Professor Richard S. Williams  

World Civilizations to 1500
 OFFICE:  Wilson Hall 337 TELEPHONE: 335-4705
 HOURS: Tu 2:45-4, W 9-11, Th 12:30-1:10, 
                  and by appointment    		  

RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT
    EVALUATION AND GRADING
         General
         Writing Exams
         Research Project
          Map Quiz List
    Classroom Procedure
    Texts and Reading Schedule
    Academic Honesty

  GenEd 110 Main Page

    Assistance
    Taking Notes
    Expectations and Extra Credit
xx

Williams     Home Page

 

 

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT

Topic Due Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 1 p.m.  You must have selected your topic and had it confirmed by me.  This is worth 5 points.  But for each calendar day (not class day) it is overdue, there will be 5 points deducted from your class total, so make sure you get your topic set on time.  You may freely change your topic before Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 1 p.m.  The usual reason would be that you have been unable to find suitable resources.  After that date, 10 points will be deducted from your class total for each change in topic no matter the reason.

The research assignment is due on Tuesday, March 24, 2009, class time.  Late penalties begin at 10:25 a.m.  There will be a penalty of 5 points per half day until Friday, March 27, at noon.  Thereafter, the assignment will not be accepted and you will have failed the class.  This would be very bad.  Don’t let it happen to you!

 If you hand the completed paper (all text, notes, sources included: no partial papers accepted) in by March 3, class time, it will be returned to you by March 12 for resubmission.  This is a chance to revise before you get your grade!

Remember to back up your computer files.  I will accept a printer- or computer-related excuse only if accompanied (on time) by the assignment on a floppy, zip disk, or flash media (either IBM or Mac formatted) in Word or WordPerfect format.  Do not e-mail the paper–it will not be accepted.

 

PAPER SPECIFICS

    

The purpose of this assignment is to integrate traditional library resources and newer electronic sources of information.  There are three parts to this assignment: (a) finding sources of information on the World Wide Web (a.k.a. the web), (b) finding comparable sources in the library, and (c) production of a short paper using and evaluating these sources.

 1.  Choose a topic.  You must have the topic approved by me personally in class or in my office (not by telephone, e-mail, or voice mail)  The topic is to be scientific or technological achievement (discovery or invention) in the period between 3000 BC and AD 1500 (by significant, one which had an impact on history then or later).  A list of suggested topics will be included with the syllabus.  Either choose from the examples (limit of two students per topic so you won’t be fighting over library resources) or choose an alternative (approved by me) from our time period.

 2.  Find three books (or scholarly journals) in Holland or Owen Library that have at least a page (or at least 300 words) devoted to your topic.  Only one of these sources may be an encyclopedia (see comment in part 3 below).  Photocopy the title page of the source and photocopy the pages you are using.  Do a good job; you will be handing these pages in with your paper.  Make sure the curved edge of the page at the binding shows.  If it does not show, I will assume you razor-bladed the pages out and you will FAIL THE COURSE!  I am serious about this!

 3.  Find two sources on the World Wide Web that discuss your topic (use a search engine such as Google,Yahoo, MSN, whatever).  If one of these is an on-line encyclopedia, that is your one encyclopedia source.  There are various computer labs on campus where you can do web work.  You might also consult your living group or a friend who has a computer.  Finally, there are some computers for use in the libraries and in the CUB that are free and can be used to search the web.  You will need to print out copies of the relevant pages you find and you will have to turn in these along with the book pages as part of your assignment).

 4.  Now that you have your material, you will write a paper (writing instructions follow on page 12:  read them carefully) that includes the following:

     a.         A two to three page description of the achievement and its role or significance in history.  There should be at least 2 citations to each     of  your sources (see below how to cite sources).

b.         A two to three page evaluation of the web sources (see below for what goes into this evaluation), comparing them to the library sources.

c.         The photocopies of the title pages and content pages from the library books that you used.

d.         The print-outs from the web pages that you used.

 NOTE: missing elements will result in major loss of points in addition to the quality evaluation!  Assignments missing the photocopies or printouts (c & d above) will be considered plagiarized and you will fail the assignment and the course!  THIS IS NOT GOOD.

