Project description
Research Paper
The theme for research papers is: Unintended/Unanticipated Consequences of Human Techno-Environmental Actions.
Your research paper topic must be approved by the instructor in writing and may not be changed after the deadline for topic selection (deadline to be
announced in class).
The required textual length of the paper is 10 to 12 pages, i.e., exclusive of references cited, illustrations, and/or appendices.
A minimum of five (5) primary sources is required, none of which can be electronic unless it is an academic electronic journal article (e.g., from
JSTOR) (check with me on these). [This means use of Wikipedia or other electronic encyclopedias is not allowed except for the most basic of
definitions]. You will have to do old-fashioned hands on research with books and journals, and if Cal Polys Library does not have a source you may
have discovered (e.g., in a bibliography or database) you will have to use Document Delivery and secure it from off campus. You will not find
municipal libraries useful because your needs are academic and public libraries serve a more general function.
The mandatory style guide is The American Anthropologist [a variant of the Chicago Manual of Style] (MLA, APA, or anything else is not acceptable).
RESEARCH PAPER AND OUTLINE FORMAT
Following is the required format for the paper:
Title, Author
The title should be informative, but brief (15 – 20 words, maximum).
Abstract
The abstract is a concise (150 – 200 words) summary of the entire paper, including the questions addressed or the objectives of the paper, the
details presented to accomplish the objectives, and the most significant conclusions or implications of the paper. This is written in the past tense.
Introduction (a.k.a. Topic Paragraph)
Provides the background information necessary for the reader to understand the topic of the paper. Generally, the Introduction will start with a
broad topic and then narrow the focus. Near the end of the Introduction, you should state your specific topic or the question or questions you will
address. You may also want to describe specific objectives or outline the organization of the paper in one or two sentences. All information derived
from other sources must be properly documented by citations in the text and references in the Bibliography or Literature Cited section.
Body – (Presentation of Facts/Data)
This section would provide all the necessary information/facts, concepts, schools of theory, to adequately develop your topic and address the
questions or objectives mentioned in the Introduction. Supporting information can be in the forms of examples, models, data from research, or
philosophical arguments presented by others. All information obtained from other sources must be properly documented by citations in the text and
references in the References Cited section.
Discussion
The Discussion section should synthesize information presented in the Body so the reader understands how it relates to your topic or addresses the
questions mentioned in the Introduction. This may be a logical extension of the Body instead of a separate section. If the Body and Discussion are
combined, then it is preferable to use topical headings instead of Body and Discussion as headings. In other words, your headings in the paper would
be: Introduction, Topic 1, Topic 2, etc., and ending with Conclusions. As with earlier sections, all information derived from other sources must be
properly documented by citation in the text and references in the References Cited section.
Conclusions
Summarize the paper by restating the main evidence that you presented to meet the objectives or address the question(s) that you raised in the
Introduction. Also, mention remaining unanswered questions and possible directions for future research regarding your topic.
References Cited
This section contains an alphabetical list of all of the references cited in the body of the paper (but only those references that were cited).
References should follow a single format and contain the author(s), date of publication, and the name of the article, chapter or book. The reference
should also contain the name and location of the publisher (chapters and books only), or the name of the journal with volume and page numbers.
Illustrations (Tables and Figures)
As part of the Discussion section you may want to include tables and/or figures. Illustrations must be cited in the text to guide the reader to them
and should include all necessary information in headings or captions to help the reader interpret the information contained in them. These are to be
included as appendices and do not count in the page length.
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