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Sociology Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2024 2024.

Empowering Populist Politics: Social Media Use in the US and UK , James M. Howley

Exploring Educational Equity: An Ethnographic Case Study of Non-Profit Initiatives in Early Childhood Education , Jovana Jovanovic

Disability, Blackness, and Online Community: Black Twitter as Self-Narrative , Morgan S. Wilson

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

“You don’t seek help, You are just thankful for the things the country provides for you.” The Emotional Burden of Growing up Undocumented in the United States , Melanie Anne Escue

Deconstructing and Decolonizing Identities of “Gender” and “Sex” When Viewed as Anti-Black: Black Narratives Outside of the Binary , Didier Salgado

“We Need to Figure Out Who We Are”: Reframing Manhood in an Online Discussion Forum , Tomas Sanjuan Jr.

Musicking Higher Education: An Analysis of the Effects of Music Pedagogy On College Classroom Atmospheres , April Smith

Framing, Emotion, and Contradiction in the Tampa Bay Times’ Climate Change Coverage , Madison Veeneman

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

"Are We Done?": The Minimization of Covid-19 and the Individualization of Health in the United States , Cassidy R. Boe

A Tale of Two Art Programs: Art & Identity for People with Disabilities , Melinda Leigh Maconi

Revisiting ‘Our’ Place on Campus: A Queer(ed) and In-depth Interview Study of QT Resource Professionals in Higher Education , Kristopher Andrew Oliveira

Health and Friendships of LGBTQIA+ College Students , Komal Asim Qidwai

Organizing for Here and There: Exploring the Grassroots Organizing of the Puerto Rican Diaspora in the Tampa Bay Area , Dominique Rivera

Stitched Together: What We Learn from Secret Stories in Public Media , Sara D. Rocks

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

"Duck Wars": Examining the Narrative Construction of a "Problem" Species , Jenna A. Bateman

The Debate on Physician-Assisted Death in the United States: A Narrative Analysis of Formula Stories , Rebecca Blackwell

The Social Correlates of War: Conflict Correlations Within Belief Systems. , Richard R. N. Decampa

Narrative Meaning Productions of Compassionate Healthcare: An Examination of Cultural Codes, Organizational Practices, and Everyday Realities , Carley Geiss

Racialized Morality: The Logic of Anti-Trafficking Advocacy , Sophie Elizabeth James

Green Business and the Culture of Capitalism: Constructing Narratives of Environmentalism , Julia S. Jester

Presenting Selves and Interpreting Culture: An Ethnography of Chinese International Tourism in the United States , Fangheyue Ma

Making A Home Away from Home: A Qualitative Study of African Students’ Practices of Integration in the United States , Alphonse O. Opoku

"They Say We're Expendable:" Race, Nation, and Citizenship in the Dominican Republic. , Edlin Veras

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

A social network analysis of online gamers' friendship networks: Structural attributes of Steam friendships, and comparison of offline-online social ties of MMO gamers , Juan G. Arroyo-Flores

Family Response to a Diagnosis of Serious Mental Illness in Teens and Young Adults: A Multi-Voiced Narrative Analysis , Douglas J. Engelman

GoFundTransitions: Narratives of Transnormativity and the Limits of Crowdfunding Livable Futures , Hayden J. Fulton

"Courage Drives Us": Narrative Construction of Organizational Identity in a Cancer-Specific Health Non-Profit Organization , Katie J. Hilderbrand

“I woke up to the world”: Politicizing Blackness and Multiracial Identity Through Activism , Angelica Celeste Loblack

The Athletics Behind the Academics: The Academic Advisor’s Role in the Lives of Student Athletes , Max J.R. Murray

Red-Green Rows: Exploring the Conflict between Labor and Environmental Movements in Kerala, India , Silpa Satheesh

Winning “Americans” for Jesus?: Second-Generation, Racial Ideology, and the Future of the Brazilian Evangelical Church in the U.S. , Rodrigo Otavio Serrao Santana De Jesus

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Palatable Shades of Gender: Status Processes at the Intersections of Race, Gender, and Team Formation , Jasmón L. Bailey

