Running head: RACIAL STEREOTYPING AND PREJUDICE 1 RACIAL STEREOTYPING AND PREJUDICE 9 Research Proposal on Racial Stereotyping and Prejudice Research Proposal on Racial Stereotyping and Prejudice Introduction People from all over the world travel to different places and regions to experience the feeling of adventure and cultural integration with other individuals. When these people travel, they meet individuals from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, and with various affiliations. Racial affiliation is one of the associations that people connect themselves with when interacting. Besides, many people tend to act, think, and feel differently when interacting with others based on the fact that they belong to dissimilar races. Some show hate, prejudice, and stereotyping characteristics after discovering that another individual is affiliated to a different race. The problems that arise and persist as a result of racial discrimination, at times, tend to affect other people when they travel to different destinations. For instance, international tourists have raised concerns over how they receive unfair treatment because of their races. The problems associated with racial stereotyping and prejudice not only affect tourists, but also people in learning institutions, business, homes, and other avenues. This challenge has become significant because diversity is almost in every part of the globe. No country has only people with common affiliations and ethnicities in the world. Therefore, there are high chances of meeting people of different color and race in nearly every part of the universe (Hall et al., 2015). Besides, humankind is created differently which brings in the issue of diversity and variety. In the world, we have many races living in different parts where some are the original inhabitants while others became residents as a result of migration. For instance, a country like the United States of America has many people who are affiliated with different races. This aspect of the population makes the United States to be ranked as one of the countries with the highest diversity. However, the country still experiences problems associated with racial stereotyping and prejudice. Many people, especially those affiliated to the white race show hatred, discrimination, and forms of injustices on other races. Research Problem Migration and movement of people to different places is an issue that has been in existence for a long time. Even before a country like the United States gained independence, people used to move and settle in different parts of the world. Eventually, the world ended up having a diversity of people from all the races. However, in some places, only a few people from a certain race moved and settled there which created the issue of minority and majority (Hinton, 2017). Going by the example of the United States, the majority appear to be comprised of the whites making other races like the Africans, Hispanics, a.

1. Running head: RACIAL STEREOTYPING AND PREJUDICE
1
RACIAL STEREOTYPING AND PREJUDICE 9
Research Proposal on Racial Stereotyping and Prejudice
Research Proposal on Racial Stereotyping and Prejudice
Introduction
People from all over the world travel to different places and
regions to experience the feeling of adventure and cultural
integration with other individuals. When these people travel,
they meet individuals from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities,
and with various affiliations. Racial affiliation is one of the
associations that people connect themselves with when
interacting. Besides, many people tend to act, think, and feel
differently when interacting with others based on the fact that
they belong to dissimilar races. Some show hate, prejudice, and
stereotyping characteristics after discovering that another
individual is affiliated to a different race. The problems that
arise and persist as a result of racial discrimination, at times,
tend to affect other people when they travel to different
destinations. For instance, international tourists have raised

2. concerns over how they receive unfair treatment because of
their races.
The problems associated with racial stereotyping and prejudice
not only affect tourists, but also people in learning institutions,
business, homes, and other avenues. This challenge has become
significant because diversity is almost in every part of the
globe. No country has only people with common affiliations and
ethnicities in the world. Therefore, there are high chances of
meeting people of different color and race in nearly every part
of the universe (Hall et al., 2015). Besides, humankind is
created differently which brings in the issue of diversity and
variety. In the world, we have many races living in different
parts where some are the original inhabitants while others
became residents as a result of migration. For instance, a
country like the United States of America has many people who
are affiliated with different races. This aspect of the population
makes the United States to be ranked as one of the countries
with the highest diversity. However, the country still
experiences problems associated with racial stereotyping and
prejudice. Many people, especially those affiliated to the white
race show hatred, discrimination, and forms of injustices on
other races.
Research Problem
Migration and movement of people to different places is an
issue that has been in existence for a long time. Even before a
country like the United States gained independence, people used
to move and settle in different parts of the world. Eventually,
the world ended up having a diversity of people from all the
races. However, in some places, only a few people from a
certain race moved and settled there which created the issue of
minority and majority (Hinton, 2017). Going by the example of
the United States, the majority appear to be comprised of the
whites making other races like the Africans, Hispanics, and
Asians to constitute the minority. Besides, even in the modern
age, people are still immigrating and migrating.
The increase in the number of minority immigrants has been an

