1.
All term papers must conform to the documentation standards
set forth by the Modern Language Association (MLA), Turabian, University of Chicago, or the
American Psychological Association.
2. The
research paper must be typewritten, double-spaced, with margins of 1 inch. The
cover page should
reflect the title of the paper, your name, the course number, the professor,
and the date. All papers must
have page numbers.
3. A
minimum of six (6) peer reviewed scholarly journal articles must be employed in
the
undergraduate
paper.
4. All
research papers must reflect a systematic analysis of a topic or issue relevant
to the politics of education.
The use of headings is required. The paper must address each of the following:
(1) Introduction; (2) Purpose (Clearly state your research question(s) and/or
hypothesis or thesis.); (3) Significance
of the Study; (4) Methodology – i.e., What specific steps will you take to
carry out or perform
the research required to address your research question(s)? (5) Review of
Literature (This section
of your paper should reflect a systematic discussion of the literature
(refereed scholarly publications
and others) related to your topic of investigation. Before proceeding, have in
mind a clear
purpose/focus
for your literature review.) (6) Analysis and Discussion (in this section of
the paper you need to
specify the kind of analysis you will perform and why; this section leads to
the discovery of the answer(s)
to the research question(s) you raised; (7) Summary and Conclusion; (8)
Implications – i.e.,
What is
the meaning (e.g., for public policy) of the results of your investigation?
5.
Undergraduate student papers must be a minimum of 12-15 pages.
6. Proofread
your paper carefully and correct all typographical, spelling, punctuation, and
grammatical errors.
Double-check your work to ensure proper sentence structure and usage. Due to
the fact that we often
“get too close to our work to detect errors”, you may opt to ask
someone who is skilled in the mechanics
of writing to review your work prior to submission. Do not use the first person
(I) in writing
the research paper.
7. Term
papers will be evaluated along the following two dimensions: (a) content and
(b) overall presentation.
Content includes such elements as clarity of research focus, utilization of the
scholarly literature, the presentation of original ideas, and the formulation
of conclusions aimed at addressing the contemporary politics and problems of the nation’s
education enterprise. Overall presentation takes into
account
grammar, punctuation, spelling and adherence to appropriate standard for
documentation.
