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This article discusses the components of a research grant proposal. The purpose of a research proposal is to provide a statement establishing the objectives and scholarly significance of the proposed activity, the technical qualifications of the project director or principal investigator and his or her organization and the level of funding required. The proposal should contain sufficient information to convince both the professional staff of the agency and members of the scholarly community that the proposed activity is sound and worthy of support under the agency's criteria for the selection of projects or under specific criteria specified in the applicable proposal-generating mechanism. The proposal should be both succinct and complete. Writing a proposal like writing any other request is a challenge in effective persuasion. Every agency and foundation has its own method for selecting proposals it wants to fund. When an agency has a set of forms and instructions, the researcher should use them and follow them rigorously. Almost all funding institutions both government and private have such forms available on the Internet. The parts of a research proposal includes the title page, abstract, table of contents, introduction, background of the study, description of proposed research, evaluation, description of relevant institutional resources, vitae, personnel and budget.

This article focuses on organizational measurement. A number of basic facts about organizational measurement should be considered in sociological studies. There exists a large number of structural attributes and interpersonal relationships both within a single organization and across different organizations. Development of organizational measurement has come a long way, but serious shortcomings remain. There is little standardization of the measures used in studying organizations. Size is the scale of the operations of an organization. Measures of size include the number of personnel, the amount of assets and the degree of expenditures. Formalization represents the use of rules in an organization. The two dimensions of formalization may be specified as job codification, or the degree of work standardization, and rule leniency, or the measure of the latitude of behavior that is tolerated from standards. Centralization is the degree to which power is concentrated in an organization. Power is an important component in every organization. The distribution of power has major consequences for the performance of an organization and the behavior of its members. Although the measurement and description of structure is an interesting process and exercise in its own right, important research problems are centered on the correlation of various structural arrangements in organizations.

This article presents information on social indicators. The role of social indicators known as social reporting, social systems accounting and social intelligence is set forth in the following definition: Social indicators--statistics, statistical series, and all other forms of evidence--are summary measures that enable policymakers and other decision makers to assess various social aspects of an ongoing society and to evaluate specific programs and determine their impacts. Social indicators help experts and laypersons alike to understand better their own and other societies with respect to values and goals and the nature of social change. Whatever social indicators are used on community, state, national or internal levels, there tends to be a high level of agreement of what each indicator represents. Some of the most common terms used as social indicators are AIDS, deforestation, illiteracy and population. Selected social indicators used by various social agencies at the U.S. federal government level include: population and the family, health and nutrition, housing and environment, transportation and public safety. The potential scope of social indicators is very broad. The question of goals must be resolved before the appropriate scope can be determined. The final answer may be best given by the needs of a society and the requests of policymakers for information about problems they must meet and solve.

This article presents information on the employment opportunities for sociologists in the U.S. Each of the three degrees in sociology--Bachelor of Arts (BA), Master of Arts (MA) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)--offers a varying range of opportunities. The PhD degree is usually required for full-time teaching in a college or university and for work in some of the different social and behavioral science positions in government. The BA holder in sociology usually seeks entry-level jobs in social work; in nonprofit or religious organizations; in federal, local, or state government; or in business and industry. The current status of jobs for sociologists is bright, and it looks promising for the future. According to the American Sociological Association's 1999 Survey of Doctorate Recipients, sociologists and other social and behavioral scientists benefited from a strong labor market and experienced unemployment rates of only about 1% in 1999. In the early stages of a career, a job applicant may have to search hard and long for jobs. Later, jobs may come to the experienced worker. It is entirely possible that the first job is the only one that must be seriously searched for. For the young worker eager for employment, this is little consolation, but people are willing to help.

This article presents information on several professional organizations that may be of interest to sociologists. A professional research life is an ongoing process of research investigation, reading research journals, preparing scientific papers, reading papers before professional audiences of various learned societies, and finally publishing articles and monographs. For them to command attention, it is necessary for researchers to make themselves and their work known to colleagues in local, state, regional, national and international circles. The North American sociologist who wishes to be known in national and international circles may join the American Sociological Association and may affiliate with one or both of the leading international sociological associations: the International Sociological Association and Institut International Sociologie. The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a voluntary association of individual members with many categories of membership. Full membership in the ASA requires the holding of a PhD degree in sociology or in some related field, or the completion of 3 years of graduate study in such field. Students are encouraged to join as associates at low fees. The scientific activities of the International Sociological Association are organized in research committees, where scholars who wish to pursue comparative research become part of a network of scientific research, intellectual debate and professional exchange.

This article presents advice on preparations for the publication of research results. The American Sociological Association's preparation checklist for submitting manuscripts to publications serves a useful role in becoming well prepared. Even though this checklist is complete, almost every journal has guidelines that are specific to that journal. These should also be consulted before sending a manuscript for review. Each journal has its own goals and its own preferred style. Most important will be the standards of quality the journal's editors impose upon the articles accepted for publication. The more accurately the writer gauges these considerations, the greater his or her chance of acceptance. A writer may achieve higher prestige and notoriety for publishing a book rather than one or more journal articles. Decisions about whether to publish monographs, texts, edited books, or readings require balancing motives and skills. The decisions should also be timed to appropriate stages in the researcher's professional career. The ideal time to begin interesting publishers in a research monograph is when the research begins or when funds are received to support it. The probability is far higher that the learned paper will receive a rejection from a major journal than that it will be accepted for publication. If a researcher cannot learn how to adjust to having his or her submissions rejected, then he or she will have a difficult time learning from the process of sharing research findings with colleagues. Rejection happens to everyone.

This article addresses the orientation and commitment of the applied researcher. Applied researchers seek knowledge that can be used to solve pressing social and organizational problems. This knowledge which is often an extension of basic research should be valid, descriptive and informative as to how change may be accomplished. Policy analysts or action researchers often believe that much of the knowledge we have about social science phenomena has not been generated using the appropriate methodological tools. Most applied researchers would accept the applied mind-set in which every effort is made to use research data in applied settings. There are four types of researcher under the typology of applied research developed by Herbert J. Rubin. These includes policy analyst, evaluation researcher, social monitor and data analyst. An applied researcher may be called on to fill any one of the roles depending on the desires of the person seeking help as well as the demands of the question under consideration. The applied researcher is often seen as an agent of change in an often relatively closed social system. It must be remembered that applied research training and basic research training are not mutually exclusive endeavors especially in the training of social scientists. They are highly complementary and well-trained social science researchers that can participate effectively in both applied and basic research.

This section describes some of the publications in different disciplines that publish research reports in the general areas of sociology. The American Sociological Review is the official journal of the American Sociological Association (ASA), publishing articles of major concern to social scientists. The journal is based on mutual interest and high quality articles. Contemporary Sociology is dedicated to reviews and critical discussions of recent works in sociology and related disciplines of interest to sociologists. It does not accept unsolicited reviews. The Journal of Health and Social Behavior publishes articles that link sociological ideas and methods to the understanding of health, illness and medicine in a social context. It publishes research on social causes and consequences of physical health, social causes and consequences of mental health, medical professions, practices and organizations, development, life-course and aging as they relate to health and well-being, deviance and risky behavior related to the health and well-being and cultural and symbolic aspects of health. Sociology of Education is a forum for social scientists and educators seeking to advance sociological knowledge about education. The journal serves as a significant medium for the application of this knowledge to major issues of educational policy and practice. It is published quarterly.