WR 123 RESEARCH PROPOSAL EXAMPLES
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this webpage: http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr123/proposalexamples.htm
Reproduced with Student Authors' permission: Thank you!
~Cora
Short Cuts on this webpage:
Science Topic:
"The Controversy of
Genetically Modified Foods," by Jennifer Walker (Winter 2004)
More Student Examples:
Humanities/History Topic:
"Japanese-American Internment during World War II: Why?"
Social Sciences Topic: "The Problem of Homelessness Among the Chronically Mentally
Ill"
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Research Proposal Example: Science Topic Jennifer Walker The Controversy of Genetically Modified Foods A. Research Topic Introduction, Rationale & Documentation Style Within almost every new topic at the tip of technology and discovery there is controversy. There is always the good and the bad. While most people dwell on the downfalls of genetically modified foods (GMO), there are plenty of valuable aspects of GMO’s. The bottom line is that people in general are afraid of what they do not know. In order to reach the truth about GMO’s much more testing and research will have to be done. While no amount of scientific research will please those with moral issues surrounding GMO’s, there is a solution to the issue. The solution, however, is still being developed and carries with it a great deal of controversy itself: labeling of GMO’s.
[From Research Proposal
Evaluation Checklist:] B. Leading Research Question and Working Hypothesis 1. Leading Research Question: What are the pros and cons of genetically modified foods, and is there a way to appease the public’s worries about them? 2. Working Hypothesis: Concepts of which little is known always create a stir with the public. People have a fear of what they do not know. Every person is affected by GMO’s because we are all required by our bodies to consume food. There are indeed both good and bad aspects of GMO’s. Through research and testing of their effects, education of the public about these effects, and some sort of an identification of the products and foods that contain genetically modified materials the public will have the choice and knowledge to make that choice on their own. GMO’s are already on the market and are the wave of the future; the best way to control the issue is through knowledge and labeling of GMO’s.
[From Research Proposal
Evaluation Checklist:] C. Research Strategy
[From Research Proposal
Evaluation Checklist:] I. What makes foods genetically modified? A. What is the process that foods undergo to become modified? B. What are the differences between GM and other forms of breeding? II. Positive Aspects of Genetically Modified Foods A. Will there be an effect on taste and quality? - Everyone wants better tasting foods and year round. GMO’s can work to achieve this goal. B. Can the nutrients be increased? - Just as milk is required to contain vitamin D so that the calcium can be absorbed, GM foods can be required to have vitamins to support healthy lifestyles. C. Will crop yields be increased? - With growing populations and pushing the carrying capacity of our planet, more food will better help us to combat our overpopulation and overuse of resources. - In countries where hunger is currently an issue, there may be hope for better crop yields and thus, more third world countries could grow their own food and not rely on extensive support from other countries. - It is estimated that biotechnologies, if introduced into Africa would increase crop yields by 10 to 15 percent (Piore, 2003). D. An Alternative to Pesticide Usage - Pesticides are not popular and do have an impact of the environment. GMO’s offer the chance for foods to have a higher tolerance to pests genetically rather than dousing them in pesticides throughout the year. E. New Products can be Created - Whether created by artificial selection, hybridization or the recombination of DNA, new foods could be created. III. Negative Aspects of Genetically Modified Foods A. Cross Pollination of GM crops and non-GM crops - Pollen can be carried by a number of methods such as bees, wind and other animals that travel great distances. The introduction of GM crops could potentially contaminate regular crops from great distances (Herbert, 2002). B. Is there potential to lose some biodiversity? C. Ethical Concerns -Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species D. Unknown Health Effects -Because genes from completely different organisms have the potential to be combined, allergens hidden in GM foods could go undetected by the consumer and have drastic allergy problems (Herbert, 2002). E. Gene Transfer -The possibility of gene transfer could be a problem; antibiotic resistance for example could be transferred to unwanted organisms like weeds (Herbert 2002). IV. The Solution: Labeling A. Labeling - The expense for testing is high, in Germany a single test of the GM content is about $150, the question then lies: do the costs outweigh the benefits (Betts, 2000). - The process of identifying GM genes in organisms is difficult and is not yet perfected; much more testing would need to be completed for reliable results (Betts, 2000). B. Education of Public - Allow public to choose what they eat! - Establish guidelines like that of organic foods, several labeling systems of certain ingredients are already mandatory.
