Research Report

Your writing assignment for this course is to create a problem-solution research report.
You are to choose a topic that is of concern to you. This may be a local, state, national, or international problem. What do you care about? Jot down problems that you are aware of that really concern you. You are to have a personal interest in this problem because you will be expected to explain why you have chosen the subject that you have. Do you have personal problems that you want to find out more about? Do you know of someone who has a problem/condition/challenge that you would like to understand better? Do you get particularly upset by any issues that are in the news?
In this report, you will explain why you are interested in this particular problem. You will then explain the problem and discuss all you have learned about it. Then, you will write of what is being done to correct the problem, or what could be done to make the situation better.
It is important that you choose a subject that can be researched, but also choose a subject narrow enough that the problem/solution can be presented in just 4 to 6 pages. Let me give you an example: You can’t just say, “I’ll do my research on drug abuse because I know some kids that are using drugs.” That topic is much too broad. Are you talking about illegal drug abuse? Marijuana? Heroin? Prescription drug abuse? Do you want to discuss all types of drug abuse? Do you want to explore why people choose to use drugs? Do you want to focus on only teen-age drug abuse? Do you think the real problem is that there is not effective treatment for drug users?
As you can see, choosing a subject is a very small first step. You must narrow your area of concern because you are not going to write a book.
You will not use your own ideas or opinions. Instead, you will present the facts and/or ideas that you discover while you are researching your topic.
In a word-processing document, write the topic you have chosen at the top of the page. Then, under the topic you have chosen, write down four or five questions or ideas you have about the topic (in an attempt to narrow your focus). If you can’t think of four or five questions, you don’t know enough about the subject to consider it for this assignment. Go back, choose another topic that you care about and that you know a little about, and then generate four or five questions.
After you have written the four or five questions, you need to think more about the subject and focus on a particular topic. Be sure to include the ideas of finding solutions to the problem. Write this in a complete sentence. For example:
“I want to know what kind of people become addicted to drugs and what treatment works best to help them overcome their addiction.”
“I want to know why it is so easy to get drugs into the United States and what can be done to stop the drug trafficking.”
“I want to find out the consequences to drug users, and what happens to their lives.”
Now, I have given you three examples of possible thesis statements. This is the statement that will lead you while you do your research. You may have to revise the sentence later, but once you have created this initial sentence, you have a guide so you can begin your research.
The next thing you need to do is decide on some key words that will help you in your research. For instance, if I want to focus on what treatments there are for drug abuse and which method(s) seems most successful, I could probably find information using these key words: drug abuse, drug treatment, rehabilitation, drug therapies, and treat methods. There are probably many others, but that should give you an example of what you need to do.
Write as many key words (phrases) as you can think of that will help you find the material you will need to write this research report.
Note: I know there are Internet sites that provide research reports. After teaching for twenty-four years, I am well aware of what is available. In fact, I’ve even had some students submit reports taken from the Internet. Please, don’t try to cheat on this assignment. If I suspect you haven’t done the work yourself, I will go to the sites, and if I find you have used someone else’s work, you will receive a “0” on this lesson and not be allowed the opportunity to resubmit. I know what high school students are capable of. Don’t insult me by trying to use someone else’s work.
Because of the examples I have used, I expect you to choose a topic other than those I used above. It wouldn’t help you to use my ideas. You have too many good ideas of your own.
Once you have formulated the sentence which will give your research direction, you may go on to lesson 2. At the end of lesson 2 there will be some questions about the information/assignment you have just read/completed. Please make sure you understand all of it so you can do well on those Speedback questions.
The end of each future lesson will lead you through the steps you will need to take to complete this research project. Please do as you are instructed. The paper will practically write itself if you will do so.

Continue work on your research report by using magazine articles to make source and note cards for your research report.
In lesson 2 you were instructed (and were given examples of) how to make source cards and note cards. Taking notes by using direct quotes, paraphrasing, and summarizing was also taught in lesson 2. If you need to review those concepts, do so now.
At this time you will search for material on the topic you selected from magazines. You may do this by going to a library, looking under your topic headings in the Readers’ Guides, and requesting access to the magazine from the library.
I know that you can get good magazine information from the Internet. However, please know that on your Works Cited page (you will complete this later and submit it as part of this assignment) you MUST have one source from a magazine and it can NOT be from the Internet. If you are going to use many sources in your paper, you can use other magazine sources from the Internet, but at least one magazine source can not be from the Internet. If you do use Internet sources, you must include the Web address URL on your source card.
I suggest you try to find information about your topic from at least three different magazines. Be sure to write down the source information, and then take good notes from each article.
Once you have researched magazines for information on your topic, set those cards aside (with the encyclopedia source and note cards from lesson 2).