3. issue of concern for a long time. Shocking, various challenges
that are associated with racial affiliations are still experienced
in the modern age. In spite of having growth and developments
that have improved various parts of the world and its cultures,
discrimination based on race and ethnicity is rampant in the
United States and other parts of the world. In most cases, racial
and ethnic discrimination is between whites and non-whites.
Immigrant communities have been among the severely affected
by problems of racial stereotyping and prejudice. For example,
people who migrated to the US after 1975 have reported cases
of physical, psychological, mental, social, mental, and cultural
challenges with regards to prejudice and discrimination because
of their races.
Literature Review
Prejudice
Prejudice is usually described as an attitude with a conative
component, an effective component, and a cognitive aspect.
Hence, prejudice can be described as antagonism that is
essentially based on an inflexible and inappropriate
generalization or pre-judgment. In most cases, prejudice is
expressed or felt and concentrated on a group of people who are
affiliated to a certain race or ethnicity. Some research and
studies suggest that prejudice is a negative attitude based on the
fact that the people who pre-judge base it on bad motives
(Williams, Sng & Neuberg 2016). For instance, some people
feel others are inferior because they do not like them. It is
surprising that there is a group of people who pre-judge others
since they found it as a norm or a habit from others. Therefore,
they go on doing like their colleague did and even pass on the
culture without wanting to find the truth in it. Consequently, the
victims, who in most cases are the non-whites and other
minority groups continue to suffer the consequences of the
problems of racial stereotyping and prejudice.
Some researchers use psychology to suggest that prejudice
creates an environment in which there is the presence of other
individuals while adjusting everyone to objects within it.

4. Besides, these researchers claim that prejudice can also be used
for other reasons such as providing material possession and
improving the self-esteem of some individuals. Even though
psychology scholars suggest that prejudice is based on an
individual’s attitude sociology professionals state that the
concept of pre-judging has other purposes, especially when used
at the group level. In a nutshell, when a person has an attribute
of prejudice when relating to people affiliated to other races,
the individual may be doing so to achieve personal goals that
are attitude based. However, a certain group of people may
become prejudice when relating to their counterparts from other
races to gain certain benefits or aspirations.
Stereotyping
The word “stereotype” is often used to refer to a distinct picture
that comes in the mind of a person when a certain thing is
mentioned. When people are relating to each other, some
individuals create stereotypes of others. Therefore, they end up
developing certain “image” or beliefs concerning others. For
instance, there is a group of whites who distinctively believe
that non-whites are inferior and less important people who
should be disregarded. The former thus associate the later with
incapability, incompleteness, and other disadvantages. In such a
case, the disregarded people may also believe that they are
incapable, incomplete, or disadvantaged which end up lowering
their esteems. Besides, stereotyping facilitate other problems
and challenges due to the idea of labeling others (FitzGerald &
Hurst 2017). For instance, some stereotyped people may end up
starting fights as a counteractive measure for being called
inferior and other unpleasant names.
Some studies suggest that stereotyping entails mental diagrams
used when processing information on other individuals based on
their social perspectives. Stereotyping makes people have an
idea of what to expect when they see or interact with others. At
times, the concept of stereotyping is used to suggest the same
meaning as that of prejudice. This is because when we say that
stereotyping makes people have an idea of what to expect from

5. others is the same as pre-judging. Importantly, Stereotypes
greatly contributed to the discrimination and perpetration of
other injustices, particularly to minority groups across the globe
(Van Dijk, 2015). A majority of people who stereotype others
tend to associate them with limitations and disadvantages. The
main aim of people who stereotype others is to discriminate
them and make others have the same perception towards the
later. Therefore, the stereotyped individuals may feel
intimidated or of lesser important as compared to their
counterparts. The whites in a nation like the US stereotype
others by disregarding and refuting them which paves the way
for discrimination, hate, and other racial-based problems.
Discrimination
As far as interaction among people is concerned, discrimination
is associated with having a disapproving meaning. Also,
discrimination is also believed to suggest a negative perception
of an individual towards others. At the societal level,
discrimination is found to be the cause of unfair and undesired
treatment of people because of having an association with a
certain group, ethnicity or race (Williams, Sng & Neuberg
2016). Mostly, discrimination makes those with negative
perception towards others to adopt inappropriate behaviors that
will directly or indirectly affect them. For example, some
members of the majority race tend to openly show hatred or
disrespect towards the minority races as signs of discrimination.
In extreme cases, some people use negative and abusive remarks
to individuals affiliated to minority races to suggest high levels
of discrimination.
Additionally, discrimination can also be used to demonstrate
how a certain group of people deny others some rights based on
their race or ethnicity. In such a case, members of an
advantaged group can make it difficult or create some stringent
conditions like price hike on some products to ensure the
disadvantaged ones do get what they yearn for. It is also
essential to note that in this case, local authorities and
regulatory bodies also play a crucial role in facilitating

