Paper Topic and Research Question

[Restate your chosen paper topic and research question here. This should be the same topic and question you already submitted in Module/Week 1.]

Research Problem

[In 100–150 words, explain why your chosen research topic—and, more specifically, the narrowed research question—is significant within its scholarly context. In order to do this, you might address issues such as differing scholarly opinions on the topic, the historical significance of the topic, cultural trends surrounding the topic, ongoing disputes about the topic, etc. You might find that it is necessary for you to conduct preliminary research in order to adequately address this question, especially if you are unfamiliar with your chosen topic. For more suggestions on what sort of information to include here, consult Vyhmeister and Robertson, Chapter 13, “Step 1: Define the Problem.” Please Note: This section should be focused on the scholarship rather than personal experience. Additionally, if there are any key Scripture passages that are relevant to your paper, those should be explicitly stated here. If there are no passages stated here, then there should be no commentaries listed as a source under the Research Approach.]

Purpose of the Research

[In 75–100 words, describe the purpose of your research. You’ve already explained the research problem. Now, explain how you plan to address that problem with your research and your paper. State whether you plan to analyze the problem, resolve the debate, compare/contrast differing opinions on the problem, etc. For more suggestions on what sort of information to include here, consult Vyhmeister and Robertson, Chapter 13, “Step 2: Determine the Purpose.”]

Research Approach

[In 100–150 words, explain what type of sources you think will be most valuable for your paper. Consider questions such as: Do you plan to primarily rely on commentaries, books, or journal articles? Why? Are there particular sources you know will be important for you to consult? Do you need to read any primary sources in order to complete the paper? Do you think you’ll need to use InterLibrary Loan to request sources? For the research paper, you should have a variety of types sources, but you might find that one particular type of source will be most helpful for your approach. If you think that will be the case, explain why here. Please note that if you plan to use commentaries for this assignment, then you should identify the key passages of Scripture that are relevant as a key component in your Research Problem and/or Purpose of the Research.]

Research Hypothesis

[Based on your knowledge of the topic so far, describe what you expect to find in your research and why you have those expectations in 75–100  words. This is where you might document any presuppositions you have about this topic.]

There are some important distinctions to be made before we proceed any further with this assignment. First, a research paper is not the report you did in middle school on the West Indies. There you may have consulted a few encyclopedias, a book or two, or maybe an internet source if you have recently graduated, but generally, you did not do too much more than cut and paste the information you found, and you most likely did not have to credit your sources (more on that later). Your main objective was probably breadth, not depth. So, unlike your earliest endeavors into research, this paper must NOT simply report.
You must have a thesis and it must be very narrow (defined). You are investigating in-depth (10-12 pages, not including the Works Cited page), not taking a book-length topic and skimming the surface. This paper MUST TAKE AN ANGLE. You must argue a point or aspect of your subject. This should not be a paper about abortion or the death penalty; rather, this should be a paper on a topic that greatly interests you. A couple examples from last year included the closing of Air Force bases, increasing prison term sentences for violent crimes, changing the speed limit, abolishing property taxes, and decreasing the number of visas allowed for foreigners to come into our country. These were all well-written papers, because the authors were invested in the subject matter and created very strong arguments/examples to support their thesis.
You must make use of a variety of sources, not just those you can easily download. That is not to say that you cannot rely exclusively on Internet sources, only that you have to make sure they are powerful sources. There are a number of problems with Internet sources that you should be aware of, with the most troublesome being credibility. Anyone can post a website on the WWW, and more and more people actually do a fairly professional-looking job of it. Remember too, that not much on the internet is older than about 15 years. While up-to-date material is great for some topics, there is a wealth of scholarly information that was written before 1990!
POSSIBLE TOPIC CHOICES The following topics are very broad and must be narrowed. They are the kind of topics you might want to choose – notice that there are no options for expository topics. Your topic must allow you take an angle, to prove or expose an aspect of it with which others might not agree. You do not have to choose one of the following topics; they are just examples of the kind of topic you can choose.
Computer privacy and identity theft Genetic engineering/research Athletic abuses or mismanagement Environmental science Problems in educational system Problems with or for the Disabled Healthcare/pain management Architecture and design News or entertainment media Reassessment of historical figure or event- to reassess means to look at again in a new light or in a wholly different way.
Research papers are investigative in nature. They usually have one of three purposes: to explain, to analyze, or to persuade. In this research paper, you will do all 3, but not necessarily all in the same amount. How much of each is your choice. In choosing a topic, try to avoid those topics that you “always wanted to know more about.” That may sound odd, but often students who choose those types of topics can only inform readers on the most general of levels. Choose a topic you know about already, or have an interest in, but wish to investigate further ………..

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write a roughly 2500-word research paper.  The topic is “open game,” as long as it has something to do with religion in Philadelphia or the Delaware Valley, past or present, and it is approved in advance by the professor.  The word count must be indicated on the title page. At least three scholarly sources are to be cited and a bibliography and complete citations provided.