American Converts to Islam: Identity, Racialization, and Authenticity , Patrick M. Casey

Meaning and Monuments: Morality, Racial Ideology, and Nationalism in Confederate Monument Removal Storytelling , Kathryn A. DelGenio

"Keep it in the Closet and Welcome to the Movement": Storying Gay Men Among the Alt-Right , Shelby Statham

Selling White Masculinity: An Analysis of Cultural Intermediaries in the Craft Beverage Industry , Erik Tyler Withers

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

The Role of the Soldier in Civilian Life: Personal and Social Concerns that Influence Reintegration Processes , Matthew J. Ahlfs

“I Want to Be Who I Am”: Stories of Rejecting Binary Gender , Ana Balius

Breaking the Crass Ceiling? Exploring Narratives, Performances, and Audience Reception of Women's Stand-Up Comedy , Sarah Katherine Cooper

An Intersectional Examination of Disability and LGBTQ+ Identities In Virtual Spaces , Justine E. Egner

"I've never had that": An Exploration of how Children Construct Belonging and Inclusion Within a Foodscape , Olivia M. Fleming

Hybridizers and the Hybridized: Orchid Growing as Hybrid "Nature?" , Kellie Petersen

Coloring in the Margins: Understanding the Experiences of Racial/Ethnic and Sexual/Gender Minority Undergraduates in STEM , Jonathan D. Ware

Decreased Visibility: A Narrative Analysis of Episodic Disability and Contested Illness , Melissa Jane Welch

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

“Have a Seat at our Table: Uncovering the Experiences of Black Students Attending a ‘Racially Diverse’ University” , Diamond Briggs

TERF Wars: Narrative Productions of Gender and Essentialism in Radical-Feminist (Cyber)spaces , Jennifer Earles

“Can You Believe They Think I’m Intimidating?” An Exploration of Identity in Tall Women , Elizabeth Joy Fuller

Black Girl Magic?: Negotiating Emotions and Success in College Bridge Programs , Olivia Ann Johnson

"What Are We Doing Here? This Is Not Us": A Critical Discourse Analysis of The Last Of Us Remastered , Toria Kwan

Behind the Curtain: Cultural Cultivation, Immigrant Outsiderness, and Normalized Racism against Indian Families , Pangri G. Mehta

From the Panels to the Margins: Identity, Marginalization, and Subversion in Cosplay , Manuel Andres Ramirez

Examining Forty Years of the Social Organization of Feminisms: Ethnography of Two Women’s Bookstores in the US South , Mary Catherine Whitlock

"There is No Planet B": Frame Disputes within the Environmental Movement over Geoengineering , David Russell Zeller Jr.

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

“You Can Fight Logic…But You Can’t Fight God”: The Duality of Religious Text and Church as Community for White Lesbians in Appalachian and Rural Places , Jessica Mae Altice

Songwriting as Inquiry and Action: Emotion, Narrative Identity, and Authenticity in Folk Music Culture , Maggie Colleen Cobb

Unraveling the Wild: A Cultural Logic of Animal Stories in Contemporary Social Life , Damien Contessa

“It’s Not Like a Movie. It’s Not Hollywood:” Competing Narratives of a Youth Mentoring Organization , Carley Geiss

An Examination of Perspectives on Community Poverty: A Case Study of a Junior Civic Association , Monica Heimos Heimos

"I'm Not Broken": Perspectives of Students with Disabilities on Identity-making and Social Inclusion on a College Campus , Melinda Leigh Maconi

People and Pride: A Qualitative Study of Place Attachment and Professional Placemakers , Wenonah Machdelena Venter

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Mediated Relationships: An Ethnography of Family Law Mediation , Elaina Behounek

The Continuum of Ethno-Racial Socialization: Learning About Culture and Race in Middle-Class Latina/o Families , Maria D. Duenas

Getting Ahead: Socio-economic Mobility, Perceptions of Opportunity for Socio-economic Mobility, and Attitudes Towards Public Assistance in the United States , Alissa Klein

