How to Create Sociology Papers

Sociology is a science that studies relationships between people. Like any scientific discipline, sociology has its object and subject of study. The object is understood as the sphere that is subject to study, that is, society. But society is studied by many disciplines: history, philosophy, political science, etc. However, each of the named sciences highlights its specific properties, which subsequently become the subjects of their research.

Sooner or later, any student has to write sociology papers. Creative work on paper has several stages. The first stage is the initial acquaintance with the literature. This is the stage of entering the topic, accumulating, and comprehending knowledge. It ends with a plan and paper structure for writing it. Sometimes it can be in the form of sociology questions that need to be answered in the text. Often this is a draft plan, which is then refined and concretized.

The second stage is exploratory. Resorting to new, additional literature, the author of the paper is looking for answers to his plan's questions. At the second stage, as at first, the necessary extracts are made, but they are already more conscious, accompanied by comments, their judgments. This is already a preparation of material for writing an article. At this stage, work on the plan, and its structure is completed.

Finally, the third, most crucial stage is writing the paper itself according to the developed plan. Usually, it is one to ten printed sheets. The written text is subject to the author's revision. Here the author of the text acquires a special quality: to write competently, logically, in his own words, he tries to form his style of presenting the material, logic, and thinking. We have looked at several stages of writing this type of paper and can move on to other important points.

What Is Sociology, And What Is Worth Writing About in a Paper?

We have already said, the object of sociological study is society. The subject of sociology should cover all phenomena of interactions between people, social strata, communities, values, norms, organizations, laws, and conflicts that appear through social relations.

Sociology studies the relationship of formalities that exist in society and life. It is worth noting that sociology does not establish society's rules or human behavior characteristics since it concerns only facts and reality. The establishment of norms and regulations is the goal of ethics and philosophy.

Through the study of phenomena, sociologists identify common patterns for formulating theories about social facts. There are two sociology methods: qualitative, for example, a detailed description of behavior and situations, and quantitative - statistical analysis.

Sociology functions:

1. Theoretical and cognitive. It aims to understand the problems of the present and future society, at obtaining new sociological knowledge.
2. Predictive. Designed to predict the social development of societies, its subsystems, and individual structures.
3. Social design. Consists of the development of models of a specific organization, determining the promising parameters of its functioning.
4. Organizational and technological. This provides the creation and implementation of social technologies in sociological practice.
5. Managerial. It is associated with the problems of managing the social system.
6. Instrumental. It consists of the development of sociological research methods, analysis of social reality.

Key Elements Of Sociological Writing

The written sociology paper must be formatted appropriately:

1. Each quote indicates the source according to the established rules.
2. The work is divided into paragraphs with appropriate headings.
3. A sociology paper outline is given at the beginning of the article.
4. The introduction substantiates the relevance of the topic, the purpose, and objectives of the paper. The conclusion summarizes the main ideas for what the article was created.
5. In the end, there is a bibliography, that is, a list of used literature.

We also recommend paying attention to the following key points, which we have described below.

Argument

Argumentation is a type of intellectual activity in the course of which a belief in the truth or falsity of an arbitrary position is formed. Its assessment and appropriateness are determined both for the author himself and for the interlocutor or audience. Argumentation is a product of human intellectual activity based on logic, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and ethics.

Consider a list of arguments in sociology:

• Topic: The problem of good and evil.

Statement: Good is to keep living, to promote life; evil is to destroy life, harm life.

Argument: Antisocial actions of dictators led to a deterioration in the living standards of the population of groups of countries, resulting in general chaos and the suffering of millions of people. On the contrary, prosocial reforms eliminated social groups' contradictions, increased the focus on cooperation, and motivated states to compromise to solve significant problems.

• Topic: The problem of an active life position.

Statement: "The appointment of a person in an intelligent activity." Aristotle.

Argument: Satisfaction of the entire spectrum of human needs (from biological to spiritual) is impossible without the individual's vigorous activity. For example, to write a story, a person must think over the work's plot, write the central part, and painstakingly bring it to perfection.

• Topic: The problem of true values.

Statement: From ambition or a sense of duty, nothing of value can be born. Values ​​arise from love and devotion to people and the objective realities of this world. Einstein.

Argument: Values ​​are inextricably linked to how an individual values ​​them. For example, representatives of asceticism do not recognize material values ​​as the main ones. Utilitarian supporters take a slightly different position and seek to benefit from all the outside world's objects. This is an additional argument that emphasizes the truth of values ​​for a particular social group.

Evidence

If you create an argument, then you can begin to find evidence to support your assumption. What does it mean to give evidence in a sociological paper? Sociology, unlike other sciences, actively uses empirical methods: questionnaires, interviews, observation, experiment, analysis of statistical data. That is, empiricism in sociology is evidence that you can see, and you document them. Your opinion will not be enough; therefore, an empirical method is used for this. Only thanks to logical arguments you will be believed.

