A Guide to Writing a Senior Thesis in Sociology - Harvard ...

A Guide to Writing a Senior Thesis in Sociology

Department of Sociology Faculty of Arts and Sciences Harvard University

A Guide to Writing a Senior Thesis in Sociology | page 1

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A Guide to Writing a Senior Thesis in Sociology

Cover art: Genevieve Butler Copyright 2009, President and Fellows of Harvard College

Table of Contents

Time Management and Sample Timeline............ 1

Part One: Before You Begin. . ............................ 3

Choosing to Write a Thesis................................................ 3 The First Steps: Choosing a Topic and an Adviser.............. 4 Turning a Topic into a Research Question......................... 8 Choosing a Methodology: How Will I Answer My Question?................................... 13

Part Two: Preparing Your Research................... 18

Beginning the Literature Review...................................... 18 Developing and Testing Your Methodology..................... 21 Choosing Your Sample..................................................... 23 Writing the Prospectus..................................................... 28

Part Three: Collecting Your Data....................... 30

Recruiting Subjects or Gathering Data Sources................. 30 Administering Your Instrument........................................ 32 Data Management: Administrative Responsibilities during Data Collection..... 34

Part Four: Analyzing Your Data......................... 36

Qualitative Data Analysis Basics........................................ 36 Quantitative Data Analysis Basics...................................... 37 Content Analysis Basics..................................................... 38

Part Five: Drafting the Thesis............................ 40

Overview......................................................................... 40 Introduction..................................................................... 41 Literature Review: Setting Up Your Thesis...................... 42 Data and Methods............................................................ 43 Results............................................................................. 45 Discussion and Conclusion............................................... 51 Basic Writing Tips............................................................ 52 Revision, Revision, Revision........................................... 54

Part Six: Turning in the Thesis........................... 56

Formatting........................................................................ 56 Grading............................................................................ 58

Appendix One: Abbreviated Version of the ASA Style Guide..... 59

Appendix Two: Funding Sources for Thesis Writers................... 62

End Matter...................................................... 63

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