Research Paper Instructions

SOCY B360 – Sociology of Medicine and Health

Spring 2018-Teixeira

Purpose

The purpose of the research paper is to give each student the opportunity to demonstrate

that they can investigate the effects of social factors on health. The goal of the assignment

is to strengthen scientific thinking and writing. The objective is for each student to write

an objective, logical, fact-based paper using evidence from high quality scientific

research sources.

Option 1

Investigate the effects of one social factor on one specific disease — example,

gender and lung cancer. Thesis: gender is a significant causal factor in lung

cancer morbidity and mortality. (This is not a factual example.)

Option 2

Investigate the relationship between one specific disease and multiple social factors

— example, stroke and the three social factors with the greatest impact on stroke

mortality or morbidity or both. Thesis: age, race, and gender have the greatest

social impact on mortality due to stroke. (This is not a factual example.)

Option 3

Investigate the relationship between one social factor and three different diseases that

are related with the chosen social factor — example, three main causes of death for

women. Thesis: lung cancer, heart disease, and influenza are three leading causes

of death among women. (This is not a factual example.)

Option 4

Investigate one social factor and one or more health occupations— example,

gender differences among nurses and physicians. Thesis: Changes in the

proportion of men and women who are nurses and physicians are more reflective

of changes in gender roles than in health professions. (This is not a factual

example.)

Option 5

Investigate social differences in health or illness behavior— example, gender and

age differences in health services utilization. Thesis: during childhood and after age

50, differences in health services utilization for men and women are similar, but

during the middle years women use health services much more than men. (This is

not a factual example.)

Option 6

Investigate something more adventurous. Must be approved in advance.

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The Major Social Factors

 Social class—the most common set of categories or attributes for social

class are: upper class, upper-middle, lower-middle, working class, and

lower class (see Chapter 3);

 Gender (see Chapter 4);

 Race/ethnicity (see Chapter 4); a very good example of racial categories is

shown in Table 4-5, page 85 in Cockerham.

 Age (see Chapter 4).

Your Paper Must Have A Thesis!

Your research paper must have a thesis. At the beginning of the paper, you must state

your research thesis. It can be part of a short introductory paragraph or it can stand alone.

The following explanations include materials that are courtesy of Empire State College,

Online Writing Center.

www.esc.edu/online-writing-center/resources/research/research-paper-steps/

Research Topic

When you start working on your paper, you begin by selecting a topic. A topic is what

the essay or research paper is about. It provides a focus for your writing. Choose an

appropriate topic or issue for your research, one that actually can be researched. Many

topics can be found in your textbook. Example: “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

(ADHD)”

Research Question

The next step in developing a thesis is to formulate a research question. Start by listing all

of the questions that you’d like answered yourself. (This assumes you are curious about

the topic!) Choose the best question, one that is neither too broad nor too narrow. In the

early stages of your research, you can use a search engine to learn about the question and

explore what high quality sources are available. Sometimes the number of sources you

find will help you discover whether your research question is too broad, too narrow.

Example: “Why have ADHD diagnoses risen so rapidly in recent years?”

Research Thesis

A research thesis is your proposed answer to your research question, which you

finalize only after completing the research. (It’s okay to modify and revise the

working thesis as you research more about the topic or issue.) Thesis example:

“The rise of A.D.H.D. diagnoses coincided with more available knowledge about

the disease among physicians, other healthcare professionals, teachers, and

parents.”

I will be glad to help you as you work your way toward your thesis, especially with topic

selection and research question development.

Your Analysis

You may approach your thesis as a question that needs to be answered or as a statement

that needs evidence to support it. Either way, your task is to compile factual evidence that

supports or refutes your thesis or helps you answer your question. You should include

statistics showing the importance or lack of importance of other social factors or other

diseases, as the case may be. Scientific papers are honest about evidence, presenting facts

that both support and refute the thesis or hypothesis.

You should think critically about your thesis and ask yourself, Why does this happen or

not happen? What causes this difference or lack of difference? Include answers to these

critical thinking questions in your paper.

Remember, we are looking for social causes, not biological ones. I don’t want a research

paper on the microbiology or genetics of cancer.

Grading Rubric for the Paper

Your paper will be graded on both the extent to which it draws upon concepts developed

in the course and the extent to which it does so with clear writing and appropriate

documentation. The paper will be graded using the criteria and point system shown in the

syllabus.

