Graduate Student Professional Development in Applied Sociology Courses through Group Research Projects

Abstract

Designing stimulating and scholarly course projects for graduate students in an applied sociology course is a challenge. We discuss the development and continued refinement a type of course project that involves all students in the course in a collaborative research project and helps them understand the process of conducting and reporting applied research. Objectives of the project for the students are: (1) professionalization and socialization into the discipline; (2) experience in defining, developing, executing, and delivering a real-world research project; (3) experience in working on a research team and working with other disciplines; (4) development of critical thinking and the sociological imagination in conceptualizing the project; and (5) output of a scholarly product for the students' vita. The students define the research problem, identify subjects, develop research instruments, collect data, analyze the data, and write a paper potentially resulting in a professional meeting presentation and publication in an academic journal.