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Soc 111—Introductory Sociology
Literature Review Assignment
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to get more practice developing a research question and
using existing research to find an answer rather than collecting data.
Context
This is the second of the assignments meant to simulate the research process that
professional sociologists go through to produce knowledge. Remember, we aren’t doing
these steps in the order a researcher would. The literature review is actually one of the first
parts of the research process. If you don’t know what other people have done, how do expect
to identify a relevant research question?
Audience
Imagine your audience for this assignment is a professional sociologist. The expectations of
such a person would be that your presentation is organized and neat. Prose that you write
should have a professional tone. This means avoid using colloquial (i.e., spoken) language.
For example, we often say things such as “like” or “you know” when we speak, but I doubt
any of you frequently, if ever, write them, even in emails. There are other instances of
colloquialisms that slip into our writing all the time. (Notice that “all the time is colloquial.
It would be more appropriate when writing to use “frequently,” which would also require a
change in word order—“frequently slip into our writing”.)
Design
Make sure that your name(s) is (are) on your assignment. This should be typed in a
standard format, including font and margins.
Points
12.5
Soc 111—Introductory Sociology
Literature Review Assignment
1.
As a group (or by yourself) – come up with a research question. (The closer your
research question is to issues researchers are actually addressing, the easier it will
be to find relevant research.) Decide on an independent and dependent variable.
Write out your research question and identify both the independent and dependent
variable.
Example:
Research question:
Dependent variable:
Independent variable:
2.
Does sex education reduce teen sexual activity?
teen sexual activity
sex education
Do a literature search on Sociological Abstracts (from HBLL homepage, use the
“Find Databases by Subject” drop down menu to find Sociology – Sociological
Abstracts is the first option). Find at least three articles that address your research
question (if more than 3 are in a group you must have as many articles as group
members). List the references for the articles. Use the examples below as a format
guide.
Example:
Dawson, Deborah Anne. 1986. The effects of sex education on adolescent behavior. Family
Planning Perspectives, 18(4):162-170.
Ku, Leighton C., Freya L. Sonenstein, and Joseph H. Pleck. 1992. The association of AIDS
education and sex education with sexual behavior and condom use among teenage
men. Family Planning Perspectives, 24(3):100-106.
Manning, Wendy D., Monica A. Longmore, and Peggy C. Giordano. 2000. The relationship
context of contraceptive use at first intercourse. Family Planning Perspectives,
32(3):104-110.
3.
Read the abstracts of the articles and write a brief paragraph that provides a
narrative which includes the main findings related to your research question. In
other words, use the articles to develop a “story” that addresses your question rather
than just listing the main findings from the studies.
Example:
In general, sex education seems to be more closely associated with teen attitudes about sex
than with their actual sexual behavior. More specifically, sex education programs that
provide information about contraceptive use do not appear to reduce the likelihood that
teens will have sex, but they do increase the rate of contraceptive use among those who are
sexually active. Also, when sex education includes information about the transmission of
AIDS, sexually active teens tend to reduce the number of sexual partners they have.