Research Paper Homework: Development of Computers and the Internet
Overview
I. Introduction (1 page)
a. Brief background of topic
b. Why topic is important to analyze
c. Thesis
II. Analysis of Humanities (3 pages)
a. Human Behavior
b. Human Expression
c. Ethics
III. Critical Analysis of Situation & Recommendations (3 pages)
a. Relevance to contemporary issues/future concerns
b. Recommendations for future considerations and future areas of study
c. Evaluation of recommendations: rationale for recommendations to address the topic, and why they would be successful
IV. Conclusion (end of research paper) (1 page)
a. Reiteration of thesis
b. Reiteration of why topic is important
V. Personal Reflection (separate section written in first person) (2 pages)
a. Lessons learned from completing this project
b. Critical analysis of process challenges: what would you do differently?
c. Critical analysis of process positives: what did you do well?
d. Application of critical analysis to professional/personal life
e. Final thoughts
Title Page
The title page needs to adhere to the APA format required by the University. There is a sample of an APA formatted title page in the Writing Center. For the title page, create an interesting and catchy title that motivates your audience to read your paper.
Introduction (1 page)
Your paper's introduction should include the background or history of your chosen event, why the topic is important to research and analyze, and your thesis.
First, the introduction should provide a bit of background for your reader. Do not assume your reader knows about the topic and its history. Share with your reader the time and place that the event occurred and provide a little background. Include a brief review of what led up to the event, why it was such a significant or historic moment, who it involved, etc.
Then, add in the introduction why this is an important topic for research and analysis both for current and future concerns.
Finally, the thesis is the main point of your paper. You should consider your objective (what is the main point you want your reader to remember), consider your audience, and make the thesis connect to what will be covered in your paper. Since the Final Research Paper specifically requires that you discuss how the event influenced human behavior, human expression, and ethics, your thesis should reflect this. For example, "World War II was a significant historic event that had a tremendous effect on society's behaviors, resulted in a diverse range of human expression, and raised ethical considerations that may influence society for years to come." You will want to make a connection between your thesis and the discussion to follow. In this way, your reader is given a preview of the content of the paper and why it is important.
Discussion/Analysis
This is the main body of your paper. Now that your reader knows your main point and has the necessary historic context for the event, you can analyze how the topic influenced human behavior, human expression, the ethical considerations related to the event, your critical analysis, recommendations and evaluation of the recommendations.
Human Behavior, Human Expression, & Ethics (3 pages)
In your discussion on human behavior, you should identify the behavioral response to the event. Keep in mind that sometimes behaviors are connected to human expression; therefore, you may find that your discussion on human behavior overlaps with human expression. As you explore the human behavior related to the event, consider the following:
a) What were some of the behavioral responses to the event (war, riots, celebrations, the manner people dressed, actions they took, causes they joined, etc.)?
b) What emotions were tied to these behaviors (anger, joy, grief, etc.)?
c) Why did people respond the way that they did?
d) Did distinctive groups (cultural, religious, genders, geographically different, socioeconomically different, etc.) respond differently to the event? If so, why?
e) What were the effects on the way people dressed, how political they became, changes in traditional roles or society's expectations?
When you discuss human expression, keep in mind that often, human expression is exhibited through behaviors. Therefore, you may find overlap as you write about these two areas. For example, joining a political movement is both a behavior and an expression of beliefs. Some examples of human expression are:
o films
o literature, poetry, plays
o music/songs
o art, architecture, photography, sculpture
o political/social causes
o dance
o fashion
o protests/tributes
o culinary art (food dishes)
o politics/debate
o social causes
o philosophy/religion
o pop culture
o technology
Other questions to consider as you research human expression related to your topic are:
a) What was the emotion that led to the expression (shock, horror, triumph, fear, joy, etc.)?
b) How does diversity affect the expression (example: do some ethnic groups produce certain forms of art, how is art connected to gender, religion, race, etc.)?
When analyzing ethical issues, there are two ways to approach this topic. You can either consider how ethical issues led to the event (for example, the morality of slavery leading to the Civil War) or how the event itself resulted in ethical dilemmas/conflicts. An example of this might be the ability of technology to conduct stem-cell research, is it ethical to do so? In your paper, you may opt to take either approach or address both of these aspects if they both apply to your topic. Some questions that will help you develop this discussion of your paper are:
a) What are the opposing perspectives on this issue?
b) Are there extenuating circumstances that sometimes make this event viewed as "right" or "wrong"?
c) How do religious beliefs, nationality, ethnicity, gender, economic status, and other aspects of diversity influence the interpretation of this event?
d) Who is (was) talking about this event and whose voice is (was) not heard or included?
e) What are the elements of power and privilege that are relevant to this event?
f) What bias, agendas, stereotypes and/or prejudices are evident?
g) Has hindsight changed the views of the ethical issues?
Be sure to present a balanced view in your ethical discussion. Even if you strongly affiliate yourself with a particular view on the topic, use your critical thinking and research skills to also present opposing viewpoints to provide an objective presentation. Remember, this is a research paper, not an opinion paper.
Critical Analysis of Situation & Recommendations (3 pages)
For this section, use critical thinking skills to analyze the event and provide discussion on the relevance of the topic to contemporary issues, as well as future concerns that the event may create. Since your topic is on a significant historic/cultural event, there are likely some lasting consequences or influences that resulted from it. Questions to help with the analysis in your discussion:
a) How did the event change the world or at least change some aspect of society?
b) How did the event raise concerns for the future and/or how does the issue continue to evolve?
c) What are the "lessons learned" from the event?
d) What will people do differently now than they did before?
e) How are governments, education or other parts of the social structure responding to the event?
f) What laws have been put in place because of the event?
g) What organizations or movements continue to be active?
h) How does the topic background/ context/ outcome relate to current issues?
i) Is the topic ongoing or can it happen again?
j) What can be learned from the topic/ outcome that can be applied to future considerations?
k) What areas of future study would you recommend to understand this topic?
The last aspect of this discussion area should be recommendations to address the topic/ event and rationale for why the recommendations would work.
a) If the topic is ongoing, how to manage it, end it and/or how society can take steps either that it does not happen again or to promote its further existence and broadening (depending on if the topic is a societal positive or negative).
b) What specific recommendations could be/ can be applied to the situation?
c) Explain why these recommendations would work short and long term.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
i) The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
ii) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
iii) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.