you will develop a reasonable research proposal that outlines a mixed-methods study to gather data to address your question on INEQUALITY. Your proposal will describe how you will design your study and the data you expect to collect with your research instruments. Your research instruments–structured survey and in-depth interview guide–must be clearly formatted and and should each have appropriate instructions and directions for completion. Follow the directions outlined below to assist you with the organization and completeness of your final assignment. ( NOTE: I will provide you the structured survey and interview Guide on the PDF, please look at it and use it for this assignment! Also not that your research question is: How does limited access to social networking affect an individual’s emotional contentment in marginalized communities? The greater the social network, the higher the level of happiness an individual has. The number of friends is considered a factor in a person’s well-being, and a lack of social connections can lead to social isolation, resulting in a lack of contentment. Work with this as well as your topic is Social Connection and Well Being: Exploring The Inequality in Access to Social Networks).
The purpose of this assignment is to transform what you have learned throughout the course and what you have explored in your prior research exercises into a thoughtful research proposal that includes a literature review and sound study design (using two methods–survey and in-depth interview). This paper is not meant to answer your research question, but to outline a mixed-methods approach to a study that can address your research question about INEQUALITY.
Your final research proposal should indicate how you might approach a reasonable study of your research topic. Your proposal must be supported by the academic literature (Sociology author ONLY).
Structure and Organization
The content outline below provides some guidance on the general organization for your research proposal. The exact organization within each section of the proposal is up to you. The only requisite is that each section must be organized in a way that a reader will find “reasonable”: that is, the paper will include a series of subheadings, clear thesis statements, and meaningful transitions between sections of your paper that help guide the reader through your proposal.
An outstanding paper will be supported by appropriate data and will be thoroughly informed by literature and course content.
You are required to cite all of the references you use–literature and online links–in appropriate bibliographic and in-text format
for each of your bibliographic references. A bibliographic annotation includes an informed summary of a reference and some highlights or key elements of particular interest to understanding your topic.
do not paraphrase or quote directly from the source. At the end of your annotation, include a brief evaluation (~ 2 sentences) of the source in your summary that addresses its relevance to your own research question.
Your annotated bibliography, then, will include both a citation and a source summary. Please keep each of your annotations to ~100-150 words. Below you will find an example annotation that includes a bibliographic source, presented using ASA style citations
ASA style citations Example: Ferrucci, Piero. 2016. The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life, tenth anniversary edition. New York, NY: Penguin Publishing.
This book offers insight into eighteen different aspects of kindness, including research and conceptual history related to each of the eighteen aspects of kindness characterized. The author is a psychotherapist and emphasizes this perspective in his presentation of the philosophical understandings and research. Although Ferrucci emphasizes the psychological perspective, some aspects of philosophy and social science are included in Ferrucci’s discussion. Ferrucci highlights the benefits of each aspect of kindness presented in the book. The book is useful in considering how kindness might be defined and socially characterized. Ferrucci also explores the impact of different expressions of kindness on humankind and social organization.
(That is how you will cite your paper at the end)
Specific Content
Prepare your research proposal to include a segment that describes each of the following items
Topic of interest, research question & significance
State your research question, and define the relevant concepts. Describe the domain of INEQUALITY and second concept of interest to you. Explain why this question merits research. What is the significance of getting an answer to this question: How will it advance what we know about the human experience, social life, and society?
( REMINDER USE THIS ON YOUR PAPER: In this research, two main concepts will be explored. The first, inequality, is defined here as the extent of social connection or the lack of it, in other words, the differences in accessing social networks. Inequality in this matter is understood as the deficit of opportunities for contacting other people, which means the individual may be alone. The second one, well-being, is the extent of a person’s happiness or satisfaction.
Empirically, inequality is represented by social action or involvement measures, such as a person’s network of social relationships. On the other hand, happy factors that measure a person’s happiness will be used to measure their wellbeing. According to the central hypothesis, people from marginalized communities who do not have easy access to social networks typically have lower mental well-being and well-being.)
How is your question connected to the Sociological literature?
For this portion of your paper, you will need to make use of the literature you reviewed where it’s necessary, exploring the literature further. You must have at least 8 relevant and appropriately cited references ( ASA style Citation). to support your argument. The review of the literature should reflect the conversations related to your topic in the literature, rather than a sequential description of each article.