Required Elements for the Paper

• Your paper should be about 5 pages in length, single-spaced, using a 10-12 point font,

with one-inch margins. If you prefer to double-space your pages, just double the

length requirement.

• Your name

• The name/number of the course

• Date

• Title of the paper

• The body of the paper that incorporates a set of headings that shows the logical

organization of the paper.

• Citations in the body of the paper for all sources of information using the American

Psychological Association style. This is the style used by your textbook. No

footnotes. I will accept MLA style, as well.

• A list at the end of the paper of all references cited. Not a bibliography of all the

sources you used to write the paper.

• Please number your pages.

• Do not save your document as an HTML, HTM, or .wps file.

• When you save your document, title it with your last name, course number, and

assignment number. Example, YourlastnameSOCYB123ResearchPaper.

• Submit your paper in the Assignments area of Blackboard.

Writing the Paper

We assume that the required English courses you have taken have given you solid

preparation for the writing assignments in this course. Since I am not an English

instructor and this is not an English course, I won’t try to teach you how to write.

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However, if I find that your writing skills are too weak to complete the assignments, I

will refer you to USCB on-campus resources for help

(http://www.uscb.edu/student_life/student_services/academicsupport/tutoring/writing_center/index.html).

Most students need to sharpen their writing

skills and there are many web-based resources to support your self-help. One of the best

is the Purdue University Online Writing Lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ where you

will find assistance with English grammar, with writing skills, such as developing an

outline, and with APA Formatting and Style.

Use An Outline And Headings

An outline shows the logical organization of your paper with a set of headings. These

headings are like those used in bold print in the main sections of the chapters of our

textbook and the journal articles you will use.

What Goes in the Paper

The main ingredient of your paper should be factual information and statistics from high

quality sources. Your opinions about the topic or those of anyone else without substantial

scientific evidence are not relevant and should not be included in the paper. You may use

as evidence the statements of qualified experts, but you must make sure those sources are

reliable.

I want you to apply skeptical, critical thinking to everything you read. You should make

the author(s) work hard to convince you that they have the best evidence and the best

reasoning, as I will make you work hard to convince me.

High Quality Web-based Sources

Medical sociology has relevant journals to which you should give priority. The USCB

online journal database offers access to full-text copies of many of these journals via the

online database indicated. See link to USCB database proxy below.

Peer Reviewed Journals

American Journal of Sociology — JSTOR

American Sociological Review — JSTOR

Social Forces — Academic Search Premier

Journal of Health and Social Behavior — JSTOR

Social Science and Medicine — ScienceDirect

American Journal of Public Health — Academic Search Premier

American Journal of Epidemiology — MEDLINE

At least one of your cited references must come from a journal in the USCB online

library database, which can be accessed here using your USCB login and password:

https://login.ezproxy.uscb.edu/login

When you login you will see a long list of online databases. Always search for full-text

articles. If you need additional help with on-ground or online research, please use the

USCB library staff or let me know.

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If you are looking for a particular journal, search for it on “Search Full Text Finder.”

http://library.uscb.edu/research/journals-database/

Other High Quality Sources

In addition to articles from the USCB online journal database, the following list includes

examples of reputable governmental and other high quality sources. In some areas of

sociology, these sources will be more appropriate than academic journals.

 CIA World Factbook — https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/index.html

— provides high quality detailed data on every country in the world,

allowing good country-to-country comparisons.

 US Census Bureau — www.census.gov

 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – www.cdc.gov & https://data.cdc.gov/

 US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/data_tools.htm or https://sortablestats.cdc.gov/#/

 National Center for Health Statistics — www.cdc.gov/nchs or

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nchs_for_you/students.htm

 State Health Data Index (The Kaiser Foundation)– www.statehealthfacts.org

 America’s Health Rankings state profiles -https://www.americashealthrankings.org/

 South Carolina Community Assessment Network –

http://scangis.dhec.sc.gov/scan/index.aspx

 South Carolina Health and Demographics Section — http://rfa.sc.gov/

 SC Kids Count — https://scchildren.org/research/kids-count-south-carolina/

Poor Quality Sources

To me, one of the main differences between a high school-level research paper and a

college-level paper is that college-level papers do not have encyclopedias as direct

sources. If your topic is something you don’t know much about, an online encyclopedia

can help you learn enough to get started. But do not use sources such as Wikipedia.com,

Britainica.com, about.com, or Encarta.com as cited references in your research paper. I

will return as Incomplete any research paper that has these kinds of sources.