6. discrimination among people. Besides, the majority groups may
partner with authorities and regulatory bodies to execute
inhumane acts associated with discrimination that greatly affect
members of the minority communities (Azevedo et al., 2017).
Other research and studies indicate that discrimination is, at
times, defined as exaction of actions that are aimed at ensuring
a person stays in power or top position at the cost of other
people. Therefore, such an individual will do all forms of
inappropriate actions and dealings that affect others severely to
facilitate his or her stay at the top. Hence, discrimination is
broadly understood as undesired or biased behavior that either
favor or disfavor a person’s own group.
Deficiency in the Literature on Racial Stereotyping and
Prejudice
The literature review indicates that there are enormous
information and pieces of evidence on the topic of Racial
Stereotyping and Prejudice. However, just like any other field
of research there exist some gaps or deficiencies in the
literature on this topic. For instance, many pieces of literature
tend to focus on the issue of racial stereotyping and prejudice
among adults. Only a few information shows how racial
stereotyping and prejudice happen among children or teen.
These groups of people also form an important part of the
population that research refers to in any given situation (Hall et
al., 2015). Additionally, there is a deficiency in how
discrimination based on race has been addressed when referring
to individual groups or a particular race. A majority of research
and studies mostly refer to minority or the discriminated as a
general group and only offer little information when analyzing a
particular race like the African or Hispanic.
Purpose of the Study
The main aim of this paper is to collect data associated with
various factors of racial stereotyping and prejudice. Therefore,
some people, particularly the immigrants or minority will be
important for this study. These people will significantly help in
learning and understanding the experiences they have had while

7. interacting with others. A critical analysis of data will greatly
help in assisting in developing better strategies and
recommendations that can also assist tutors and learners to
effectively know how to deal with racial stereotyping and
prejudice. Additionally, there will be analysis and evaluation of
past history among immigrants and other minority groups that
face the problem of racial prejudice and stereotyping. Their
cultural heritages will be evaluated as well to show how they
impact their interaction with other people. Finally, there will be
an implementation tool that can be utilized by educators to
address the issue of discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping
based on race to help improve society. Lastly, effective
understanding of a culture, art, language, and other aspects of
people will efficiently help to mitigate the problems associated
with racial stereotyping and discrimination.
Data Collection Methods and Instrumentation
For this research, data and information will be obtained from
some people who represent the hosts of a given country and
another category of immigrant individuals. The participants will
be selected from various walks of life. Therefore, many aspects
of life will be factored in the research. For example, the
participants’ age, level of education, and their economic status
will be considered when collecting data and information.
Importantly, people affiliated with the races of Africans,
Americans, Hispanics, and maybe Hmong will also be analyzed.
Besides, the personal contacts from the search investigators will
significantly assist in suggesting the participants who will be
part of the research. Also, people who in one way or another
have ever experienced prejudice, discrimination, or being
stereotyped will be crucial in the study. In the analysis part of
the paper, the factorial design will be utilized. The basic
research methods of survey, questionnaire, interview, and
analyzing past information will also be used.
References
Azevedo, R. T., Garfinkel, S. N., Critchley, H. D., & Tsakiris,

