352:. Work cited could come from a reliable publisher of sociology literature, such as Sage Publications, Routledge, or the Penn State Press for books, or journals such as The American Sociological Review or The American Journal of Sociology. Take care citing as fact any material from publications which advocate strongly for a particular point of view. When in doubt, be sure to see if the board of the publication is tied to an accredited university. Otherwise, such advocacy journals should only be used to provide examples of their particular viewpoints.
337:. Authors published in a peer review process are preferred to authors who self-publish, whether that be a blog post or a book series. Of course, many experts in the field may write blog posts or conduct interviews which are not peer reviewed. These may be sources of information about the perspectives or biographical details of an individual, but rarely should they be used for sourcing factual information.
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Editing
Knowledge (XXG) can be daunting for newbies, especially as a student editor contributing to Knowledge (XXG) for the first time as a class assignment. This guide is designed to assist students assigned to add sociology content to articles on Knowledge (XXG). Here’s what other sociology editors
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Our student surveys show that the single resource they use most is printed guidance — that they won’t necessarily click that link you gave them, but if they have a physical handout on their desk next to them while they work, they will use it. So we’re creating a physical printed resource that’s aimed
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An article on a sociological theory (such as feminism, postmodernism, or structuralism) may be more freely defined within the contours of the concept. As such, you should think carefully about the structure of your article, or what you can contribute to a pre-existing one. Useful touchstones include
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For a
Knowledge (XXG) assignment, such plagiarism is a violation of your university’s academic honor code. Cleaning up after plagiarism also takes a tremendous amount of volunteer time that would otherwise go into building Knowledge (XXG). If you plagiarize on Knowledge (XXG), it is extremely likely
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If you post something that doesn’t meet these guidelines, someone will have to clean up after you, costing valuable volunteer time that could have been used to improve content. If you’re not comfortable working under these guidelines, talk to your instructor about an alternative off-wiki assignment.
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Aim for specificity. Do not to overstate research findings! What did the research actually find? For example, if (hypothetical) research found that church attendance in the US has declined over a decade, do not write that “Americans have become less religious over the past decade.” Specificity can
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The lead section is the most important section of a
Knowledge (XXG) article, and it takes a particular form. A good lead section will summarize the entire article in 1–4 paragraphs, providing context and briefly covering all of the important aspects of the topic. The first sentence — which usually
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itself. Take note that many writers, particularly in the popular press, tend to wade into sociological territory, but do not have proper training as social scientists. In this case, weigh the conclusions of the article or book against the dominant conclusions of those in your field. Does it align
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Every article will be unique, but there are some general sections that readers and other editors will expect to see in your article. The following sections are proposed scaffolds for various types of sociology articles, general outlines of sections you should include in your article. You can add,
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You’re editing a resource millions of people use to inform themselves about the world, to draw conclusions about human behavior, guide policy decisions, and make sense of their culture and society. Sociologists inherently understand the value of responsible writing and the neutral presentation of
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Ideally your sources should be reliable, published, and generally, reviewed by a third party for accuracy. In any article, the majority view and significant minority views should be presented in a neutral manner. Keep in mind, too, that “published” work can include films, podcasts, or other work
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Knowledge (XXG) editors in the social sciences have developed specific guidelines for writing about sociology-related topics. Because so much of the world can be analyzed for its social significance, some restrictions on sociology posts are inevitable. Take extra time to read and understand the
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Part of the
Knowledge (XXG) experience is receiving and responding to feedback from other editors. Do not submit your content on the last day, then leave Knowledge (XXG)! Human volunteers from the Knowledge (XXG) community will likely read and respond to it, and it would be polite for you to
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Social phenomenon could merit their own article, or be ripe for improvement from a sociological perspective. Some topics — such as the Coase theorem — may benefit from adding a sociological perspective to an existing page. Other topics may be purely sociological in focus, such as industrial
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Finally, be aware that while
Knowledge (XXG) requires a neutral tone for articles, it does not require neutral sources. Impassioned pleas, used carefully, may make excellent quotations for illustrating a particular viewpoint. Be sure to attribute the text in your source, and when possible,
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that you’ll be caught by other editors and there will be a permanent online record of your plagiarism tied to your account. Note that even with standard resources or authors, you cannot directly copy descriptions of social concepts, studies, or theories into
Knowledge (XXG).
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encourages professors in the United States and Canada to have their students contribute content to the sociology area on
Knowledge (XXG). Many of these professors do so by participating in the Knowledge (XXG) Education Program in the United States and Canada.
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Secondary sources are always preferred to primary sources. Book reviews or textbooks are generally better than citing original research. Ultimately, consider the status of scholarly work as you would consider any other source. Has it been properly vetted?
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One good strategy for writing a
Knowledge (XXG) article is to draft a lead section first, which you can then use as an outline for the rest of the article. Revise it as you go to make sure it accurately summarizes the body of the article.
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Don’t procrastinate! Writing good, reliable
Knowledge (XXG) articles takes time. Don’t wait until the last minute, but if you get stuck, always ask your instructor for extra time rather than adding content to Knowledge (XXG) that doesn’t meet these
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You must write things in your own words on
Knowledge (XXG). Plagiarizing by copy-and-pasting or close paraphrasing — when most of the words are changed, but the structure and meaning of the original text remains — is against the rules.
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Have a healthy respect for why these rules exist: Everybody on Knowledge (XXG) wants to make the best encyclopedia they can. Take the time to understand the rules, and soon you’ll be contributing to a resource you use daily!
