Immigration

The research paper should be typed in 12-pt standard font with a running header (your last name and page #) at the right/top of each page and paper title on the left side/top of each page. No title page or abstract is required. The paper length is to be 5 to 8 pages, double-spaced. This paper is worth 100 points and the final draft is due on Wednesday, May 6th. Please submit the paper on Blackboard. You will be allowed three attempts to submit the paper until 11:59pm on the due date. You must use appropriate articles from academic journals that relate to your topic. Other important dates for this paper include: Mon, April 27. Please bring TWO copies of your research paper to class. I will use one copy to give you feedback and comments. The other copy will be for one of class peers to use during the peer review session on Wed, April 29th.
Research Paper Topics
The topic of your paper can be related to any of the major topics discussed in the course: culture (cultural norms, material and symbolic culture, ethnocentrism), race and ethnicity (racial inequality, the concept of race, race and health disparities, educational disparities, population transfer, colonization, assimilation, and multiculturalism), intersectionality and major sociological perspectives on race and cultural minorities, gender and sexuality, the colonial settler state, health and illness as social issues, mass incarceration, urbanization and gentrification, and any social movement related to race (the Civil Rights Movement, decolonization, immigration, etc.).
Rationale and Purpose
The purpose of this undergraduate research paper is to teach students how to research a topic, to form a research topic question, and to cite appropriate and relevant sources that aid in our understanding of the chosen phenomenon. You will learn how to cite in APA style (the preferred style of sociology) and how to organize your thoughts on paper.
Audience
The audience for your paper will be me, the instructor. As you write, you will use concepts from the course and peer-reviewed academic articles to better explain the topic you have chosen. In the paper, you want to demonstrate that you have a solid understanding of the topic and that you have chosen reasonable and reliable resources to discuss the issue. The paper should not need to be persuasive or an essay, but a formal research paper that lays out the sociological factors driving the phenomenon, data related, and any other aspects that provide for a full discussion of the topic.
Resource/Research Requirements
You must use a total of 3 resources in your research. Each must be cited within the text and on the references page (which is actually page 6, not page 5, of the paper). 1.) Your textbook.
2.) At least one book plus one peer-reviewed academic article in the discipline of sociology.
-OR- 3.) TWO peer-reviewed academic articles.
Articles must be from 2010 until current. Please do not use articles that are more than ten years old.
**In addition, please avoid magazine articles and journals published by think tanks.**
Content Requirements
The paper must use at least 7 concepts/terms from the textbook and lecture. And, these terms must be used in the correct context. Please highlight these in bold.
Library Instruction Sessions
To aid you in the research process, I have scheduled a library instruction session where you will be guided on how to form a research topic, narrow this topic down, locate academic sources, and cite these according to APA style. It is important that you be present during the library sessions so that we may wisely use our class time to complete this component of the research.
Grading Rubric for Research Paper
Includes all paper guides requirements
20 points
Uses definitions and concepts from textbook and lecture in writing (7)
20 points
Uses complete sentences with minor grammatical errors
10 points
Research includes relevant resources
10 points
Appropriate formatting and in-text citations
20 points
Student participated in peer review
20 points
**Please be advised that students will be penalized for late submissions (5 points/ day) and papers will not be accepted if more than one week late. Please make every effort to communicate with the instructor before the due date should you need extra time to complete the paper.