 

WRITING THE PAPER

 1.      Make an outline to make sure you have a focus for what you are going to write. 

2.      Determine where you want your citations.  Remember that citations are to be given for material you paraphrase as well as material you actually quote.  For books use footnote form or endnote form with author’s name, Title (italicized not underlined), place and date of publication, page(s) referenced.  The note should look like this (but on a separate page or at the bottom of the page):  

                1John Jones,  A Very Good Source (Cambridge, MA, 1998), p. 41. 

        Make sure you have two citations for each source.  For web sources, include the author and URL.  Example: 

            2Richard S. Williams, http://www.wsu.edu/~sarek/gened.htm. 

        Notes should be single spaced internally and double spaced between entries. 

3.      Write the description and evaluation using 12 point Times Roman or a similar font, double spaced and one-inch margins throughout.  The introduction (first paragraph) of the paper must include the following sentence: “In this brief research paper discussing [fill in the name of the achievement here] which I have prepared for Professor Williams’ 2009 World Civilizations class, I will compare text and on-line sources that I have consulted.” 

        The conclusion must include your own evaluation of this topic in terms of its relevance to this class (giving the course title, section number, semester, and year–that’s “World Civilizations to 1500, section 11, 2009”).Any paper which does not contain both the sentence in the first paragraph and the one in the conclusion will be considered to have been written by someone other than you for some other class and will cause you to fail the course.  VERY BAD IDEA.  

4.      The evaluation will start on a new page with the title: “Source Evaluation”.  For the source evaluation, address the following points as you write:

a.      Who created the site? What are their qualifications for doing so?

b.     What documentation do they provide or cite?

c.      Does the site put forward a certain point of view or “agenda?” If so, what is it?

d.     How complete is the coverage of the subject?

e.      Were there links to other related web sites that were useful to understanding the subject?

f.       Does the site present any new information, or is it primarily a summary of other scholars’ work, either printed or electronic?

g.      Is the information contained as complete as you found in the printed works?

h.      What are the site's strengths and weaknesses?

i.       If graphics are included, do they serve an academic purpose, or are they simply to enhance the appearance of the site?

j.       What are the respective advantages or disadvantages of using web sites and printed sources?  

5.      Spell check the paper, then physically proofread it.  The second part is very important! 

6.      Include the pages you Xeroxed® with the passages referred to in the text marked with a highlighter or underlined in pen and numbered with reference to your citation number in the text.   Write the name of the author and title of the book on each page.  Be sure to include the title pages of each book with the other photocopied pages (instead of a bibliography).  Any paper without all the photocopied  pages will be considered to be plagiarized, causing you to fail the course.  ANOTHER VERY BAD IDEA!  

7.      Include the printouts from the web pages.  Each page should have the passages paraphrased or quoted highlighted or underlined as in the Xeroxes® from the books.  Make sure the URL is on each page (it may have printed out as a header or footer).  A paper without the printouts will be considered to be plagiarized, resulting in failure in the course.  AGAIN, A BAD IDEA 

8.      Assemble the paper with the text first, evaluation second, photocopies third, printouts fourth.  

9.      Prepare a cover page with the title of the paper, your name, my name, and the course.  Staple everything together in the top left hand corner.   Don’t use a plastic or other binder.  Lack of staple will cost you 5 points; a plastic binder  will cost you 10 lost points.  Yes, I’m serious about this.  I will not have a stapler in class–you must staple your own paper.  Kinko’s has heavy duty staplers for large packets.  Hint: A paper clip is not a staple.  

10.    Turn the paper in on time (March 24, 2009).  Late papers will accrue a penalty of 5 points per half day, starting at 10:25 on the date due.  That is, Tuesday, 10:25 a.m., no points will be deducted.  Tuesday afternoon 5 points will be deducted till 5.  Wednesday, 7 a.m. 10 points will be deducted. Wednesday afternoon 15, Wednesday up till 10:25, 20 points and so on.  A paper not turned in by Friday noon is worth nothing: you will have failed the course.  Don’t let this happen.  Don’t give away points.  If you turn in the paper by Mar.3, we will evaluate it and return it to you by Mar 12 for corrections and an improved grade. [Paper must be finished with all parts included. A partial assignment will be returned ungraded].  Turn the paper in on time (or even early!–A GOOD IDEA!) 

