SENIOR THESIS
SOCIOLOGY 498
Attention all Senior Thesis Students:

All students enrolled in senior thesis must follow these instructions.  Failure to follow the steps noted below by the deadlines indicated at the end of this page means the course will be incomplete.  If you intend to graduate, you must complete the thesis and the IDS400 required portfolio assessment by the required deadlines.  Information on the sociology IDS400 requirement can be found on our IDS400 web page. Note that beginning with the 2004-2006 catalog, students must complete soci395, sociological research methods before beginning senior thesis.

"Thesis" is an intimidating word for most undergraduate students. It usually conjures up images of years of research in graduate school, followed by some esoteric investigation of a relatively obscure topic. For our purposes, the thesis is an opportunity for undergraduate Sociology majors to think about and formally investigate some area or topic of personal interest to them. The thesis is more thorough and formalized than an independent study paper. This makes it more difficult in that it is subject to approval at each step. On the other hand, the step-by-step process allows students to have a very real sense of where they are in the process, and allows them to clearly see where improvement is needed. It reduces the guess-work. Here are the steps:

1. Students should select a Thesis Advisor. The Thesis Advisor should be a Sociology faculty member with whom the student feels comfortable and with whom the student can easily communicate. The Thesis Advisor will choose at least one additional faculty member to assist in directing the thesis. The additional faculty member may be from Sociology or any other discipline deemed appropriate by the Thesis Advisor. The Thesis Advisor and additional faculty member(s) will make up the student's Thesis Committee.

Students should select a topic in conjunction with the Thesis Advisor. Topics may be in nearly any area of student interest. Topics may be theoretical, research oriented, or applied in nature.

2. Students should submit a formal thesis proposal. The thesis proposal is a two or three page paper giving the major theories and concepts to be used, and where appropriate, a detailed plan of the research methodology to be used. It should include a tentative outline. The proposal should be accompanied by a detailed "working bibliography." The working bibliography is a listing of books, book chapters, and journal articles that might be useful in your paper. Listings are usually obtained from the Sociological Abstracts, Social Science Abstracts, UMI, or any other comprehensive sources as well as "snowball samples" from the student's own reading. The working bibliography guarantees that students have completely researched all relevant information in their area of interest.

Do not be concerned if your final paper varies from the outline. The proposal is simply a guide to organize your thoughts and to make the project easier.

3. Drafts should be submitted as they are written. Students should keep in constant contact with the Thesis Advisor during the writing process, submitting drafts of sections as completed.  Typically these sections will include a literature review, a theory section, perhaps a methods section, an analysis, and conclusion.   As the project nears completion, students will be asked to submit the completed first draft for critique. This will be reviewed by the Thesis Committee and returned to the student with comments and recommended changes. Students should make recommended changes and return to the committee as soon as possible. Students may be required to submit subsequent drafts until the committee is satisfied with the finished thesis.

4. Students will be asked to present their thesis to the Thesis Committee and other interested persons. This may be a presentation to a colloquium, a meeting of the Sociology student association, or any other gathering deemed appropriate by the Thesis Advisor. Students will be expected to answer questions asked by those in attendance.

5. Upon acceptance of the final draft, and after formal presentation, students will be asked to submit final copies of their theses. These copies should be carefully typed and bound according to Programmatic guidelines. Students should present two copies of the thesis to the Thesis Advisor. One copy will be made available to the general public, and the other copy will be archived. Handing in the final copies of the thesis marks the completion of the thesis requirement.

One secret to a successful thesis is to start early in your senior year--first semester is preferable. Since this is a formalized process, it goes slower than other papers which may be written in bursts and at your convenience. Plan time for several revisions. Remember that several people are involved in the process, and they all have busy schedules. Plan time for your oral presentations--these should be scheduled no later than the last week of classes.

There is a lot of help available for this project. Students should purchase a copy of A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers by "The Sociology Writing Group," or a similar manual. Help is also available from your Thesis Advisor and committee members.

THESIS TYPING INSTRUCTIONS

Your thesis should be double-spaced, using one inch margins all around. Select a font style of your own choice, but the size should be 12 pt. 10 cpi in all cases.

Theses are expected to have the following components:

  • Title page (See the sample.)
  • Table of contents
  • Body with appropriate divisions and subdivisions (Refer to the ASA Style Guide for appropriate organization and citation procedures.)
  • References (Refer to the Style Guide.)
  • Footnotes may be used for elaboration purposes only, not for citation

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    The two final copies of the thesis should be printed (or copied) on 25% cotton or rag content white paper. They should be bound using specifications provided by the department.

    [TITLE OF THESIS]

    by

    [Your Name]

    A Thesis

    Presented to the Faculty of

    THE SOCIOLOGY PROGRAM

    of the

    DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, POLITICS, AND SOCIETY

    in the

    UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-SUPERIOR

    In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements

    For the Degree of Bachelor of Science [or Arts]

    Major: Sociology [--Cultural Studies Emphasis]

    Under the Supervision of

    [thesis advisor's name]

    Superior, Wisconsin

    [date]






    Second Semester Thesis Schedule
    Typically, students enroll in senior thesis at the beginning of the senior year.  The first semester is usually spent developing a topic and gathering materials so that the thesis can be written in the final semester.  The following deadlines must be observed for thesis completion during the fall or spring semesters.  Note that these are the deadlines and completion before the deadline is strongly encouraged.

                                                                        Spring 2004
    Selection of advisor.                                               Before beginning thesis research
    Formal Thesis Proposal                                           Before beginning thesis research
    Chapters and sections                                             Submitted to advisor as completed
    First draft of complete thesis                                   Wednesday April 21, 4:30 PM
    Final draft of completed thesis                                 Wednesday May 5, 4:30 PM
    Presentation of thesis                                             Monday, May 10, 3 PM
    Final approved bound copy                                      Friday, May 19, 4:30 PM

    IDS400 report and discussion with adviser before     Frinday, May 19, 4:30 PM