Independent thought means that knowledge is something which is argued for and justified on the basis of providing good reasons for accepting it. Generally, the authority of tradition or common opinion or of great minds is not a good reason. Rather, sustained argument made in light of relevant and available evidence and literature forms such good reasons. Originality might also be an aspect of the thesis, although this is less central at Honours level than when doing postgraduate research. This is not meant in a dogmatic way.
Sociology is a pluralistic enterprise.
It borrows from other disciplines and often forms part of an interdisciplinary project. Nevertheless, an Honours thesis in sociology should be brought to bear upon issues that can arguably be identified as social ones, e.g. a theoretical thesis on a philosophical conception of intersubjectivity might link this to notions of sociality, or an empirical thesis on political party identification or income distribution would be expected to consider sociological explanations in terms of class, gender, and so on. Honours students doing sociology should conduct their work, no matter how interdisciplinary, within a broad and critical awareness of sociological concerns. For empirically oriented theses, students should display a knowledge of the methods used and a demonstration of the principles of research design within a sociological framework. Each piece of seminar work will be marked by at least two markers, one of whom can be the convenor of the seminar for which the work is submitted.