course materials

1. 5-2 project one: research investigation
SCS 200 Project One Guidelines and RubricOverviewProfessionals in the social sciences
investigate human behavior and society for the purpose of understanding why people act
the way they do. This investigation can help address a wide variety of social issues, such as
the role of social media in the Arab Spring protests, the impact of social skills on future
success, racial factors in police violence, and how partitioned grocery carts can help
shoppers purchase healthier foods. Social scientists can help address issues such as these
through research and investigation.The summative assessment for this course has two
parts. In Project One, you will conduct a research investigation that examines an issue in the
social sciences. You will identify appropriate resources for investigating the issue you select,
use these resources to apply social science principles to the issue, and develop a question
related to the issue. In addition, you will identify an audience who would be interested in
the selected issue. In Project Two, you will develop a presentation for the audience you
identified in Project One. In your presentation, you will explain how social scientific
thinking has affected you and discuss the impact of the issue on your audience, supporting
your claims with evidence.Project One addresses the following course outcomes: Illustrate
the impact of social scientific thinking on personal and professional experiences Select
appropriate and relevant social science resources in investigating contemporary issues in
the social sciences Communicate effectively to specific audiences in examining
fundamental aspects of human behavior Apply essential principles of the social sciences in
addressing critical questions related to human behaviorPromptIn Project One, you will
select a contemporary issue in the social sciences to investigate. You may select an issue
discussed in the course, or you may select your own with instructor approval. You could
consider using your question from SCS 100 if it is something you would like to investigate
further for this assessment. After selecting an issue, you will conduct a research
investigation, identifying appropriate resources for researching the issue, applying social
science principles to your issue, and developing a question related to the issue. You will
submit your research investigation as a written report.1 Specifically, the following critical
elements must be addressed:I. Introduction: In this section, you will discuss your social
science issue and select resources that you can use to research the issue. Specifically, you
should do the following:A. Describe the issue in the social sciences that you have selected to
investigate. Why is this issue significant?B. Describe at least three social science resources
that you could use to investigate the issue you selected. Your sources must be relevant to
yourissue and must be of an academic nature appropriate for the issue. In your description,

2. consider questions such as these: What are the similarities and differences in the content of
your sources? What makes them appropriate and relevant for investigating your issue?
What was your thought process when you were searching for sources? How did you make
choices?II. Body: In this section, you will use the social science resources that you selected
to investigate your issue, focusing on an appropriate audience and the social science
principles related to the issue. Be sure to cite your sources. Based on your research, address
the following:A. Identify the social science principles that apply to your issue. In other
words, which principles of social science apply to the issue you selected?B. Explain how the
principles you identified apply to your issue. In other words, how are the social science
principles you identified relevant to yourissue?C. Identify an audience that would be
interested in your issue. For example, who would benefit most from hearing your message?
Or who couldbest help in addressing the issue?D. Describe how and why you can tailor your
message to your audience, providing specific examples. For example, will your audience
understandsocial scientific terminology and principles, or will you need to explain these?
How will you communicate effectively with your audience?III. Conclusion: In this section,
you will conclude your research investigation by discussing future directions for research.
Specifically, you should do the following:A. Based on your investigation, develop a research
question related to the issue you selected. In other words, what would you like to know
more about?B. Explain how a social scientist would go about investigating the research
question you developed. In other words, what would the next steps be if a social scientist
were to continue researching your question?IV. Provide a reference list that includes all of
the social science resources you used to investigate your issue and question. Ensure that
your list is formatted according to current APA guidelines (or another format with
instructor permission).2 Project One RubricGuidelines for Submission: Your research
investigation should be 3 to 5 pages in length and should use double spacing, 12-point
Times New Roman font, andone-inch margins. You should use current APA style guidelines
(or another format approved by your instructor) for your citations and reference
list. Critical Elements Exemplary ProficientNeeds Improvement Not Evident