TERM PAPER

TREM PROPOSAL

According to (FERRARD & ANDREATTA, 2014), Federal sponsored research estimates that at least 1.6 million youths in the United States either run away from home or are kicked out of their homes every year. Although most runaways eventually return home, a sizeable percentage of young people never return home. Instead, they separate themselves permanently from their parents and families and adopt a risky lifestyle of homelessness, vagrancy, and delinquency. This world of homeless   youths often operates below the radar of societal institutions that might provide them with needed social services. For this reason, I will be conducting ethnographic research on homelessness.  I will observe and interview a homeless group as methods of gathering this information. At the end of this study, I will be able to describe the process of leaving home, development of functional social networks, finding food and cash sources, and coping with the violent and hostile street world. I also hope to uncover useful features of the culture of the street people.  

Guys--here are some guidelines for writing a term paper using critical thinking skills, based on the work of Carole Wade, who is often quoted on the subject…

These simple guidelines will help you find the truth…

1.Ask questions; be willing to wonder.

Always be on the lookout for questions that have not been answered in the textbooks, by the experts in the field or by the media. Be willing to ask "what's wrong here?' and/or "Why is this the way it is, and how did it come to be that way?"

2.Define the problem.

An inadequate formulation of question can produce misleading or incomplete answers. Ask neutral questions that don't presuppose answers.

3.Examine the evidence.

Ask yourself, "What evidence supports or refutes this argument and its opposition?" Just because many people believe, including so-called experts, it doesn't make it so.

4.Analyze assumptions and biases.

All of us are subject to biases, beliefs that prevent us from being impartial. Evaluate the assumptions and biases that lie behind arguments, including your own.

5.Avoid emotional reasoning: "If I feel this way, it must be true."

Passionate commitment to a view can motivate a person to think boldly without fear of what others will say, but when "gut feelings" replace clear thinking, the results can be disastrous.

6.Don't oversimplify.

Look beyond the obvious, rest easy generalizations, reject either/or thinking. Don't argue by anecdote.

7.Consider other interpretations.

Formulate hypotheses that offer reasonable explanations of characteristics, behavior, and events.

8.Tolerate uncertainty.

Sometimes the evidence merely allows us to draw tentative conclusions. Don't be afraid to say "I don't know." Don't demand "the" answer.

1) title/proposal page, 5-6 pages of text, and bibliography page for journal/book/internet sources only (not interviews), that you will be citing within the body of the term paper...NO title page...

2) first person past tense, just like in your two other papers...

3) use anthro terms and concepts as much as possible...

4) define any terms the reader may not be familiar with...

5) where appropriate, answer how, why, what, where, when, and who...

6) everybody does field work--at least participant observation and/or interviewing—a sample of at least ten people...

7) minimize plagiarism--use your own words and be efficient--don't be repetitive…

8) no q & a format--paraphrase your results within the body of your paper, unless something unique is worth quoting...

9) If using the same interview questions for all your informants, include a copy of them in your appendix, which goes AFTER your bibliography page

10) consult the various term paper handouts

11) remember that a term paper isn't just evidence of research/fieldwork done; it's also practice for developing your writing and

REFERENCES/CITATIONS

(1) References in your bibliography must include the author(s), date of publication, title of the work, and the name of the publisher.

(2) Internet documents must include the author(s), date of the article, the title, the URL (Web site address), and the date (month/day/year) that you retrieved it.

(3) Personal communications, such as personal interviews, emails, and letters, are cited within parentheses in the text, with the name of the person and date performed or received, but not in the bibliography.

(4) Citations in the text that refer to references in the bibliography are put in parentheses following the quote or paraphrase/idea and include the author’s(s’) last name(s) followed by the year of publication, a colon, and the pages cited.

(5) When you use someone’s exact words, these must be enclosed in quotations and cited.  Even if you state their ideas in your own words, they still must be cited.  You must give credit to the person whose words or ideas you use--if you do not this constitutes plagiarism.

A term paper that addresses a particular topic should include the following information (unlike a life history, spiritual/life quest, or travel journal)…

Introduction

•      •          issue or problem

•      •          background information/current thinking, findings, and approaches to the problem

•      •          objectives/what you want to find out

Methods/Fieldwork

•      •          research methods/data-gathering techniques

•      •          how they were carried out, on who, and where

•      •          specific results

•      •          problems encountered while doing fieldwork

Discussion/Conclusion

•      •          summary of data/results/most important findings

•      •          analysis/interpretation of results; assumptions that were proved wrong

•      •          solutions/implications/your opinion

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•      NOTE: Using an outline to plan and organize will go a long way to making your term paper an easier process...