Research Paper Guidelines
Research paper must be 6-8 pages
The format is double-spaced persuasive essay; sources are briefly cited within the body of the essay, with a full ASA bibliographic citations at the end.
o Title page (title, name, and course in the center, pg numbers in footer, tittle in header)
o Body (5-7 page essay on research, includes introduction, body of review and conclusion)
o Bibliography/work cited page (ASA formatted citations in the end)
• The introduction should define the topic and set the context for the literature review. It will include the author’s perspective or point of view on the topic, how they have defined the scope of the topic (including what’s not included), and how the review will be organized. It can point out overall trends, conflicts in methodology or conclusions, and gaps in the research.
o Incorporate theories from the course and explain how your additional research is connected to the topics and theories.
• In the body of the review, organize the research into major topics and subtopics. These groupings may be by subject, (e.g., family topic), type of research (e.g., case studies), methodology (e.g., qualitative/quantitative), genre, chronology, or other common characteristics. Within these groups, the author can then discuss the merits of each article and analyze and compare the importance of each article to similar ones.
o Body of the review must include 4-5 research based summaries that address the topic and main idea of the paper. These summaries are from your references that help illustrate your main idea.
• The conclusion will summarize the main findings, make clear how this review of the literature supports (or not) the main idea of the paper, and may point the direction for further research. The conclusion should include ideas of how this sociological topic impacts the family.
• The list of references will include full citations for all of the items mentioned in the literature review.