Research Paper

The paper will report the results of significant research and the conclusions that you have drawn from this research. The average length (i.e. for acceptable, "C" level performance) is 12 typed, double-spaced pages, excluding the list of Works Cited and any tables or figures.

Topics

You should choose 1) a nation or region outside of North America, and 2) one of the following new media systems. (International students may not choose their home countries.) Your project's focus must be on the production and reception of new media by people who are not living in the United States or Canada.

  • Internet, including some or all of the following:
    • blogging
    • social networking
    • file sharing
    • email
    • online commerce
    • voice over IP (e.g. Skype)
    • etc.
  • Digital video production and viewership, including some or all of the following:
    • DV feature filmmaking
    • DV documentary filmmaking
    • DVD distribution
  • Mobile telephony

A world map and a list of the United Nations' member states is available on the Resources page.

General Format Requirements

Everything you turn in relating to the research project should follow the formatting guidelines developed by the Modern Language Association (MLA). Along with other requirements, this means that everything you submit must be typewritten and double spaced. The only exception is the list of search terms, which may be hand written.

Assignments

To help organize your work on this project, I have divided it into several shorter assignments.

  1. Email Submission of Topic
  2. Topic, Approach and First Source
  3. Thesis Statement, Search Terms, Annotated Bibliography, and Sources (One letter grade penalty will apply if you change topics after this assignment is submitted.)
  4. Detailed Outline
  5. First Submission
  6. Second Submission

Email Submission of Topic

Get started immediately. Your choice of topic is due during the second week of class. It will count as part of your first quiz grade.

Topic, Approach, and First Source

The topic, approach, and first source will be submitted together in a paper folder. Combined, they will count as a 20-point quiz grade.

  • First, in two or three complete sentences, identify your chosen topic and the approach that you will take to this subject. What questions about your topic will your paper seek to answer?
  • On this same page, include the citation for your first source in proper MLA format. 
  • Below the citation, write a detailed annotation (an 8-10 sentence paragraph) indicating the contribution that you expect this source will make to your research project. 
  • In the other pocket of the folder, include a photocopy of the complete first source.

Thesis, Annotated Bibliography, etc.

Note: By the time that you turn in this part of the project, you should have read each of your sources multiple times, marked them up with a highlighter and marginalia, and carefully analyzed their similarities, differences, strengths, and weaknesses. In other words, your intensive study of other people's work should be all but complete.

The thesis, search terms, annotated bibliography, and sources will be submitted together in a 2", 3-ring binder, with tabbed and labeled dividers separating each item or source. The tabs dividing each source must be labeled with the last name of the source's author. If you use several sources by the same author, include both the author's name and identifying information on the tab that indicates which particular source is included behind the tab.

The thesis paragraph(s)--about 300 words, or one double-spaced, typed page--should present in a clear, detailed, and comprehensive fashion the argument that your research paper will demonstrate to be true. This paragraph should make a specific argument regarding the relationship of the medium or text in question to the national or regional culture.

The search terms is a one-page table listing the databases that you searched, the search terms that you used, and the number of hits that each term generated. I have created a sample MS Excel file that you may find useful to keep track of your search terms.

The annotated bibliography makes up the bulk of this assignment. It will include all the sources that you have identified for use in your research paper. Each source should be cited in complete and correct format using MLA style. Under each citation, include a detailed, one-paragraph statement (8-10 sentences) about the contribution this source will make to your project. I will evaluate the draft using the CSU Writing Guidelines. 

Sources: Hole-punched photocopies of all articles and book chapters should be included at the back of the 3-ring binder, with tabbed and labeled dividers separating each source. The complete text of all sources must be included, with one exception. If the source is a complete book on your topic, you may limit the photocopied pages to the book's title page, table of contents, and the pages from which you cite direct quotations.

Detailed Outline

This multi-page document will present a detailed summary of the major sections of your paper.  The outline should offer a clear overview of the content and trajectory of your paper's argument. Concrete, precise, and specific headings for subsections  should support concrete, precise, and specific headings for the paper's major sections. Estimates of the page length for each section should be included. This will count as a 20-point quiz grade.

Final Submission

Paper draft: The final submission will count for 25 percent of your grade in the class. It must be submitted as a paper document, hole-punched and in a 3-ring binder. Behind the completed draft, the binder must also include the graded Outline and Annotated Bibliography and copies of all sources. (The sources will make up the bulk of the binder. Tabbed and labeled dividers should separate each item or source.) I will evaluate the draft using the CSU Writing Guidelines. 

Electronic file: As a check against plagiarism, I will submit all of your final papers to an electronic clearing house that automatically identifies papers containing unoriginal material. To do this, I will need a copy of your final paper in either Microsoft Word or another standard word-processing format, in addition to the paper draft that I will grade. The electronic file is due on the same date and time as the paper draft.

A Note on Plagiarism

Your grade in CMS 4500 as well as your CMS diploma should be signs of advanced skill, hard work, and accomplishment. In order to maintain their value and integrity, I will strictly enforce both my particular policies as well as the university's global policies on academic dishonesty.

Plagiarism in particular will not be tolerated. Make sure to study carefully the policy covering academic dishonesty on our Grades page—as well as the definitions and examples provided by our writer's handbook—before you turn in anything that draws on the work of others. Plagiarism in the annotated bibliography will result in a zero for that assignment. Plagiarism on the final submission will result, at minimum, in an F for the course.

Because the electronic submissions of your papers helps to fulfill this important function, submitting the file to me is not optional. You must do so in order to earn a C or higher in the course. The file need only include the text of your paper and its list of Works Cited. No illustrations or appendices are required.