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Running head: TOPIC PROPOSAL FOR APA INVESTIGATION REPORT
Topic Proposal
for Career Investigation Report (CIR)
Your Name
English 235
Columbia Basin College
Today’s Date
Author’s Note
This topic proposal was prepared for ? in order to explore/investigate/determine ? about ?
Topic Proposal for Career Investigation Report (CIR)
1.0 Topic of Report
Announce the topic of your proposal, e.g., “I propose to write an investigation report on the career of _________. This report will cover the main points of . . .” Your CIR topic should be narrow enough to cover adequately in a 6- to 7-page report. The topic should be based on professional or personal interests.
2.0 The Need for Career Investigation Report
Provide plausible reasons for writing the report. What are your intense personal interests in life? What are three of your strongest intelligences? Using your intrapersonal intelligence, how could an “effective model” (Gardner) of yourself be leveraged in the career being investigated? How will investigating a career at this point in your life benefit your future choices of an academic major, attendance at a four-year college or university, and selection of classes at CBC? How will your investigation report address these needs or problems?
3.0 Methods of Research
Your sponsor (me) needs to know how you will gather information for your CIR and whether or not your sources are up to date and credible.
1. In several sentences tell me which sources or websites you plan to use for your report. Consider using the Occupational Outlook Handbook, Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center, and EBSCOhost Discovery Service or other online databases in the CBC Library.
2. Identify the name and job position of one or two people who are good candidates for an interview. A respondent (informant) must be knowledgeable and experienced with the subject matter of your report. You can identify more than one person to interview.
NOTE: After you submit this proposal, you will write five questions that you will ask during an interview. These interview questions — and the notes you take during the interview — can be included in an appendix at the end of your CIR. Your interview questions do not need to appear in this topic proposal. You will submit them later, after you’ve done some research.
4.0 Anticipated Figures Used in the Report
Predict several types of figures you will incorporate in the investigation report. What type of data will the figures represent? You should incorporate more than one type of figure: figure:
• original photos from cell phone
• photos borrowed from a website
• drawing or illustration
• line graph, bar chart, and pie graph
• table
5.0 Review of Sources
In two paragraphs, write a narrative that compiles + summarizes + synthesizes selected information from your annotated bibliography. Follow the example on pages 67-71 (by April Bo Wang), to help you with the first paragraph. Answer the questions below to generate your paragraphs.
1. What are compelling research findings that pertain to the career? (cite 3 different sources)
2. What are some current trends related to the career? (cite 2 sources)
3. What are some examples of successes or failures in the career? (cite 2 sources)
4. What are new or innovative techniques or approaches in the career? (cite 2 sources)
5. Do any research findings conflict? Which source of the sources is most reliable? (cite 2 sources)
6. Other key findings? (cite 1 source)
Generic Narrative Structure for a Review of Sources
5.0 Review of Sources
The career I am investigating is _______________________. As documented in my annotated bibliography, current literature has focused several aspects of __________________ and __________________ .These aspects include __________________, __________________, __________________, and _____________________. (Source, 20??; Name, 20??, and Name & Name, 20??). For the purposes of this literature review, a __________________ [name of career] is defined as _____________________ (Source, 20??). And Source (20??) has defined _______________ as ___________________________. Based on ideas presented in available literature, I define _________________ as __________________. Some of the information in this source review will be integrated into my CIR.
Research Trends
Several major trends are contributing to _____________ and ______________ for increased/more (or less) effective ______________ that support ________________. The first trend, discussed by Source (20??), involves ______________________ [describe the trend]. The second trend involves _____________________________ [describe the trend] (Source, 20??). And the third trend, as described by Author (20??) focuses on _________________________[describe the trend]. In my CIR, I will further analyze these trends and determine if they are supported by my interview results.
Conflicts of Ideas or Approaches
Some of the findings in the literature are contradictory/inconsistent/ambiguous/unresolved. Source (20??) has suggested that _______________________. However, doing so increases/decreases/negates/etc. _____________________________, as described by Author, 20??. However, under the circumstances of _________________, as described by Source (20??), this concept/process/goal/etc. differs from/conflicts with/is inconsistent with _________________, as described by Source(20??). These differences/conflicts/inconsistencies involve ______________ and ______________. In my CIR, I will focus one interview question on the conflicting findings of _____________ and ___________ to see if one, both, or none of the research findings can be verified by my interview results.
Research Conclusions
Based on the findings of my research, I can conclude the following:
1. Most of my sources agree that ____________
2. The meaning of ___________ is ___________ in the context of __________________.
3. There is a need to verify the topics of ________ and ________ with my interview of an employee.
Gap in Knowledge or Research
Although prior research has reported data regarding______________ and _______________, minimal attention has been paid to how __________________ and ________________ are interrelated/combined/contrasted/etc. Based on this gap in the research, the aim of my CIR is to describe and analyze___________________. In so doing, I will adapt and extend the information provided by Author (20??).
6.0 Annotated Bibliography of Career Sources
(NOTE: You will write this subsection in a separate assignment.After you complete your annotated bibliography, copy and paste it here in this subsection.)
That’s it. Now you’re at the end of your topic proposal. Go back and check to see if you’ve covered all six subsections.
TOPIC PROTHETICS /LIMB LOSS/AMPUTATION
