Length: 1250 to 1500 words
This assignment requires that you submit a proposal in anticipation of your research essay. Select a topic related to the politics of the digital era. You are limited only by your imagination. You could, for example, write a term paper on a theme such as
EXAMPLES
- political and social movements online, whether these be left wing or right wing;
- privacy and the internet;
- internet “piracy” and intellectual property protection;
- net neutrality and internet governance;
- authoritarian governments and the internet; or
- the internet, political parties, elections.
Base your proposal on academic-refereed library sources such as academic journal articles and books, supplemented by other internet sources, databases, documents, and online publications.
six academic-refereed library sources required
As this is an academic research proposal, you must use academic journals and books as your main sources. However, you are encouraged to conduct online empirical research that could provide insight to your topic. For example, you could examine blogs, websites, YouTube videos, TED Talks, and other online phenomena as part of your assignment. These sources must be credible and authentic; for example, the YouTube video by renowned political philosopher Michael Sandel on a topic related to this course, “Why We Shouldn’t Trust Markets with Our Civic Life.” Sandel has an excellent reputation as a person who knows how to produce high-quality content and how to convey it. Alternatively, the United Nations is known for producing high quality reports on several important topics; for example, the recent sustainable goals report.
If you use internet sources, look for well-documented, evidence-based materials and avoid materials largely based on a person’s opinion. These sources would not constitute part of your six academic-refereed library sources, but they could be very helpful in your research. If you have any questions in this regard, please contact your tutor, who can assist you in shaping your topic and research.
Ensure that you accomplish the following objectives in your proposal:
- Explain what you are interested in writing about and why. Explain your general focus, identify a specific research question (or thesis), and give reasons for your interest in this question/thesis.
- Ensure that your question is broad enough to illicit new and interesting knowledge. For instance, if you are interested in examining the role of social media in the information age, be sure to identify a question that intrigues you—one that you want to learn more about. At the same time, ensure that your question is not too broad to undertake. For example, the impact of social media on politics may be too broad—you might be better off narrowing the question to assessing the use of social media in a political uprising somewhere in the world within a specific timeframe.
- Remember to ground your research in relevant literature, as indicated below.
- Specify the methods you will use in writing your essay. Outline the approaches that you propose to work within. For example, you may prefer a case study, or you may want to compare two or more research objects, many of which can be found online. Alternatively, you might want to examine Twitter or Facebook posts. (On the former, see the assigned reading on Black Lives Matter by Nikita Carney, Unit 6.) Once you have decided on your approach(es), indicate the advantages and disadvantages of your approach. A case study, for example, will permit you to gain in-depth knowledge about a subject but may pose difficulty in drawing theoretical inferences. What a case study may permit you to do is suggest further avenues of research. This is an important contribution.
- Identify references—that is, secondary sources—that pertain to your topic. Refer to at least six refereed academic articles and books on the topic, and indicate how each of your sources will contribute to addressing your topic. Required course readings do not count as these six sources, but you are free to cite them as long as they do not constitute the primary basis of your analysis—that is, they can inform but not dominate your work. Please contact your tutor if you have any questions.
- The citation of your references must be complete and accurate and must follow established referencing standards such as those of the American Psychological Association. Marks will be docked for sloppy referencing. Please take your time and follow a chosen citation style correctly. You cannot make up your own citation system. Journal articles must be clearly distinguished from books, and these first two must be distinguished from documents and reports.
NOW ITS TIME TO WRITE THE ACTUAL PAPER.
Please follow the instructions carefully and hit all the requirements. If you have questions, please ask.
Length: 4000 words
Write a term paper that is structured by the following guidelines:
- Develop your question or topic according to the proposal you developed for Assignment 2. (If you find that after submitting Assignment 2, you are no longer interested in your selected topic, you must first consult with your tutor about the possibility of changing your topic.)
- Refer to and use pertinent academic literature, which must include at least six refereed articles and books as outlined in the instructions for your research essay proposal.
- Organize your paper, taking into account the fact that the paper must include the following:
- An abstract that, in three to four sentences, briefly tells the reader what the paper is all about. The abstract is separate and prior to the introduction.
- An introduction to the paper using the heading “Introduction.” Provide some background and context that indicates why this is an important topic. Then, include a statement of your research question/argument/thesis. Next, indicate how you will development your thesis. Inform the reader of what to expect in the various parts of the paper. For example, you might say, “The discussion in this paper is developed in three parts. X will do this, Y will do that, and Z will consider the following.” X, Y, and Z will each have their own heading.
- An identifiable conclusion with its own heading. The conclusion should provide a summary of what you found and an indication of where research in this area is headed in the future.
- Document your sources and be consistent with your referencing style. Your assignment will be marked for quality of expression, including clarity, composition, format, grammar, English usage, and spelling.
THIS PAPER IS WORTH A LOT PLEASE FOLLOW INSTRUCTION CAREFULLY AND PLEASE DO YOUR VERY BEST .!! THANK YOU !!