Questionable Sources: Foundations, Advocacy Organizations and Non-Profits

Many advocacy organizations provide source information and statistics. You must “vet”

this kind of source to make sure that the evidence you gather from it is reliable. (Vet

means “To examine carefully; to subject to thorough appraisal; to evaluate”

(dictionary.reference.com) Some sources that you will find are not governmental or

academic but still can be trusted to provide reliable data and information. Example are

the Population Reference Bureau (www.prb.org) and the National Coalition on Health

Care (www.nchc.org). The way to tell if a source like this is reliable is to click the link

for information about the organization. In the case of PRB, a quick scan of the senior

staff members show that they are experienced demographers with backgrounds in highly

respected organizations. An example of an advocacy organization is the Center for

Immigration Studies (www.cis.org), which appears to have a strong political agenda of

reducing immigration into the US. This is not a good example of a high quality, objective

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source. If you must use material from questionable sources, be very cautious when

making generalizations from their information.

Questionable Sources: News Media

Some news media are less guilty of hype than others, but all of them want to attract

attention and they have learned that conflict and controversy sell. Even the New York

Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC, which tend to be

more fact-based in their news coverage, still must be read skeptically. Most media outlets

exaggerate, present incomplete information, and even misrepresent. You should always

attempt to verify information from the media. If you can’t verify by going to the original

source, you must be very cautious about making generalizations from this information.

II need 2 and half or 3 pages reflection paper for my nursing capstone. It should be in APA format and reference page. These information should be address in the paper:

In the 6th week I thought I faced all possible accident or issue as a school nurse I supposed to know and how to handle any issue. It was interesting that every week I face new situation that needs different intervention. During my 6th week, a 3rd grade boy came to nursing office with his right hand in hard cast. He got broken bone during weekend as he was playing soccer with his dad. He complained of pain in his fingers that he can’t bend them. I looked at his fingers and the first thing that came to my mind was that he most likely suffering of possible ‘compartment syndrome”. After 4 days being in cast, he got severe pain , swelling fingers without any sensation and bluish color. I talked to my preceptor and immediately called his mom and informed her that this is emergency situation and immediately needs intervene to save his hands of getting permanent damage. Another new case I would like to talk about it is a 7th grade student just diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. My preceptor and I had meeting with his parents, school psychologist, and assistant principal to discuss his situation and come up with a care plan for him during remaining days of school year. I shared all my info about Crohn’s disease and how to help the patient based on what I learned in peds and medsurg class. It was really good experience since I noticed how the parents of the student was happy that their son would be supported and cared by the school staff and even considered extra tutoring for him in case he couldn’t attend all days at school. That diagnosis was new and he needed lots of labs and procedures like colonoscopy which may caused him to miss few schooldays. Even I felt good that I can help even very small and show my interest to care for their son as much as I can. Both those scenarios were very good and positive experiences to me, it proved me that whatever I learned in nursing school I can use them in real patient and help them. My other intervention that at first I thought it was negative, but at the end I realized I did right thing and turned to be positive is about a fourth grade boy who needs straight cath every day 2 times. Finally he allowed me to supervise him in bathroom when he does straight cath for himself. He did it right, but after he finished it, he refused to flush the toilet and throw the tubes in garbage can. He said you have to do it. I did it, but kind of surprised why during 2 years he does this to himself with supervision of the nurse, never he did this simple thing by himself. I asked my preceptor about that and she told me because I always flush the toilet for him and throw the tube in garbage. I said respectfully to her that I think he should do it by himself , he is 10 years old and need to learn as much as independent as possible. Flushing the toilet is part of this process and when he does the harder part like self straight cath for himself , he can throw it in garbage can or flush the toilet. Of course I didn’t mean to be mean to a 10 years old boy, I just want to help him in a right way. When I brought this issue with the school nurse, I kind of regretted that I wish wouldn’t say that. My preceptor accept my suggestion and next time asked the boy to do those I noticed. Now it is a habit for him and after he is done , he flushes and throw the tube in garbage can. The nurse told me how she is happy that he is doing everything independently. So I felt I did something right by bringing this to her attention, even she is really experienced school nurse and has over a decade experience and also deeply cares for all students, but sometimes we forget something and a small respectful reminder would be beneficial. It is very important to not resist against the truth. I appreciate my preceptor for her great personality and being open mind. Those were my new experiences that should address them in my reflection paper.

