VI. QUALIFYING PAPERS
A. Qualifying Paper #1 (aka Master’s Thesis, or Second-Year Paper)
a. Qualifying Paper #1 is a piece of original empirical research that is ideally the first step toward a publication. This paper is an integral part of the learning process about how to conduct original research that contributes to the discipline. Many such papers ultimately become published journal articles or components of a larger product (e.g., dissertation or book), but it is not required that the paper reach that level of excellence before being approved for the purpose of degree completion.
Before beginning the second-year paper, students must write a short (about 5-10 page) proposal, to be presented before and discussed with a three-person committee of faculty members (see below for more details). The proposal should specify the research question(s), discuss the potential contribution of the work to sociology relative to past research, and provide a timeline of the proposed work. For empirical papers, the proposal additionally describes the data to be collected or analyzed and the proposed method of analysis. Papers using quantitative secondary data analysis should include a discussion (or table) describing the proposed dependent, independent, and control variables. The proposal should be submitted to your reading committee (see information on committee structure below) for feedback and revision before scheduling a sign-on meeting (see information on sign-on meeting in section VI, subsection C).
Regarding the expected content of the QP1, it should be similar to a single journal article in the scope of the research question (i.e., well focused and delimited), data, and findings, as well as in its length. As such, it is typically 6000-9000 words long, plus any references, endnotes, tables, and appendices (as relevant). The paper should demonstrate a careful and thorough consideration of a sociological problem and clearly articulate the contribution of the research to the discipline. This paper must be empirical (or in rare instances, theoretical), and can use any substantive and/or methodological approach (e.g., analysis of survey data, textual analysis, interviews, field work). Accordingly, they vary in style and structure. [Note that if the project involves research with human subjects, the student must get IRB approval or an exemption before collecting any data.] Each second-year student will be required to take the Second Year Paper Seminar to facilitate the paper’s development and completion
b. Committee Structure for QP1: QP1 requires a three-person committee, so that the student develops connections with a somewhat diverse array of advisors. By contrast, all versions of QP2 require only (as a minimum) two committee members. At least one of the readers on QP2 must be new relative to the composition of the committee for QP1, so that each student works with a minimum of four faculty advisors over the two papers. This structure also supports students’ intellectual and methodological breadth.
c. Sign On and Sign Off Meetings
i. Sign-On Meeting –With the approval of the QP1 committee members, the student schedules a sign-on meeting with the committee to discuss the content and direction of the project. This meeting typically lasts approximately one hour. During the meeting, committee members and the student should discuss and agree upon the research question and conceptual framing of the project as well as the data and methods (when relevant). The committee members and the student should also agree to a written timeline for the proposed work and for communication between the student and committee members (e.g., a progress report every month or two, monthly meeting with the lead reader, etc.). It is also highly advisable for the student and the committee to discuss whether or not the student might intend to use QP1 as a component of their dissertation, as this can affect the way the work is carried out and the kind of feedback the faculty provide. Upon successful completion of the sign-on meeting, the committee members and the Graduate Director sign the QP 1 proposal form, available through DocuSign. This form should be submitted to the department’s Graduate Program Coordinator. At the end of the QP1 sign-on meeting, the committee members should discuss the division of labor and work plan for supervising the student (e.g., work closely with the primary reader before distributing to other committee members, send all drafts to all readers simultaneously, etc.).
ii. Sign-Off Meeting – Upon completion of a suitable draft of the paper, and upon the approval of the QP1 committee members, the student schedules a final sign-off meeting with the committee. Again, this meeting is scheduled only after the student has completed and revised the Qualifying Paper in consultation with the committee members. (The process of writing a Qualifying Paper typically involves multiple drafts and recurrent interaction with your committee members as agreed upon in the sign-on meeting). During the meeting, the student briefly presents the key results and conclusions of the research (about five minutes). The student and committee members discuss whether there are remaining issues to be addressed before the committee agrees to “sign off” on (i.e., approve) the paper, and discuss strategies for moving the paper toward publication or inclusion in future work (e.g., the dissertation). Upon successful completion of the meeting, the committee members and the Graduate Director sign the Second Year Paper sign-off form. Upon completion of QP1, the student will also have an M.A. candidacy form to complete.
d. Students Entering with an M.A./M.S. from another Program
The department does not accept a prior Master’s thesis in lieu of one of our Qualifying Papers. A student entering the Rutgers graduate program in sociology with an M.A. or M.S. who wrote a thesis may, however, use his/her thesis as the basis for one qualifying paper. To do so, the student assembles a three-reader committee that reads the thesis and provides feedback on the steps required to make the work into a Qualifying Paper that meets departmental standards. The conditions may range from minor to more substantial revisions in content, approach, style, methods, etc. All restrictions on committee membership noted above apply.