Beauty is Precious, Knowledge is Power, and Innovation is Progress: Widely Held Beliefs in Policy Narratives about Oil Spills , Brenda Gale Mason

Looking at Levels of Medicalization in the Institutional Narrative of Substance Use Disorders in the Military , Chase Landes Mccain

The Experience of Chronic Pain Management: A Multi-Voiced Narrative Analysis , Loren Wilbers

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Resources Matter: The Role of Social Capital and Collective Efficacy in Mediating Gun Violence , Jennifer Lynne Dean

More to Love: Obesity Histories and Romantic Relationships in the Transition to Adulthood , Hilary Morgan Dotson

Dieting, Discrimination, and Bullying: A Contextual Case Study of Framing in the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance , Veronica Kay Doughman

Negotiating Muslim Womanhood: The Adaptation Strategies of International Students at Two American Public Colleges , Amber Michelle Gregory

Checking Out: A Qualitative Study of Supermarket Cashiers' Emotional Response to Customer Mistreatment , Michael E. Lawless

Managing Family Food Consumption: Going Beyond Gender in the Kitchen , Blake Janice Martin

Motherhood Bound by State Supervision: An Exploratory Study of the Experiences of Mothers on Parole and Probation , Kaitlyn Robison

In Search of the Artist: The Influences of Commercial Interest on an Art School - A Narrative Analysis , Michael Leonard Sette

"They're Our Bosses": Representations of Clients, Guardians, and Providers in Caregivers' Narratives , Dina Vdovichenko

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Constructing Legal Meaning in the Supreme Court Oral Arguments: Cultural Codes and Border Disputes , Jeffrey Forest Hilbert

"All Blacks Vote the Same?": Assessing Predictors of Black American Political Participation and Partisanship , Antoine Lennell Jackson

Expectations of Nursing Home Use, Psychosocial Characteristics and Race/Ethnicity: The Latino/a Case , Heidi Ross

Beyond the Door: Disability and the Sibling Experience , Morgan Violeta Sanchez Taylor

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

A Mother's Love: A Narrative Analysis of Food Advertisements in an African American Targeted Women's Magazine , Janine Danielle Beahm

It's a Support Club, Not a Sex Club: Narration Strategies and Discourse Coalitions in High School Gay-Straight Alliance Club Controversies , Skyler Lauderdale

Beyond the Backlash: Muslim and Middle Eastern Immigrants' Experiences in America, Ten Years Post-9/11 , Gregory J. Mills

Competing Narratives: Hero and PTSD Stories Told by Male Veterans Returning Home , Adam Gregory Woolf

Theses/Dissertations from 2011 2011

"Can't Buy Me Wealth": Racial Segregation and Housing Wealth in Hillsborough County, Florida , Natalie Marie Delia Deckard

Friendship Networks, Perceived Reciprocity of Support, and Depression , Ryan Francis Huff

That is Bad! This is Good: Morality as Constructed by Viewers of Television Reality Programs , Joseph Charles Losasso

American Muslim Identities: A Qualitative Study of Two Mosques in South Florida , Azka Mahmood Mahmood

Ethnic Identities among Second-Generation Haitian Young Adults in Tampa Bay, Florida: An Analysis of the Reported Influence of Ethnic Organizational Involvement on Disaster Response after the Earthquake of 2010 , Herrica Telus

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

Feral Cats and the People Who Care for Them , Loretta Sue Humphrey

Utilizing Facebook Application for Disaster Relief: Social Network Analysis of American Red Cross Cause Joiners , Jennie Wan Man Lai

Comparative Study of Intentional Communities , Jessica Merrick

More Than Bows and Arrows: Subversion and Double-Consciousness in Native American Storytelling , Anastacia M. Schulhoff

Between Agency and Accountability: An Ethnographic Study of Volunteers Participating in a Juvenile Diversion Program , Marc R. Settembrino

Predictors of Academic Achievement among Students at Hillsborough Community College: Can School Engagement Close the Racial Gap of Achievement? , Warren T. Smith

Theses/Dissertations from 2009 2009

Latent Newspaper Functions During the Impact Phase of Hurricane Katrina , Christina A. Brown

