Part 1: Topic justification: 1-page length

Part 2:    ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY – citations research 

10 sources and must be including 5 books 

PS 356 Research Project Assignment & Guidelines

TOPIC JUSTIFICATION (40 POINTS)

The first step in your research project is to decide on a topic. To this end, by April 17 at 5:00 PM you need to turn in a memo (up to two pages) describing your topic. You will need to justify why the topic is important and how it is germane for this course. Put considerable thought into the selection of a topic. A topic you find intellectually interesting will be more rewarding (and easier) for you to research. Your topic must have an international/regional/subregional focus (i.e., single-country topics are strongly discouraged). Keep in mind that your topic should not be solely on current events. Your memo must include the following:

1) General statement about the subject matter;

2) Specific research question(s);

3) Justification and discussion of how the topic fits into the theme of this course;

4) At least one example of the literature you will draw upon.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (160 POINTS)

You need to write an annotated bibliography of at least 15 scholarly articles and at least 5 scholarly books. You will order the entries alphabetically. Each entry needs to be from a scholarly source (e.g., academic book, journal article, working paper, etc.). Students are expected to make ample use of scholarly materials available through JSTOR, Project MUSE, Web of Knowledge, etc. You may not use anything listed on the syllabus.

Each entry needs to include a full citation to the source and your brief description of the article/book. Each entry will have a roughly 250-word description and assessment of the item. This is due May 15 by 5:00 pm.

The following is an example of a single entry:

Grouch, Oscar (1973) “Multiple Pathways to Refuse Amalgamation: A Research Note from Inside the Can,” American Compost & Trash Review Volume 34, Issue 3: pp. 1023-1433.

The author provides his perspective on the assembly of useful items from refuse. Based on over 25 years practical experience, Grouch discusses the myriad of prerequisites for effective amalgamation. He hypothesizes that organic items do not last as long as inorganic items due to the fact the former are biodegradable. Using a purposeful sampling protocol, Grouch employs an experimental design, testing seven hypotheses. His sample is not representative of his target population. Moreover, the use of a purposeful sampling protocol is dubious and should have been avoided. Nevertheless, his results do suggest the efficacy of the addition of the organic-inorganic bifurcation to extant theory.

Do not simply paraphrase the abstract or other summaries provided by the author as this is a form of plagiarism.

LITERATURE REVIEW (200 POINTS)

A 2000-word (excluding bibliography) discussion paper based on the material used in your annotated bibliography will be due on June 12th by 5:00 pm. Your paper needs to use a standard 12-point font and 1-inch margins and utilize at least 20 separate scholarly sources (distributed as a minimum of 15 journal articles and a minimum of 5 books). Newspaper, newsweeklies and other journalistic sources may be used but they do not count toward the 20 source minimum. Websites, such as the CIA Fact book, may be used but do not count toward the minimum. Your paper will be submitted to plagiarism detection software. You may not use Wikipedia as a source.

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