Issues in Sexuality: Scholarly vs. Popular Media
This assignment will help you explore the way a topic in human sexuality is covered in two very different sources:
1) a scholarly journal; and
2) a popular media source.
Instructions
Summarize the scholarly article
Write a 300-400 word summary of the scholarly article you selected, including:
- The hypothesis of the study (what was he author trying to prove or disprove?)
- How the study was conducted, including:
- The group of people researched and written about (colleges students? adolescents? the elderly? military members? sexual minorities? etc.)
- The research method used (i.e. naturalistic observation, lab experiment, survey, etc.)
- The results of the study, the interpretation of the data by the authors and any conclusions they include at the end of the article.
Find and summarize the popular media article
Find and analyze/summarize an article from the popular media that covers the same topic as the scholarly paper. Acceptable popular media sources include sources like:
- Traditional newspapers
- Magazines
- Credible websites
- Unacceptable popular media sources include:
- Blogs
- Wikis
- Wikipedia
- TV shows
- ovies
- Tabloids (National Enquirer, etc.)
Write a 300-400 word summary and review of the popular media article.
- Summarize the key points and include any information that identifies the group and the methods described.
- Describe any conclusions drawn by the authors.
- Critique (about 500 words)
- Compare the article from Step 3 with the article from Step 4, addressing the following:
- What do they have in common?
- Other than visually, how are they most different?
- What is the value for consumers reading each?
- What are the cons associated with the way each presents the information?
- Both sources can be important means of communicating information about your topic. Explain what is best about the scholarly approach and why, and what is best about the popular media approach and why. Consider:
- Reasons professors require students to use papers from peer-reviewed and professional organizations.
- Reasons for studying sex formally instead of just learning about it from popular media sources.