Sociology uses two types of data for evidence:

1. Quantitative data is a method thanks to which sociology can rewrite the population, calculate emigrants, and survey the statistics of living people. This method is beneficial for sociologists dealing with huge processes and needs to document many numbers. For example, income inequality, population changes, changes in social attitudes.

2. Qualitative data is the acquisition of in-depth information using a special technique. This is a micro-sociological study. Qualitative research makes it possible to obtain information about people's attitudes about the motives of their behavior. Such data can be obtained through observation, in-depth interviews. Qualitative data give an idea of ​​how a person responds to the world, his social position, etc.

Units of Analysis

Units of analysis are data that are subjectively created by a researcher to study the information received. Document analysis is one of the essential methods for collecting information about social reality. Because it allows the researcher to study its various aspects; to identify the norms and value orientations that are relevant at a particular stage of development of a specific society; trace historical dynamics, etc.

In the sociological analysis of documentation, written documents are used; film documents, video documents, photo documents, pictures, phonetic documents. Traditional analysis implies a subjective interpretation of the information presented in a document, and units of analysis are based to some extent on a quantitative aspect. That is, it is essentially a quantitative analysis of documents. Thus, units of analysis is a method for analyzing the content of text documents, in which text information is translated into quantitative indicators.

With the help of analysis units, it becomes possible to determine the document's text characteristics, which are indicators of processes or states. These characteristics are the categories of analysis, units of analysis, and counting identified before the study starts.

Basic Writing Assignments in Sociology

We have described the essential elements, but you are probably wondering what types of paper this data can be applied to. Typically, written assignments in sociology are assigned to students of such colleges, universities, and documents that can be completely different. But the most typical are reviewing sociological literature. You can also find applying or testing a particular concept, research paper.

The Critical Review

A review is a description of the scientific work's properties, advantages, disadvantages, and application methods. This document is straightforward in form and content, which is always in demand. It's still nice when caring authors save the reader from studying reviews, comparing characteristics, and other not incredibly exciting activities. This review aims to analyze the latest sociology trends based on a review of empirical research by American and European authors. The main problem of the survey in sociology is the evaluation of scientific works.

Paying close attention to the following questions will help you write your review:

1. Are there any theories, concepts, terms, and ideas that may not be familiar to the target audience and need an additional explanation?
2. Is there any historical background that needs to be shared to provide a premise to the current problem?
3. Are there any concepts borrowed from other disciplines that the reader may not be familiar with and therefore need to be explained?

Writing a review article is even more comfortable than it sounds. All you need to do is choose what is worth telling, how to present it, and correctly structure the information.

But do not get too carried away with detailed descriptions of everything. If you write a review article, it is not needed for this. The main thing is that everything is useful and understandable.

Application, Testing of a Theory, Concept

So now we understand a little better what social research is. Now you need to understand what theory is. Several metaphors can help us:

1. The theory is a language for describing reality.
2. The theory is a cognitive tool.
3. The theory is the law of the structure of the world.

Any of these approaches tell us that there is empirical reality, and there is our understanding. The theory allows us to understand connections within empirical reality, find causes, understand the past, and see possible development paths. Research without theory is more often than not a description.

When we talk about theory as a language, we give credit to Wittgenstein and the linguistic turn. Theory after the linguistic turn is one of the possible languages ​​with which we describe the world. For research, we are not dealing with an object as such, but our idea is reflected in the language.

Anmari MoL well describes the theory as a tool. He argues that a theory's choice is dictated not by its internal logic but by the peculiarities of the empirical object and social conditions.

The theory as a law is close to science's positivist optics and is widespread in natural science. The theory is presented as a relatively objective description that captures the patterns of interaction of objects in empirical reality.

The Research Paper

Sociological research papers are conducted to study the processes, phenomena, and problems of a social nature, namely:

• peculiarities of people's behavior in different situations, in different cultural environments;
• shaping public opinion;
• attitude to various organizations and phenomena of social life;
• awareness of the population about something;
• leisure practices of other groups of the population;
• values ​​and norms;
• distribution of roles in the family and much more.

Sociological research papers are fundamental and applied. Fundamental research describes social relationships and patterns. The fundamental research results are used to build a strategy for solving severe social problems and a deep understanding of a particular phenomenon's causes.

Applied research aims to study specific objects and solve problems at individual small groups of people. When conducting applied student research, it is necessary to see its educational and practical meaning. This is important to strengthen the researcher himself and other people who participate in the research, including those who act as sources of information.

Other Psychology Papers

Other types of sociology papers include essays. First of all, you need to understand that learning how to write an essay on social studies takes quite a long time. It is impossible to write an essay without preliminary preparation, rated by experts at a high score. Stable skills, good results appear after 2-3 months of work. It is systematic exercises and dedication that bring high results.

Unlike essays on literature, where the minimum amount of work is stipulated, and general reflection is allowed, the volume is not limited in an essay on social studies. Still, its structure and content are fundamentally different. An essay on social studies answers the question: "Do I agree with this statement and why?"

