AGENDA

“The outcome of any serious research can only be to make two questions grow where only one grew before.” ~Thorstein Veblen

1/4/13

-Paper Overview Notes-Choosing a Topic-Next Week’s Assignments

Learning Targets: Understand minimum requirements of Senior Research Paper

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!

Get ready to take notes on your Senior Research Paper!

The paper

Your task is to survey the information and views already out there-both before and once you become familiar with your topic. That will require critical thinking and reading, plus

evaluation of the resources you handle. By the end of the paper, you will be able to synthesize

information from the multiple sources to explain and support your argument about the topic.

You’re becoming the expert, and you’ll be able to contribute your own thoughts to the academic discussion at hand.

This paper should be analytical; not purely history, “how-to”, compare/contrast, or opinion based. NOT a persuasive paper, but analytical and argumentative.

The basics

Length: Word counts are exact, but page lengths are estimates based on reviews of past example papers. Page length estimates do not include the works cited page.

1,500 to 2,000 = Proficient. Approximately 5-6 pages.

2,001-2,500 = Excellent. Approximately 7-8 pages.

The basics

Sources: All must be academic and meet the required breakdown of source types Proficient: At least 6 sources

No more than two free websites (approved) Excellent: At least 8 sources

No more than 3 free website (approved)

** Note: I’m only requiring you to use 6 sources on your final. Also, you are responsible for showing me notes only on those same 6 sources. Again, this DOES NOT mean that you won’t need more than 6 sources for your paper to be successful. Each topic, and each source, is different. Make sure you’re researching as much as you need to for your topic.

Proficient vs. Excellent- Do you care?

You can score “Excellent” in several categories of the final rubric without having a paper that meets the word requirement for Excellent

HOWEVER, it is unlikely that you’ll score an Excellent in something like Ideas and Content without having more sources and a longer paper

Excellence is about sophistication of concepts, NOT just about the amount of words

On your final paper, there is a difference in points between Excellent and Proficient based on the rubric

Paper shuffle

Senior Essay Timeline- THIS IS PRECIOUS! DO NOT LOSE IT!

Calendar- Also available on-line, but make sure you always know where we’re going to be. No excuses for tardies.

Policies

No assignment will be accepted unless the work reflects true understanding and careful effort.

You must complete an assignment before you can move on to the next one. Pay attention to due dates! Know what you can and can NOT use a late pass for.

Ask for help BEFORE an assignment is too late to receive credit, or before you fall behind on the steps! No extra time will be given on these assignments because A LOT of time will be given in class!

Unless otherwise noted, an assignment is due by the end of the SCHOOL day (3:00!) to be considered on time.

Library and Lab Time

You’ll have a lot of library and lab time to complete this, but that DOES NOT mean you will not need to work at home, too, to complete these assignments on time.

If class time in labs and the library is not used responsibly, it will be reduced.

If you finish a step early and get it approved, feel free to move on to the next step.

You ALWAYS have something to work on!

Library work time expectations Meet at the library on time Be respectful Focus while part of the whole group presentation Work quietly-it’s a library, and we want to be

welcome guests! Don’t put off getting your work checked until the

last minute-you’ll be rushed at the end and you MAY need more revisions before the quality is acceptable (remember, I won’t accept something that doesn’t meet the standard!)

What questions do you have about the paper?

Good research topics should be: Manageable

Narrow enough Argumentative/Analytical

Not persuasive, not a report Relevant

Connected to your project Fun!

Something you actually want to put this much time and effort into learning about!

Does this topic pass the MARF test?

Project: Volunteering at a local homeless shelterPaper: Indentifying the leading causes of homelessness

Does this topic pass the MARF test?Project: reading to the elderly at a retirement home

Paper: Figuring out the best funding method for the future of Social Security

Does this topic pass the MARF test?Project: Coaching a kids softball team

Paper: Researching the benefits and drawbacks to Title IX legislation at the college level

Research Skills Check Info

Some areas of most concern from last week’s skill check survey were: Narrowing down a topic Writing research questions

Solution? Research Log and Topic Proposal!

Research Log

Fill this out completely and thoughtfully in order to move onto the next step

Okay to start broad, but it needs to narrow down as you get towards the end

Okay to start specific, and to get more specific

Find a good source? Make sure you have the info you need to revisit it later!

Research Log Entry Example

a. Search Terms (what did you type into the search box?): Dementia

b. Name of the article/website you “clicked” on: Dementia Types, Stages, Causes, Symptoms, Treatments

c. Who is the author/organization behind the website/article?: WebMD

Example continued

d. Jot down some notes about what you learned from this website/article: definition- “loss of mental functions […] that is severe enough to interfere with a person’s daily functioning”, 50+ known causes of it, Alzheimer's is a type of dementia (50-60% of cases), as many as ½ all people over 80 develop it

e. How did this website/article help you narrow your topic? What ELSE has it lead you to check out? What questions has it generated for you? I want to learn more about the less known causes of dementia. It gave me good background info, and gave me a couple names of other dementia related diseases to check out. It mentions nutrition-does a specific diet affect rates?

Possible next step? a. Search Terms (what did you type into the search box?):

Dementia and nutrition

Topic Proposal Expectations

Typed up, with proper MLA heading (start practicing now!)

Complete sentences with specific detail Impeccably edited Ask me to read it on your screen for

approval Needs to be accepted by the end of class

on Friday Remember, your Research Log needs to be

acceptable before you move onto the Topic Proposal. Don’t wait too long!

What is your topic? What made this topic interesting to you? This is about your reasons for wanting to

research this topic. Why is it “Fun” for you and how is it “Related” (MARF!) to your project?

What makes this topic worth researching? This is why others should care about your

topic-how could understanding this topic help or impact others?

Topic Proposal

Topic Proposal continued

List at least 5 research questions. These should be things that can’t be answered with

a simple Google search. These would usually be “How” and “Why”

questions, or bigger “What” questions What do you expect to find with your

research? Form a hypothesis. SPECIFICS-make a guess, based on what you were

discovering during your Research Log, about what you think your research will uncover

NOT “I expect to find the answers to my research questions.”