Get Assignment paper Help-SOC 005 SPRING 2018 Assignment 6: Case Study PART 2
SOC 005 – SPRING 2018 Guidelines for Assignment 6: Case Study PART 2 (worth 50 points)
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Your objective in this assignment is to write a constructionist case study of claimsmaking about a particular social problem.
This case study should be based on your own research into claimsmaking about your chosen social problem topic and on what
we’ve been learning about social problem construction in our class this semester. In Part 2 of your case study you will build on
Part 1* by providing a sociological account of your chosen social problem’s “construction” in three of the last four stages of the
social problems process. Following our textbook’s “Natural History Model” (pp. 17-23) Part 2 of your case study will cover
Stage 3: Public Reaction, Stage 4: Policy Making, and Stage 6: Policy Outcomes. In addition, you will add a conclusion in which
you use what you’ve learned from completing this case study (Parts 1 & 2) to advise the reader on how to best respond to the
social problem claims you’ve studied.
* Part 1 of your Case Study covered Stage 1: Claimsmaking and Stage 2: Media Coverage in Joel Best’s model.
You can assume that your reader is familiar with the constructionist perspective on social problems. However,
you should not assume that the person reading your report is an expert on your chosen troubling condition or on
its construction as a social problem of some sort.
Instructions for Completing Part 2 of your Case Study
Please follow the instructions below to complete part 2 of your case study. If you have questions about how to
complete this assignment be sure to ask me while there is still enough time remaining for you to complete the
assignment by the due-date.
A. THE CONTENT OF YOUR CASE STUDY (PART 2)
The write-up of the second part of your case study should:
(1) build upon the work you have done to complete the first part of the case study.
AND
(2) apply relevant general concepts, ideas, questions, and perspectives that we’ve learned about in the
class to the specifics of your chosen case study topic.
This means that your case study should demonstrate that you are well-informed about and able to use “tools” that are
useful for “de-constructing” claims about social problems. You are not required to cite the textbook, R.A.V.E materials,
documentaries, or PowerPoints from lecture but it should be clear to your reader that you have a solid sociological
understanding of how social problems are constructed and the role that the public and policy makers play in the social
problems process.
B. THE ORGANIZATION OF YOUR CASE STUDY (PART 2)
The second part of your case study should be organized to include the four sections described below. You
are also required to cite the sources you’ve identified in your own research. Deviation from this format will cost
you points if your case study is not in sync with the evaluation rubric at the end of this document.
To keep your report within the required parameters described below you will need to make careful decisions about
which aspects of your social problem’s “construction process” you cover in more and less depth and which examples
you include to make the points you wish to make about claimsmaking about the social problem you have chosen as
your case study topic.
Space is limited so make every word count!
Revise and edit your document to eliminate dross so that the content is solid gold.
***PLEASE PROVIDE A HEADING FOR EACH SECTION SO WE CAN EASILY IDENTIFY EACH OF THE FOUR SECTIONS***
1. Re-Introduce the Two Claims featured in Part 1 of your Case Study (Two paragraphs)
Remember the two paragraphs you wrote up for Section 1: The Rhetoric of Claims about your Social Problem in the
first part of your case study? Your task now is to revise those two paragraphs to re-introduce the two claims about
a social problem that your case study is based on. Use one paragraph in this section to re-introduce claim 1 and the
second paragraph in this section to re-introduce claim 2.
To re-introduce each of your two claims from Part 1 you MUST clearly describe:
a. the specific claim being made that a social condition is in fact a “social problem.”
For example: The legality of same-sex marriage is a social problem.
b. what makes this social condition a “social problem,” according to claimsmakers.
For example:
Legalizing same-sex marriage is a social problem (troubling condition) because it makes homosexuality
socially acceptable.
c. who (individuals, groups, or organizations) makes this claim?
For example:
Experts from the National Organization for Marriage and activists promoting the Defense of Marriage Act
make the claim that legalizing same-sex marriage is a social problem because it makes homosexuality socially
acceptable.
d. how is this claim treated by secondary claimsmakers in the media?
For example:
Experts from conservative think tanks like National Organization for Marriage and activists promoting the
Defense of Marriage Act are routinely featured in reporting on same-sex marriage from Fox News and CNN.
DO NOT simply Cut & Paste Section 1 from Part 1 of your case study here!
Instead, revise and edit what you wrote in Section 1; integrating other highlights from Part 1 of your case study and
if necessary, adding new information about the claims introduced in Part 1 of your case study.
2. Public Reaction (2 Paragraphs)
Illustrate and discuss how the public has responded to each of the two social problem claims you are studying
(those re-introduced in section 2 above). Indicators of people’s reaction to these claims may come from legitimate
public opinion research (such as Pew Research Center), social media activity, or folklore in the form of urban
legends, rumors, and jokes.
Concepts relevant to Section 2 include:
Worldview Backfire Effect, Motivated Reasoning, Uncertain Knowledge,
Joke Cycles, Conspiracy Theories, Fake News, Social Fault Lines, Moral Panics, Folk Devils
3. Policy Making & Policy Outcomes (2 Paragraphs)
Illustrate and discuss how policy makers have responded to each of the two social problem claims you are studying
and criticism or support of existing or proposed policy “solutions” related to each of the two socially constructed
social problems that you are studying.
