For this assignment, you will begin the process of developing a comprehensive research paper utilizi ...
For this assignment, you will begin the process of developing a comprehensive research paper utilizing Robert Jensen's "apocalyptic thinking" methodology. For this part, you will write a short paper identifying and discussing the context of the social issue/problem that you intend to explore for your Social Responsibility Essay. LEARNING OUTCOME MASTERY The Social Responsibility Essay writing process is intended to help you master the following course learning outcomes: develop your ability to engage in inquiry be systematically exploring issues through the collection and analysis of evidence that results in informed conclusions ("judgements") using Jensen's "apocalyptic thinking" methodology develop your ability to engage in problem solving by proposing a solution ("judgement") to a social problem that demonstrates a deep comprehension of the problem, is sensitive to contextual factors, and considers the ethical, logical, and cultural dimensions of the problem INSTRUCTIONS Briefly, in one or two pages, describe the social issue or problem that you have chosen to research this semester. First, clearly state which issue/problem you have selected. Second, give some background on the issue/problem. What is the issue/problem? Who is impacted by the issue/problem? How broad is the issue/problem? Third, explain why you selected this issue/problem? What is your relationship with the impacted community? Why do you think this issue/problem is important and should be researched further? At this point you do not need to conduct much research. Rather, you want to think about why you think a particular social issue/problem is worth researching further. You will want to formulate a research question to help drive your research for the second phase of the project. Research questions should be open-ended (not yes/no) and focus on how or why. For example, Why have mass shootings increased precipitously in the past twenty years? You will use the research question to guide your research during the next phase (annotations) of the project. Using our example research question, as we move forward and start gathering sources about the topic we would look for research into mass shootings, gun control legislation, arguments about the second amendment, etc. We might also look into conversations about mass shootings, causes that have been suggested (i.e., mental health, ideation), as well as any mitigations that have been tried (i.e., armed teachers, gun-free zones) and whether there is research evidence measuring the effectiveness of those interventions. Sometimes you might find that there is not a lot written specifically about a particular topic. In that case, you might look for similar cases that you can compare to the social issue/problem you are studying. FORMAT REQUIREMENTS Double-space, use 1" margins, and use an appropriate font and size (e.g., Times New Roman 12pt, Arial 11pt). Follow APA 7th edition styleLinks to an external site. for any citations/references you might include. For this phase, citations/references are not required unless you use another person's words (quote) or ideas (paraphrase). WHAT TO SUBMIT You will submit your description of the social issue/problem, context, and explanation of why you think that this issue is worth studying further, along with your research question. Attach your topic paper as a Word document (.docx) or Portable Document File (.pdf).