8. M. (2017). Cardiac afferent activity modulates the expression of
racial stereotypes. Nature communications, 8, 13854.
FitzGerald, C., & Hurst, S. (2017). Implicit bias in healthcare
professionals: a systematic review. BMC medical ethics, 18(1),
19.
Hall, W. J., Chapman, M. V., Lee, K. M., Merino, Y. M.,
Thomas, T. W., Payne, B. K., ... & Coyne-Beasley, T. (2015).
Implicit racial/ethnic bias among health care professionals and
its influence on health care outcomes: a systematic
review. American journal of public health, 105(12), e60-e76.
Hinton, P. (2017). Implicit stereotypes and the predictive brain:
cognition and culture in “biased” person perception. Palgrave
Communications, 3, 17086.
Van Dijk, T. A. (2015). Racism and the Press. Routledge.
Williams, K. E., Sng, O., & Neuberg, S. L. (2016). Ecology-
driven stereotypes override race stereotypes. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, 113(2), 310-315.
Running head: RACIAL STEREOTYPING AND PREJUDICE
1
RACIAL STEREOTYPING AND PREJUDICE
2

9. Literature Review on Racial Stereotyping and Prejudice
Introduction to the Topic of Racial Stereotyping and Prejudice
Stereotyping and prejudice have always been condemned since
their repercussions are devastating. Many people dislike the
idea of having a stereotypic mentality since it results in hatred
and discrimination against others in society. Besides, it
becomes worse when one travels in a place where there are
stereotypic people since they hold many negativities and wrong
ideologies concerning others. However, some people believe
that certain driving forces make people stereotypic in society.
Race, religion, political principles, and other affiliations are the
main factors that make people develop stereotypic
characteristics against each other. Therefore, stereotypic people
will always act inappropriately when interacting with people
associated with a different religion, race, ethnicity, or any other
affiliation. Hence, some people will result in hating,
discriminating, and treating others inappropriately due to the
aforementioned differences.
The scope of the Topic of Racial Stereotyping and Prejudice
In most cases, the victims of stereotyping and prejudice are the
visitors and people who travel to different places like countries
with high levels of racism. Some countries and regions have
demonstrated racial stereotyping and prejudice characteristics
for a very long time which makes many people fear traveling to
such destinations (Fiske, 2016). Shocking, even some of the
most developed regions still demonstrate racial stereotyping and
prejudice which impact their reputation negatively. The United
States of America is one of the countries where a significant
number of cases of racial stereotyping and prejudice have been
reported. Studies and research indicate that African Americans,
Hispanic, and people from other minority races greatly
experience the challenge of racial stereotyping and prejudice.

10. The whites perpetrate racial stereotyping and prejudice against
others since their race comprise the majority. Not only in the
USA, other regions like some parts of Russia have also been
associated with behaviors of racial stereotyping and prejudice
as well. This paper will discuss theories, past research, and
establish their consistency on the topic of racial stereotyping
and prejudice.
Theories that Address Racial Stereotyping and Prejudice
Analysts and scholars have developed theories that address and
shed more light on the issue of racial stereotyping and
prejudice. For example, the classic theory offers crucial details
regarding racial stereotyping and prejudice that help in
enlightening learners and society at large on this issue. The
classic theory talks about aversion and how it is used in inter-
racial contact. The theory suggests that racial stereotyping and
prejudice creates problems as a result of aversion or when
people develop some level of discrimination (Sue et al., 2019).
The workforce is usually impacted negatively in such a place
since some employees get certain benefits and favors that others
lack. The theory further suggests that racial stereotyping and
prejudice create a situation where some people are abandoned
and avoided which brings disunity. Avoiding and abandoning a
person paves the way for disunity and conflict as the victims try
to fight to be heard and considered just like other members.
The theory of ambivalent prejudice has also greatly analyzed
the issue of racial stereotyping and prejudice. According to this
theory, some people, for instance, those belonging to minor
races do not experience uniform antipathy. The theory suggests
that these people face discrimination, hatred, and other forms of
mistreatment from a section of people, but the rest treat them
differently. These victims face many problems amid people with
racial stereotyping and prejudice characters (Williams, Sng,
&Neuberg 2016). However, some people treat these victims
nicely creating a pleasing environment for them to live. This
situation is best demonstrated by how racial stereotyping and
prejudice happen in the United States. Not all parts and people

