Assignment Instructions
Research Proposal
Purpose: You must convince me that you have chosen the perfect topic for yourself. You need to prove that you are investigating your topic from an original angle and will have solid sources to back up your thesis. This assignment will walk you through the first steps of research and get you ready to fully research and write about your topic.
Step 1: Identify proposed research topic.
Step 2: Identify the purpose/reason you have chosen this topic.
Step 3: Decide on a research question and then write it down! A proper research question is key. What exactly are you expecting your sources to answer? If you have a direct question in mind while looking at sources, you will be able to focus your research and avoid muddling through unnecessary information.
Step 4: Find THREE sources in the library article databases.
Step 5: Answer/Complete steps for each source from Step 4.
• Does this source aid in answering my research question?
• Is this source primarily focused on my topic or is it only partially dedicated to my topic?
• Does my source present a bias? How will that help/hinder my argument?
• What is the credibility of this source? Is an author listed?
• How will I use this source in my argument?
• A brief paragraph that summarizes the information provided in the source.
◦ Within the summary paragraph, include a quote that you think you may use in your final paper. Make sure you practice sandwiching the quote with the top bread, filling, and bottom bread.
Step 6: Write your thesis! Once you have a solid research question and a bit of research behind it, you are ready to write a thesis. Think about what you have learned by analyzing a few sources with the direction of your research question. What do you want to argue? How are you going to make it original? Decide and write your thesis sentence. Remember that a thesis is only a sentence long.
Your document should:
• Be 12 pt in size
• Be in Times New Roman font
• Have 1-inch margins
• Be double spaced .
What I turned in:
Proposed research topic – The effect of social media on mental health among teenagers.
Purpose – Mental health awareness and how social media affects the mental health of teenagers has always been a topic of interest to me. I believe that understanding the effects of social media on teenagers’ mental health is important in today’s digital age.
Research question – What is the influence of social media on the mental health of teenagers when it comes to their self-esteem, depression and anxiety?
Three sources from library article databases:
Source 1:
Smith, J. (2018). The impact of social media on youth mental health. Journal of Adolescent Health.
– This source helps because it gives insights into the ways social media affects the mental health of teenagers.
– The source is focused mainly on mental health in teenagers, it explains in detail the relationship between social media and youth mental health.
– The source does not present any bias, which helps in providing a balanced argument.
– This source is credible because it is published in a reputable journal.
– I will use this source to provide research findings on the impact of social media on the mental health of teanagers.
Summary: According to Smith (2018), “Research has shown a connection between excessive social media use and increased feelings of anxiety and depression among teenagers, emphasizing the importance of further additional research on this events.”
Source 2:
Johnson, L. (2019). The role of social media in shaping adolescents’ self-esteem. Child Development.
– This source addresses how social media influences teenagers’ self-esteem, which is an important aspect of my research question.
– It is dedicated to how social media impacts mental health among teenagers.
– It gives a little bias towards the negative effects of social media on self-esteem, which will support my argument.
– This source has a high credibility because it is published in a reputable journal with a listed author.
– I will make use of this source to learn more about the relationship between social media use and self-esteem issues among teenagers.
Summary: Johnson (2019) argues, “The constant validation seeking and comparison encouraged by social media platforms can highly impact teenagers self-esteem and overall mental well-being.”
Source 3:
Garcia, M. (2020). Understanding the link between social media use and anxiety in adolescents. Journal of Youth Studies.
– This source digs deep into the connection between social media use and anxiety among teenagers, which also relates to my research question.
– The source mainly focuses on the effect of social media on mental health among teenagers.
– There is no noticeable bias in this source and that helps to make the analysis more objective.
– In terms of credibility, this source has a high credibility, because it is published in a reputable journal that has an author listed.
– This source will be used to examine the ways through which social media use may contribute to anxiety in teenagers psychologically.
Summary: Garcia (2020) states, Majority of teenagers who use social media excessively are more likely to feel anxious, which suggests that interventions are necessary to lessen these harmful consequences.”
Thesis – The widespread effect of social media on the mental health of teenagers, particularly with regard to anxiety, sadness, and self-esteem, shows the critical need for additional study and treatments to support teenagers’ positive digital wellness.
References:
Smith, J. (2018). The impact of social media on youth mental health. Journal of Adolescent Health.
Johnson, L. (2019). The role of social media in shaping adolescents’ self-esteem. Child Development.
Garcia, M. (2020). Understanding the link between social media use and anxiety in adolescents. Journal of Youth Studies.
Professor review:
I would like you to revisit this assignment.
You don’t have to redo EVERYTHING if you still want to keep the same topic.
Right now, your thesis isn’t an argument or debatable.
Here are some examples of a debatable thesis:
Students should be required to wear uniforms because it promotes a learning environment, encourages equality, and simplifies morning routine.
This is debatable because someone else could say, no, uniforms should NOT be required because of X, X, and X.
Your thesis states that teens have stress and anxiety with social media use, which is a fact, but you can’t argue a fact.
Does that make sense? Please revise
This week you are working on the outline for your persuasive essay. Please share your topic choice and three main supporting points for your initial post.
Example: Barbie is a good role model for children.
1 She has had many different careers.
2 She is kind to others.
3 She makes time for friends and family.