That is why, in an essay on social studies, strict argumentation, scientific character, and concretization must be present. Simultaneously, it should be noted that very paradoxical, unusual statements that require imaginative thinking, a non-standard approach to solving the problem are often used as the essay's topic. This inevitably leaves its mark on essay writing style, requiring maximum concentration of energy and attention.

You can also create case studies. This is a type of assignment where you need to solve problems according to the situation. These are often real stories. The first thing to do is analyze the problem, find the optimal solutions to the questions, and choose the best one. In the end, conclude how the chosen method influenced the improvement of the situation.

How to Quickly Write a Sociology Paper?

To quickly and efficiently write a sociology paper, you need to take the following steps:

1. First of all, you need to allocate time properly. Practice shows that it is necessary to take at least 3 hours to write a sociology paper, depending on the assignment type.
2. Make a list of topics.
3. Choose understandable topics. You must be clear about what you are writing about. To remove doubts about whether you understand the topic correctly, you need to define the main idea.
4. When choosing a paper topic, it is necessary to pay attention to which social science the idea belongs to.
5. On a draft, make only a paper plan, short sketches of phrases, argumentation, points of view of scientists, concepts, and theoretical positions you will give in your work. And the approximate order of their arrangement one after another, taking into account the paper's semantic logic.
6. You must be very careful when choosing arguments to support your point of view. Arguments must be convincing, well-founded. As arguments, data from the relevant sciences, historical facts, facts from public life are used.
7. The use of terms, concepts, and definitions in the paper should be competent and appropriate for the chosen topic and science. The article should not be overloaded with the terminology, mostly if these concepts are not related to the selected problem.
8. Briefly write your introduction to keep the reader intrigued.
9. Write the central part broadly, revealing all the ideas.
10. It is necessary to end the paper with a conclusion, which briefly summarizes the reflections and reasoning.

Sociology Paper - Structure

The structure of the sociology paper is probably already familiar to you, but we recommend that you pay attention to this paragraph:

1. The title page is the first page of scientific work and is filled according to specific rules.
2. The table of contents follows the title page. It includes an indication of the work's main elements: introduction, chapters, paragraphs, conclusion, bibliography, applications.
3. The introduction is the essential part of the work since it contains in a concise form all the primary, fundamental provisions, the justification and verification of which the study is devoted to. The introduction should include the study's relevance, research problem; formulation of the topic; object, subject; goal, hypothesis; tasks; research methods; research structure, practical significance, and scientific novelty of the research literature. The volume of the introduction is usually 0.5 - 1 page.
4. The central part of the work can contain 2-3 chapters. Chapter 1 usually contains the analysis of special literature, the theoretical substantiation of the research topic. 2-3 chapters describe the practical stages of work, data interpretation.
5. The conclusion is usually no more than 1-2 pages. The main requirement for the conclusion: it should not repeat the entire text verbatim. In conclusion, the most general findings of the research results are formulated, and recommendations are offered. It is necessary to note the degree of achievement of the goal, the results of testing the hypothesis, and outline the prospects for further research.

Common Mistakes

When structuring a project, the following mistakes may occur:

1. Too lengthy paragraphs, in which there is no critical information or discussion of the issue, ideas in small details, which is very tiring for the reader.
2. Failure to comply with the clearance rules indicated by your college/university.
3. Stylistic, harmonic, punctuation mistakes.
4. Hunger for information that has nothing to do with the topic.
5. Subjective opinion in the text.
6. Illegal construction of paragraphs.

To avoid these mistakes, use our tips.

Sociology Paper Topics

1. The concept of gender in sociology.
2. Sociology of culture: modern approaches.
3. Social efficiency of artistic culture.
4. Sociology of Advertising: Basic Conceptual Approaches.
5. Observation in a sociology paper.
6. The structure and functions of the modern family.
7. Social crises: the main stages of the process.
8. Fighting poverty is one of the priorities of state social policy.
9. The Information Age: New Forms of Social Inequality.
10. Models of social protection of the population.

Sociology Papers - Expert Tips

For your article to be rated highly, use the tips:

1. Determination of the goal. The goal is the conscious image of the result. In your field, you should see a problem, a contradiction that needs to be resolved. You need to formulate a hypothesis and imagine the desired result.
2. Research methods. Empirical research methods involve the following activities: observation, measurement, experiment, comparison, description. At a theoretical level, you will use methods of modeling, analogy, abstraction, idealization.
3. Collection of information. In this case, the information should be sought in books and research journals - here, all the information is verified. Be sure to include links to sources. In the introduction, you need to write an overview of all the sources you used in your work.
4. Research. It would help if you didn't repeat someone else's experiments. It would be best if you got new facts. Do not forget that knowledge that corresponds to reality is considered true. To obtain reliable knowledge, use not one but many research methods.
5. Systematization and justification. In your work, you will collect a lot of facts and create a large number of folders. All this will need to be brought into the system. You will distribute all the information according to specific criteria and arrange them in exact order. Please note that all the information should solve your main problem.