Critical Review Essay Assignment Checklist
In the course outline it says:
The main course requirement will be a critical review essay on some aspect of the Sociology of Work. The essay should critically review key research related to a selected topic, identifying different areas of focus, different approaches, different methods and findings, and highlight strengths and weaknesses in the existing research and areas for further research.
What might constitute the 'critical' part of your review essay - i.e. what am I looking for in the essay that would make it 'critical' as opposed to just a review essay? The vast majority of the essay should consist of a systematic review of the set of articles/books you have identified on your topic - "identifying different areas of focus, different approaches, different methods and findings." This is the main part of the assignment.
The other part of the assignment - identifying strengths and weaknesses is a also important but in most cases, it would be a relatively small part of what you submit. So focus your attention on the first part but try to draw on the course and other sources to do the last piece as well. For instance-based on the review you have done, you could say something like there is a rich body of qualitative and quantitative research on (the topic) but very little of it is Canadian, it has focused on gender but not on race, it has drawn primarily on Marxian theory and we could benefit from more research using Weberian theory or feminist theory, etc.
As you are working on your review essay and prior to submitting it, try to keep in mind the following:
1. The need to clearly incorporate some of the course readings/material into the review essay.
2. Some of the basic insights that come from thinking sociologically
a. the importance of theory and the need to recognize that different theoretical approaches tend to lead us to emphasize/see certain things (while potentially masking others)
b. the importance of the research question - what is it and how is it formulated
c. what are the key concepts used to define the problem and interpret the results and how are they defined?
d. the importance of context-where was the research done, when (during what time period) and on what groups, types of organizations, etc. does it focus?
e. What are the overall findings from the research you have reviewed-do they support each other or are they contradictory. If they are contradictory, how might we explain this?
March 2nd: Training, School to Work and other Transitions
1) Wolfgang lehman, 2005."I'm still scrubbing the floors.' Experiencing youth apprenticeships in Canada and Germany." Work, Employment and Society 19(1), pp. 107-129.
2) G.S. Lowe and H. Krahn. 2000. Work aspirations and attitudes in an era of labour market restructuring: a comparison of two Canadian youth cohorts. Work, Employment and Society 14(1), pp. 1-22.
3) C. Gran, W. Hauser and T. Rhein. 2010. Is any job better than no job? Life satisfaction and reemployment. Journal of Labor Research 31, pp. 285-306.
4) T. Moulaert and S. Biggs. 2012. International and European policy on work and retirement: reinventing critical perspectives on active ageing and mature subjectivity. Human Relations 66(1), pp. 23-43.
https://www.questia.com/library/education/curriculum-and-instruction/school-to-work
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879107000395
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4192723/
https://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/transition/ETS_Overview_files/ETSPUBSNov222013.pdf
https://cjcdonline.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/International-and-National-Factors-Affecting.pdf
https://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/PreparingHSStudentsforTransition_073108.pdf