Terms that have been useful in research so far include the following: Genetically Modified Organisms, Genetically Engineered Organisms, GMO, Biotechnology, Biotech crops, Roundup Ready Soybeans, GMO Labeling Methods of research so far include books from the Deschutes Public Library, magazines obtained from Lexis Nexis and EBSCO host, journals obtained from EBSCO host and directly from the source and google.com for general information surrounding the topic. For further research, periodicals and more journals have been located but not yet picked up from the COCC library. Information at this time is found to be in depth and narrow, more general ideas and information is desired at this time. Books at the COCC library have not yet been looked over for valuable information. Further internet searches will yield more general knowledge surrounding the topic. More primary sources are desired at this point, more actual research findings, rather than secondary sources who are not directly involved with the topic.
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D. Working Bibliography [APA Style] Betts, K.S. (2000). GMO testing
hurdles. Environmental Science & Technology, 34 (21), Genetically modified organisms:
Panel says risks from GM food are low but warns of Herbert, M. (2002). What is
genetically modified food (and why should you care)? Human Genome Project Information.
(2003). What are genetically modified (GM) foods? Lappe, M., & Bailey, B. (1998).
Against the grain: Biotechnology and the corporate McHughen, A. (2000). Pandora’s
picnic basket: The potential and hazards of Piore, A. (2003, Sept 15). What green revolution? Newsweek, Atlantic ed., p. 42. Ruth, L. (2003). Tailoring
thresholds for GMO testing: Social and economic factors shape Why label genetically modified
foods? (2003). The campaign: To label genetically [From
Research Proposal Evaluation Checklist:] ___Written Presentation is Clear, Coherent, & Grammatically Correct. © 2004, Jennifer Walker |
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More Research Proposal Examples:
Juanita
Yourlastname
[Example Title
1:] A. Research Topic Introduction, Rationale & Documentation Style
[Student Example 1:] This topic is appropriate for Writing 123 because it is informative to me and my readers. I have previously researched about this topic, but I would like to perform more in-depth, quality, college-level research and learn more about the complete situation. I feel that this will be a challenge, and I will learn a wealth of information. Also, there is a wealth of information for and against the Japanese-American internment. Therefore, I can do an in-depth research of the topic using many kinds of sources, and draw logical conclusions as well as fulfill the requirements satisfactorily for this course. The documentation system I have chosen is Chicago-Humanities [i.e. CMS Style: Using Footnotes or Endnotes. Note however, that student switched to MLA Style, with Prof. Zens's permission]. My topic's subject matter is history, and historical research papers are usually written with Chicago-Humanities documentation system. I have never used this system, and so I look forward to learning and applying this style. Nancy Zens was not particular as to which humanities system to use. [Student Example 2:] I believe this is a very appropriate topic for Writing 123. It fits in with the courses I have studied and presents a very real problem in Bend that can be addressed in a research topic. Until I viewed the program that focused on Geel, Belgium, and their unique methods for providing for the mentally ill, I had not considered other community options for addressing the problem of homelessness of the mentally ill. It is a very effective method to view problems from other perspectives to arrive at real solutions that may be helpful and appropriate in our community in dealing with this social problem. I intend to use the American Psychological Association (APA) documentation system because it is used in psychology and other behaviorial sciences, the fields of my chosen topic. *** |
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B. Leading Research Question and Working Hypothesis
[Student Example 1:]
[Student Example 2:] *** |
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C.
Research Strategy [part
1]: [Student Example 1:] 1. List of Subtopics, Claims, and Research Questions to be investigated: The Problem of Homelessness in the U.S.
In the US you see many homeless people.
In Bend we have homelessness.
My psychology professor stated there are probably five or six
schizophrenic people living in Juniper Park.
Research Questions: Is our mental health system adequate? What services are provided in Bend? Why are the chronically mentally ill homeless? What services are needed in Bend? Possible Solutions to Our Problem There is a different approach for the care of the mentally ill in Geel, Belgium. You never see a person sleeping on the street there. Claim: They seem to have a successful way to care for the mentally ill. Research Questions: How do the people in Geel, Belgium care for the mentally ill? What accounts for the success of their methods? Would this model be transferable to other places, i.e., cities in the United States? Bend? If not, why not? The Village Integrated Service Agency in Long Beach, California, has received a growing amount of attention and commendation as a model mental health program. Claim: It incorporates a number of innovative approaches that may be valuable in effecting widespread system change. Dr. Mark Ragins, who is involved with the Village Integrated Service Agency, visited Geel, Belgium, and observed their system of care for the mentally ill in his process of gaining a worldwide perspective of psychiatric rehabilitation. Research Questions: What is the Village Integrated Service Agency? How did it get started and why? What is it doing differently and what is successful, not successful? Would this approach work elsewhere? In Bend? [Student Example 2:] 1. List of key Research Questions to be investigated through further research: Why did the U.S. internment of
Japanese Americans happen? What drove the U.S. government to go that far?
