Sociology Review - Should I do it?

[speechfan222]

Hi everyone,

I'm finished with my grad school applications and now just waiting for acceptance letters. I applied to Sociology graduate programs at several universities. The only Sociology course I have a background in is an intro course (Sociology 101) which I took years ago. I have a 'nerdy' question for everyone - Should I pull my Sociology 101 textbook from the shelf and start reviewing it again as a preparation for grad school Sociology courses? Or, will it not make a difference since grad school courses are more advanced and I may not need to know information from an intro course?

If I should break out the textbook and review, should I create an outline for each chapter? Should I write a basic summary of the chapter? Just make notes on important points?

Let me know what everyone thinks!!

[myrrh]

I assume that you have  a proposed project on your SoP. If so, I recommend that you keep working on it instead of reading a textbook. You will be extremely busy in the first semester and are very unlikely to enhance your project in any systematic manner, whereas you do need to have a good research project the very first minute you enter grad school. For example, for the sack of fellowship applications. 

[speechfan222]

11 minutes ago, myrrh said:

I assume that you have  a proposed project on your SoP. If so, I recommend that you keep working on it instead of reading a textbook. You will be extremely busy in the first semester and are very unlikely to enhance your project in any systematic manner, whereas you do need to have a good research project the very first minute you enter grad school. For example, for the sack of fellowship applications. 

 

I don't have a proposed project, no. I am interested in the field of Sociology, but don't know much about the details or what graduate school will require - aside from coursework.

Is a proposed project required of graduate school? What does it require and how do I begin?

[myrrh]

Oops, sorry for my wrong assumption. In your case, maybe you can spend some time before grad school to think about some research project. Many people do have some research ideas and some basic sense of the literature relevant to their research when they start their grad life, although I don't think it's technically a necessity to enter a grad program. In other words, at this stage I would not say it's "required" for entering a grad program, or not even for surviving your first year, but having even roughly a research project is good. It helps you write grant proposal; it helps you strategize coursework or course paper; and it help you have some sense of who you are academically -- which is a huge source of anxiety in the first a couple year.

So my suggestion is basically the same: start working on some project (or research idea). It is much more time consuming than picking up undergrad sociological knowledge and, in my opinion, more rewarding than it in the beginning of your grad life.  

[myrrh]

15 minutes ago, speechfan222 said:

I don't have a proposed project, no. I am interested in the field of Sociology, but don't know much about the details or what graduate school will require - aside from coursework.

Is a proposed project required of graduate school? What does it require and how do I begin?

Oops again. Are you applying to master's program or PhD? In the former case, please forget about what I said. I am not familiar with independent MA programs. 

[speechfan222]

9 hours ago, myrrh said:

Oops again. Are you applying to master's program or PhD? In the former case, please forget about what I said. I am not familiar with independent MA programs. 

I'm applying to Masters. I didn't think I needed to do any 'extra' things since I'm entering an MA program. Is reviewing my textbook still a crazy idea?

[rising_star]

14 minutes ago, speechfan222 said:

I'm applying to Masters. I didn't think I needed to do any 'extra' things since I'm entering an MA program. Is reviewing my textbook still a crazy idea?

I don't think it's a crazy idea at all. Having some background in the basics of sociology and sociological theory will help you as you start to figure out what you want to do research on. Once you narrow down an area, I'd recommend reading journal articles (review papers are super helpful) and upper-level textbooks in that area so you can get a better sense of what is already known and what isn't in that area. 

[speechfan222]

3 hours ago, rising_star said:

I don't think it's a crazy idea at all. Having some background in the basics of sociology and sociological theory will help you as you start to figure out what you want to do research on. Once you narrow down an area, I'd recommend reading journal articles (review papers are super helpful) and upper-level textbooks in that area so you can get a better sense of what is already known and what isn't in that area. 

Thanks for this information. It definitely helps! I have a Bachelors degree in another field, but am also very interested in Sociology. Unfortunately, I don't have a large background in this field. Do I need to figure out what I want to research on during my graduate studies, or do you mean research as a profession?

Also, do you know of any helpful resources where I can get more information about Sociology and professions within the field? I have looked over the ASA website and it doesn't seem to be much help. I also did a google search looking for more information and surprisingly, there isn't much available online.

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it! I feel like a lost puppy in a large park sometimes. :o(

[speechfan222]

What are some other things I can do to prepare for graduate courses especially because I don't have a large background in Sociology? Besides briefly reading over my Intro to Sociology textbook, I'm not sure how else I can prepare. Are there any specific courses that are a little harder than others that I could somehow prepare for? I heard research methods for Psychology is pretty tough. Is it the same for Sociology?

Edited November 16, 2016 by speechfan222

[THS]

On 11/15/2016 at 7:08 PM, speechfan222 said:

What are some other things I can do to prepare for graduate courses especially because I don't have a large background in Sociology? Besides briefly reading over my Intro to Sociology textbook, I'm not sure how else I can prepare. Are there any specific courses that are a little harder than others that I could somehow prepare for? I heard research methods for Psychology is pretty tough. Is it the same for Sociology?

 

 

I would read the textbook and then look up some theory texts.  Classical and contemporary is normally the distinction in Soc.  While I did my MA in anthropology and am looking to do my PHD in Sociology I'll probably take this second step (although many of the theorists overlap).  You can also buy and read a methodology text.  Yes it is specific and it helps to have at least a general understanding before you start a program.  Since you are starting an MA you don't need to have a specific project in mind, but it won't hurt to have an area that you are interested in outside of "sociology".  As you'll soon learn if accepted to one of these programs, sociology is a broad field because it studies people and societies and so there are many types of sociology.  Hope this helps! 

Edited January 4, 2017 by montanem

[theorynetworkculture]

Secondary texts are a great idea. There's definitely something to be said about diving into primary materials, but those olde classics can make for slow reads. Giddens wrote a great primer for sociology's "holy trinity" that you may want to check out: https://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Modern-Social-Theory-Analysis/dp/0521097851/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483627591&sr=8-1&keywords=giddens+marx+durkheim

 

You may also want to skinny dip into your subfield(s) of choice. You can consult course syllabi of POI (http://home.uchicago.edu/~jlmartin/901 syllabus.pdf as an example), or look up comp. reading lists (say http://www.sociology.utoronto.ca/graduate/compre.htm) for a good list of materials to keep busy with.

[THS]

Thanks for the specific title suggestions!

[kris10mb]

6 hours ago, theorynetworkculture said:

You can consult course syllabi of POI (http://home.uchicago.edu/~jlmartin/901 syllabus.pdf as an example), or look up comp. reading lists (say http://www.sociology.utoronto.ca/graduate/compre.htm) for a good list of materials to keep busy with.

 

This is great advice. I've been doing this even though I have been studying sociology for years. I've tried to keep reading during my gap year and POI syllabi and comp reading lists are where most of my personal list has come from.