SOC 331: Social Welfare Policies and Services (Professor Roche)

Once you have gathered your data (an interview or documented your own story), please write your paper using the following guidelines and INCLUDE HEADINGS:

Introduction (1/2 -1 page)

Begin your paper with a brief introduction to the topic of welfare for the poor. Be sure to include background resources that you found during our library workshop. Our research librarian offers very helpful tips on how to search for background information (non scholarly). Your introduction sould include a broad overview that explores some of the major themes of our class such as stigma and stereotyping, criminalization of poverty, welfare reform as a system of control etc. You should not explore all these themes, rather, briefly discuss some aspect of the course that connects clearly to your interview (or self interview) data.

Conclude your introduction by describing your own research and framework. For example, “My research will explore how stigma shapes the experiences of a single mother who received welfare for two years when her first child was born.”

Interviewee – please give this person a pseudo name and title this section with their name (1/2 page)

Briefly describe the person that you interviewed. Include a few details such as who they are to you (family, friend, etc.), demographics (race, age, identity etc.) and why you chose this person to interview.

If you are choosing Option 2, describe yourself, including why you chose to document your own experiences.

Literature Review (1 page)

Find two scholarly, sociological journal articles to frame your topic. During our library workshop our research library will offer very specific strategies and tips for finding appropriate scholarly literature for this paper.

Once you have located two scholarly articles that meets the criteria AND that help to frame your findings, include the following in your paper (do not use bullets in your paper. Your lit review should flow nicely as part of the paper):

• Describe the focus of the articles. This can be the research question or simply a description of what the article is about.
• Briefly describe how the authors gathered their data.
• Describe the major findings of the articles. What did the authors learn and how does this connect to YOUR research?
• Briefly review the conclusion or discussion. For example, does the author offer ideas for policy or future research?

Findings – pleases create a title for this section that reflects the interview data, or your own story. Do not call this section “findings” (1 ½ - 2 pages)

This section will include your data or “the story”. If you are conducting an interview, you should include the highlights of what the person said. You can summarize some, but the main source of sharing this should include examples, specific stories, and when possible, actual quotes from the interview. You should not include the entire interview, just the highlights.

If you are using your own story for this paper, you should include highlights and examples of your experiences using social welfare for the poor.

Regardless of which option you are using, this section should offer concrete examples and “stories” as much as possible.

Analysis (1-2 pages)

Offer a sociological analysis of your findings. Your analysis should link clearly to the literature that you found, in addition to course themes, readings and topics. Be sure that you use proper citing in this section.

Conclusion (1/2 page)

Conclude your paper by discussing the importance of centering the experiences and perspectives of real people when learning about welfare for the poor. How does this connect to social justice?

For full assignment guidelines, please consult Cougar Courses.