Final Assignment

Directions for 500Level Research Paper

School of Security and Global Studies Preparing the next generation of security professionals through curriculum and teaching excellence.

At this level, you are learning the core concepts of the discipline and you will produce a

graduate level paper that presents a research “puzzle” relevant to the subject matter of this

class. The paper will be 10-15 pages in length.

The requirements for this project will mirror the requirements for all graduate papers. The

paper will be typed in 12 pt. Times New Roman, Calibri, or other standard font, with margins of

1” all around. It will be double-spaced except where the format calls for single spacing, for

example, block quotations and the list of complete citations. Citations will conform to the

Turabian format whether you choose to use the Parenthetical/References style or the more

traditional Foot- or end-notes/Bibliography style. To recap the Format of the Paper:

• Title Page of the Paper. The title of your paper should be brief but should adequately

inform the reader of your general topic and the specific focus of your research. Keywords

relating to parameters, population, and other specifics are useful. ALWAYS use a Title Page for

graduate work! Your title page will include the title, name, course name and number, and

Professor’s Name.

I. Introduction, Research Question, and Hypothesis (1-2 pages): This section shall

provide an overview of the topic that you are writing about, a concise synopsis of the issues,

and why the topic presents a “puzzle” that prompts your research questions, which you will

include. This section can be preceded by an epigraph that creates interest in the topic. We

encourage the use of epigraphs, but please follow the proper format for epigraphs!!

II. Review of the Literature (3-5 pages): All research projects include a literature review to

set out for the reader what knowledge exists on the subject under study and helps the

researcher develop the research strategy to use in the study. A good literature review is a

thoughtful study of what has been written, a summary of the arguments that exist (whether

you agree with them or not), and are arranged thematically. The literature review is not an

annotated bibliography and should be written in coherent narrative style. At the end of the

summary, there should still be gaps in the literature that you intend to fill with your research.

Directions for 500Level Research Paper

School of Security and Global Studies Preparing the next generation of security professionals through curriculum and teaching excellence.

III. Methodology and Research Strategy (1-2 pages): This section provides the reader with

a description of your strategy to conduct research for this paper. It identifies your variables and

how you operationalized your research approach. It describes the data you found and how you

analyzed it for your Analysis and Findings. This section describes any limitations you discovered

about your strategy and how you overcame them. Given the length of the class, this section

usually identifies the independent and dependent variables and describes how the researcher

plans to analyze them to arrive at reasonable findings.

IV. Analysis and Findings (3-4 pages): This section provides the results of your research

and the analytical arguments that the paper makes as a result of an analysis of the variables. In

a quantitative project, this section would provide the results of the data collection and an

analysis of what it illustrates in empirical terms. However, given the length of the term, most

projects will be qualitative. This section should also provide the evidence that proves (or

disproves) the hypothesis.

V. Conclusions (2 -3 pages): This section will contain the concluding analytical arguments

based on what research has revealed to answer the research question. Like any conclusion, it

should provide a synopsis of the project, the strategy, and the results and what they add to the

body of knowledge. This section should also offer suggestions for avenues of future research

for other scholars, as all knowledge is evolutionary.

VI. References (or Bibliography): This section will contain all references, cited in Turabian

format, properly indented, and alphabetically arranged. Entitle this section as either

“References” or “Bibliography” depending on the type of citation you use in the rest of the

paper. You should compile these and add to them as you’ve gone along. They should be error

free!!!