I need a Conversation Report

RJ1, Unit 2: The Individual Research Project and Major Assignment 1 (The Research Proposal: 10%)

Introduction to the Individual Research Project / Journal: For this next unit, you will conduct an academic research project on your own. For this project, you will use the research skills you learned in the last unit to research a new controversial issue. You will not be given a set guide on how to conduct your research on this issue, but you must complete the three major graded assignments in this unit, which include the Research Proposal, the Annotated Bibliography, and the State of the Conversation Report.

However, please keep a *working bibliography of all sources you consult in a newly created Individual Research Journal (10%).* A working bibliography is an ongoing record of the sources you discover as you research your subject. In your final project, you will probably not end up citing all the sources you list in your working bibliography, but recording the information you will need to cite a source---as you identify it---will save you time later. Your working bibliography should include an MLA Eighth Edition citation for each source.     

The Research Question: Choose a topic from RJ4 of your collaborative journals and then focus that topic into a specific, controversial issue. Here is a repeat of a topic list: Topics: College, Honesty, Money, Sports, Restaurants, Medical Conditions, Technology, Fate, Police Work, Ethics, Civil Rights, Humor, Tragedy, Film, Comedy, Psychological Disorders, Nursing, Animals, Unhealthy food, Prison and Prisoner Issues, Alternative Medicine, Discrimination, Censorship, Bullying, Drug Legalization, Endangered Species, Pollution, Domestic Abuse, Child Abuse, Organic Farming, Hazing, Any Historical topic, Poverty, Privacy Rights, Rape, Identity Theft, Student Loan Debt, Terrorism, Relationships, Business, Media, Science, Minorities, Women, Psychology, and Literature. You are free to choose a topic from this list, or you may choose your own. If you choose your own topic, it must be approved by me. You will then develop a research question around that issue. Your research question needs to be controversial and should be written as a “should” question. Use the chart guide Google Doc I shared with you as a guide to forming your research issue and question. Also, don’t forget to establish a question as bias free as possible.

The Research Proposal: Once you have chosen your research topic, conducted preliminary research (citing any and all sources you consult in your working bib.), and established your controversial “should” research question, compose a research proposal.

Definition and Context of the Research Proposal: A research proposal is a common step when beginning a new academic research project. These formal requests come early in the project and are used to secure funding or access to resources. Your audience is always the person(s) who have the ability to approve the proposal, allowing you to conduct the research you’ve outlined.

Directions for Your Research Proposal: We need to compose a proposal using the information you’ve already collected on your new topic. This assignment should be approximately one page and follow MLA Eighth Edition Style. The proposal should address the following in paragraph form: 1 Establish your research question. 2 Tell who it’s important to. 3 Share where you have currently found sources (Be specific; don’t say “the internet.” Instead, use your preliminary research to tell me places you have found information and the names of specific sources you’ve already uncovered.) 4 Outline your research plan (Explain how you will collect sources for your Annotated Bibliography, where you’ll get sources, and why you’ll get those types of sources.)

In each of these instances, you should be as specific as possible. Please be sure to proofread this assignment and use appropriate MLA Style. Length: 300 - 500 words. Due:Wednesday, April 12 at the beginning of class.

  

Sample Research Proposal

First Name Last Name

Professor (their last name here)

ENG 102 (section letter here)

