Overview

The final project for this course is the creation of a proposal to the potential funder, the Department of Health and Human Services. This is the first of two opportunities, Milestones One and Two, for you to submit a first attempt of a section for the final project due in Week Seven of this course. This assignment should represent your best effort to meet the critical elements outlined below. Once you submit this assignment, you will receive feedback from your instructor. It is imperative that you review and understand this feedback before you implement it into your final draft. By completing this assignment, you demonstrate the following skills employers in the field may be looking for:

• Cultural awareness when interacting with others
• Research and synthesis of information
• Data analysis
• Written communication
• Critical thinking
• Problem analysis and problem solving
• Work independently

As you review your sources, make sure that they are current. A good rule of thumb is that the source should be published within the past 10 years, in most cases. Of course, if the source provides insight into current social realities, there are good reasons why it is an authoritative source. W. E. B. DuBois, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and many classical theorists provide insight into our current social realities. These insights into race and racism, competition for resources, and community are relevant today. If it is an empirical analysis (i.e., if it is an analysis working with data), then the best rule of thumb is that the research be as current as possible.

Prompt

You will address the critical elements listed below which represent the first three sections of your final project. In the Module One discussion, you presented an idea for a social issue and how it presents itself in the local community. You will continue to use what you have learned in the first two weeks of the course so far to address the critical elements below. For this milestone your work will be graded using the rubric below. For your final submission in Module Seven your work will be graded using the rubric found in the Final Project guidelines and rubric document. The final project rubric adds a fourth column to the rubric which adds the expectation of a higher level of comprehension and writing. Therefore, if you receive a score satisfactory to you on your milestone assignments you will be expected to address any feedback from your instructor, as well as adding the depth asked for in the exemplary column in the Final Project rubric when you submit your final project.

Specifically the following critical elements must be addressed:

1. Introduction: In this section, you will summarize your proposal. Explain the contemporary social problem that you selected and discuss the relevance for today’s society on a local level. How does the issue present itself in the United States or in your local community?
2. Problem Description: Determine the most influential social variables and determinants leading to the social problem. Justify your selections with research.
   1. Explain how the social variables and determinants influence the development of the social problem on a local level. Support your explanations with resources.
   2. Explain how the social variables and determinants influence the development of the social problem on a global level. Support your explanations with resources.
   3. Describe the differences and similarities between local and global influences of these social variables and determinants. Provide specific examples.
3. Approach: In this section, you will reflect on your personal biases that might affect your later analysis.
   1. Describe how people talk about this social problem, and how stereotypes, biases, and assumptions can confuse the issue. Support your description with resources.
   2. Identify and reflect on your own biases and assumptions around the issue and how these may affect your analysis of the issue. Everyone has certain preconceived notions about social issues. What are yours, and how might they influence your analysis and interpretation?
   3. Explain how you will use sociological theory to limit biases when you analyze the social problem. How can the theory help you limit your biases? Provide a specific example.

What to Submit

Milestone One must be 2-3 pages in length (plus a cover page and references) and must be written in APA format. Use double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Include at least 1-2 references cited in APA format.