The following questions will help you think about the things you might discuss in your literature review: How do researchers interested in a similar topic frame their research questions? How do they define the concepts of interest? What do they measure empirically, and how do they measure it? What are the primary themes presented by this body of work? What are the most important arguments? And what continue to be the most pressing problems or significant gaps? What are the existing research gaps, and how might these gaps be addressed by your research proposal? In general, what might your work add to the body of literature in this area (if you were to engage your in the study you propose)?
Remember to organize this discussion in a way that makes sense to a reader. You may choose to highlight one method–survey research or in-depth interview. Be clear which method will be your main method of investigation. Describe how the second method will help you to understand aspects of the topic that the first method leaves unexplored. To organize this section of your paper, describe your primary method’s approach, then discuss your secondary method’s approach to the following: (1) participant selection and sampling, (2) instruments for and the process of data collection, and (3) the type of data you hope to obtain. What does the second method add to your data and to your understanding of the topic? How does the second method complement the data gathered by your primary method?
Participant selection and sampling:
Describe the samples and persons of importance to your proposed data collection (pretend you did 100 surveys; 10 in-depth interviews). How will your survey data be collected? What type of sampling strategy will you employ to ensure adequate generalizability or representation of the experiences of interest to you? To what population are you aiming to generalize your results? Discuss the characteristics of the persons you will interview who you believe will offer the best “cases” (i.e., the richest data about the topic of interest to you and the domains you believe to be important). Emphasize the characteristics of the persons or their positions that lead you to believe they will provide good cases for what you seek to understand.
Instruments, approach to data collection and data:
Discuss everything you need to do to prepare you to collect your data. How will you introduce your survey participants or interviewees to your topic and research plan? What do you expect your survey instrument and your interview guide to measure? More specifically, how will you explore your concepts of interest using a deductive approach (survey research) / an inductive approach (in-depth interviewing)?
For your survey, state the hypothesis you intend to test with your survey. Define the variables you will use to measure your concepts and how you intend your variables to serve as empirical indications of the concepts of interest to you. The variables must be measurable (i.e., countable). Be sure to discuss why the variables you chose are the best possible indicators of the concepts in your theory. Specify and discuss the variable(s) that the questions in your survey will measure (i.e. describe what you expect each question to “indicate” with regard to your concept). Discuss each item in terms of the information you expect the question to obtain, i.e., the information you intend to collect (background, activity, knowledge, sentiment), the level of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio), and the type of data you expect each item might produce (quantitative or qualitative data).
For your interview, outline your guiding question of interest and explain the domains you will explore. What will you need to do to plan for the interview? Where and how will you gather data from your participants? How will you prompt interviewees to follow up on their responses, so that you might gather rich and detailed data?
Limitations & audience:
What are the limitations of each method? How well did your research instruments measure what you intended them to measure (this isn’t about reporting the results of your survey and interview, your answer should explain whether the instruments you created worked in the way you wanted them to work AND what you might need to do to change them)? What might your research contribute to a sociological understanding of your research question? Discuss the audience(s) who could benefit from the knowledge you might obtain in your larger study.
Bibliography
- Bibliography of all references used in the literature review and in the paper (in ASA format)—minimum of 8 references.
- References must be single spaced; BE SURE THE REFERENCES ARE IN ASA STYLE CITATION FORMAT
ASA style citations Example:
Ferrucci, Piero. 2016. The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life, tenth anniversary edition. New York, NY: Penguin Publishing.
This book offers insight into eighteen different aspects of kindness, including research and conceptual history related to each of the eighteen aspects of kindness characterized. The author is a psychotherapist and emphasizes this perspective in his presentation of the philosophical understandings and research. Although Ferrucci emphasizes the psychological perspective, some aspects of philosophy and social science are included in Ferrucci’s discussion. Ferrucci highlights the benefits of each aspect of kindness presented in the book. The book is useful in considering how kindness might be defined and socially characterized. Ferrucci also explores the impact of different expressions of kindness on humankind and social organization.
Footnotes, References, and Resources
Footnotes are optional; a bibliography of cited material using American Sociological Association-style for bibliographic and in-text referencing is required. All literature and other resource materials should be referenced using ASA style andcomplete citations to avoid charges of plagiarism. Please see Edwards (2015, Chapter 5) for appropriate in-text and bibliographic referencing. ( NOTE: I will provide Edward chapter 5 on the PDF, if your still confused on how to exactly cite.)