The Subjective Experience of PMS: A Sociological Analysis of Women’s Narratives , Christiana B. Chekoudjian

Sacred Selves: An Ethnographic Study of Narratives and Community Practices at a Spiritual Center , Sean E. Currie

Digging It: A Participatory Ethnography of the Experiences at a School Garden , Branimir Cvetkovic

Constructions of Narrative Identities of Women Political Candidates , Amy E. Daniels

“The Best We Can With What We Got”: Mediating Social and Cultural Capital in a Title I School , Jarin Rachel Eisenberg

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PhD THESIS - SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: SOCIALITY, ETHICS AND POLITICS

Related Papers

carolina bandinelli

This article adds to contemporary studies of neoliberalism by offering an empirical investigation of the production of subjectivity in the context of coworking spaces' sociality. Coworking spaces are exemplary milieux where to explore the organisation and significance of work. Drawing on the life history of a creative worker and member of a leading coworking space, I unveil the ethical labour that is required to access coworking's sociality. Using a Foucauldian framework, I conceptualise this process as a process of subjectivation and concentrate on its ambivalent character, signalling the inherent intertwinement of self-commodification and self-improvement. This article contributes to the scholarly debates on the organisation and significance of work in two key ways. Firstly, it expands our understanding of how the production of subjectivity is experienced at the level of the self. Secondly, it argues that coworking spaces function as apparatuses for the production of subjectivities in neoliberal culture industries.

Alberto Cossu

Freelancers, social entrepreneurs and artists have intervened in the social fabric by operating in peculiar, but somewhat analogous ways, blending collaboration, entrepreneurship and creative practice in an original manner. Each from their own standpoint, they now reclaim a central role in an urban collaborative scene that they commonly consider the space for the enactment of their creative, (self)entrepreneurial endeavours. Their subjectivity, as we are about to observe, is similarly characterised by a political attitude towards change and an ideological disposition to ‘newness’, that is made explicit in the attempt to combine economic with what may be seen as forms of ‘aest-ethical’ action – and is nonetheless frustrated in the capacity to coalesce as a collective subject within and beyond the fragmented scene they inhabit. By operating in a milieu largely determined by a market economy, yet nonetheless experimenting with forms of commons-based peer production, we argue that freelancers, social entrepreneurs and artists are manifestations, in their own peculiar ways, of that process of ‘re-embeddedness’ of the economic into the social (Pais and Provasi, 2015) that seems to characterise the current socio-economic conjuncture.

carolina bandinelli , Alberto Cossu

More than a decade after the enthusiastic call for the rise of a 'creative class' (Florida, 2002), the conditions of today's creative economy appear to be quite different from the expectations that accompanied its acclaimed surge as a propeller of economic development in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The frenzy around creativity that has characterised cultural economies as a whole since then has evolved into a context that is now largely animated by a casualisation and entrepreneurialisation of work, with project-based employment rising to an unprecedented scale (McRobbie, 2015).

Dissertation

Seung Cheol Lee

Etnološka tribina 41

Miha Kozorog

This paper is about the young entrepreneur as an emerging social agent in contemporary Slovenia. Young entrepreneurs are affected by both an ideal sociality of entrepreneurial ecosystems and the small scale of their environment. This paper argues that while the former is promoted as a tool for strengthening local communities and a means of moving toward a prosperous future, the later prevents its actualization but provides security for young people. Family and other established social relationships are of considerable importance for maintaining young entrepreneurs' careers.

This chapter reflects on the relationship between coworking spaces as a type of creative hub, and the practices of networking that are often described as typical of the creative economy. Elaborating on ethnographic research conducted by the authors in the UK and Italy, we argue that coworking spaces can be seen as heterotopic spaces (Foucault, 1986) in which a certain vision of the world is produced and reproduced. This vision acts as a symbolic dimension that expands the practices of 'network sociality' (Wittel, 2001) by adding to them an imaginary communitarian element. This is characterised by the enactment of a specific disposition that we call 'collaborative individualism'. With this term we want to capture the ambivalence of coworkers' sociality and point at the compresence of an entrepreneurialised and individualised conduct with an ethics of sharing and collaborating.

