NOTE:  The sentence guides are offered only as advice on how to craft a clear, concise response.  Granted, this is a lot of material to cover in only 1 page, double-spaced, but you can do it!  Make your points clearly, succinctly and well.  Also, don't respond in bullet points, craft a narrative that responds to the above questions.

Ch 2: Research Methods:  Imagine that you are a Sociological consultant designing a research project for a non-profit organization that develops interventions for underage drinking.  You have been asked to develop a research study that examines the relationship between binge drinking and academic performance among college students at CU-Boulder.  In your “research proposal” for this week, please answer the following questions:
 

• What is your research question? (1 sentence)
• What is your hypothesis?  (1 sentence)
• How are you going to measure binge drinking and academic performance?  In other words, what is your operational definition for each variable? (2-3 sentences)
• Which variable is the independent variable and which is the dependent variable? (1-2 sentences)
• What type of method (survey, ethnography, experiment) will you use and why? (2-3 sentences)
• How will you choose your study’s sample? (2-3 sentences)
• What ethical concerns must you take into consideration in your research? (1-2 sentences)
• What other variables must you control for in your study? In other words, what other factors may interfere with your results? (1-2 sentences)

Chapter 3: Culture:  Our culture, in the form of social norms, provides guidelines for our behavior.  In this assignment, you will have to think about the ways in which these guidelines affect your behavior and how these guidelines may differ depending on the social setting.  PLEASE BE SURE TO ANSWER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS  IN YOUR ASSIGNMENT AND AIM TO WEAVE YOUR ANSWERS TOGETHER SUCH THAT THEY FORM A COHERENT ESSAY.

• What are norms, and what purpose do they serve?  List a norm which guides your behavior in each of the following roles: as a college student, as a daughter/son, and as a friend/boyfriend/girlfriend.  (3-5 sentences)
• What are sanctions, and what purpose do they serve?  List at least three sanctions you use daily in your interactions.  Are these sanctions verbal or non-verbal?  (3-5 sentences)
• Consider how norms and sanctions guide actions in different social settings.  Describe how norms surrounding cell phone usage (both calls and texting) might differ for the following settings: at a party, on a bus, in a restaurant, and during a movie.  Are there any norms concerning cell phone use which might be the same (or different) for more than one of these environments?  Be sure to describe what about the social settings allows for the change of norms.  In your answer, make use of the concept from  the Witt textbook that explains why there are not yet standard and accepted norms surrounding the use of cell phones.  (4-7 sentences)
• According to the reading posted on the course website (“Communication Evolution”), what are some sociological questions that might arise in the midst of this "communication evolution?" (2-3 sentences)

Chapter 4: Socialization -- this is a challenging assignment but we know you can do it! 

The recitation reading for this week was an article on the influence of gender socialization on eating disorders. This is but one example of how socialization shapes social processes and patterns. 

Using the reading as a guide, for this assignment you’ll apply your understanding of socialization to a social pattern or social process of your choosing. 

Social patterns and processes are everywhere -- for example, think about patterns of racial inequality in educational attainment.  How might socialization play a role in generating such patterned inequalities?  You can think about daily life, too.  For example, consider the lack of social interaction across age cohorts.  How might socialization influence this social pattern?  As a final example, is there class stratification downtown on Pearl Street Mall?  If so, how might socialization shape this social pattern?  These are just examples to get you thinking about "social patterns or processes" - you may not use these specific examples, but feel free to come up with general ones or something that you encounter regularly in your daily life. 

• State the social pattern or process you’re examining.
• In what ways does socialization shape this pattern or process?  Does socialization, for example, create expectations (such as when gender socialization creates an ideal body type as thin, according to the article – or when young persons in upper socio-economic classes are socialized such that a bachelor’s degree is a minimum educational expectation).
• What are the key agents of socialization acting upon this social pattern or process?  How do these agents of socialization influence individual action?
• Using material from Witt’s Ch. 4, explore the Sociological concept of “self” as related to socialization and your examined social pattern/process.  Be sure to use some textbook terminology, including ideas from Piaget, Cooley, Mead or other Sociologists as appropriate.

Ch 5:  Social Structure and Social Interaction (due starting the Wed Feb 23rd -- look closely at calendar to be sure you're doing the right assignment!)

Social structure is all around us, shaping our everyday interactions.  Think critically about your primary and secondary groups.  Name at least two of each. Then, zoom in on one group.  How are the boundaries for this group formed, maintained and communicated?  For example, how do you know you are part of a group (or not)?  Be sure to discuss the formation, maintenance and communication of group boundaries.  Also, describe a status, and its associated role, that accompanies membership in the group and indicate whether the status is ascribed and achieved.  Describe either a real, or potential, role conflict associated with that status as related to another status that you hold.  Finally, describe a way in which your chosen status, within your chosen group, has constrained your social interaction.

Ch 12: Gender & Sexuality

Your life as a boy/girl.

For the first part of your paper, draw on readings and lecture materials to answer the following questions:

• How are gender roles shaped and how do social forces constrain these roles?
• What are some of the negative consequences of strictly defined gender roles?

 Many of us take our gender for granted and give little thought to how our life would be different had we been born a different biological sex (and, therefore, lived a different social constructed "gender").  For the second part of your paper, answer the following question:

•  How would aspects of your specific life be different if you had been born a different sex?  “Your specific life” means that you need to consider growing up female/male within the context of the same family you have, the same class position, neighborhood, etc.

Avoid simplistic statements like “if I were a boy, I would have played with GI Joe instead of Barbie” and instead demonstrate that you have deeply considered how your life, all else being the same, might have looked similar in some ways and different in others had you been born the other sex.

Finally, wthin the narrative of your "specific life as a boy/girl", bridge the above two parts of this assignment by:

• Providing an example of how strictly defined gender roles have constrained or facilitated your own opportunities/choices.

Chapter 6:  Deviance 

Think of a deviant behavior you have done, not a criminal behavior, but an otherwise deviant behavior. Explain the behavior in terms of:

1) Why did you do it? Apply at least one of the theories of deviant or criminal behavior.

2) Using the definition of deviance, explain how or why the act was deviant.

3) What were the ramifications of the act? Apply elements of social control.

4) If you had a different social status do you think your actions would have been judged the same way? Why or why not?

Chapter 10:  Social Class

This assignment requires a slightly different approach than the previous chapters.  After doing the readings, you'll need to do some research on your hometown.  If you are from outside of the U.S., please select a U.S. city with which you have some experience.   For this assignment, imagine that you are a single mother/father with a four-year old son and a very fashion-conscious 10 year old daughter.  Also, imagine that you just moved to your hometown and, therefore, have no friends or family nearby that could offer support and/or child care.

With this information, construct a monthly budget based on the cost of living in your hometown.  For example, find the cost of an apartment or rental house in your hometown (research tip: look in online classifieds).  Also, find the cost of full-day child care for your son and the cost of after-school care for your daughter (research tips: talk to someone you know with kids that lives in your hometown, or check the website of the YMCA or a child care center for an estimate).  You may estimate other expenses based on your personal experience.  Your completed budget should be in the form of a list -- don't forget groceries, toiletries, clothing, gas/car payment, and perhaps health insurance.  Maybe even try find discretionary funds for an occasional movie or restaurant meal !

Next, find the minimum wage in your home state (research tip: http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm).  Estimate your monthly income based on a minimum wage job, forty hours per week, minus taxes.

Finally, describe your impression of this budget and what you might do to make ends meet.  Related your findings to the Sociological concepts of "life chances, "social stratification" and "social inequality."  Also, briefly discuss your results as related to the reading "Nickeled and Dimed."