All students enrolled in this class must schedule a time to take the Major Field Test. You will need to contact your academic advisor or the CMU Center for Learning and Teaching to schedule your exam. Students must sign up for the exam by week 4 of the course, and have completed the exam by Week 8. The web link for the Center for Learning and Teaching is http://www.centralmethodist.edu/academics/learning-teaching/index.php. 

There are two books required for this class.

1. American Psychological Association (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed). Washington DC: Author. ISBN: 978-1-4338-0561-5

2. Lester and Lester Jr. (2018). Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide. (16^th ed). New York: Pearson. ISBN: 978-0-13-457590-2

• The Lester and Lester Jr. book is only available as a rental ebook. The above ISBN is correct if you rent the book through the Central Methodist University MBS online bookstore.
• The most economical way to buy the Lester book is through myPEARSON store at http://www.mypearsonstore.com/bookstore/writing-research-papers-a-complete-guide-subscription-0134575903
• If you choose to rent the ebook from a third party seller, you would use the ISBN: 978-0-13-451902-9

3hrs. (Capstone.) Open to Juniors and Seniors majoring in Sociology. This course is a senior thesis seminar. To receive credit in this course, all students must complete a directed research paper and successfully defend it before the faculty of the Division of Social Sciences.

1. Describe sources utilized for research and determine relevance to thesis project

2. Evaluate research related to thesis topic.

3. Analyze one’s own level of self-awareness and understanding of sociological concepts and case studies, as well as knowledge gained through past coursework.

4. Apply information obtained through conducting research to create a unique, meaningful and well developed thesis.

5. Promote and present subject matter in a demonstrative, organized, structural, and ethical manner, utilizing support from sources obtained through extensive research and following the guidelines of the APA manual.

This course is a divisional capstone seminar in applied research.  It is required for students presenting themselves as candidates for the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology. 

1. The student will become familiar with the various stages and steps of developing a research project from articulating an initial set of questions, to submitting the final draft of the finished paper.

2. The student will acquire the experience of doing in-depth library research in the pursuit of an individually selected topic.  The completion of the senior thesis will demonstrate mastery of research and writing skills.  The paper in which this mastery is demonstrated should be approximately thirty pages in length.

3. The student will demonstrate critical thinking skills in the process of analyzing and critiquing current academic research.

4. The student will acquire the experience of presenting and defending the results of her or his research to a group of professional social scientists.