Day Month Year

Visual and Performing Arts

For my solo research project, the question I wish to pursue is What is the value of classes in visual and performing arts to primary and secondary education students? This is my narrowed question I arrived at after my preliminary research. The question has a clear bias, because it assumes that classes in the visual and performing arts are valuable, however in my preliminary research I found many sources speaking on the value and I would like to specify my research on what these values are. To understand specifically what this question is asking,I had to define  several terms. To start of with I began with the term pre-collegiate I realized that this was not the term used by most researchers and education systems across the United States. I changed the term to primary and secondary, also known as elementary and high school. I also had to define what kind of art classes I was researching.  I began with a vague term, “The Arts” to refer to what I now am describing as visual and performing arts, I realized in my preliminary research that this was a very broad term and often meant different things to different people. I changed “The Arts” to visual and performing arts. Visual arts specifies art that is made to look at such as sculpting, drawing, photography, and painting. Performing arts is defined as art intended to be performed in front of an audience such as theatre, dancing, singing,and playing an instrument. The reason I narrowed it down to these specific art forms is because it narrowed my question and I know from experience that   in a high school and elementary setting these are the most common types of art classes offered. After narrowing it down and defining in in my preliminary research, I believe I have a question that can be effectively answered. It is narrow enough that its is possible to effectively research it and broad enough to find sources. This question is also flexible. It can easily be broadened or narrowed based on available sources. To broaden it I could alter it to include collegiate education as well or include other art forms. I could also narrow it by focusing on one age group, either primary or secondary or by focusing on just visual or performing arts.

The reason I am interested in researching this topic is that I am a Music Education major and I will someday be working in the field of teaching either primary or secondary music classes. I have found in my experience that classes in music have helped me to become a well rounded student as well as have an outlet for expressing myself. It is important to me that people know that value of visual and performing art education, as a future teacher and lover of music. This knowledge could also prepare me to become a better teacher by knowing how my classes benefit students not just in their singing skills, but in their life skills as well.  Research on this topic is also important to several fields. One of which are college students studying to teach any performing or visual art. Current teachers of art will be highly involved in this data. Another group that would be interested in this information would be the governing committee of any primary or secondary school who is considering adding or subtracting a visual or performing art program would need this information to make a educated decision. The government of the United States would also be interested in this information, because it would be pertinent to any education reforms revolving around the visual and performing arts in schools. Also high schools and colleges that specialize in these art forms would find this information valuable, such as Juilliard and Alabama School of Fine Arts. Lastly parents  of primary or secondary school age children when considering enrolling their child in visual or performing art classes. Overall there are a large number of stakeholders that would be interested in this researchers, and I will endeavor to hear from all of their viewpoints.

I have found many promising sources in my preliminary research. I have found a print source entitled, Research readings for discipline-based art education : a journey beyond creating by Stephen Mark Dobbs. Another print source I found was A well-tempered mind : using music to help children listen and learn by Peter Perret. I also found sources from the EBSCO database. One of which was a scholarly article entitled The value of performing arts education in our schools by Cathy Hess. From a generic search engine I found several articles pertaining to my topic. One was entitled, “Critical Evidence:How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement”. I found several other sources than show that there is bountiful information on this topic.All of these sources and those I have not mentioned provide pertinent information to my research topic.I have complete confidence in this topic that it is researchable due to the number of quality sources that I found.

In my preliminary research I found that several terms in my question would need to be specified as I mentioned earlier. I also found that there were less print sources available than database and internet sources. By far the most sources are available from a search engine, however I realize that the credibility of these sources are more questionable than those from an print or database source. Considering this, as I move on in the research process I would start with a few print sources to give myself and readers of my research a background on the topic, but because print sources tend to be dated I would get the bulk of my research from a database and from a search engine. These sources are more current and will contain the latest research on the project. I would first start with database sources because these tend to be more credible and then move on to search engine sources. All of my sources I will summarize and evaluate fairly their credibility and relevance to the topic. This will prevent bias from tainting the research because all bias will be noted in the evaluation.  When it comes to organizing the information toward the end of my research process I will group the information, either by primary or secondary or types of benefits from visual and performing arts classes.

My question, “What is the value of classes in visual and performing arts to primary and secondary education?’ is an effective question and there is plenty of information on this topic. It is a strong question because it is well defined. It also is flexible, but can be kept the same depending on what sources are available as I continue my research.  I have a personal investment in the topic because it pertains specifically to field I am intending to go in. Also I have identified several stakeholders who care about the topic and will research what each group has to say about the topic. I have also found plenty of sources pertaining to my topic, and I have listed several examples above. My research process is also organized in that I have a plan to effectively execute the research. In conclusion, my research project is well organized and would be successful if allowed to continue.