Writing a Senior Thesis
By the end of the spring semester of your junior year you should decide
whether you will write a thesis. It is still possible to decide to write
one in September of your Senior year, but it is best to begin the process
as early as possible. Some people begin thinking about this as early as
their sophomore year, and this can often result in a better thesis
A Guide to the Thesis in Sociology (see pdf to the right) contains advice
about writing a thesis, a description of the overall process of writing
and grading a thesis, and a list of required steps and deadlines.
Important Thesis Resources
Senior Thesis Support Seminar
This is a seminar which meets once a week during the fall semester for students enrolled in Sociology 99. It is not required, but you are strongly advised to attend. The purpose of the seminar is to help you through the research stage of the thesis, to give detailed advice about the writing stage, and to share experiences in doing research. We have run the seminar for the last four years and it is described as very helpful by the students who took it.
HUMAN SUBJECTS PROTECTION
If you will be using human subjects (interviews, surveys, participant observation in any way), you must apply to the Committee on Human Subjects for approval. Your faculty advisor can help you to determine whether a human subject review is required for your project. Some very helpful guidelines may be found in the pdf document in the right-hand column of this page as well as on the Human Subjects web site, Jane Calhoun (jcalhoun@ fas, 5-5459), one of the research officers of the Committee, encourages you to contact her, if you have questions or need help navigating the process.
COMPUTING
Students working on a senior thesis are encouraged to use the resources of the department's Computing Office and to consult with Cheri Minton, who assists with data management in the Sociology Department. You may find help in a number of ways–-for example, figuring the easiest way to ready data you have downloaded for analysis in Stata, devising a good setup for entering data you have gathered yourself, creating and hosting an online survey, start up in using Atlas.ti for working with field notes or interview transcripts.
Meeting for Juniors (pdf)
Guide to the Thesis in Sociology, 2008-2009 (pdf)
Schedule of Thesis Deadlines (pdf)
99s. Support Seminar for Thesis Writers (pdf)
Statement of Intent (pdf)
First Reader (pdf)
Thesis Prospectus Approval (pdf)
Human Subjects Review Guidelines