Pascal Dey , Chris Steyaert

This article identifies power, subjectivity, and practices of freedom as neglected but significant elements for understanding the ethics of social entrepreneurship. While the ethics of social entrepreneurship is typically conceptualized in conjunction with innate properties or moral commitments of the individual, we problematize this view based on its presupposition of an essentialist conception of the authentic subject. We offer, based on Foucault’s ethical oeuvre, a practice-based alternative which sees ethics as being exercised through a critical and creative dealing with the limits imposed by power, notably as they pertain to the conditioning of the neoliberal subject. To this end, we first draw on prior research which looks at how practitioners of social enterprises engage with government policies that demand that they should act and think more like prototypical entrepreneurs. Instead of simply endorsing the kind of entrepreneurial subjectivity implied in prevailing policies, our results indicate that practitioners are mostly reluctant to identify themselves with the invocation of governmental power, often rejecting the subjectivity offered to them by discourse. Conceiving these acts of resistance as emblematic of how social entrepreneurs practice ethics by retaining a skeptical attitude toward attempts that seek to determine who they should be and how they should live, we introduce three vignettes that illustrate how practices of freedom relate to critique, the care for others, and reflected choice. We conclude that a practice-based approach of ethics can advance our understanding of how social entrepreneurs actively produce conditions of freedom for themselves as well as for others without supposing a ‘true self’ or a utopian space of liberty beyond power.

Constellations

Niklas Angebauer

Understanding neoliberalism remains a crucial task for critical theories of the present. While Marxist approaches such as David Harvey's tend to underestimate its novelty and struggle to explain its pervasiveness, Foucauldian perspectives are better equipped to understand neoliberalism in its singularity. These perspectives culminate in the diagnosis of the emergence of a specifically neoliberal subject, the entrepreneurial self. One implication of this diagnosis that has not received nearly enough attention is neoliberal's implicit subscription to the doctrine of self-ownership: The entrepreneurial self is necessarily self-owning, even if that often remains implicit in neoliberal theory. Starting with a discussion of liberal self-ownership (Levellers, Locke), the article shows that neoliberal rationality is premised on self-ownership, discussing human capital theory and Income Share Agreements. The focus on neoliberal self-ownership and its consequences, it is argued, can be used for an immanent critique of neoliberal rationality.

Daniel G Cockayne

In this paper I examine entrepreneurial work in San Francisco's digital media sector to consider how affect and desire are invested in sites of neoliberal production. Drawing on recent writing on affect, I treat affect as ambivalent and coextensive with the mode of production, suggesting an approach that looks beyond the investment of value in commodities, to how desire is produced and directly located in economic infrastructures. Entrepreneurial affect functions through the embodiment of work as a site of personal ''satisfaction,'' the development of passionate attachments to that work, and the production of working subjectivities characterized by their ''compulsory sociality.'' I argue that affect functions through entrepreneurial forms of digital media work to produce and reproduce attachments to precarious working conditions. Drawing on recent debates on precariousness and precarity, I reflect on the possible consequences of affective attachments to entrepreneurial work as a primary site for the justification of precarious work practices and neoliberal modes of governance in general.

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Philosophy PhD thesis collection

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OATD.org aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions . OATD currently indexes 7,218,560 theses and dissertations.

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Harvard University Theses, Dissertations, and Prize Papers

The Harvard University Archives ’ collection of theses, dissertations, and prize papers document the wide range of academic research undertaken by Harvard students over the course of the University’s history.

Beyond their value as pieces of original research, these collections document the history of American higher education, chronicling both the growth of Harvard as a major research institution as well as the development of numerous academic fields. They are also an important source of biographical information, offering insight into the academic careers of the authors.

Spanning from the ‘theses and quaestiones’ of the 17th and 18th centuries to the current yearly output of student research, they include both the first Harvard Ph.D. dissertation (by William Byerly, Ph.D . 1873) and the dissertation of the first woman to earn a doctorate from Harvard ( Lorna Myrtle Hodgkinson , Ed.D. 1922).