Did the U.S. government ever have valid enough reasons to suspect
wide-scale Japanese espionage serious enough to warrant putting
all Japanese Americans in concentration camps? Why were
Japanese-Americans the only ones interned? Why weren't
other "enemy
races" (e.g. German Americans) put in concentration camps after
the U.S. (officially) entered World War II?
What was American popular
opinion about Japanese American internment at the time? Why
did most Americans go along with Japanese-American internment?
Or did they? Was there any significant opposition to internment
outside the Japanese American community? What were conditions like for Japanese Americans before internment in pre-WWII U.S.? Were they special targets of racist discrimination before--or identified as special security risks only after--the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941? What did the experience of internment mean for Japanese Americans? What happened to interned Japanese Americans--and to their homes and any property they were forced to abandon? What were conditions like for Japanese Americans during internment? How long did it last? When and why did internment end? What finally led to Japanese American freedom from these internment camps? What were the short-term and long-term effects of Japanese American internment during WWII? What were conditions like for Japanese Americans in the first years after internment? Did they succeed in rebuilding lost lives/livelihoods and re-integrating themselves into U.S. society?--and if so, how, how soon, and how well? Consensus among contemporary sources that I have consulted thus far, is that Japanese Americans forced into U.S. concentration camps during World War II, were seriously wronged. Therefore, I must ask:
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C.
Research Strategy,
cont'd. [part 2]: [Student Example 1:]
I used Ebsco Host database for a web
search of key terms: mental
health; mental illness; psychiatric rehabilitation, Geel, Belgium.
I have also searched Google.com.
I have found useful journal articles relating to my topic,
including an article in the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, Summer
2000, outlining and describing the Denver approach which combines
“the best rehabilitation models and influences into one system of
rehabilitation services.” Additionally,
I discovered information about The Village Integrated Service Agency
in Long Beach, California, which incorporates a number of innovative
approaches in care for the mentally ill. I viewed a 60 Minutes TV program concerning the unique care the community of Geel, Belgium, provides for the mentally ill. Viewing this program provided me with a new awareness and heightened interest to investigate this topic further. I used information provided at the end of this television broadcast to order a transcript of this 60 Minutes program. I asked the librarian at the COCC library for sources of information about services provided in Bend. She directed me to the appropriate website and the new Deschutes County Mental Health office located at 2577 NE Courtney in Bend to obtain information on what services are currently available in Bend. I visited the new office in Bend and obtained a pamphlet of information describing the services currently provided. I have requested two books through ORBIS and COCC interlibrary loan, Introduction to Psychiatric Rehabilitation and The Role of the Family in Psychiatric Rehabilitation, which I hope will offer some valuable insight into how the family and community can integrate care for the mentally ill. [Student Example 2:] After looking in COCC library catalog and periodical databases, I have come up with these key search terms useful for finding sources on my topic:
The types of primary sources that I plan on using are magazines, journals, books, and videos. I have found some magazines and journals that give personal accounts of what the Japanese-American internment victims went through throughout the whole wartime era. One such magazine, called the Booklist, has an article in it titled "Life in a Japanese American Internment Camp." When I wrote my research paper in high school on this topic, I found some books that were written by those who were placed in the internment camps. One that I specifically remember was titled I Am an American. I look forward to finding that book again, as it was very helpful. Also, Cora Agatucci has lent me a video that is titled Japanese Internment; A Family Gathering. This tells of a Japanese-American family that lived in Hood River, Oregon, and how they were treated. It is also very helpful. I plan on searching for other videos that give first-hand experiences. The secondary sources that I plan on consulting are newspapers, magazines, books, and perhaps videos. While taking Library Skills 127 last term I learned that it is possible to find and read newspaper issues from many years ago. I plan on consulting the library