Paper and Presentation Guideline
Women and Health
SOCIOLOGY 4153
Fall 2005
Group Presentation
As a group you should compile and compare information from each group member’s individual paper topic to present a comparative analysis of the topic you have chosen.
Each group will have one entire class period to present their work. I recommend having some kind of visual aids (tables, examples of quotes or picture, etc.). I also recommend saving time for questions and answers from the class.
You may chose to organize your presentation in the way that makes most sense to your group. Keep in mind though that I would like each group member to participate in some way. If you choose to have each group member give a short presentation on her individual paper, keep in mind that you will need to tie it all together at some point in the presentation, making comparisons across different time periods or genres of literature, etc.
Individual Papers
Papers should be 8-10 pages in length. Whether you are analyzing popular magazine, academic journals, NIH funded grants, or editions of Our Bodies, Ourselves, keep in mind that these are your “data.” You should not be summarizing the information you find in these texts and should not be citing them as authoritative texts. Your analysis may combine quantitative and qualitative analysis. For example, you may count the number of times some thing is mentioned and may also consider the meaning and context of the data. Two articles we have read in class that can serve as examples of what you will be doing include:
· Fosket, Jennifer, Angela Karran, and Christine LaFia. 2000. “Breast Cancer in Popular Women’s Magazines from 1913 to 1996” in Breast Cancer: Society Shapes an Epidemic. A.S. Kasper and S.J. Ferguson (eds.). New York: Palgrave. Pp. 303-323.
· Anthony, Denise. 2002. “The Care and Feeding of the Diet Industry: Implications for Women’s Health.” In Women and Health: Power, Technology, Inequality and Conflict in a Gendered World. K.S. Ratcliff (ed). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Pp.136-143.
Introduction
Each paper should have an introduction. Here, your research question should be presented, along with descriptions of other sociological research or social context that might be relevant to your argument.
Here are a few suggestions for developing a strong argument.
Can you fill in the blanks?
“I’m studying _________ because I want to know _________ so my readers will better understand_______”
1. What claim do you make?
2. What reasons support this claim?
3. What evidence supports those reasons?
4. Do you acknowledge alternatives/complications/objections and how do you respond?
Methods section
Each paper should also have a methods section in which you describe in detail how you collected your data. Here you might also give some background on your data (a description of the audience intended; a short history of the text(s) or organizations, etc.).
Findings
In this section, you will analyze your findings. You may present “themes” you found. Each theme should have a subheading. You will also want to present your data here. It may be in the form of a table (#s of articles or grants that describe X) or it may be in the form of direct quotes from your data (probably both). Keep in mind that the data do not speak for themselves, this is where you need to explain to your reader why these themes are important and related to your research questions and to the sociology of women’s health.
Conclusion
In this section you will relate your findings back to your original research question
Grading Criteria
Your research papers will be evaluated criteria: adherence to the above guidelines; clarity, cogency, and organization; depth of analysis of the topic/problem. Remember that an excellent paper does more than describe or summarize. It also compares, contrasts, and evaluates the sociological import of those perspectives. The criteria for "A" work include the following: full comprehension of the material; thorough exploration of the issue, question, or problem; synthesis and analysis of relevant materials; ideas well-developed and fully demonstrated; essay well-organized and well-written, without grammatical or typing mistakes. according to the following