11. of the country treat others, especially individuals from minority
races inappropriately. Some parts of the country like in the
major cities like New York acts of racial stereotyping and
prejudice have significantly gone down.
Past Research on Racial Stereotyping and Prejudice
Williams, Sng&Neuberg are some of the researchers that have
spent most of their time analyzing the issue of racial
stereotyping and prejudice. In their research, these scholars
suggest that prejudice is described as an attitude that contains
connotation on various issues and people. Besides, when people
continually associate themselves with prejudice, the
connotations that they attach on issues and people stick in their
minds becoming part of their cognitive (Williams,
Sng&Neuberg 2017). Therefore, at times, some end up hating
and treating others inappropriately even without their
consciousness because it became part of their cognitive. This is
the reason as to why one will see certain people hating others
even without valid causes. However, Williams, Sng&Neuberg’
research states that some people stereotype and hate on others
even when they are consciously aware. A majority of these
people who hate on others have negative personalities and
undesired ego that make them feel superior to the rest. Hence,
they end up hating inferior people for no apparent reason.
FitzGerald & Hurst are also key researchers on the issue of
racial stereotyping and prejudice. FitzGerald & Hurst claim that
stereotyping is a situation that makes some people develop
distinct images and description of people and things on their
minds (FitzGerald & Hurst 2017). In their research, the authors
suggest that the minds of stereotypic people show certain
pictures and description that are associated with particular
things and people. For instance, in the US, people with racial
stereotyping and prejudice attributes view others as inferior and
worthless, Therefore, whenever a person from the minority
races is mentioned, these people only see useless or rubbish that
no one would wish to associate with. In further expounding on
this situation, the study suggests gives an example of how

12. whites treat blacks and people from other minority races. It is
claimed that there is a group of whites who distinctively believe
that non-whites are inferior and less important people who
should be disregarded.
Other studies suggest that stereotyping entails mental diagrams
used when processing information on other individuals based on
their social perspectives. Stereotyping makes people have an
idea of what to expect when they see or interact with others. At
times, the concept of stereotyping is used to suggest the same
meaning as that of prejudice. This is because when we say that
stereotyping makes people have an idea of what to expect from
others is the same as pre-judging. Importantly, Stereotypes
greatly contributed to the discrimination and perpetration of
other injustices, particularly to minority groups across the globe
(Williams, Sng, &Neuberg 2016). A majority of people who
stereotype others tend to associate them with limitations and
disadvantages. The main aim of people who stereotype others is
to discriminate them and make others have the same perception
towards the latter. Therefore, the stereotyped individuals may
feel intimidated or of less important as compared to their
counterparts. The whites in a nation like the US stereotype
others by disregarding and disproving them which paves the
way for discrimination, hate, and other racial-based problems.
Consistency in the Findings of Past Studies
To some extent, both past and past studies have shown
consistency in addressing and analyzing the issue of racial
stereotyping and prejudice. Most of past studies show how
people suffered as a result of racial stereotyping and prejudice.
For instance, these studies indicate that people became victims
of hatred, discrimination, being judged negatively, and other
forms of mistreatments since there is a section of people with
stereotyping and prejudice attributes. After that, conflicts,
disagreements, and disunity were extensively experienced.
People held negative ideologies and perception against other
individuals who were mostly affiliated with minority races. In
turn, the victims of stereotyping and prejudice engaged in wars

13. and wrangles in attempt to make their pleas heard and receive
fair treatment from their counterparts. Eventually, conflicts and
disagreements increased as people remained disunited over
time.
Conclusion
The body of the existing research does not contain flaws as far
as the issue of racial stereotyping and prejudice is concerned.
Various and crucial details on the topic of racial stereotyping
and prejudice have been discussed well and exhaustively. For
example, existing research has addressed how conflicts and
disagreements increased to show how people suffered. Besides,
details such as how people used to develop labeling and bias
mentality help in explaining what necessitated the increase in
racial stereotyping and prejudice. Therefore, there is not much
that this paper can add to what the existing research has already
offered. However, discussing how racial stereotyping and
prejudice may affect people in the future will be necessary to
know the right measures to take to enable the world to advance
in desired ways.
References
Fiske, S. T. (2016). Prejudice, discrimination, and
stereotyping. NOBA Project.
FitzGerald, C., & Hurst, S. (2017). Implicit bias in healthcare
professionals: a systematic review. BMC medical ethics, 18(1),
19.
Sue, D. W., Sue, D., Neville, H. A., & Smith, L.
(2019). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice.
Wiley.
Williams, K. E., Sng, O., &Neuberg, S. L. (2016). Ecology-
driven stereotypes override race stereotypes. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, 113(2), 310-315.