Research the characteristics of the four generations in the nursing workforce today: The Veterans (born 1925–1945), the Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964), the Gen Xers (born 1963–1980), and the Millennials (born 1980–2000). How can nursing leaders use this information to build a work environment that supports all generations?

Requirements

You have been asked to prepare a report on the challenges of working effectively within a multigenerational team environment. Your report must also include evidence-based strategies for improving the work environment to support all generations. Format this assessment as a report for your organization. Include a title page and references page, and format your supporting citations and references following APA guidelines.

Include the following in your report:

·         Briefly describe the main characteristics of each of the four generations working in nursing today (Veterans, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millenials). Focus primarily on attitudes toward work and family, communication styles, and comfort with technology.

·         Identify at least one specific skill that each generation brings to a team.

·         Explain the types and causes of conflict that are likely to occur within a multigenerational team.

·         Describe strategies a team leader can use to help build cohesiveness within multigenerational nursing teams. Be sure you include strategies for communication, setting and managing expectations, motivation, and mutual respect.

·         Explain the benefits of a multigenerational nursing team for the organization, the team members, and patients.

Your completed assessment should be 4–5 pages in length, not including title page and references page.

Additional Requirements

·         Include a title page and references page.

·         Reference at least three current scholarly or professional resources.

·         Use APA format for citations and references.

·         Use Times New Roman font, 12 point.

·         Double space.

Generational Diversity Scoring Guide

·         Questions to Consider

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.

·         How do you identify yourself? Is it by your gender, ethnicity, career, children, personality, or something else?

·         How do others identify you?

·         When describing a co-worker to someone who does not know that person, what is the first description you typically use?

Context
How do you describe yourself? Do you define yourself by your gender, marital status, ethnicity, or profession? Or do you prefer to think of yourself in terms of your accomplishments and skills? We are all so different from each other in many ways.

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When interprofessional teams work together, it requires a blending of talent, knowledge, and resources. How individuals blend as a team can be likened to a fine recipe.

Great chefs know that variety makes for unusual, interesting, and tasty results. Each ingredient makes a unique contribution to the final outcome. But each must be included at the right time and in the right amounts. Some ingredients complement the overall recipe. Other ingredients are bold and play a major role in the taste or texture. Still other ingredients are subtle and afford the sweet or savory aftertaste. Individually, the ingredients could not be a final product. Collectively the ingredients result in culinary masterpieces.

Consider the various aspects of diversity within teams. Levi (2017) distinguishes diversity across two dimensions: personal attributes and functional attributes. How do these attributes contribute to team diversity and positive outcomes?

·         Overview

Write a 4–5-page report that addresses the challenges of working effectively within a multigenerational team environment and provides evidence-based strategies for improving the work environment to support all generations.

Today’s nursing workforce is made up of women and men from a wide variety of cultures, races, religions, and sexual orientations. In addition, nurses and nursing leaders come from four different generations with different attitudes, beliefs, work habits, and experiences. You may find yourself working with team members from the Traditional Generation (Veterans), the Baby Boom Generation, Generation X, and the Millennial Generation. Team leaders need to understand, value, and support the skills, knowledge, and characteristics of each generation in order to build a cohesive, high-performing team. The leadership strategies that have worked in the past may not be as effective in the health care environment of today.

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By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

·         Competency 1: Explain strategies for effective interprofessional teamwork and collaboration in health care delivery.

o    Identify specific skills members of each generational group bring to nursing teams.

o    Describe strategies for building cohesiveness within multigenerational nursing teams.

·         Competency 2: Analyze the implications of working with interprofessional teams in multifaceted health care settings.

o    Describe the characteristics of the generational groups working in nursing.

o    Explain types and causes of conflicts that are likely to occur among multigenerational members of nursing teams.

·         Competency 3: Develop evidence-based nursing interventions to address specific problems and enable systemic change.

o    Explain the benefits of a multigenerational nursing team for the organization, the team members, and patients.

·         Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations of a nursing professional.

o    Write content clearly and logically, with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

o    Correctly format citations and references using current APA style.