Other highlights include:

• The collection of Mathematical theses, 1782-1839
• The 1895 Ph.D. dissertation of W.E.B. Du Bois, The suppression of the African slave trade in the United States, 1638-1871
• Ph.D. dissertations of astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (Ph.D. 1925) and physicist John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (Ph.D. 1922)
• Undergraduate honors theses of novelist John Updike (A.B. 1954), filmmaker Terrence Malick (A.B. 1966),  and U.S. poet laureate Tracy Smith (A.B. 1994)
• Undergraduate prize papers and dissertations of philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson (A.B. 1821), George Santayana (Ph.D. 1889), and W.V. Quine (Ph.D. 1932)
• Undergraduate honors theses of U.S. President John F. Kennedy (A.B. 1940) and Chief Justice John Roberts (A.B. 1976)

What does a prize-winning thesis look like?

If you're a Harvard undergraduate writing your own thesis, it can be helpful to review recent prize-winning theses. The Harvard University Archives has made available for digital lending all of the Thomas Hoopes Prize winners from the 2019-2021 academic years.

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Faqs: dissertation template, what format is the template (doc, pdf, ppt, etc.).

The dissertation template is provided as a Google Doc. You can download it in MS Word format or make a copy to your Google Drive. You’re also welcome to convert it to whatever format works best for you, such as LaTeX or PDF.

What types of dissertations/theses can this template be used for?

The template follows the standard best-practice structure for formal academic research projects such as dissertations or theses, so it is suitable for the vast majority of degrees, particularly those within the sciences.

Some universities may have some additional requirements, but these are typically minor, with the core structure remaining the same. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to double-check your university’s requirements before you finalise your structure.

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A research paper follows a similar format, but there are a few differences. You can find our research paper template here .

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This template can be used for a dissertation, thesis or research project at any level of study. It may be slight overkill for an undergraduate-level study, but it certainly won’t be missing anything.

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This depends entirely on your university’s specific requirements, so it’s best to check with them. As a general ballpark, Masters-level projects are usually 15,000 – 20,000 words in length, while Doctoral-level projects are often in excess of 60,000 words.

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If you’re still working on your research proposal, we’ve got a template for that here .

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How do I write a literature review?

We have a wealth of free resources on the Grad Coach Blog that unpack how to write a literature review from scratch. You can check out the literature review section of the blog here.

How do I create a research methodology?

We have a wealth of free resources on the Grad Coach Blog that unpack research methodology, both qualitative and quantitative. You can check out the methodology section of the blog here.

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• Analytics & Applied Research

Writing a Thesis

• August 22, 2024 August 22, 2024

The Thesis Requirement

Every student in the MA in Data Analytics and Applied Social Research degree program is required to write a Master’s thesis. The thesis consists of original, independent research by the student, which culminates in a thesis document or research report. The thesis represents the capstone project of the graduate program and utilizes many of the research skills students are expected to master during their course of study.

The length of the document varies according to the type of data collection and data analysis, but it is expected to be larger than a typical graduate paper. The thesis is generally 25-40 doublespaced pages long and typically resembles a scholarly article in a social science journal, although the format may differ depending upon the kind of research conducted.

During the writing phase of the thesis, students may take Soc 793 Thesis Research. This is a 3-credit course with a facilitator who may be different from your thesis advisor, and it meets regularly. It is highly recommended that all students attend the thesis course in the semester in which they are hoping to complete the thesis. Your advisor will determine your final grade on the thesis.

Students with more ambitious topics may elect to devote an additional course, in the same or in the preceding semester, to thesis writing. In this case, we recommend that they take Soc 791, an independent study course for up to 3 credits. These courses count toward the credits required for graduation. Either or both may be taken during the term or during the summer session. Satisfying the thesis requirement involves filling out the thesis form, with the signature of your thesis advisor or the MA Director. This form then gets filed with the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Registrar’s office.

How Do I Choose a Topic?

Any social science topic is fair game for the thesis. However, the thesis is not a dissertation. Rather, it should explore or answer a very focused research question – one that may be examined during the course of one semester or two at most and that may be adequately addressed by available data.

