Death & Dying Project Prompt
Project assignment breakdown:
 Research proposal: April 15 (2.5pts)
 Progress report: May 6 (2.5pts)
 Final Project: May 20 (35pts)
Learning Objective: The goal of this assignment is for you to achieve an understanding some social and
sociological element of death in dying that extends beyond course material. You will pick a topic in the
death and dying, find at least 5 sociological research studies on the topic, and do public sociology (i.e.,
take sociological and sociologically-minded research and make it accessible a general audience). This
involves 2 things: 1) Translating academic work in a way into language that someone who has never
taken a sociology course – and, perhaps, has never attended college – can understand; and 2)
Presenting that translation in a familiar, recognizable way. You will accomplish this through Vox
“Explained”-style article.
Why a Vox “Explained”- style article? The Vox “Explained” article series excels at reviewing,
summarizing, and presenting scholarly work. Their engagement with research is deeper than most
publications and often involves acknowledgement of the limits of a particular study. In other words, Vox
“Explained” articles are more responsible in disseminating scholarly work to a broad audience than most
other journalistic work. Here are some examples:
 https://www.vox.com/2022/3/16/22960468/ipcc-climate-change-migration-migrant-refugee
 https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2022/2/9/22914378/the-science-and-mystery-oflove
 https://www.vox.com/22905020/omicron-wave-surge-covid-19-cases-vaccines
Do I need to make an actual blogpost online, like Vox? No. You will submit a document of your project.
However, if you are tech savvy and wish to do something online, you are certainly welcome to take that
on.
Can I work on this assignment with someone from class or does it need to be solo work? You can do
this assignment on your own or with one or more peers from class. If you decide to work with someone
else, the expectations for the assignment will vary slightly, as noted below.
Key Dates
April 15 Project Proposals due by 10pm April 15.
1-2 double-spaced pages, 12-point font, Times New Roman or Calibri font (2.5pts)
May 6 Progress Report & Annotated Literature Review due by 10pm on May 6
Min of 2 double-spaced pages, 12-point font, Times New Roman or Calibri (2.5pts)
May 14 Your final project is due by 10pm on May 14 (35pts)
Project Breakdown: Manageable Steps
Step 1: Topic Selection. Choose a topic related to the sociology of death, dying, and bereavement that
you want to pursue for this assignment.
 Possible topics include anything listed on the syllabus or discussed in lecture on 3/31. If there is a
topic beyond those sources you would like to tackle, you can discuss it with Dr. O or the TA.
 Take time to do cursory literature searches to see what research has been done before settling on a
topic. This will ensure you have enough research to draw on for the assignment. You will want to
bring in recently published research (i.e., ideally published in the last 15 or so years).
Step 2: Article selection. You will need to choose at least 5 articles to incorporate into your project. If
you are working with 1 or more classmates, you will need 5 articles per person. Follow the guidelines
below to choose appropriate articles:
 Thematically linked. All of the articles you choose should be related to your topic.
 Published scholarly research. Any article you choose must come from an academic or scholarly
source. Newspapers, magazines, and/or blog posts are not appropriate sources for this assignment.
 Research, not review, articles. Any article you choose must draw on original research, and not
simply review existing literature. Some journals – like the Annual Review of Sociology – publish
article that are just reviews of the existing literature. These can be super helpful for findings
research articles, but should not be 1 of the articles you summarize and use for this assignment.
 Sociological research. Because this is a Sociology course, and not a Psychology course, the articles
you choose must be sociological. That means drawing on research that emphasizes the role of
collectives and forces outside of individuals. If you are uncertain if a study fits this criteria, come by
office hours and we can take a look at it with you.
 Use of course readings. You are welcome to use course readings as part of your project. However,
course readings do not count towards the 5 articles you need to use.
 Note: I have posted a number of appropriate readings in the Misc Articles folder under the Files tab
on Canvas. You can use any of these for your project.
 If you uncertain if a source you have found meets these criteria, see Dr. O or the TA in office hours
so that we can review it together.
Step 3: Prepare your proposal due on April 15. Details on the proposal are included in a separate
prompt.
Step 4: Article Summaries. The goal of this assignment is to take scholarly research and make it
accessible to a wide audience. One thing that will help in this endeavor is if you take time to write up
brief (2-3 paragraph) summaries of each of your articles.
 Summaries should include a short description of the research question(s) and method(s) and an
extended discussion of the main findings.
 It will also be helpful if add thoughts about how the reading connects with other articles you have
read. Adding these in will make it easier to figure out how to structure the final paper.
Step 5: Prepare your progress report due May 6. Details on the proposal are included in a separate
prompt.
Step 6: Compose your hybrid-style list.
 1,250-1,750 words, double-spaced, 12-point font
 Organized by theme, not by article
 Include a header (see example below)
 Include an article title and headings for each theme
 Include an intro that situates your topic within the broader themes of the course.
 Optional: Include images
 Sample project available
 Due: Your project is due by 10pm on May 14.
You will be assessed on:
 Clarity of writing.
 Ability to clearly and accurately explain research in everyday language.
 Ability to communicate nuance, such as (but not limited to): the recognition of any limitations in the
research you summarized; avoiding overgeneralizations.
 Ability to construct a thematic list, rather than a laundry list of your reviewed articles.
 Grammar, spelling, and appropriate citations.
 Note: Use Chicago-style endnote citations for this assignment. For more information, see:
http://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/chicago_fn.pdf
Formatting & Submission Checklist
 1250-1750 words (minimum), typed & double-spaced
 12-point font
 Single-spaced heading that lists: (Example)
 [Your full name] Ben Levin
 SOC 165: Research Project Soc 165: Research Project