14. 1
SOC3410/ Written Assignment #2
Writing a Research Proposal
A research proposal is a comprehensive written plan that
describes a research question and
details how one plans to answer or investigate that question. In
essence, it is a researcher's plan
or design of the research process up to the point where the
researcher would gather data. Your
proposal should be conceptually clear, detailed, organized,
feasible, and must follow the
guidelines for writing empirical research reports discussed in
class. Your proposal should be at
least 1,500 words long (Times New Roman, 12 font size,
double-spaced, 1 inch margins),
excluding the title, summary, and references pages. Your
completed proposal includes the
following:
●Title Page (not part of the 2,500 words limit)

15. ●Summary (150 words; not part of the 2,500 words limit)
●Introduction (1½-2 pages) 15 points
●Review of the Literature (5-6 pages) 70 points
●Research Questions or Hypotheses (1-1½ pages) 15 points
●Data and Methods (1-1½ pages) Optional
●References (not part of the 2,500 words limit)
Total 100 points
Title Page
The title page is required. The title should be brief and
eliminate unnecessary words. It should
include the focus of the study. Consider a title no longer than
15 words and eliminate most
articles and prepositions.
Summary
A paragraph briefly describing what you intend to study and the
theory you will likely be testing.
The summary should also describe the social group you will be
studying and how you sampled

16. from that group to obtain research subjects for your proposed
study. This paragraph is generally
written after one has completed the research proposal and serves
to quickly inform the reviewer
of the proposal's contents. Summary should be approximately
150 words.
Introduction
Here you would describe the issue, problem, or broadly stated
research question. Establish the
research problem in the opening paragraphs: Write an opening
sentence that will stimulate reader
interest as well as convey a distinct problem or issue. Then, you
would convey to the reader why
this problem is worth investigating. You can justify the
importance of the research problem by
incorporating the literature and other studies – e.g., data from
other studies, government statistics,
etc. After clearly justifying the need to develop a research
proposal around your research
question, you would then clearly articulate a narrower version
of the research question that you

17. 2
will pursue in this proposal and explain what is important or
unique about this narrow or specific
research question Establish the research problem in the opening
paragraphs: Write an opening
sentence that will stimulate reader interest as well as convey a
distinct problem or issue.
Note: The following guidelines for writing a good introduction
are drawn from Creswell (2009).
You will find this reading very useful.
1. Establishing the Research Problem: In the first paragraph of
the introduction, you will
stimulate reader interest and establish a problem. Write an
opening sentence that will stimulate
reader interest as well as convey an issue to which a broad
audience can relate. An opening
sentence plays a role of a narrative hook that serves to draw,
engage, or hook the reader into the
study. There are three common strategies of creating reader
interest.

18. social capital still matter?].
numerical information.
body of literature that
studies . . .”].
2. Reviewing the Literature: After establishing the research
problem in the opening paragraph,
you need to justify its importance by reviewing studies that
have examined the issue. This
literature review passage should summarize large groups of
studies. The purpose of reviewing
past studies in an introduction is to justify the importance of the
study. This component might be
called setting the research problem within the ongoing dialogue
in the literature.
3. Identifying Deficiencies in Past literature: After advancing
the problem and reviewing the
literature about it, you will identify deficiencies found in this
literature.
sample, or population.

19. the same findings hold, given
new samples of people or new sites for study.
Beyond mentioning the deficiencies, you need to tell how your
planned study will remedy or
address these deficiencies. For example, because past studies
have overlooked an important
variable, a study will include it and analyze its effect.
4. Describing the Significance of a Study for the Audience: By
including this section, you
create a clear rationale for the importance of the study. In
designing this section, you might
include three to five reasons that the study adds to the scholarly
research and literature in the
field.
5. Identifying the Purpose of the Study: A good introduction
usually ends with a statement of
the purpose or intent of the study. Whereas introductions focus
on the problem leading to the
study, the purpose statement establishes the direction for the
research. The purpose statement
indicates why you want to do the study and what you intend to

20. accomplish. In fact, the purpose
statement is the most important statement in an entire research
study.
3
Review of the Literature
A researcher needs to demonstrate a reasonable awareness of
past research that bears upon his or
her questions. You must use at least five scholarly works related
to your specific research
question. This review is not merely a summary, but a critical
discussion. A literature review
addresses the following questions:
research paved the way for your
research? What have others said about this topic? What is
already known about your research
question?