·         Generational Diversity Scoring Guide
Generational Diversity Scoring Guide Grading Rubric
Criteria
Non-performance
Basic
Proficient
Distinguished
Describe the characteristics of the generational groups working in nursing.
Does not describe the characteristics of the generational groups working in nursing.
Describes the characteristics of the generational groups working in nursing but incorrectly assigns characteristics or does not address all the generational groups.
Describes the characteristics of the generational groups working in nursing.
Compares the characteristics of the generational groups working in nursing to highlight relevant differences.
Identify specific skills members of each generational group bring to nursing teams.
Does not identify specific skills members of each generational group bring to nursing teams.
Lists general skills members of generational groups bring to nursing teams.
Identifies specific skills members of each generational group bring to nursing teams.
Identifies specific skills members of each generational group bring to nursing teams and explains the value of the skills to team members and patients.
Explain types and causes of conflicts that are likely to occur among multigenerational members of nursing teams.
Does not explain types and causes of conflicts that are likely to occur among multigenerational members of nursing teams.
Explains the types but not the causes of conflicts that are likely to occur among multigenerational members of nursing teams.
Explains types and causes of conflicts that are likely to occur among multigenerational members of nursing teams.
Analyzes types and causes of conflicts that are likely to occur among multigenerational members of nursing teams.
Describe strategies for building cohesiveness within multigenerational nursing teams.
Does not describe strategies for building cohesiveness within multigenerational nursing teams.
Lists strategies for building cohesiveness within multigenerational nursing teams.
Describes strategies for building cohesiveness within multigenerational nursing teams.
Analyzes strategies for building cohesiveness within multigenerational nursing teams.
Explain the benefits of a multigenerational nursing team for the organization, the team members, and patients.
Does not explain the benefits of a multigenerational nursing team for the organization, the team members, and patients.
Explains the benefits of a multigenerational nursing team for the organization, the team members, and patients, but the explanation is incomplete or missing key elements.
Explains the benefits of a multigenerational nursing team for the organization, the team members, and patients.
Examines the benefits and potential limitations of a multigenerational nursing team for the organization, the team members, and patients.
Write content clearly and logically, with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
Does not write content clearly, logically, or with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
Writes with errors in clarity, logic, grammar, punctuation, and/or mechanics.
Writes content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
Writes clearly and logically with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics; uses relevant evidence to support a central idea.
Correctly format citations and references using current APA style.
Does not correctly format citations and references using current APA style.
Uses current APA to format citations and references but with numerous errors.
Correctly formats citations and references using current APA style with few errors.
Correctly formats citations and references with no errors.

This signature assignment is designed to align with specific program student learning outcomes in your program. Program Student Learning Outcomes are broad statements that describe what students should know and be able to do upon completion of their degree. The signature assignments may be graded with an automated rubric that allows the University to collect data that can be aggregated across a location or college/school and used for program improvements.

Resource: Avery Foster v. Federal Express Corp., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53779 (E. Dist. Ct. MI)

The issue in the case is whether the company’s employment handbook created an implied contract. Avery Foster was terminated for falsifying an employee timecard. He argued that he was told in his initial interview that he would be guaranteed employment at Federal Express as long as he was a good worker and was protected from “just cause” termination. The court found there was good cause to terminate Avery Foster and that the handbook did not create an implied contract of guaranteed employment.

Progressive discipline is an employee disciplinary process that provides a graduated and measured range of responses to employee performance or conduct issues.

Critical thinking consideration: Short of termination, could progressive discipline have been effective in this matter?

Given the circumstances and issues that arose in the Avery Foster case, create the following:

Design a Progressive Discipline Policy that would be appropriate for most organizations to follow, with consideration to the following measures:

Identify the discipline issues to be addressed: attendance, performance, conduct, or a single broad category of non-performance.

Determine whether or not the provisions of the policy should permit the company to modify and/or apply the policy in any manner it deems appropriate under the circumstances, including acceleration of steps, exclusion of steps, or repetition of steps.

Assess when a supervisor may act independently or needs to seek upper management approval.

Explain instructions on when to involve Human Resources.

Clarify the role of Human Resources to advise or approve disciplinary action.

Determine when a witness should be present.

Outline the different sequences and progressive levels of discipline that an employee can receive.

Develop rules regarding merit increases in relation to disciplinary action.

Write the policy in the third-person in no more than 1,400 words.

Use headings that appropriately signal the steps and keep your policy organized.

Use a minimum of three different research resources, and identify all sources in your Reference page.