Concepts relevant to Section 3 include:
Moral Entrepreneurs, Policy Domains & Streams, Symbolic & Instrumental Politics,
Causal Stories, Policy Evaluation, Ideological Predispositions, Political Cultures, 3 types of policy critiques
4. Sociological Conclusions Based on your Case Study (2 Paragraphs)
Your task in this final section is to explain what you’ve discovered about the social construction of social problems
by stepping into the role of a sociologist to conduct your case study. In other words, explain what you’ve learned
by studying two claims from the point of view of a “stranger” using your sociological imagination to gain an
objective understanding of how these claims are constructed through the social problems process. In doing so, you
should offer your reader some useful advice about how they should respond to these two social problems, whose
social construction you have exposed in your case study. This will require you to explain to your reader how
skeptical they should be about these two claims and why this degree of skepticism is warranted.
Be sure to point out specific warning signs you’ve uncovered in your case study that skepticism is warranted!
(such as questionable “facts” and sources, dubious credentials, hidden agendas and allegiances and ideological bias)
Sources
You are required to cite the sources you’ve used your own research within the text of your case study and in a
List of Sources at the end of your case study.
You do not need to cite sources used in the course.
(textbook, R.A.V.E materials, films or PowerPoints from lecture)
Your case study is based on an “archival” research method. In doing the research for your case study you’ve
searched for information archived online to help you understand aspects of claimsmaking and media coverage
related to your topic. Now you need to acknowledge the sources of information that you’ve used to write each
section of your case study. To do that you will need to indicate in your text each time you use information from one
of your sources. This is known as an In-Text Citation and provides an easy way to avoid unintentional plagiarism.
For this assignment, we’ll use a simple format to help you keep track of your sources and make them easy to cite
when you use information from them in your case study.
Here’s what you need to do to cite a source in your text:
If what you’ve written is based on specific information from a source you located in your research, identify it by a
number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Each number in your text will correspond to a numbered item
in the Source List that you will include at the end of your case study. If you cite this source again in your case study
simply insert the number in parentheses again.
At the end of your report provide LIST OF SOURCES that includes a complete citation for each source you’ve cited
in your text, clearly identified using the number you assigned it.
Please list your sources using the APA (American Psychological Association) citation format.
OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab guide to APA citation format for web online sources/web publications:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/
For example, let’s say I’ve written a case study on the social problem of discrimination against obese people.
Here is a sentence from my paragraph on the rhetoric of claims:
A key warrant in Fat Acceptance movement claims is that people with any body shape can be targets of discrimination if others perceive
their body as deviant in some way from the norm so it isn’t just a problem that “Fat people” have to worry about (1).
Here is the APA-style full citation for source #1 in my List of Sources:
(1) Baker, J. (2014) “6 Things I Understand about the Fat Acceptance Movement.” Huffington Post Blog.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jes-baker/6-things-that-i-understand-fat-acceptance- movement_b_5200650.html
This is the first source I reference in my Case Study so I’ve numbered it #1 and if I refer to it again I’ll include “(1)” in the
text to indicate that this is the source of the idea or information I’m reporting on.
IMPORTANT: Source Quality vs. Quantity of Sources
Because of the wide range of potential sources available for a social problem case study it is impossible for me to
specify a required number. Instead, I will evaluate how effectively you have based the content of your case study
on the sources that you’ve identified in doing the research for this project. This means that I will consider the
quality of the sources you’ve chosen to use in my evaluation of each section of your case study. The rubric below
specifies that each of the three sections of your case study should be “thorough and informative” and that standard
will be impossible to achieve without citations that back up what you’ve written.
In other words, I’m more interested in how well the sources you include help you write a clear, accurate, and insightful
constructionist case study than purely how many sources you have included. Of course, if your case study looks as if it
relies too much on a single source that raises the suspicion that you are re-using someone else’s ideas rather than
developing your own!
Formatting Guidelines
a Please type this assignment (single or double-spaced) using nothing smaller than 11-point font.
a I am primarily interested in the content of your assignment. However, spelling / grammatical errors, poor
sentence/paragraph construction, and typos will count against you if they interfere with my ability to understand the
written content.
a Clarity and organization are essential. I expect your finished assignment to reflect a process of revision over multiple
drafts. Do not write in the informal, conversational style of an email or text message and do not attempt to write this
assignment “off the top of your head” or in a “stream of consciousness” way. If an assignment reads like a rough draft
the author will not receive a passing grade.
a Label your report with your Name, Case Study Part 2, a catchy and descriptive Title, the submission Date and SOC 005
– Spring 2018.
Evaluation Rubric
Content
Requirement
Needs Work
6 points
Decent
8 points
Excellent
10 points
Section 1 Re-introduction of the 2 social
problem claims is not thorough
and/or not informative
Re-introduction of the 2 social
problem claims is mostly thorough
and informative
Re-introduction of the 2 social
problem claims is thorough and
informative
Section 2
Illustration and discussion of public
reaction to the 2 social problem
claims is not thorough and/or not
informative
Illustration and discussion of public
reaction to the 2 social problem
claims is mostly thorough and
informative
Illustration and discussion of public
reaction to the 2 social problem
claims is thorough and informative
Section 3
Illustration and discussion of policy
making and policy outcomes
regarding the 2 social problem
claims is not thorough and/or not
informative
Illustration and discussion of policy
making and policy outcomes
regarding the 2 social problem
claims is mostly thorough and
informative
Illustration and discussion of policy
making and policy outcomes
regarding the 2 social problem
claims is thorough and informative
Section 4 Sociological conclusions are not
reasonable and/or offer less than
useful advice to the reader
Sociological conclusions are
reasonable and offer mostly useful
advice to the reader
Sociological conclusions are
compelling and offer useful advice
to the reader
Sources Unsuitable in-text citations and/or
incomplete APA-style citations
listed for all sources.
Mostly suitable in-text citations and
complete APA-style citations listed
for all sources.
Suitable in-text citations and
complete APA-style citations listed
for all sources.
* You will earn zero points for each missing, off-target, or incomplete component of the assignment.
