ASSIGNMENT 3
USING A SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH

By now, you have practiced and should understand the
sociological research process. You also have a good handle on
how the major sociological theories explain social issues. Now, it’s
your turn to apply this knowledge. For your final assignment, you’ll
review a research article to identify the research conclusion. Then,
you’ll take another look at that conclusion from the perspective of
one of the major sociological theories.

Instructions: Complete all three parts of the assignment by
following the instructions below.

PART A: WHAT DID THE RESEARCHERS LEARN?
1) Article Review:
a) Prepare to complete your assignment by
reviewing the articles below. Select one for the
focus of your assignment.
• Money, Not Access, Key to Resident Food
Choices in ‘Food Deserts’
https://news.ncsu.edu/2017/03/moneyfood-deserts-2017/
• “The narrowing, but persistent, gender gap in
pay”
http://www.pewresearch.org/facttank/2017/04/03/gender-pay-gap-facts/
• “Bridging a Digital Divide That Leaves
Schoolchildren Behind”
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/23/
technology/fcc-internet-access-school.html
b) Review your selected article several times to
familiarize yourself with the content before going
to the next step of this assignment.

2) Learn: Use the research information in the article to
answer the questions below. You should write at least
one paragraph for this step. Refer to Chapter 2 of your
webtext as necessary.
a) What were the key findings of the research?
b) What conclusion was drawn from the research?

PART B: WHAT WOULD THE THEORIES SAY?
Remember: The four major sociological theories are Functionalism,
Conflict Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and Rational Choice
Theory. For more information, review Sections 1.8 – 1.12 in your
webtext.
Use one of the four major sociological theories to explain the key
findings in the research article you reviewed in Part A. You should
write two paragraphs, one for each question.
a) How would this theory explain the key findings or
conclusion of the research in the article?
b) What limitations does this theory demonstrate
in addressing the problem examined in the
research article? 

PART C: WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Use your article to help answer the questions below. You should
write two paragraphs, one for each question.
a) What would you suggest to address this
problem?
b) What additional research would you conduct
to help address the problem examined in the
research article?

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
• Use Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch
margins on all sides.
• Use section headers (Learn, Theory, and Solution) and
write left indented paragraphs under each corresponding
section.
• References are not required for this assignment as you
will use one of the assigned articles and your webtext.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment,
the student’s name, the professor’s name, the
course title, and the date.