Students develop thesis topics by matching their interests with available data or with data that may be readily collected. Given the nature of the requirement, most students elect to use existing data, rather than to collect their own. Various survey data files from ICPSR (http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/ ) are available for download, as are numerous public-use data files. Much of the data used in graduate courses could also be made available for thesis writing. Often, successful theses have been developed from term papers completed for courses.

Once you identify a potential topic for your thesis, you should conduct some preliminary work to determine the feasibility of your project (conduct some preliminary literature review and investigate possibilities for either data collection or data analysis). Contact the MA program advisor to discuss your ideas and identify a faculty member who could supervise your thesis research.

How Do I Find a Thesis Advisor?

In the ideal situation, your thesis advisor will have expertise either about your selected area of research or the methods you plan to use. Your thesis advisor must be a member of the Sociology Department faculty. The default advisor for your thesis is the MA Program Director, unless you identify a different faculty advisor. The MA Program Director can meet with you to facilitate identifying faculty members with expertise related to your thesis. Alternatively, you may elect to work with one of the instructors from your graduate courses. Your choice of thesis advisor should be communicated to the MA Program Director, because your advisor will determine your final grade on the thesis. Some students require more guidance than others in the research process, while others prefer more independence. It is up to you to negotiate a workable schedule of meetings or communications and deadlines with your thesis advisor.

When Is My Thesis Due?

In order for your thesis to count toward graduation, the grade for the thesis and the signed thesis form must be submitted by the final day to submit grades in a given term or session. Please be considerate and do not expect your advisor to grade your thesis at the very last minute. Advisors should usually see drafts of your thesis on an ongoing basis and have a final draft of the thesis AT LEAST 2-3 weeks ahead of the final grade submission deadline.

How Should My Thesis Be Organized?

The thesis should resemble an article for scholarly publication, and we strongly urge you to find a peer-reviewed journal article as model for organizing your thesis. You and your thesis advisor will tailor the format of the thesis to your project. However, in general, theses have the following components:

Introduction and Background

• Literature Review (or Theory and Hypotheses)

Bibliography

This section introduces your research question and contextualizes its broader significance. Here, you briefly describe the phenomenon or outcome you are studying, what your research question is and why your research is important, and what you intend to do in your paper. This section is generally 1-3 pages.

Theory and Hypotheses

This section reviews research already conducted on your topic and extracts from that literature some hypotheses or expectations about the outcome or phenomena you address in your study. It is meant to set the stage for your own research. Using previous research, you will describe the phenomenon you want to study and what previous research tells us about it. Strategically, this section will build to a justification of the research you plan to do.

It might help to work backwards and start with your research question and then structure this section of the paper so that your research seems like a natural and logical choice given what has and has not been done. The easiest way to do this is to arrange the literature review you have already done, not around individual articles, but around particular points or themes or hypotheses. This usually involves about 20 scholarly, peer-reviewed publications. Often, students find the literature review to be the most challenging portion of the thesis to write. The literature review is usually 4-10 pages long.

This section explains how you will do the research you propose. What data will you use? What does it contain? What will you be looking for – how will you identify or operationalize the factors you need to study? How will you collect the data (or how were they collected)? And what method will you use to analyze the data and link it to your theoretical expectations. The methods section is usually 3-6 pages long.

In the findings section, you will present the analysis you have done of the data. You have freedom to structure this section, but is should be tightly focused around your research question and your key propositions/ hypotheses. Use examples from published peer-review articles as a guide. In this section, you are exploring or examining what you said you planned to explore or examine in your introduction section, and you are using the methods you said you would use in your methods section. The findings section is usually 5-8 pages long, including tables.

Discussion and Conclusion

The findings section brings the different elements of your paper together. In this section, you summarize your results from the findings section, relate these findings back to the literature you reviewed, describe the limitations of your study, and make a broader concluding statement about the importance of your findings. The discussion section is usually 3-5 pages long.

All of the works cited should be referenced in your bibliography. The bibliography must follow a standard format, such as Chicago Style, MLA, or APA.

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