For these discussions, you will locate a current news story from 2023 or 2024 that reports on sociological research (yes, it can be on any topic as long as it is sociological!). The article/story should be from a reputable major news outlet or a local news station/newspaper (yes, Fox News is “reputable” – The Blaze/Young Turks and similar “channels” are not). Once you select a news story you will then locate and read the original study.
After reading the original study you will construct 500-word summary of the research that:
- Identifies and clearly states the research question
- Provides a basic description of the research methods and identifies whether the research is qualitative, quantitative, or a mixed methods study
- Summarizes the key research findings
- Evaluates how the news story presents the findings. Consider: are the findings presented accurately? What are the potential implications of how the findings are presented? What does the news story leave out? Are there any additional findings from the study that were not included?
- Discusses the broader implications of this research.
You will post your summary to the discussion board along with citations and links for the news article and the original report. You may use any citation style as long as you are consistent. You do not need to include in-text citations, however, you should avoid using block quotes in your paper. Instead, try to paraphrase the articles to the best of your ability. I have provided an example to help you understand the process of identifying a study and writing your summary.
You may earn up to 18 points for your initial post. Posts will be assessed using a rubric.