Palm Beach State College Social Problem Report Paper

Social Problem Report Format and Content The paper should contain a careful statement of the problem. Then, through Internet and library research as well as interviews with at least three people who deal with the problem regularly in the work/life you will develop a report that discusses the scope of the problem, its likely causes, and some potential practical solutions. In the paper you will need to describe current debates about the issues you have chosen. To do this you will need to summarize the basic point of view of one sociological perspective – how that perspective explains the problem as well as its causes and solutions. Your conclusion can then be a statement of what you believe to be an effective response to the problem along with a statement of why you have taken this approach. The paper should be between 10-12 pages (double spaced with the font Times New Roman at size 12) with a bibliography and reference done in the style of a formal term paper. For this report, you will be assigned a topic by the 4th week of class. It is necessary to discuss your paper/research with me as your topic progresses, to be sure that you are on the right track. This can be done on the telephone or a face-to-face meeting. If you need any assistance in writing, and researching please be sure to take advantage of the services of the library staff and the folks at the library learning center. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR WRITING YOUR REPORT Start your research by reading the chapter assigned and doing a search of the topic assigned on the Internet and in the library. Then find at least three people to interview. For your Internet research look for Sociology web sites. NOTE: These sites are used by many different professors for many different purposes. Some of the sites are NOT scientific and many sites are NOT about the United States. It is your job to pick out those sites that are scientific, are not propaganda sites, sociological, and about the U. S. You will need to cite a minimum of 5 sociological web sites about the major topic that you have selected from the textbook. Therefore you should report on additional sites to be sure that you get the minimum number of scientific sociological sites.

Your paper must be clearly divided in the following four sections. See paper rubric in the learning modules.

A. Statement of the problem with statistical data showing its scope. Current news/debates on the problem. Show evidence of research with citations.

B. A sociological perspective explaining the problem (Structural Functionalism, Conflict Theory or Symbolic Interaction).

C. Interview findings from three persons familiar with the problem. Do not write questions/answers in your paper. You should summarize the interview findings.

D. Possible solutions to the problems and conclusions. Show evidence of research with citations.