11.    Extenuating circumstances:  Some special circumstances may result in a late paper.  A serious accident while on the way to class (I want to see hospital papers and doctor’s notes on this) may keep you from getting to class.  The computer may eat your disk or the printer may jam.  If you are using a computer, make multiple back ups to be able to turn in to me in lieu of the paper.  I will accept computer problems only if you have (1) appropriate media in Mac, Dos, or Windows format with the paper on it (I will check, so don’t try to con me) in MS Word or Wordperfect and (2) the Xeroxed® reference pages and web page printouts in hand. 

12.    Any paper not turned in at class should be handed in to the TA or me personally or left in the history department main office (Wilson 301) in my mailbox.  Make sure you have the correct mailbox.  Any paper shoved under my door is subject to a 25 point penalty in addition to late penalties (from when I find it, not when you put it under the door).  In the past, students have thumb tacked papers to my office door.  This is destruction of property.  I will not accept such a paper and you will FAIL THE COURSE if you do so.  YET ANOTHER VERY BAD IDEA 

If you are confused by any of this, talk to the TA or talk to me.


 

CHECK LIST FOR RESEARCH PAPER

1.      Do you have an approved topic? 

2.      Do you have a title sheet with paper title, your name, my name, course name? 

3.      Do you have two to three pages of discussion of your topic? 

4.      Did you include the required sentences in your introduction and conclusion? 

5.      Do you have two web sources and three academic printed sources? 

6.      Do you have at least two footnotes (or endnotes) from each source (10 total)? 

7.      Did you resist the temptation to just cut and paste this from the Web? 

8.      Do you have two to three pages of source evaluation? 

9.      Did you spell check your text? 

10.    Did you proofread your text? 

11.    Do you have Xeroxes® of your three printed sources?  Including title pages? 

12.    Do you have printouts from your two web pages? 

13.    Did you highlight or underline the passages you are using for quotations or citations? 

14.    Did you staple your paper together?  

15.    Did you give that irritating plastic binder to the obnoxious guy down the hall?

 

NOTES ON HONESTY: (see separate section on Academic Honesty and read below)

Two problems occur with papers. The first is "cooperative" effort. This is to be your own project. Any case of duplicate, nearly duplicate, very close, or suspicious papers will result in grades of F for the course. If you allow someone to copy your work, you get the same penalty as the copier. No mercy will be shown. Get a friend to proofread, but don't write together, take notes together, or discuss the construction of your papers with each other.

The second problem is plagiarism. This is an academic sin of the first order, as bad as cheating. Simply put, plagiarism is using anyone else's words without quoting, using anyone else's ideas without citing the work. All this passes off another's effort as your own. Good plagiarism takes a lot of work. It is easier to just go ahead and cite the works and use some quotations. You even get a pat on the head for doing so. This is called research. Bad plagiarism is a lot easier, but it is also easier to spot (we get really good at this) and will result in expulsion from class with an F!

Further note:  there is no such thing as "inadvertent" plagiarism.  You and you alone are responsible for turning in the "correct" version, edition, draft, whatever.  Look over what you hand in.  Is this what you intended to hand in?  If not, get the correct pages.  Hand in what you intend and all that you intend.  Make sure you have every page, every  Xeroxed® page from the books, every printed web page.  Missing material is your fault, not my fault.  Please also do not insult me by claiming that the "real version" of the paper is on your computer and the evidence is that the paper you turned in is dated earlier than the other version you meant to turn in.  I, too, know how to change dates on a computer.  It takes about a thirty seconds to change a date, save a file, and change the date back.  A colleague who uses a Mac says it is easier and quicker with a Mac.  Whatever, this isn't rocket science.

All cases of cheating will be reported to the Dean of Students. 

Multiple occurrences may get you expelled from the university.  

IF YOU ARE CONFUSED BY ANY OF THIS, TALK TO THE TEACHING ASSISTANT OR TALK TO ME.