B. Qualifying Paper 2 (aka QP2, aka Second Qualifying Paper or Second Qualifying Project)
a. The Second Qualifying Paper (QP2) may be completed in four different ways. These four options allow students some flexibility in achieving optimal preparation with respect to their future career goals. A minimum of two readers is required for all versions of QP2.
a. Research Paper Option with a two-person committee. The goal of this type of QP2 is to produce a sole-authored piece worthy of being submitted for publication. It may be recommended for students intent on a career in academia rather than those committed to careers outside academia. There can be only one overlap in the membership of the committee for QP1 and the committee for QP2. The one permitted overlap cannot serve as chair for both committees. Please note: As always, if your project involves research with human subjects, you must get IRB approval before collecting any data.
b. Qualifying Examinations Option. Write and orally defend Qualifying Examinations in two substantive areas. There is flexibility in defining the terms, but normally this would be a take-home written examination, composed over several days or as much as one week, in a general area of scholarship, e.g. Environmental Sociology, combined with a more specialized literature and knowledge, such as Environmental Justice or the Sociology of Climate Change; or Social Network Analysis, and applications of networks to health or to the production of culture. The student may choose more independent areas if they wish. The student has two committee members who first approve an appropriate reading list for the exam’s content. It is typical for a student to take several months to (at most) a year to master this reading list of material. The committee composes the questions and evaluates the responses in the written document and for the oral defense. The examination typically consists of 2-5 questions with a 25- to 30-page document as the final product. This option may hasten students’ progress, but it can also be useful for students who wish to pursue a career in academia and need to be grounded in a core set of literatures for the job market.
c. Collaborative Research Paper Option. This option pairs the graduate student with two faculty members who supervise the student on a research and writing project, at least one of whom will become a co-author (second author) on a multi-author article submission. The student is responsible for writing a complete first draft of the paper with supportive advice from at least one faculty member who will eventually act as second author. That soleauthored draft is what will be evaluated as QP2. Responsibility for other tasks that may be part of the collaborative project—data collection, data cleaning, lit review, etc.—should be explicitly spelled out in advance. This model of QP2 provides the student with close mentoring regarding the research and publishing processes, while also evaluating them on a sole-authored draft of what will eventually become a co-authored article. The paper may be theoretical, empirical or an analytical review.
d. Analytical Review Option. Write and orally defend a critical review of a particular literature as determined by a two-person committee and the student. The committee works with the student to define the scope of the review and evaluate its content. This review of 30 or so pages might be used to generate a literature review for one’s dissertation (perhaps the most common goal—it becomes the lit review chapter of the thesis), course syllabi, background for policy recommendations, or a review paper project. This option must be a critical review designed for academic audiences. Simple summaries of a literature will not be sufficient.
b. Committee Structure for QP2: Unlike QP1, all options for completing QP2 require only a two-person committee. Students may add a third or fourth member to the committee if they wish, but there is no requirement to do so. However, at least one of the readers on QP2 must be new relative to the composition of the committee for QP1, so that each student works with a minimum of four faculty advisors over the two papers. As noted earlier, this structure encourages intellectual and methodological breadth.
c. Sign On and Sign Off Meetings
i. Sign-On Meeting – The sign-on and sign-off meeting process works pretty much identically for QP2 as it does for QP1. With the approval of the QP2 committee members, the student schedules a sign-on meeting with the committee to discuss the content and direction of the project. This meeting typically lasts approximately one hour. During the meeting, committee members and the student should discuss and agree upon the research question and conceptual framing of the project as well as the data and methods (when relevant). The committee members and the student should also agree to a written timeline for the proposed work and for communication between the student and committee members (e.g., a progress report every month or two, monthly meeting with the lead reader, whether or not to send all drafts to all readers simultaneously, etc.). It is also highly advisable—even more so than for QP1—for the student and the committee to discuss whether, and how, the student intends to use QP2 as a component of their dissertation, as this will affect the way the work is carried out and the kind of feedback the faculty provide. Upon successful completion of the sign-on meeting, the committee members and the Graduate Program Director sign the QP2 proposal form, available through DocuSign at Final QP2 Sign On Proposal Form.] This form should be submitted to the department’s Graduate Program Coordinator.
ii. Sign-Off Meeting – Upon approval of the QP2 committee members, the student schedules a final sign-off meeting with the committee. This meeting is scheduled only after the student has completed and revised the paper in consultation with the committee members. [Except for the Qualifying Exams option, the process of writing a qualifying paper typically involves multiple drafts and recurrent interaction with your committee members as agreed upon in the sign-on meeting.] During the meeting, the student briefly presents the key results and conclusions of the research (about ten to fifteen minutes, perhaps longer). Members of the committee will ask questions concerning the content of the written work produced. The student and committee members discuss whether there are remaining issues to be addressed before the committee agrees to “sign off” on (i.e., approve) the project, and discuss strategies for moving the paper toward publication or inclusion in future work (e.g., dissertation). Upon successful completion of the meeting, the committee members and the Graduate Director sign the QP2 Sign Off Defense Form. Upon completion of QP2, the student should also fill out the Ph.D. candidacy form.
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