TODAY’S GOALS Peer review the first draft of our research proposals Learn the requirements and uses of an abstract and how to draft one Wrap up unit 2

RESEARCH PROPOSAL OVERVIEW Title page Abstract ( 100 words or less) Identify research question, research methods, & most important points of research Statement of Purpose (usually 100+ words. Often the second longest section of the essay) State research question and hypothesis Convince readers why the research is necessary Statement of Qualification (approximately 100 words but may be longer) Explain why you are qualified to conduct this research Mention qualifications as well related personal experiences Literature Review ( 200+ words. Often the longest section of the essay) Briefly sum up the secondary sources you are using and how they are relevant to your research Methods (approximately 100 words) Name your primary research method and explain your general strategy for it (i.e. what do you hope to find) References The APA version of a Works Cited page Appendix Usually includes supplementary information The appendix for our research proposals will include detailed information about your primary research (such as interview, questions surveys, or observation goals)

ABSTRACTS Where have you read abstracts before? What was your experience with this like? What are you trying to accomplish when writing an abstract? How might the writing in an abstract be different from the rest of the essay?

ABSTRACTS Should summarize all of your research in a very short paragraph Provide enough info so readers can determine whether or not your topic is relevant and they should read further Many publications and conferences will ask for your abstract before even giving you approval to send the rest of your research. You must ‘sell your idea’ in a very short paragraph Economy of information is very important! Only include the most important information All research proposals and many peer reviewed journals will have a max word count for abstracts Our abstracts will be 100 words or less

ABSTRACTS 1. The research question or intended goal of the research 2. Your hypothesis 3. The importance of the research sometimes part of the intro/attention grabber although sometimes reserved for the purpose statement Please note that numbers 1-3 may be located in the purpose statement as well, but a shortened, succinct version of them is necessary for the abstract 4. Preliminary findings (in background research for the lit review or from your exploratory narrative) Must do all of these things in a very brief paragraph (often about 100 words)

SAMPLE ABSTRACT As technology progresses so do video games. More than 183 million people in the United States play an hour or more of video games a day (TED, 2012), and these games seem to contain progressively more violent content every year. Are violent video games capable of causing behavioral issues in these young gamers? This proposed experiment will conduct surveys to look for correlations between video game habits and violent behavior. Preliminary research indicates that video games can cause changes in brain function (Kaplan, 2012), so it is anticipated that a correlation between violent behavior and video games will be found.

GROUP ACTIVITY: ROUGH DRAFT EVALUATION Exchange drafts with one other student (different from your previous peer reviews) Share the first drafts of your research proposals. Answer the following questions for your partner’s draft: 1.How does the purpose statement grab reader attention? Is this effective? 2.What are the student’s research question and hypothesis in the purpose statement? Take these word for word from the essay and write them here. 3.In the statement of qualification, what reasons does the writer give that they are suited to conduct the research? Try to identify at least 3 separate reasons. If these are not present, additional time may need to be spent on the statement of qualification 4.How many sources are evaluated in the literature review? (There should be at least four)What Is the main idea identified for each? Is there an introduction in the lit review and explanation of how each source is related to the current research? 5.Does the essay follow the APA formatting conventions we have discussed in class? At this point, pay extra attention to the in text citations and references page 6.Finally, share your previous answers with the student. Do you both agree on answers 1-6? If not, where was there a difference of opinion or perspective?

UNIT 2 REVIEW Primary research methods Interviews Observations Surveys (Think about advantages and disadvantages of each) Danger of death questions (in interviews) Observer’s Paradox Research proposals as a genre How to draft individual sections Uses in future academic and professional environments APA formatting and style Note: this is the type of information that you might be asked on a future quiz

JOURNAL ENTRY 23 Focus: Reflect on Unit 2 Take a few minutes to remember the content from unit 2 of our class and the most important items within. Since unit 1 ended, we have learned about drafting a research proposal, the use of APA formatting, and the primary research process, What do you think the most important concepts from unit 2 were? How has your research question or understanding of your topic changed since you wrote your exploratory narrative? Was there any part of unit 2 that you found particularly easy or difficult? How has this class compared to your other English or research-based classes in college thus far? What was the most fun or easy activity in unit 2? The most difficult or onerous activity? What did you find most useful from unit 2? I urge you here to consider your major or field of study and how you might use what you have learned in this field in the future.

HOMEWORK Research Proposal Final Draft Write your abstract and add this to the final draft Due Tuesday 3/23 to Turnitin.com by midnight Should include all sections of your research proposal Sign up for a class progress conference Not mandatory but strongly recommended Will go over individual grades for the course and your progress thus far Appointments start next week. Most will be brief (<5 minutes) and take place during or directly after class Sign up sheet on class website (posted at 5 pm)