MALS 5800 Research Paper

For your research project this term, you should focus on the the impact of  Social Media on culture and/or politics. For example, you might study the ways it is being used by some particular group of contemporary political activists, or the way that it is changing spectatorship of sporting events.

As the culmination of your research, I am expecting about a 20-paper paper that references at least 10 relevant scholarly sources and about twice as many examples drawn from your primary research (blog posts, Youtube videos, podcasts, etc.). Unless otherwise agreed to in advanced, these citations should be in Modern Language Association (MLA) format.

Research Tools

The first step is to read A LOT and explore the scholarly territory.

To complete their research, students will use the web resources summarized on a separate, Research Tools page.

Video Tutorials

Video tutorials on Galileo and CSU’s Interlibrary Loan may help you to find and request scholarly publications. (I created these tutorials for my CMS 4500 Global Contexts class, which requires a research paper.)

Due Dates

Conference

Please contact me during the first week of class to schedule a video conference, phone call, or face-to-face meeting in order to discuss your ideas, plans, questions, and research.

Works Cited

Two weeks before the paper is due, submit a MS Word (or equivalent) document to the Georgia View Dropbox “5800 Works Cited.” This document should include citations for both the primary and secondary sources that your paper will incorporate.

Final Research Paper

The complete paper should be submitted to the Georgia View Dropbox “5800 Final Draft.” As part of our efforts to ensure the integrity of the MALS degree, I will submit these drafts to an anti-plagiarism checking service. Use MLA format.

Drafts of the Paper in Progress

I am happy to read early drafts of any length, but I will need the draft at least a week before the due date in order to ensure that I have time to give you useful feedback.