for newspaper articles from that time period. I am not sure if they would be considered secondary sources because they are authentic from that time period that the Japanese-Americans were being interned, but I know they will be helpful to me so I can see what people were reading in the newspapers about the incidents at that time. I also plan on finding secondary sources in magazines. I remember one magazine article from the research paper I did in high school that was very helpful. It was in a National Geographic magazine, and described numerous families' experiences. The article also had many pictures of the concentration camps which told stories in themselves. Also, I have found one article titled "Ansel Adams and Civil Rights" published in Popular Photography. From the article's description, I have found that it is full of photos of the camps. I know I will learn a lot from the pictures alone, because they are not interpreted or warped by any writer, but they show exactly what it was like (a picture is worth a thousand words). I have found that there are numerous books written about the Japanese-American internment during World War II. I plan on consulting books for the majority of the information that I need for reasons why such actions were taken against the Japanese-Americans as well as information on reimbursement/apologies for the internment. I plan on using the skills that I learned in Library Skills 127 for research. In fact, I have already ordered a book through the interlibrary loan system and I have found more that I would like to order. Both the COCC Library catalog and the whole library homepage are very helpful to me in leading me to sources. Finally, if possible, I would like to actually travel to Tule Lake, California, which is the site of a former concentration camp during World War II. The site has become a walk-through memorial for the internment that occurred. By traveling to Tule Lake, I hope to see first hand what the living quarters were like as well as how desolate the camps were. Overall, I am really looking forward to learning more about the Japanese-American internment during World War II, and I know that having good sources is the key to success in doing so. *** |
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D.
Working Bibliography [Student Example 1 - trying to follow APA documentation style:] Anthony, W. A. (2001) Vision for Psychiatricrehabilitation Research. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 25, 1.
Baxter, E.
(1997) An Alternative Approach to Recovery-St. Dimpna. Fallot, R. D., Ph.D. (2001) Spirituality and Religion in Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Recovery from Mental Illness. International Review of Psychiatry, 13, 110. Hubbuch, S. M. (2002). Writing Research Papers Across the Curriculum. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Principles of Psychiatric Rehabilitation. CareLink [accessed 12 Apr 2002]. < http://www.carelink-svs.org/psychrehab.htm > Ragins, M., MD. History and Overview of the Village. The Village Integrated Service Agency. [Accessed 4 Apr 2002] <http://www.village-isa.org/Ragin”s%20Papers/Hist.%20&%20Oveview.> Ragins, M., MD. (2000) A Personal Worldwide Perspective of Psychiatric Rehabilitation. The Village Integrated Service Agency. [Accessed 4 Apr 2002]. <http://www.village-isa.org/Ragin’s%20Papers/worldwide_perspective.htm> Shern, D. L.; Tsemberis, S.; Anthony, W.; Lovell, A. M.; Richmond, L.; Felton, C. J.; Winarski, J.; Cohen, M. (2000) Serving Street-dwelling Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities: Outcomes of a Psychiatric Rehabilitation Clinical Trial. American Journal of Public Health, 90, 1873.
Smith, G.,
(Executive Director). Deschutes
County Mental Health. N.p.:n.p., n.d.
Spaniol, L.,
et al. The Role of the Family in Psychiatric Rehabilitation.
Spaniol, L.,
et al. Introduction to Psychiatric Rehabilitation.
[Student
Example 2 - trying to follow MLA documentation style:] "The Color of My Skin, The Shape of My Eyes." The Yale Journal of Criticism 47 (Fall 1996): 223. Daniels, Roger, ed. American Concentration Camps. Introduction by Roger Daniels. New York: Garland, 1989. Fondiller, Harvey. "Ansel Adams and Civil Rights: An Uncensored Version of a 1944 Exhibit Documents Life in a Japanese-American Internment Camp." Popular Photography, 22 October 1985, 92. Houston, Jeanne W., and James D. Houston. Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment. New York: Bantam, 1974. "Life in a Japanese American Internment Camp." Booklist, 1 January 1998, 788. Maga, Timothy P. "Ronald Reagan and the Redress for Japanese-American Internment, 1983-1988." Presidential Studies Quarterly 18 (Summer 1998): 606. Rancourt, Linda. "Remembering Manzanar." National Parks, May-June 1993, 30. Stromer, Walt. "Why I Went Along: 1942 and the Invisible Evacuees." Columbia Journalism Review 24 (January-February 1993): 15. |
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