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Let the facts speak for themselves. Respect your readers and recognize that empirical data doesn’t always lead two readers to the same conclusion, and consider what this means about your own interpretations of empirical
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If you discuss research, aim for a thorough description of its methodologies. This is why it is important to understand your material and cross-reference your understanding with a variety of sources.
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For example, in the case of dissertations, has the dissertation had an impact on the general consensus of the field? You can check citations indexes to help you determine if the resource is useful.
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Be sure you’re writing fact-based encyclopedic content, not an essay. See the Editing Knowledge (XXG) brochure linked from your course page if you need a refresher on the difference in tone.
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An article on sociological research will probably need to be adapted according to the specifics of the topic. Some sections to consider for any sociology related article are:
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Choose a topic with extensive literature in independent, peer-reviewed journals and books. Some articles are short simply because there isn’t enough literature to expand them.
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Choose a topic that isn’t already well-developed on Knowledge (XXG) (look for what’s known as “stub” or “start-class” articles — check the talk page for an article’s rating).
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This handout will be a single large-sheet, front and back handout, folded in half so it forms four pages of content. It will focus specifically on how student editors in the
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Explore differences: What does research suggest which might point to differences in how your subject manifests between countries, time periods, or socio-economic conditions?
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If you have additional questions about contributing to Knowledge (XXG), post a question at the Teahouse. You can find the Teahouse by entering "WP:TH" into the search bar.
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Remember, your audience isn’t studying sociology! When mentioning technical terms for the first time, provide a short plain-English explanation in parentheses if possible.
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produces, and it will be distributed in printed copies to all students in the sociology area who are participating in our program beginning in the Spring 2015 term.
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Note from Eryk: Thanks for being willing to provide input on the sociology handout! Please leave any comments on the talk page or send to me via email at eryk
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Be aware of your own perspective in writing. Writing for Knowledge (XXG) is an opportunity to examine your relationship to facts, interpretations and biases.
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You may use direct quotation when it is important to keep the original wording, but be sure to explicitly mark what is being quoted and cite the source.
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can contribute successfully to sociology articles on the English Knowledge (XXG). This will be the third of several discipline-specific handouts the
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Unlike most school assignments,Knowledge (XXG) doesn’t permit original research. A Knowledge (XXG) article should cover what the literature says.
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remove, or reorder sections as appropriate for your topic or article improvement. If you’re writing on a topic not shown here, visit the page
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You may wish to search for interesting and plentiful sources first, then choose a Knowledge (XXG) article to develop based on what you find.
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produced by a reliable author. So, for example, The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology can be cited as Slavoj Zizek in a Knowledge (XXG) article.
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Take pride in your contributions! Your hard work helps share your knowledge with the millions of people who use Knowledge (XXG) every day.
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for high-quality articles in sociology, and find a topic similar to yours to see how other editors have organized their articles.
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with the scholarly consensus? If so, is there a better, more reliable source that you could use to illustrate the same point?
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acknowledge the time they volunteer to polish your work. You may not get a comment, but if you do, please acknowledge it.
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starts with the name of the topic in bold — serves as a definition of the topic and indicates why it is important.
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Learning to evaluate sources is a core component of engaging critically in your field and on Knowledge (XXG).
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Learning to evaluate sources is a core component of engaging critically in your field and on Knowledge (XXG).
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acknowledge the relevant sociological perspective: “According to the feminist theorist Judith Butler...”
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An overview offering some context and history for the theory, including prominent theorists and/or works
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If observations are reported, what methodologies, or theories, are these observations grounded in?
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Ultimately, you must decide for yourself if a source can be considered reliable and relevant.
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Don’t offer analysis or conclusions; you’re writing fact-based descriptions of information.
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guidelines here to make sure you meet the requirements when you post to Knowledge (XXG).
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Generally, follow these guidelines when determining which sociology article to improve:
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Reception of the theory, leading into brief coverage of the theories derived from it
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in the form of an online training, brochures, and assignment design consulting.
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help you to avoid problematic stereotypes and generalizations in your articles.
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How do you identify sources you can use to build your Knowledge (XXG) article?
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Give appropriate weight to aspects of the topic as the literature covers it.
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specifically at student editors, with the most common challenges they face.
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A great reference for a sociology biography page is W. E. B. Du Bois (
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facts — Knowledge (XXG) is your chance to put theory into practice!
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Knowledge (XXG) Education Program in the United States and Canada
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Why not just link to <any number of existing resources>?
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American Sociological Association's Knowledge (XXG) Initiative
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https://en.wikipedia.org/Category:GA-Class_sociology_articles
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Student editors in our program are encouraged to go through
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When applicable, empirical evidence supporting the theory
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Page 1: Editing Knowledge (XXG) articles on Sociology
285:Implications of the theory (perhaps across fields)
234:An article on a prominent figure in sociology:
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259:https://en.wikipedia.org/W._E._B._Du_Bois
76:What do student editors already know?
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263:https://en.wikipedia.org/Max_Weber
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92:What do instructors already know?
340:The second consideration is the
299:What is its context and history?
158:Watch out for close paraphrasing
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333:The first consideration is the
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376:Page 4: Writing your article
186:Page 2: Choosing an article
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209:What is the Lead section?
136:Understand the guidelines
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57:Wiki Education Foundation
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291:Criticisms of the theory
276:Definition of the theory
98:guidance for instructors
310:Page 3: Finding sources
222:Organizing your article
86:Editing Knowledge (XXG)
348:Finally, consider the
247:Major contributions
149:Engage with editors
82:the online training
18:User:Eryk (Wiki Ed)
327:Evaluating sources
42:About this handout
360:Using scholarship
174:Scared? Don’t be!
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.