21. adequately) by these studies? Are there
flaws in the body of existing research that you feel you can
remedy?
contribute to the scholarly record.
How will you add to or go beyond what others have done? What
shortcomings (if any) in the
research will you try to remedy?
Basically, a good literature review places your research within a
larger scholarly context and
shows the reader how your research will contribute to previous
research. A well written journal
article can serve as an example for your work. Examine an
article on your topic; it should also
contain a literature review. (Be careful not to plagiarize, or you
will receive no credit for this
assignment.) Journal articles will have bibliographies that
should point you to other relevant
articles.
You may use a variety of sources for information (e.g., books,
newspapers, magazines) to

22. supplement your proposal but you must have a minimum of five
references from recognized
academic journals or books in the review of literature section.
Generally, they should be recent—
within the last twenty years. In some cases there may have been
an important article or book
written more than twenty years ago that you may wish to
include. You will need to come see me
if you are unsure whether a source constitutes an academic
journal.
Remember to cite references within the body of your paper.
Look at any social science journal
for appropriate styles for citing sources. Both the ASA and APA
styles are appropriate. APA.
ASA Style Guide is place in Pilot.
Research Questions/Hypotheses
One purpose of science is to learn about relationships among
phenomena or variables so that
predictions may be made with some reliability. Such predictive
statements may be termed
“if…..then” statements. That is, if specified conditions exist,
then designated consequences are

23. likely to follow. However, not all “if…..then” statements will
be phrased exactly in that fashion.
There are many variations in phrasings that nevertheless
indicate an interrelationship of variables.
4
Do not confuse predictive statements with definitions (e.g., “If
members of in-groups and out-
groups are of two different races, then intergroup prejudice is
called racial prejudice.”), or with
basic premises (e.g., “If a society is to maintain itself, it must
have a common body of norms that
govern the behavior of its members.”). *Read “Hints for Stating
Hypotheses” in the Babbie’s
book and be familiar with the different formats of the
hypothesis statement.
Research questions are interrogative questions that the
investigator seeks to answer. Hypotheses
are predictions the researcher holds about the relationship
among variables. To eliminate

24. redundancy, you will write only research questions or
hypotheses, not both.
After completing the literature review, write 2-3 research
questions for your own research
project. Developing your own research questions or hypotheses
is not an easy task. You need to
keep looking for relevant studies in the databases to develop
your own research ideas. Keep in
mind that a good research question is always built on the
existing literature.
Data and Methods
In this section, you will describe how you plan to collect the
data or make your observations.
Remember that you are not to collect the actual data or make
actual observations in this course.
Therefore, it is sufficient enough is to show your reader how
you will obtain your results.
However, the research methods must be appropriate to the
objectives of the study. We need to
know how to collect or obtain the data because the data
collection methods affect the results.
Knowing the data collation methods helps the reader evaluate

25. the validity and reliability of your
results, and the conclusions you draw from them. Here are some
guidelines for writing the Data
and Methods section:
(1) Data Collection Methods: Often there are different methods
that you can use to investigate a
research problem. Your methodology should make clear the
reasons why you chose a particular
method or procedure. Begin the discussion by reviewing the
purpose of the research method(s)
you choose and the rationale for use.
(2) Population and Sample: You should describe in detail your
study population and how you
will sample from the population. Specify the characteristics of
the population and the sampling
procedure.
(3) Instrumentation: Solid measurement entails inclusion of a
set of nominal definitions for
each concept/variable as well as a detailed listing of questions
you might ask (provided you
utilize a survey research method). Provide the detailed

26. information about the measurement
instrument to be used in the proposed study.
(4) Variables: Relate the variables to the specific questions on
the instrument.
Expected Results and Their Implications [Optional]
Assuming that your data were collected, analyzed, and your
hypotheses supported, what results
do you expect to find? What are some potential theoretical and
policy implications of these
5
results? This section of the proposal should reflect the related
literature you have read. Describe
how your research findings might influence social policy, law,
action, or organizational practices.
Write about the significance of your study and identify how
various audiences (e.g., researchers,
practitioners, policy makers, and the public) will profit from the
study. This will be the
concluding section of your proposal.

27. References
Include a bibliography of references on a separate page. You
should have a minimum of six
scholarly references to eligible for maximum credit. Use only
scholarly journal articles or books.
Both the ASA and APA styles are appropriate.