Political Sciences

SOC 2270 – Final Research Paper
Worth 25% of your Final Grade

Due: March 22, 2020 by 11:59 pm
Value: 25% of final grade
Research Paper Description
The final research paper builds on the knowledge and research skills developed in the term
assignment. The paper requires students to critically analyze a media representation of a
family-related topic through a sociological lens.
This assignment asks students to address a current family-related topic through a media
analysis of a movie or TV show. Your paper must incorporate critical discussion of at least three
peer-reviewed sociological journal articles. This assignment also requires that you link your
analysis to key theories and concepts in the course textbook.
Assignment Guidelines
This assignment should be written in an essay format that meets the following criteria:
o Use the APA Style Guide (7th edition)
o Length should between 4 and 6 pages double spaced (not including title page and
references)
o Your submission should be typed with 1-inch margins and 12-point Times New Roman
font
o Your submission should include a cover page (including name, student ID #) and a
properly formatted list of references
Required Sources
1. Your paper must include 3 peer-reviewed sociological journal articles published within the
last 10 years. Each journal article should be at least 3 pages in length.
2. The 7th edition of The Family Dynamic (or similar source). This will provide you with key
sociological concepts and theories to use in completing the assignment.
3. A movie or TV show from within the last 10 years (see a list of suggestions below).
Detailed Instructions (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY)
Begin by selecting a movie or TV show that deals with family-related themes (e.g. working
mothers, household division of labour, stay-at-home fathers, mixed unions, infidelity,
cohabitation, marriage, divorce, domestic abuse, dating, hookup culture, adoption, single
parenting, assisted reproductive technologies, childcare, arranged marriages, etc.). You can
choose from the list of movies or TV shows provided below or choose your own. If you choose a
movie or TV show not on the list, please let me know beforehand. Be sure that the movie or TV

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show that you choose includes a prominent representation of family life. This will make your
analysis much easier.
The assignment consists of five parts:
1) Introduce your movie or TV show and describe its key family-related themes in your own

words. Family-related themes can be those discussed specifically in class or another family-
related topic.

• Answer the question: How does the TV show or movie represent or “frame” the
family-related topic in question?
• Describe how the rest of the paper will proceed.
• This section should be no more than 1 page long.
2) Select one of the sociological theories discussed in the textbook (e.g. structural
functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, feminist theory, ecological theory,
etc.).
• Introduce the theoretical perspective you will use and define its key concepts in
detail.
• Explain how the theory relates to the family-related topic being discussed and how it
might help us understand that topic.
• This section should be no more than 1 page long.
3) Describe at least 3 examples from the TV show or movie that relate to your chosen
theoretical perspective.
• Use evidence to argue your interpretation of the film or TV show from your chosen
perspective.
• This section should be no more than 1 page long.
4) Introduce an academic discussion of your topic through incorporating a minimum of 3
relevant and contemporary (published within the last 10 years) peer-reviewed sociological
journal articles.
• Provide a brief summary of each article and outline key findings.
• Define and incorporate key concepts from the articles into your discussion of the
movie or TV show.
• What does the academic literature tell us about what is represented in the TV show
or movie? Are the media representations accurate?
• This section should be no longer than 2 pages.
5) Write a conclusion summarizing what you have written.
• Provide your final thoughts and take-away messages for your reader.
• Provide an idea for future research to better understand the family-related topics
dealt with in the film and in Canadian society.
• This section should be no longer than 1 page

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Grade Breakdown:
Part 1 = 3 points
Part 2 = 5 points
Part 3 = 5 points
Part 4 = 5 points
Part 5 = 2 points
Spelling/Grammar/Formatting/Proper Citation of sources = 5 points
Total = 25 points (25% of your final grade)
Online Submission:
Please submit your paper in Word format under the “Final Paper” module on Canvas.
List of Possible Movies and TV Shows
(Please contact me if you want to use a different movie or TV shown not listed below)
– Lady Bird (movie)
– Boyhood (movie)
– Marriage Story (movie)
– Life as We Know it (movie)
– Instant Family (movie)
– Modern Family (TV show)
– Working Moms (TV show)
– This is Us (TV show)
– Atypical (TV show)
– One Day at a Time (TV show)
– The Fosters (TV show)