Research Proposal: The research paper is a 10-12 page proposal due toward the end of the semester. In this paper you will select a topic, identify a clear research question, review the literature, and put together a research plan for answering this question. Paper outline: You paper should have all of the following sections. Please refer to your textbook for additional details on how to write these sections and what each encompasses. 1. Introduction: (.5 to 1 pgs) In this section you will identify your topic, your research questions generally, and briefly describe why they are of interest to you and to the larger social world. 2. Literature Review: (5 pgs) This section will include an overview of the relevant SOCIOLOGICAL literature on your topic. As such, the references used in this section should come primarily from sociology journals, be written by sociologists, or use sociological theories. You will also identify what questions surrounding your topic have been answered, and what remains unknown. 3. Research Question(s): (.5 to 1 pg) You may have up to three questions, but I encourage you to keep with one or two. All questions should be intimately related, and your paper’s literature review and methodology should be clearly oriented to answering these questions without any ambiguity. 4. Research Plan: (6 pgs) In this part of the paper, you will lay out your data collection strategy. To do this you should have the following subsections: 1. A methodological description of which methodology you will use. Please explain why it is best to answer your research question(s). 2. Your key variables and their operationalization. This applies to all designs, whether quantitative or qualitative. 3. A detailed, written description of your data sources. This includes your survey instrument, interview guide, or any secondary data you will use for your analysis. Survey, interview, and data coding guides should be attached, but do not count toward the page count. 4. A plan for data analysis, and the types of techniques and software you will use. 6. A budget calculating anticipated research expenses. 5. An Ethics Statement: (.5 to 1 pg) This section will identify any potential ethical concerns and how you will handle them. It will also describe your practices for assuring confidentiality, anonymity, and the security of your collected data. 6. A Statement of Limitations: (.5 to 1 pg) This section will identify the weaknesses of the design, and the limits of your data, as proposed. It will also describe how you intent to minimize those weaknesses.