Guide and Examples for Writing a Sociology Abstract

Guide and Examples for Writing a Sociology Abstract If you are a student learning sociology, chances are you will be asked to write an abstract. Sometimes, your teacher or professor may ask you to write an abstract at the beginning of the research process to help you organize your ideas for the research. Other times, the organizers of a conference or editors of an academic journal or book will ask you to write one to serve as a summary of research you have completed and that you intend to share. Lets review exactly what an abstract is and the five steps you need to follow in order to write one. Definition Within sociology, as with other sciences, an abstract is a brief and concise description of a research project that is typically in the range of 200 to 300 words. Sometimes you may be asked to write an abstract at the beginning of a research project and other times, you will be asked to do so after the research is completed. In any case, the abstract serves, in effect, as a sales pitch for your research. Its goal is to pique the interest of the reader such that he or she continues to read the research report that follows the abstract or decides to attend a research presentation you will give about the research. For this reason, an abstract should be written in clear and descriptive language and should avoid the use of acronyms and jargon. Types Depending on at what stage in the research process you write your abstract, it will fall into one of two categories: descriptive or informative. Those written before the research is completed will be descriptive in nature. Descriptive abstracts provide an overview of the purpose, goals, and proposed methods of your study, but do not include discussion of the results or conclusions you might draw from them. Informative abstracts are super-condensed versions of a research paper that provide an overview of the motivations for the research, problem(s) it addresses, approach and methods, the results of the research, and your conclusions and implications of the research. Preparing to Write Before you write an  abstract there are a few important steps you should complete. First, if you are writing an informative abstract, you should write the full research report. It may be tempting to start by writing the abstract because it is short, but in reality, you cant write it until you the report is complete because the abstract should be a condensed version of it. If youve yet to write the report, you probably have not yet completed analyzing your data or thinking through the conclusions and implications. You cant write a research abstract until youve done these things. Another important consideration is the length of the abstract. Whether you are submitting it for publication, to a conference, or to a teacher or professor for a class, you will have been given guidance on how many words the abstract can be. Know your word limit in advance and stick to it. Finally, consider the audience for your abstract. In most cases, people you have never met will read your abstract. Some of them may not have the same expertise in sociology that you have, so its important that you write your abstract in clear language and without jargon. Remember that your abstract is, in effect, a sales pitch for your research, and you want it to make people want to learn more. Step-by-Step Guide Motivation. Begin your abstract by describing what motivated you to conduct the research. Ask yourself what made you pick this topic. Is there a particular social trend or  phenomenon that sparked your interest in doing the project? Was there a gap in existing research that you sought to fill by conducting your own? Was there something, in particular, you set out to prove? Consider these questions and begin your abstract by briefly stating, in one or two sentences, the answers to them.Problem. Next, describe the problem or question to which your research seeks to provide an answer or better understanding. Be specific and explain if this is a general problem or a specific one affecting only certain regions or sections of the population. You should finish describing the problem by stating your hypothesis, or what you expect to find after conducting your research.Approach and methods. Following your description of the problem, you must next explain how your research approaches it, in terms of theoretical framing or general perspective, and which research methods you will use to do the research. Remember, this should be brief, jargon-free, and concise. Results. Next, describe in one or two sentences the results of your research. If you completed a complex research project that led to several results that you discuss in the report, highlight only the most significant or noteworthy in the abstract. You should state whether or not you were able to answer your research questions, and if surprising results were found too. If, as in some cases, your results did not adequately answer your question(s), you should report that as well.Conclusions. Finish your abstract by briefly stating what conclusions you draw from the results and what implications they might hold. Consider whether there are implications for the practices and policies of organizations and/or government bodies that are connected to your research, and whether your results suggest that further research should be done, and why. You should also point out whether the results of your research are generally and/or broadly applicable or whether they are descriptive in nature and fo cused on a particular case or limited population. Example Lets take as an example the abstract that serves as the teaser for a journal article by sociologist Dr. David Pedulla. The article in question, published in American Sociological Review,  is a report on how taking a job below ones skill level or doing part-time work can hurt a persons future career prospects in their chosen field or profession.  The abstract is annotated with bolded numbers that show the steps in the process outlined above. 1. Millions of workers are employed in positions that deviate from the full-time, standard employment relationship or work in jobs that are mismatched with their skills, education, or experience. 2. Yet, little is known about how employers evaluate workers who have experienced these employment arrangements, limiting our knowledge about how part-time work, temporary agency employment, and skills underutilization affect workers labor market opportunities. 3. Drawing on original field and survey experiment data, I examine three questions: (1) What are the consequences of having a nonstandard or mismatched employment history for workers labor market opportunities? (2) Are the effects of nonstandard or mismatched employment histories different for men and women? and (3) What are the mechanisms linking nonstandard or mismatched employment histories to labor market outcomes? 4. The field experiment shows that skills underutilization is as scarring for workers as a year of unemployment, but that there are limited penalties for workers with histories of temporary agency employment. Additionally, although men are penalized for part-time employment histories, women face no penalty for part-time work. The survey experiment reveals that employers perceptions of workers competence and commitment mediate these effects. 5. These findings shed light on the consequences of changing employment relations for the distribution of labor market opportunities in the new economy. Its really that simple.

