAY DRAFT for in-class peer review due to your partner and in the Homework Vault by May 23 at 13:00. –PEER REVIEW COMMENT SHEET for your partner due in Homework Vault and to your partner by class time on May 26. –IN-CLASS PRESENTATION on MAY 26. –FINAL ESSAY due June 28 by 23:59. – My elevator story (90 seconds or less) • •I am working on the problem of (state your question). •I think I can show that (state your hypothesis) because (state your reasons). •My best evidence is (summarize your evidence). • http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Moving_Octopus_Vulgaris_2005-01-14.ogg/mid -Moving_Octopus_Vulgaris_2005-01-14.ogg.jpg http://babyanimalz.com/community/sites/default/files/images/baby-octopus.jpg Why do we review literatures? •To map the field or fields relevant to the inquiry (historical development, empirical/theoretical bases, key figures/texts, major debates) •To establish which studies, ideas and/or methods are most pertinent to the specific research being undertaken •To create the warrant for the research (identifying gaps, bringing the separate together, speaking to a particular debate or puzzle) •To identify the particular contribution your research will make • BUT it is not just a review or “laundry list” We are “narrating” the literatures (plural) •How much do we know about the topic? •What is the best available info and why? •What methods have researchers used? Are they effective? •What data are available? •What are the main conclusions? •What is missing? What can you discover? •How will readers benefit from your contribution? • • How to understand working with literatures •Writing as discursive social practice – What is your academic climate? •Writing as dialogic – Is your work lively and pleasurable to read; does it engage the reader in a conversation? •Writing as text/identity work – “The practices of academic writing produce simultaneously a scholar and a text.” Learning to write with authority • Howard Becker’s analogy •Imagine that you are … making a table. You have designed it and cut out some of the parts. Fortunately, you don’t need to make all the parts yourself. Some are standard sizes and shapes – lengths of two by four, for instance – available at any lumber yard. Some have already been designed and made by other people – drawer pulls and turned legs. •All you have to do is fit them into the places you left for them, knowing that they were available. That is the best way to use the literature. • Howard Becker’s analogy •Becker suggests that the literature review is a particular kind of text, an argument. You want to make an argument, instead of a table. You have created some of the argument yourself, perhaps on the basis of new data or information you have collected. But you needn’t invent the whole thing. Other people have worked on your problem or problems related to it and have made some of the pieces you need. You just have to fit them in where they belong. Like the woodworker, you leave space, when you make your portion of the argument, for the other parts you know you can get. You do that, that is, if you know that they are there to use. And that’s one good reason to know the literature: so that you will know what pieces are available and not waste time doing what has already been done. • Kamler and Thompson •We like the domestic, familiar image of the dinner party and its emphasis on conversation with a community of scholars. The party occurs in one’s own home, in the familiar territory where one belongs (not the ocean or the swamp or the river). The doctoral researcher invites to the table the scholars she would like to join her for a conversation over the evening meal. The emphasis is on the company and the conversation that happens at the table. The candidate has selected the menu, bought the food, and cooked the dinner which she offers her guests. • Kamler and Thompson •As host to this party, she makes space for the guests to talk about their work, but in relation to her own work. Her own thesis is never disconnected from the conversation, for after all it lies on her table. It is part of the food the guests eat, chew and digest. And because it is her dinner party the doctoral researcher has a great deal of agency. The dinner party metaphor makes it clear that she cannot invite everyone because they will not all fit at her table. She is not just a bystander or ‘reviewer’ of the conversation, but a participant. • Kamler and Thompson •While she may not always comprehend the conversation or catch all its nuances and complexity, she is present. And she can reflect on these conversations later, mulling them over as one might do at the end of a good night out. But having made the contact and the connection (between their work and her own), there is a starting point for other dinners, coffees, conversations and the option of not inviting some guests back or including others. • Mapping the field of literature: What do I mean when I say “mapping”? •Mapping techniques are useful at the very beginning of the literature review as a brainstorming and scoping tool. They come into their own again at the end with it comes to planning the write-up. Concept mapping can also be useful throughout the review process to clarify key arguments in the literature. Mapping the field of literature: How-to •Identify your topic and place it in the middle of a blank sheet of paper (or on a board) Make it simple and broad enough to allow for more detailed exploration. It might be the whole topic of the or just one area or argument •Write down all the words and phrases that come to mind in relation to the topic. These are likely to be useful search terms when researching the relevant literature online. •Find, read and summarize key findings from sources. •Use branches to make connections between the words and references. •As you read more, extend your initial ideas using more branches and nodes. •Adapted from: https://as.