We have been working on the Research Paper in stages. This is the final stage, Stage FIVE (up to 50 points)Please stick to the guidelines belowthat you already worked with in Stage FOUR regarding subheadings and content. Scroll down to the end to read the GENERAL REQUIREMENTS for the final paper and the grading criteria.
1. Introduction
The purpose of an introduction is to explain to the reader the rationale behind the work, with the intention of defending it. It places your work in a theoretical context, and enables the reader to understand and appreciate your objectives.
- Describe the importance (significance) of the study - why was this worth doing in the first place? Provide a broad context.
- Provide a rationale. State your specific hypothesis(es) or objective(s), and describe the reasoning that led you to select them.
2. Methods
- Report the methodology (clear description of the research method(s) you used)
- Defend your approach - why did you use this particular method? What are its advantages? You might comment on its suitability from a theoretical point of view as well as indicate practical reasons for using it.
3 . Results
The purpose of a results section is to present and illustrate your findings. Make this section a completely objective report of the results, and save all interpretation for the discussion.
- Describe/summarize your results, pointing the reader to observations that are most relevant.
- Provide a context, such as by describing the question that was addressed by making a particular observation.
- Do not discuss or interpret your results, do not report background information, or attempt to explain anything.
- Do not present the same data more than once.
4. Discussion/Conclusion
The objective here is to provide an interpretation of your results and support for all of your conclusions, using evidence from your data and generally accepted knowledge, if appropriate. The significance of findings should be clearly described.
Literature Cited
Choose one of the citation styles and look up how to cite your sources in that specific style.
The due date for this stage is Sunday, May 17, at the end of the day.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS (you can find these in the syllabus too)
- You must use a minimum oftwoacademic sources(books, articles, chapters) as your secondary references. Make sure that your sources discuss and/or answer the question or statement that you formulated;
- In addition to the two academic sources, you are allowed to use data from official organizational websites (.org or .gov) but make sure to properly cite all online sources. For this paper, you may not use sources such as Wikipedia, or online dictionaries;
- In addition to your secondary sources, you need to collect data by doing your own research (primary sources). Your research method can be interviews (at least 3 interviews of 30 minutes), a content analysis, or a combination of these methods;
- Papers will be a minimum offive
fullpages in length, (not including the cover page or reference/bibliography page);
- Type, use font size 12;
- Double line spacing;
- Standard margins (1 inch on top and bottom, 1.25 inches on left and right side);
- Use a separate cover page which includes your name and the course. Do not put this info on any other page but the cover page;
- Use a separate page for your references/bibliography (you may choose the style, APA, MLA, etc.);
- Upload your work as ONE document to Turnitin on Blackboard in a format that Turnitin accepts.
Write clearly and pay close attention to spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, the structure of your answers (paragraphs), and accuracy in general. If you suspect your writing skills can be improved by a visit to the Writing Center, do not hesitate to make a virtualappointment with the Writing specialists at the Collaborative Learning Center.
The thought behind the research paper is your ability to show an understanding of the course material IN YOUR OWN WORDS. You need to write your own work; this is not a group project. Make sure that at least 90% of your text consists of your words and your analysis. Thus, NO excessive quoting and NO excessive paraphrasing. Also, do not (re)use parts of assignments from other courses.When you think a short citation from a text could strengthen your analysis, it is important to be accurate with the citation. In order to prevent plagiarism, whenever you use a theory, an idea, or data in general (including from graphs and tables) that are not yours, you need to give the correct source of your writings.
GRADING CRITERIAStage 5 (0-50 points)Introduction 0-5 pointsMethods 0-5 pointsResults 0-10 pointsDiscussion/Conclusion 1-15 pointsLiterature Cited 1-4 points
Formatting 1-2.5 pointsQuality of writing 1-6 pointsLength 1-2.5 point
Total up to 50 pointsAll points earned during the five stages will be added; 25% of the total for all five stages goes towards your final course grade.