Location:  Covington, Virginia 24426

The focus of this paper is to
explore how residential patterns affect intergroup relations. You will use
research approaches such as observation and secondary data analysis to further
understand your community.

Step 1: Using Secondary Data

Use Demographic Report attached – Per instructor more information is needed, please review markup.

Your demographic report should follow the following structure:

• Introduction (including the locality chosen and general socio-economic info on your locality)
• At least five body paragraphs presenting the social or economic characteristics and specific data for the locality (please state both numbers and percentages if available). In this section of your paper, be sure to present statistics related to education, population, race, gender, age, income (and poverty), housing, as well as any other factors you think relate to the stratification and/or inequality in your chosen locale.
  Examples of how data can be presented:
• A table of all the variables you found (if you select this option, please do not copy and paste tables from the American Factfinder website.  Rather, create your own table with all of your variables).

  [Insert/Table in MS Word; add as many columns and rows as you like]:

Location: [examples]San Diego, Kern County, etc…	Percentage	Number (n=)
Population (male):	45%	45,000
Population (female)	55%	55,000
Median Income	$40,000
% of Population with College Degree	30%	30,000

• Or a bullet point list of all the variables you found.

  Location:
  Population:

  • Male – 45% (n=45,000)
  • Female – 55% (n=55,000)…etc.

• At least two body paragraphs describing how the statistics you report relate to social stratification and social inequality (use your text, Sociology: Beyond Common Sense as reference). In other words, think about what picture the statistics paint about the type of social hierarchies and inequalities that exist in your locale. (Hint: Think about stratification and inequalities based on race, gender, age, social class, etc. Finding statistics about education, income, housing, etc. by race/gender/age can be useful places to make these observations).

Step 2: Using an Observational Study
– Downtown Covington, Virginia 24426
Next, spend 30 to 60 minutes observing your community. Go to a central place in
your town such as the center of the city, a major landmark, or you can drive or
walk to different areas and observe for a few minutes.

Observation:  Lower income population, closed stores, housing on one side of town is run down due to lower income and lack of funds.  This area is known for  lower income population and criminal activity.

 Based on your
observations, what can you tell about the economic condition of the majority of
people? Is the locale integrated or segregated? In this step, consider the
information you have gathered in Step 1 regarding social and economic
characteristics, and identify whether it matches what you have recorded from
your observation. Be sure to compare the data you gathered from your
observations to what was found in the census data and make note if there are
differences. Present your findings in one to two pages of the paper.

Step 3: Analysis and Reporting of
Research
Analyze your data and present your responses in two to three pages in the
paper:

• Describe how segregated the neighborhoods are in your
  locality. Be sure to consider the various social inequality indicators:
  race, ethnicity, class, gender, and perhaps sexuality for some areas.
• Indicate if there are policies, practices, or specific
  circumstances that have created and maintained these patterns.

Here are
some examples of aspects to consider: Historically, has there always been
racial segregation or not? Was it traditionally an area of immigration from a
certain ethnic region? Is there an LGBT community? Was it an industrial area
that had a strong working class community, or is it a technology area with
highly educated citizens? Have there been efforts to desegregate or plans in
the future?

• In Chapter 1 and throughout the text, you have explored
  several sociological theoretical perspectives. Indicate which theoretical
  perspective best presents your analysis of your locality. Describe why you
  have chosen this theoretical perspective and ensure you include detail on
  which theorist’s work is most representative.

The Research Paper:

• Must be seven to nine double-spaced pages in length
  (excluding title and reference pages), and formatted according to APA
  style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a title page with the following:
• Title of paper
• Student’s name
• Course name and number
• Instructor’s name
• Date submitted
• Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a
  succinct thesis statement.
• Must address the topic of the paper with critical
  thought.
• Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
• Must use at least five scholarly resources, including a
  minimum of two from the Ashford University Library.
• Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in
  the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a separate reference page, formatted
  according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.