Research Paper Due November 15th
Research Paper Due November 15thresearch Paper You Are Required To Co
Research Paper: You are required to conduct and observe some sport, either as a participant, a coach, or a spectator, in person (you cannot watch ESPN or Monday night football and have that count). This involves taking "field notes", asking questions, developing hypotheses, and drawing conclusions from your experiences and notes. You should also create qualitative research questions to informally interview participants (players, fans, parents, referees, etc.). You will turn in a brief description and summary of the sporting environment you observed, a critique and analysis of the sociological concepts and issues raised in it, and an overview of any research findings.
You are expected to respond critically with two-three full pages (no more than three and no less than two), double-spaced, 11-point font, 1" margins, no heading. I only want your name at the top and nothing else.
Paper For Above instruction
The purpose of this research paper is to engage directly with the sociological aspects of sports through firsthand observation, qualitative inquiry, and critical analysis. By participating in or observing a sporting event in person, students gain an immersive understanding of the social dynamics, interactions, and cultural significance embedded within athletic environments. This experiential approach allows for a nuanced exploration of how sports serve as microcosms of societal structures, identities, and issues.
To fulfill this assignment, students must select a sport event that they can attend physically—either as a participant, coach, or spectator. Watching sports on television or via online streaming does not qualify; the emphasis is on in-person engagement to ensure authentic observations and interactions. During the event, students should diligently take field notes to capture details about the environment, the behavior of participants and spectators, social interactions, and any notable occurrences. These notes form the foundation for developing qualitative research questions that inform informal interviews with players, fans, referees, or other stakeholders involved in the sport.
The research questions should aim to uncover sociological themes such as group identities, gender roles, authority and power dynamics, social stratification, race and ethnicity, or issues of inclusion and exclusion present in the sporting environment. With these questions, students conduct informal interviews, seeking diverse perspectives and deeper insights into the social fabric of the sport. The collected data, combined with observations, will support a critical analysis of the sociological concepts at play.
The final submission requires a brief but comprehensive report that includes a descriptive overview of the sporting environment observed, highlighting its sociocultural context. The report should critique and analyze the sociological issues revealed during observation and questioning, drawing connections to relevant sociological theories and frameworks. It should conclude with a reflection on the research findings, discussing what the observations suggest about broader social patterns and issues, and any insights gained from the informal interviews.
The written analysis must be between two and three pages, double-spaced, using 11-point font with 1-inch margins. The submission should only contain your name at the top; no additional headers or titles are necessary. This assignment offers an opportunity to critically examine sport as a social institution and to develop research skills grounded in qualitative, ethnographic methods.
References
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Harvard University Press.
Coakley, J. (2017). Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Eitzen, S. M. (2013). Fair and foul: Beyond the myths and paradoxes of sport. Rowman & Littlefield.
Howell, D. (2017). An Introduction to Sport Sociology. Routledge.
Rowe, D. (2004). Sport, Culture and the Media. McGraw-Hill Education.
Sage, G. H. (2000). Sociology of Sport and Social Theory. Routledge.
Eitzen, S. M., & Sage, G. H. (2019). Sociology of Sport and Social Issues. Routledge.
Falcous, M., & Silk, M. (2019). Sport and social identities. Routledge.
Brantz, M. (2018). The Sociology of Sport. University Press.
Carrington, B. (2010). The racial geometry of sport. Sociological Perspectives, 53(3), 415-434.