Continue working on your research report by learning correct procedures to conduct an interview with a person who has knowledge about the topic you chose.
For this lesson, you are to conduct an interview with a person who has more than an average understanding of the topic you are researching. If, for instance, you are researching facts about homelessness, you can visit a homeless shelter and request an interview with the director. If a face-to-face interview is impossible, you may interview someone using the telephone or the computer. Once you have interviewed the person, be sure to make a source card giving the person’s full name, their title or position, and the date the interview was conducted. Be sure to assign this source card a number. Make note cards on the information you learn from the interview. You probably won’t include page numbers at the bottom of the note cards made from the interview. Once you have accomplished that, you are ready to move on to lesson 6.
Some of the things you need to do before and during the interview:
Be polite. Do not demand to see anyone. Request an interview.
Be flexible on when you can conduct the interview. Don’t give the person the time you will contact them. Let them set the time. If you have to negotiate (because you can’t meet then), be considerate of them, and set a time that is most convenient to them (not you).
This is critical! Have a set of questions written down that you intend to ask the person you are interviewing. Don’t just say, “Tell me about the homeless people.” That is putting the burden of the process on the person, and it is completely unfair. You requested the time of a very important person. Don’t waste their time!
Be sure to ask them if it is acceptable for you to use their ideas and their direct quotes. It is even a good idea to give them a copy of your report after you have it finished so they can see how you used the information they gave you.
Follow up the interview by sending a “Thank You” note to the person letting them know how much you appreciate their help.
Best wishes as you continue to explore the topic you chose.
If you have followed the instructions at the end of each lesson, you selected a topic, wrote a thesis statement, and you have generated several source cards from encyclopedias, magazines, reference and nonfiction books, and from an interview. From those sources you should have many note cards. Using those source cards and note cards, you will now organize your material. If you will take the time to do this, you will expedite the writing of your four to six page research report.
After organizing your note cards in the order you want to use them, make an outline of the material you will present in the research report. This working outline will be for your benefit in getting your ideas organized. An error-free outline will be included as part of your report submission for lesson 7.
To write your outline, place the thesis statement at the top of your page. This may have changed during your research. Remember, this is the sentence that will guide the reader through the paper. Choose at least three big ideas you want to tell your reader that you have learned about the topic you chose to research. Using Roman numerals, label those ideas I, II, and III. Under each Roman numeral, choose at least two ideas that will complete that thought. Label those ideas A and B. This is important: any time you have a number or a letter, you must have at least two. In other words, you can’t have a I without at least a II. You can’t have an A without at least a B. You can have as many as you want, but you must have at least two. At the end of your outline, write your concluding statement.
A bare-bone outline could look something like this:
Example
Note: If there is an A, there is a B. If there is a 1, there is a 2.
You must choose whether you will use sentences or phrases after each number and letter. If you choose a sentence outline, you MUST use all sentences. If you choose to use simple phrases, that is fine, but you MUST not have any complete sentences. If you use both sentences and phrases in your submitted outline, you will lose points.
This is an example of how to format an outline:
Example
This is a sample outline (using the same information) in phrases:
Example
Note: Both outlines use the same format (numbers, letters, periods, capital letters), but the first one has the ideas put in sentences. The second one has the same ideas put in phrases. You may use either style you choose, but you MUST conform to that style throughout the outline.
After you have written your outline, you are ready to start writing your paper. Lesson 7 will give you final instructions on what is expected.
If you have followed the instructions at the end of each lesson, you selected a topic, wrote a thesis statement, and you have generated several source cards from encyclopedias, magazines, reference and nonfiction books, and from an interview. From those sources you should have many note cards. Using those source cards and note cards, you will now organize your material. If you will take the time to do this, you will expedite the writing of your four to six page research report.
After organizing your note cards in the order you want to use them, make an outline of the material you will present in the research report. This working outline will be for your benefit in getting your ideas organized. An error-free outline will be included as part of your report submission for lesson 7.
To write your outline, place the thesis statement at the top of your page. This may have changed during your research. Remember, this is the sentence that will guide the reader through the paper. Choose at least three big ideas you want to tell your reader that you have learned about the topic you chose to research. Using Roman numerals, label those ideas I, II, and III. Under each Roman numeral, choose at least two ideas that will complete that thought. Label those ideas A and B. This is important: any time you have a number or a letter, you must have at least two. In other words, you can’t have a I without at least a II. You can’t have an A without at least a B. You can have as many as you want, but you must have at least two. At the end of your outline, write your concluding statement.
A bare-bone outline could look something like this:

Finalizing Your Project
Submit all of these components with your project:
Outline
Scanned form that shows signatures of the two people who listened to your oral presentation
PowerPoint outline OR Recording of the presentation
Paper
Works Cited page
Source cards and note cards
FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE SYLLABUS FOR SUBMITTING YOUR RESEARCH REPORT.
Checklist
Double-check your work to make sure you have included all of these:
___ Outline (lesson 6.5)
___ Four source cards (lesson 2.6)
___ Six note cards (lesson 2: Note Cards)
___ Presentation or recording (lesson 7: Finalizing Your Project)
___ Two oral presentation signatures (lesson 7: Finalizing Your Project)
___ In-text documentation (lesson 7: Lesson Introduction)
___ Works cited page (lesson 7: Works Cited Page)
___ Four to six-page double-spaced research report (lesson 6.5)
Grading
Here is the breakdown of your grade for this project:
Form with signatures of two people that have listened to the report = 10 points
Outline and Presentation or Recording = 8 points possible
Report (well-written, error-free with 4 to 6 double-spaced pages) = 30 points possible
In-text documentation = 20 points possible
Works Cited page = 7 points possible
Source Cards (4—one from each area of research) = 10 points possible
Note Cards (6) = 15 points possible

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