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/academicservices/educationenhancement/cascade/Mapp ing_in_literature_reviews.pdf • Mapping the field of literatures Getting Started •I turn now to what is already known about _________________. •I look first at why, according to the literatures, _________________, and I detail the __________________ that has resulted. •I note the minimal focus on __________________ relative to other research and the limited work which foregrounds ________________________. It is this gap to which I am to contribute. Mapping the field of literatures •I turn now to what is already known about dogs as pets. I look first at why, according to the literatures, some dog breeds are seen as compatible with humans and others are too aggressive, and I detail the data collection practices that have resulted. I note the minimal focus on the role of dogs as companions that are “fun” relative to other research and the limited work which foregrounds the structures of meaning underlying pet selection and ownership. It is this gap to which I am to contribute. Mapping the field of literatures – Part II •The study builds on and contributes to work in ________________ . •Although studies in _____________ have examined ____________ there has not been an __________________. •As such, this study provides additional insight into _____________ . •The analytic focus on ________ enables another contribution. •This study analyses __________________________________ . •Although numerous studies ( ) have identified ____________ , •little analytic attention has been paid to _________________ . •I address this issue by demonstrating __________________ . Mapping the field of literatures- Part II •The study builds on and contributes to work in the study of dogs as pets. Although studies in pet ownership have examined the role of aggressiveness as a measure of suitable companionship and ownership of dogs, there has not been a sustained engagement with why people choose to have dogs as pets. As such, this study provides additional insight into the ways in which “fun” represents an important factor in assessing a particular dog breed’s suitability as a pet. The analytic focus on cultural structures enables another contribution. This study analyses the ways in which pet owners engage in the process of meaning making about their pets. Although numerous studies (Pavlov 1890; Jones 1992; Smith 2007) have identified objective criteria (e.g. aggressiveness), little analytic attention has been paid to how dogs can be “fun” pets. I address this issue by demonstrating that pet ownership is an inherently cultural practice. NEXT WEEK •REQUIRED READING: • Turabian, Ch. 5-7, pp. 51-85. (34 pp.) • •HOMEWORK DUE: •Paper proposal, due May 10 in the Homework Vault http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otCpCn0l4Wo Definite Article: The •Use the before nouns that are specifically identified. •Wear the boots you bought at the Vietnamese market. •Jana had the most compelling performance. •The sun rose at six. •Each of these nouns is specifically identified by the context. • Definite Article: The •The should not be used with plural or non-count nouns. •The state covers the cost of teaching students. •News magazines report studies about picking colleges. •Generally, do not use the with proper nouns that name people, places and things. But of course, there are some exceptions: the Alps, the Great Lakes, the Czech Republic. Indefinite Articles: A and An •Use a or an for singular count nouns not specifically identified. •Apple started a revolution in personal computers. •Petr has an interesting insect collection. •It’s a beautiful day outside. • Indefinite Articles: A and An •As a rule, a before consonants; an before vowels. •A rabbit; an awkward rabbit •An umbrella; a blue umbrella •H depends on whether it’s hard or soft: •A hand •An hour •But if you want to be really pretentious: an historical •Don’t use a and an with plural nouns. •Tereza borrowed enough money to cover expenses. •The exhibit consisted a hastily arranged grouping of native costumes Indefinite Articles: A and An •In general, don’t use a or an with non-count nouns. •Lara wrote about pollution •While you are shopping, please get beer and vodka. • •If you want to show a particular amount of a noncount noun, put a count noun first and add of. •A case of beer •A bottle of vodka •