Instead of writing a full-sized research paper, you will do a mini research project to help you get comfortable doing research. The project will be based solely on internet sources . You will do the following:
Choose a researchable question and form a thesis about it.
Go on a WebQuest to find information about one aspect of your researchable question.
Use the writing process to help you organize and express your ideas.
You know from the section before that it is important to keep track of your sources of information. You also understand the importance of both in-text citations and the Works Cited page
This is not a linear process. Your thesis is the answer to your researchable question. In the process of doing your research you may find that your research supports a different response than you originally thought it would. Once you read and learn more about your topic, you will find different points of view. You may decide to change your thesis based upon the research you did.
In this mini research project you will NOT be writing the complete research paper. You will research and write a 2- to 3-page section of a much longer research paper. You will
Write well-researched text.
Use a minimum of three reliable Internet sources.
Include at least three different in-text citations.
Create a Works Cited page to record data about your sources.
All citations will follow MLA style.
Your first step is to decide on the researchable question you will work on.
In this unit, you have focused on the theme of justice and injustice. In your mini research project, you will investigate this theme further. Here are some researchable questions to consider. Decide on the one you will address in your project. Remember that you will have to write about only a portion of each big question.
Literature
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is justice served when Tom Robinson is found guilty of rape?
In The Kite Runner, which you read earlier in this course, is justice served when Sorab uses a slingshot and puts out Assefs eye?
Social Studies
What effect has Title IX Education Amendments of 1972 had on mens and womens sports at the high school and college levels?
Choose one of these landmark decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court . What are the important details of the case? What were the short-term and the long-term effects of the case?
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
Current Affairs
Many individuals in the United States are serving prison sentences for crimes they did not commit. Is the justice system always just?
It is just that in many places of the world, children perish as a result of inadequate water and food resources while in other places, there is such an abundance that food is destroyed to keep prices stable?
Does justice triumph when boys as young as 8 years old are forced to train for militant groups?
YOUR TASK
Pick the researchable question that most appeals to you. Start to brainstorm about it in your study guide.
After brainstorming, decide if you want to keep that big question or investigate another one instead. You will do better work if you have a topic that really interests you.
Record your final choice of big topic in your study guide.
Now that you have selected your researchable question, its time for the next step narrowing your topic to fit the needs of the writing task.
Remember that you will NOT be writing the complete research paper. This means that you need to choose one aspect of the broader topic and focus all your research efforts and time on that smaller part. You will need to narrow your topic.
For example, suppose you chose the researchable question about Title IX and sports. The purpose of the law is to promote equality of opportunity for male and female athletes. Notice how many narrower questions are parts of that big question. Any of them would be suitable for your mini research project.
Big Question:
What effect has Title IX Education Amendments of 1972 had on mens and womens sports at the high school and college levels?
Narrower Questions:
How has Title IX affected athletic programs in my state?
How has Title IX affected major sports such as basketball and football?
How has Title IX affected minor sports such as swimming?
How has Title IX affected the availability of scholarships?
How has Title IX affected funding for sports?
How do high school coaches react to Title IX?
How do college coaches react to Title IX?
What important court cases involve Title IX issues?
What injustices have resulted because of Title IX issues?
and many others
YOUR TASK
Look again at the researchable question that was your final choice Reread your notes about it in your study guide.
Brainstorm a list of possible narrower topics that you could adequately write about in one to two pages.
Decide on the final narrow topic you will research and write about. Record that in your study guide.
First, you selected your researchable question. Next, you narrowed it to the part of the big question that you will address in your mini research project. Now its time for the next step finding information about it.
Think back to the Section Warm-Up, Finding Reliable Research Sources on the Internet. That is exactly what you are looking for.
Step 1: State your preliminary thesis.
Take your big question and answer it from what you already know about it.
If you are working in the Title IX question, you might create this thesis: The Title IX Education Amendments of 1972 have had a harmful effect on mens sports in this state without significantly increasing womens access to athletic programs.
Am I stuck with this thesis forever?
Step 2: Look for reliable Information on the Web that (a) supports your thesis and (b) does NOT support your thesis.
Look for articles that give facts rather than opinions.
Look for articles that help you understand the topic in more detail. You might not quote or reference these articles. Instead they will help you decide which sources are the best to use. Try to find 3-4 articles of this kind.
Look for articles that you can reference specifically in your project. Try to find 3-4 articles of this kind.
Print the best articles or save them on your computer.
Step 3: Be sure to have citation information in hand before leaving the web site.
Look for authors name, the title of the page, and the name and URL of the website.
Information changes or disappears. Write down the date you last accessed the web site.
Use your study guide to make comments about the quality of the information in each site that looks promising.
