INDS 491
Topic and Research Question Assignment Instructions
Overview
This assignment is a two-part assignment that gives you the chance to get instructor feedback on your first draft so you can improve it for the second draft and then get more feedback so you can improve it as you begin other assignments in the research proposal sequence.
Instructions
During Module 2, choose an interdisciplinary research topic to study and fill out the
Topic and Research Question Template. During Module 3, based on instructor feedback, edit your submission, and resubmit for further feedback using track changes to show the differences. This topic will be the one you work on throughout many assignments in this class culminating with the
Research Proposal Assignment in Module 7.
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Module 2 |
Topic and Research Question: First Draft Assignment |
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Module 3 |
Topic |
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Module 7 |
Research Proposal Assignment |
Requirements:
1. You may not use first or second person.
2. Your grammar, spelling, and punctuation should be flawless. Use current APA format for any sources cited. Visit the Liberty University writing centers if you want extra help.
3. Use the
Topic and Research Question Template when you do either stage of this assignment.
4. Module 2: Make sure that your topic is related to at least two unique academic disciplines and that at least one of them matches one of your personal areas of study. You can find what your areas of study are using DCPA.
5. Module 3: The second time you submit a draft for this assignment, pay close attention to instructor feedback and incorporate it into your own personal revisions of your topic, research question, and other elements of the template. Select “Track Changes” in Microsoft Word before you begin editing and submit your second draft with the changes showing.
Additional Suggestions:
1. Avoid gun control, marijuana legalization, abortion, homosexual marriage, and other charged political or moral topics unless you have a unique/narrow way to study them that’s never been studied before (which will be difficult).
2. Remember, even though interdisciplinary research topics are often broader than the average research topic, you need to narrow a lot. A student who begins with the topic “the healthiest foods to eat” could narrow it down to “breakfast foods that lead to higher energy levels” to “whether eating eggs for breakfast increases daily energy levels for women over age 80.” When you think you’ve narrowed enough, narrow your topic more.
3. Using the reading from Module 1: Week 1, “Fruits, Salads, and Smoothies: A Working Definition of Interdisciplinarity,” by Moti Nissani, measure your combination to determine whether it truly is interdisciplinary. Combining literature and writing is not very interdisciplinary but combining literature and math would be!
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.