SOC 376 Research Proposal: Stage 1 – Topic Proposal with First Source

Goal of SOC 376: working with scholarly research

Task:

A major component of SOC 376 is scholarly research articles. A goal of SOC 376 is to help you work with scholarly research. To meet this goal, the SOC 376 Research Proposal assignment involved reviewing the existing empirical peer-reviewed scholarly research on a criminological topic of your choosing, and then articulating a hypothesis and proposing your own research design to test that hypothesis.

Stage 1: Topic Proposal with First Source

Please read this entire document before you begin Stage 1. That way, you’ll have a concrete idea of where you need to end up, which might affect the decisions you make early on (e.g., choosing a topic). This assignment works best with popular/classic crime-related topics, because it is easier to find existing research meeting all assignment criteria on them than it is to find existing research on relatively novel or new topics. Keep in mind that you won’t actually be conducting the study you propose, which means you won’t need to worry about being wrong with your hypothesis.

To begin the Research Proposal, Stage 1 asks you to propose an independent and dependent variable, a hypothesis, and a first source. At least one of your proposed variables needs to be clearly crime related. “Does gender affect school performance?” is not clearly related, for example, but “Does gender affect school bullying?” and “Does school performance affect juvenile delinquency?” are clearly crime related.

1. What is your proposed independent variable?

Remember that an independent variable is a cause. It affects, or influences, the dependent variable. Babbie Chapter 1 and the Babbie Chapter 1 PPT provide more information on independent variables. An independent variable is also a variable. It takes on more than one value or form, or it exists in different types or degrees. For example, a variable is “crime rates.” Crime rates vary, with some times and places having higher crime rates than others. The opposite of a variable is a constant. A constant does not vary (i.e., it is something that remains constant). An example of a constant is “high crime rates,” where the crime rate does not vary but instead is always high.

2. What is your proposed dependent variable?

Remember that a dependent variable is an effect. It is the result or outcome of the independent variable. Babbie Chapter 1 and the Babbie Chapter 1 PPT provide more information on dependent variables. Like an independent variable, a dependent variable is also a variable (rather than a constant). It should be worded in a way that reflects this fact.

3. What is your proposed hypothesis?

Please write a single clear, concise sentence that expresses your expectation regarding how your independent variable affects your dependent variable. An example of a good hypothesis is: “People with more education commit less crime than people with less education?” Your hypothesis should include your approved independent and dependent variable and no other variables. Remember that a hypothesis specifies the effect that the independent variable should have on the dependent variable. The independent variable is the cause, and the dependent variable is the effect. Do not state a null hypothesis (i.e., a prediction that the dependent variable is unaffected by the independent variable).
Like the research question, do not just say the independent variable affects the dependent variable; instead, clearly specify what kind of effect (increase or decrease). Also, use wording that reflects aggregates and likelihoods rather than individuals and certainties. For example, a bad hypothesis is that, “If a person has a college degree, he will not commit crime.” Instead, a good hypothesis would be: “As education increases, the odds of criminal behavior decrease.”