Better instructions on how to write the paper will be also provided on the PDF.
(IMPORTANT NOTE: I have done most of the work. It is important that you check everything that I have provided to you for this assignment. I will also provide you 4 cited reference that you will use for this article, therefore you only need to find 4 more references that needs to be from a sociological article.) Bibliography: as ASA STYLE FORMAT
Pollner, M. (1989). Divine relations, social relations, and wellbeing. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, pp. 92–104.
The study conducted by Pollner (1989) points out that, both material and symbolic, social networks may help moderate psychological distress. He also noted that the people who posited divine or human social connections had better psychological well-being. This aligns with social support theory, which holds that connectedness to others reinforces a sense of belonging and mitigates the adverse effects of stress, particularly for those facing social isolation. In the context of this research, Pollner’s findings explicate the significance of social embeddedness in a vector of insurance for well-being wellbeing and, therefore, argue that the absence of such ‘networks’ (as seen in marginalized communities) produces, consonantly, a low emotional reserve and satisfaction.
Vasile, Marian, Marja Aartsen, Iuliana Precupetu, Laura Tufă, Diana-Alexandra Dumitrescu, and Rosa Maria Radogna. 2023. “Association between Social Isolation and Mental Well-Being in Later Life. What Is the Role of Loneliness?” Applied Research in Quality of Life 19(1):245–67. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11482-023-10239-z
The article explores the relationship between social isolation (SI) and mental well-being (MWB) among older adults, looking at the mediating role of loneliness. The work, based on the data from the European Quality of Life 2016 (N = 8,525), looks at loneliness in three forms: living alone, limited communication with family members, and limited association with friends or neighbors and their influence on human well-being. The results of the study highlight that loneliness meaningfully mediates the adverse effects of social isolation on mental health among those who live alone. This study emphasizes the importance of programs to reduce loneliness and enhance emotional health for lonely persons. This research is valuable to the question because it helps learn about the relationship between loneliness and happiness and emotional health, backing up the development of targeted approaches for enhancing well-being among isolated people.
Janosch Schobin. 2022. “Loneliness and Emancipation: A Multilevel Analysis of the Connection between Gender Inequality, Loneliness, and Social Isolation in the ISSP 2017.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19(12):7428–28. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/7428
This article explores gender inequality, loneliness, and social isolation, examining how contemporary institutions of gender equality can decrease loneliness in close relationships. Based on the data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) 2017, the author observes that loneliness is higher in countries with higher gender inequality index. This increase is associated with the finding that people in nations with lower gender gaps are more shielded from loneliness in partnerships. The study also shows that emotional isolation is a higher risk in countries with more gender equality, though the results need further examination. Consequently, the article discusses the implications of these results for combating the alleged loneliness crisis in present societies. The article is valuable to my question as it relates loneliness and the emotional state to gender disparity, highlighting how societal issues affect loneliness and well-being.
Huxhold, Oliver, Bianca Suanet, and Martin Wetzel. 2022. “Perceived Social Exclusion and Loneliness: Two Distinct but Related Phenomena.” Sociological Science 9:430–53. https://sociologicalscience.com/download/vol-9/october/SocSci_v9_430to453.pdf
This article explores the correlation between perceived social exclusion and loneliness while examining how both concepts relate over time. From the information gathered from 6,002 adults aged between 40 and 85 in Germany, the article shows that perceived social exclusion and loneliness are different constructs but have common risk factors, including socioeconomic status and opportunities for social participation. The study reveals that loneliness causes social exclusion but not vice versa. Thus, the current results re-emphasize the importance of social relationships in shaping personal psychological well-being and emotional wellness, particularly regarding social disparities. The article is valuable to the research question because it shows how loneliness, caused by social exclusion, adversely affects the emotional state. It underlines the connection between social isolation and mental health, therefore backing up the research hypothesis that isolation results in poor happiness and emotional well-being.
(Use these references plus 4 new ones in your paper.) (FIND STRUCTURE SURVEY AND IN DEPTH INTERVIEW PAPER ON PDF! ) I have provided the material. Goal is to put it all together!