Research Paper Guidelines

1. Choose a topic, and have it approved by the instructor if it does not appear on the list of suggested topics.
2. Do extensive research on the topic to find authoritative sources of information and viewpoints to use in the Authoritative sources are those written by experts on the topic.
3. Look for written sources: academic and industry papers and perhaps books, and news
4. Do not use Wikipedia (or any Wiki sources) articles as sources, but you can use them to help you find authoritative sources by looking at the
5. Everything you write in the paper should be based on information or views expressed in sources, and you must provide appropriate citations to sources for anything you use from sources in the If you write your paper correctly, you will be citing virtually everything within the paper. Refer to the class discussion on appropriate use of sources for guidance here.
6. Be sure that anything taken directly from a source (that is, you are using the language or words in the source) is quoted (double quotation marks); direct quotations should be Generally, it is preferred to paraphrase, or put in your own words, the idea(s) from the source, rather than using quotation. A few direct quotations are acceptable (two or three), but they should be short (no more than one or two sentences).
7. You are required to use a minimum of six sources for the paper; your bibliography, works cited, or references should therefore have a minimum of
8. The paper is not an opinion paper, and should give a fair and balanced presentation of two opposing sides on the
9. To limit the scope of the paper, you need to choose one or two (see note below) contemporary ethical issues related to the topic from among the following areas: economic, political, cultural, environmental, medical and After carefully researching your topic, choose the contemporary issues which appear to be the most significant ones, or among the most significant ones, related to your topic. The focus on one or two contemporary issues helps you to hone in more deeply on the controversy. The coverage of the contemporary issues should be one per opposing viewpoint. For example, after extensively researching the topic you selected, you may find that the crux of the concerns expressed by those opposing the topic you picked revolve primarily around economic concerns. You would then focus the opposing side’s arguments around this economic contemporary issue. For the proponent’s side, you may find that the concerns are more legal in nature. Therefore you would focus in on just the legal concerns expressed by the proponent’s side.

*It is possible that the two opposing sides of the topic you selected may have concerns related to the same contemporary issue and that is why I have stated that you may choose one or two contemporary issues.

10. The length of the paper at least 1200 words, but should be no more than 1800 You can use any reasonable font you wish, but use 12 point font size and double space the text of the paper, and number the pages.

11. Indicate the word count to make sure your paper meets the length requirement, and include the word count at the top of the paper (see below). Only the body of the paper should be counted in the word The header and bibliography/references/works cited should not be included in the word count.

Research Paper Outline- Required Components:

1.      Heading

• Word count should include the body of the paper This should not include the heading or the bibliography/references/works cited.

2. Brief introduction This should not be a major portion of the paper (No more than a half of a double spaced page). I don’t really need any background information about your This would be a good place to tell me what your topic is, which contemporary issues you will be covering, what ethical framework you will use and on which country you will focus for the global component of the paper. I don’t need background information.

2% of grade

3. Presentation of major contemporary ethical issues of the Opponents and Proponents of your topic area (economic, political, cultural, environmental, medical, legal) surrounding the topic you have
   • This section should include the major concerns of the opposing groups involved in this controversial
   • These major concerns must be focused around one (or two at most) contemporary issue(s) (economic, political, cultural, environmental, medical, legal). You may use a different contemporary issue for the opponent’s side versus the proponent’s However, there should be no more than 1 contemporary area of focus covered for each opposing side.

30% of grade.

4. Presentation of 1 workable ethical theoretical framework which is then applied to the concerns expressed by the opposing groups you cite in your Here you will explain what an unbiased person, acting solely from one of the workable ethical theoretical frameworks would need to know/do in order to come to an ethical conclusion about the topic (though you will not come to an ethical conclusion). Ethical frameworks can be found in Chapter 2 of the Quinn book.
   • For example, if you have selected the theoretical framework of Act Utilitarianism, you would need to explain the basic tenets of the theory (citing the appropriate references) and then explain what an unbiased Act Utilitarian would need to know about the topic (based on the theory tenets you just explained) to be able to come to an ethical conclusion.

• Not workable ethical theories: Subjective Relativism, Cultural Relativism, Ethical Egoism, Divine Command
• See Quinn, Chapter 2 for examples of good argumentation and
• Will discuss in more detail in class

20% of grade

5.Presentation of unique challenges to resolving controversy when viewed on a global scale as opposed to a societal level.

• How is the controversial topic you picked playing out in a different country? Select a country with a widely varying response than the country on which you have focused in the section where you presented the major contemporary issues for the opposing sides and discuss how this one country is responding to the topic you This helps to give an indication about how much more controversial the topic you selected likely is when viewed from a global perspective as compared with a smaller, likely national, perspective

10% of grade

6. Annotated Bibliography– A bibliography, reference list or works cited is required, included with a summary of the reference work, and how it applies to your Also identify what makes the author of this source an authoritative source. (I want to know specifically what makes the AUTHOR an expert- not what makes the journal or newspaper, etc. from which the article was taken a reputable source.) The paper will not be accepted without an annotated bibliography.
   • For your bibliography or reference list, you can use any recognized style of citation (For example, APA, MLA, numbered reference list, ). If there is a style you are comfortable with and have used before, that would probably be a good choice.
   • Each statement of fact and each quotation in your paper must have an authoritative You should feel like you are citing constantly in this paper.
   • You must have at least six authoritative sources in your annotated bibliography (not counting the Quinn book or any dictionary or stats sources)
   • Wikipedia, or any editable website, is not a valid reference. In general, websites are poor citations because they
   • Videos are not acceptable unless there is a written transcript available- in which case be sure to reference the transcript in the bibliography (which makes it easier for me to review the source and the content you have cited from this source).
   • Blogs hold opinions, but often they will support their opinions with useable verifiable references. Be very careful when using anything from a
   • If you have references that are not explicitly used and referenced, you may place them alphabetically in an (unnumbered) extension to your Bibliography called “Further Reading”

8% of grade

*The 8% of the grade assigned to the bibliography portion of the paper applies to the inclusion of, correct number of sources and correct formatting of the bibliography. If the bibliography is included and contains the correct number of sources and formatted correctly, but includes entries that are not from authoritative sources, this will result in a lower of your grade in the body of the paper that relied on information from these questionable sources. It is possible to fail this paper if very few of your sources are authoritative. The sources you use form the foundation if this paper. If your foundation is based on poor information, your paper will be too.

7. Additional Considerations for overall Paper grade
   • Grammar and Spelling will account for 10% of paper grade
   • Proper Citing within the body of the Paper will account for 20% of Paper

TurnItIn

We will be using TurnItIn (available through Carmen Canvas) to evaluate proper citing of content within the paper. TurnItIn reports will be made available to students so that they can review their citing and make appropriate corrections if necessary. I will be discussing in more detail the first day of class how TurnItIn works and showing the class how to review their TurnItIn reports.

• Minor instances of improper citing will result in a grade
• Major instances of improper citing will result in the case being referred to the University Committee On Academic Misconduct for further

Because we are making the TurnItIn report available to students, there really is no reason why there should be any issues with properly citing content in the paper. It is important that every student review the originality report that is made available in Carmen shortly after the research paper is submitted. Research papers can be resubmitted (before the deadline) if corrections to citing are necessary. Please be aware that the first time you submit your research paper to Carmen, the TurnItIn report will take approximately 20 minutes to generate. However, any subsequent submissions require a full 24 hours to generate a report.

There shouldn’t be any reason why a student would need to submit their research papers more than 2 times. However, if for some reason you do, please keep this in mind so that you can have ample time to get the feedback you require and resubmit before the deadline.