African American Inequality Social Science Research Essay

HOW TO GUIDETopic Proposal Scenarios
Purpose of the Topic Proposal:
To agree upon a social science topic direction for the student’s research proposal.
Length of the Topic Proposal:
One to three (1-3) carefully thought thru and well composed sentences.
What to Consider When Selecting a Social Science Topic Proposal:
 It should be something that you have a passion to explore. You will be living and working with
the topic all semester.
 What are you interested in learning about?
 Is there a question that you have always wanted to pursue?
How to Write the Topic Proposal:
 Select a topic to work with. Know that most people will choose a topic that is too big for the
purposes of the class.
 Ask yourself if dealing with your topic or answering the question you wish to pursue has already
been answered. If the answer is “yes” then know that discussion will follow regarding some of
the parameters of the study. Your proposal should be in search of new information.
 Narrow or make more specific your topic. Always look toward the root of what you want to
pursue.
Example of What You Might Experience in the How To Write the Topic Proposal:
Instructor: What would you like to study?
Student: “Homelessness”
Instructor: Great topic? Drill down. What specifically to you want to know about “homelessness”?
Student: I want to know more about “homeless veterans”.
Instructor: What do you want to know about “homeless veterans”?
Student: I want to know why they became homeless. So I want to know about the “causes of
homeless in veterans”.
Instructor: Very good! So geographically, are we looking at the entire United States for this study?
Student: That might be too much. How about just Missouri? So I want to know about the “causes of
homeless in Missouri veterans”.
Instructor: That works great! Is there a time period that you would like and be able to study? Perhaps
a decade or simply a snap shot of one available year?
Student:
Well how about “causes of homeless in Missouri veterans, 2020-2024”.
Instructor: Let’s hone the topic now; that is bring in the parameters for a manageable semester
proposal. Let’s define veteran — Do you mean military veteran or police veteran? Were these veterans
who now live in Missouri, but may have joined the military or police from a different state or entered
from Missouri and now live in Missouri? Is the State of Missouri too broad for a brief course? How
about moving the time
Student: You read my mind. How about “Causes of Homelessness in Missouri Military Veterans,
2021” or “Causes of Military Veteran Homelessness in St. Louis Missouri, 2021”?
Instructor: I like the last one best. It is most clear. One last question — At this point in the process (and
it can change) do you believe this research will be descriptive of the causes or explanatory of the
causes?
Student: I believe it could be both. So I propose “A Descriptive and Explanatory Study of Military
Veteran Homelessness in St. Louis Missouri, 2021”?
Research Topic Submission: “A Descriptive and Explanatory Study of Military Veteran Homelessness in
St. Louis Missouri, 2021”?
Document Submission:
Prepare using MS Word or PDF. Name the document using your last name and submission element;
e.g., Jones-Topic. Attach to Canvas assignment page.
Formatting of the Topic:
The Header: (no header)
The Font:
 Font must be legible. Select a clear/simple font: Aerial, Calibri, Times New Roman, Tahoma.
 Font size for text must be 12-point.
 Bottom line: Once you have selected a font stick with it for the entire document.