7 New Year’s resolutions for career-oriented parents

7 New Year’s resolutions for career-oriented parents Do you fall prey to the New Year’s resolution rollercoaster? In winter, most of us decide I will do better. By springtime, you already feel like a failure- or, you simply forget why it was so important to wake up every day at 5 a.m. to go to the gym. With kids, you’re not only navigating personal or professional goals; your resolutions can also factor in a whole other person or set of people: This summer I will finally teach my daughter to ride a bike! Setting resolutions can be truly intimidating, and if you reach too far, you’ll set yourself up for disappointment and bad feelings. The real goal in making resolutions is to tap into the motivation you feel in the new year by setting low-key, flexible goals so you’re not setting yourself up for failure.1. Shoot for good-enoughism, not perfectionismThis first one is a meta-resolution. There’s an old proverb:   Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Whether you missed a school recital or aren’t as far along in your career as you hoped, you have to get over the longing to be all things to all people, ditch the guilt, and meet yourself where you are. Give yourself a forgiving timeline to meet your goals and allow yourself to simply be good enough.2. Establish new traditionsSchedule a new family outing once a month on the weekends- maybe explore a hiking trail or visit a local museum. Fostering a sense of adventure and trying new things can help you get out of a rut, and it also allows you to prioritize family time in a fun way outside of the house. Plus, once a month is a reasonable goal to set, and something the family can look forward to every time the calendar page turns.3. Take a personal day once a monthPrioritizing self-care is something working parents â€Å"forget† to do (or perhaps feel is impossible), but it is something you need to do in order to remain centered, healthy, and able to be a good employee and a good parent. A whole day to do those little tasks that have been nagging but not urgent, or to get yourself organized, or take a long bath or read a good book- whatever a personal day looks like to you that would help you re-center- can allow you to de-stress and gain better overall focus. When you have too much going on, sometimes it’s important to just hit the pause button. You  can tackle all your tasks the next day, we promise.4. Ditch the multi-taskingHave you heard multi-tasking is bad? Like, really bad. When you try to do two things at once, which is actually impossible, you do both things worse and your ability to focus suffers. But parents, whether you are aware of it or not, are constantly multi-tasking by default, trying to meet the needs and demands of multiple people at once. So, it takes extra care to try to focus on one task at a time. You need to establish boundaries. Kids know when you’re distracted, so half-listening to your daughter tell a story as you write an email sends the w rong message to her. Give yourself a clear space to do this task; go into another room and help your kids learn patience as they wait until you are finished.5. Declutter your commitmentsParents get really good at saying â€Å"no† to their kids but are not necessarily good at applying the same practice to peers or coworkers. When you’re juggling too much, you have to prioritize. Will doing this make me happy, will it make me a better person, will it enrich my life? Make sure you feel a strong â€Å"yes† when you agree to do something. You don’t need to bend over backwards for everyone. Learn when your â€Å"yes†es constitute being a good coworker, a good parent, or a good citizen, and learn to say â€Å"no† when things are too much.6. Curb your emailThis is along the same lines as learning to say â€Å"no.† Email â€Å"autoreply messages† aren’t just for vacation time. It can be really freeing to turn on your autoreply me ssage on your email as the last thing you do before you step out of the office. It sets a clear boundary in your mind that you will leave work behind, and also communicates that to others. If you don’t have a 9-to-5 job, this can prove trickier, but all the more vital. Set times when you will actively not check email and not think about work.7. Declutter your â€Å"stuff†The new year brings all the stuff you collected over the old year plus the new stuff you got from the holidays. It’s time to make space for that new stuff: recycle, donate, make a few bucks on Ebay, and empower your kids to decide what they no longer use and discover what clothes no longer fit. This can be a seasonal practice. But if you find your collection of â€Å"stuff† too daunting, even just getting rid of just one thing you don’t need in the new year will clear your mind and make you feel productive for 2019.