The Sociology Student Writer's Manual

by Johnson, William A.; Rettig, Richard P.; Scott, Gregory M.; Garrison, Stephen M.

• ISBN13: 9780130410641
• ISBN10: 0130410640
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

A supplemental manual/reference for all courses in Sociology, from introductory to advanced, involving the research and writing of papers. Perfect complement to any distance learning course. THE most comprehensive book available that deals specifically with writing sociology papers, this updated reference/manual helps both beginning and advanced students learn (1) how to research and write in sociology, and (2) how to improve their writing ability in general. Based on the authors'extensive experience in teaching a variety of sociology courses, it combines the latest sociological research and writing techniques with a broad spectrum of writing activities. It gives specific directions for writing a variety of papers in sociologyfrom introductory to advancedwhile also providing instructions on how to write and how to format the paper and cite sources following the American Sociological Association's guidelines. The manual relieves professors from having to teach much of the detail in the writing process, and gives students the guidance they need to tackle course projects of all complexities.

Table of Contents

To the Student	xi
To the Instructor	xiii
Introduction: Welcome to the Study of Sociology	1	(1)
What Is Sociology?	1	(2)
Different Kinds of Sociology	3	(1)
Some Fundamental Ideas of Sociology	3	(3)
A Brief History of Sociology	6	(3)
The Rise of American Sociology	9	(1)
Major Sociological Perspectives	10	(1)
A Final Note	11	(2)
PART I A HANDBOOK OF STYLE FOR SOCIOLOGY	13	(92)
Writing as Communication	15	(26)
Writing to Learn	15	(5)
The Writing Process	20	(19)
Levels of Academic Writing	39	(2)
Writing Competently	41	(23)
Guidelines for the Competent Writer	41	(3)
Some Rules of Punctuation and Grammar	44	(16)
Spelling	60	(4)
Formats	64	(18)
General Page Format	65	(1)
Title Page	66	(1)
Abstract	66	(1)
Executive Summary	66	(6)
Outline Page	72	(1)
Table of Contents	72	(3)
List of Tables and Figures	75	(1)
Tables	75	(2)
Illustrations and Figures	77	(1)
Text	78	(1)
Headings and Subheadings	79	(1)
References	80	(1)
Appendixes	80	(2)
Citing Sources	82	(23)
Preliminary Considerations	82	(1)
Citing Sources in ASA Format	83	(22)
PART II CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN SOCIOLOGY	105	(60)
Organizing the Research Process	107	(12)
Gaining Control of the Research Process	107	(3)
Effective Research Methods	110	(5)
Ethical Use of Source Material	115	(4)
Sources of Information	119	(27)
Guides to Sociological Literature	120	(11)
General Periodicals and Newspapers	131	(2)
Academic Journals	133	(9)
Researching Books	142	(1)
U.S. Government Publications	143	(3)
Internet Resources and Distance Learning	146	(10)
Internet Resources for Writing Well	146	(2)
Sociology Resources on the Internet	148	(1)
A Guide to Distance Learning	149	(7)
Doing Social Research	156	(9)
Thinking Scientifically	156	(1)
The Scientific Method	157	(6)
Common Quantitative Research Designs	163	(2)
PART III HOW TO WRITE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOCIOLOGY PAPERS	165	(62)
Social Issue Papers	167	(11)
Issue Reaction Papers	167	(7)
Social Issue Analysis Papers	174	(4)
Critical Evaluation of Sociological Literature	178	(16)
Book Reviews	178	(3)
Article Critiques	181	(7)
Literature Reviews	188	(6)
Quantitative Research Papers	194	(17)
Quantitative Research Designs	194	(4)
Survey-Based Quantitative Research Papers	198	(13)
Qualitative Research Papers	211	(16)
What Is Qualitative Research?	211	(1)
Comparing Quantitative and Qualitative Research	212	(1)
Case Studies as Qualitative Research	212	(3)
A Qualitative Case Study Paper	215	(12)
Glossary	227	(16)
References	243	(8)
Index	251