Answering it (its method)?

This assignment is intended to help you to build the skills necessary to writing a research paper – outlining
and structuring a paper through the proposal, and researching a paper through the annotated
bibliography.
Research Paper Proposal
The research proposal is an overview of the argument a potential research paper will make. You should
begin the paper proposal after choosing your topic and AFTER doing the majority of the research for your
annotated bibliography. Researching your topic will help you to determine the arguments you can make in
your proposal. Do NOT decide on a thesis and then try to find information on it. Part of research involves
flexibility and finding different perspectives before committing to a position.
The proposal should be 2 double-spaced pages long (approximately 500-750 words) in 12 pt Times New
Roman font. The proposal should be written in paragraph form (not point form), and use the following
structure:
Paper Title
I. Introduction: 1 sentence
a. Thesis statement: 1 sentence
b. Paper aims and significance: 2 sentences
c. The background for the thesis and topic: 2-3 sentences
II. Argument supporting your thesis: 2-3 key arguments, 2-3 sentences per argument, with citations from
annotated bibliography
III. Conclusion: 1-2 sentences
Total: 2 double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman pages long, 500-750 words.
TOPIC:
How and why have Indigenous women been defined by the Indian Act and subsequent court
decisions in Canada? What have been the consequences of these decisions?
Annotated Bibliography
The annotated bibliography will consist of “annotations” of at least four useful, scholarly (academic, peerreviewed) sources for your paper proposal. An “annotation” is a brief (3-4 sentence) description of the
core ideas/arguments of each of the sources (beyond course readings) you have found that are relevant to
your topic. In addition to the brief summary, describe how these references will be useful to your essay, or
how they help you to make your argument (e.g. you might use the data, concepts, methodology,
theoretical approach or certain insights from these academic sources).
Generally, the PSCI 100 LibGuide (https://uregina.libguides.com/PSCI100, also linked on URCourses) will
assist you in finding the needed resources for your annotated bibliography. It will also help you to
determine which sources are peer-reviewed. Excluded from these four peer-reviewed sources are: the
textbook or required readings for the class, as well as media stories or non-peer-reviewed Internet articles
(e.g. Wikipedia, online dictionaries, government reports, book reviews and other non “peer-reviewed”
materials). The Chicago Author-Date style is required for this assignment. More information on this style
here: https://www-chicagomanualofstyle-org.libproxy.uregina.ca/16/contents.html. For citation help, take
a look at the examples in the Chicago Manual of Style guide or contact the Campion Librarian at
campion.library@uregina.ca.
Summarizing the argument of a source:
An annotation briefly restates the main argument of a source. An annotation of an academic source, for
example, typically identifies its thesis (or research question, or hypothesis), its major methods of
investigation, and its main conclusions. Keep in mind that identifying the argument of a source is a
different task than describing or listing its contents. Rather than listing contents an annotation should
account for why the contents are there.
The following reading strategies can help you identify the argument of your source:
• Identify the author’s thesis (central claim or purpose) or research question. Both the introduction
and the conclusion can help you with this task.
• Look for repetition of key terms or ideas. Follow them through the text and see what the author
does with them. Note especially the key terms that occur in the thesis or research question that
governs the text.
• Notice how the text is laid out and organized. What are the main divisions or sections? What is
emphasized? Why? Accounting for why will help you to move beyond listing contents and toward
giving an account of the argument.
• Notice whether and how a theory is used to interpret evidence or data. Identify the method used
to investigate the problem/s addressed in the text.
• Pay attention to the opening sentence(s) of each paragraph, where authors often state concisely
their main point in the paragraph.
• Look for paragraphs that summarize the argument. A section may sometimes begin or conclude
with such a paragraph.
4
Assessing the relevance and value of sources:
Your annotation should now go on to briefly assess the value of the source to an investigation of your
research question or problem. If your bibliography is part of a research project, briefly identify how you
intend to use the source and why.
• Are you interested in the way the source frames its research question or in the way it goes about
answering it (its method)? Does it make new connections or open up new ways of seeing a
problem?
• Are you interested in the way the source uses a theoretical framework or a key concept?
• Does the source gather and analyze a particular body of evidence that you want to use?
• How do the source’s conclusions bear on your own investigation?
In order to determine how you will use the source or define its contribution, you will need to assess the
quality of the argument: why is it of value? what are its limitations? how well defined is its research
problem? how effective is its method of investigation? how good is the evidence? would you draw the
same conclusions from the evidence?
Source: http://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/types-of-writing/annotated-bibliography/
See the above link for more detailed guidance on annotated bibliographies.
Example Annotated Bibliography Entry:
Hickel, Jason. 2017. “Is global inequality getting better or worse? A critique of the World Bank’s
convergence narrative.” Third World Quarterly 38(10): 2208-2222.
DOI:10.1080/01436597.2017.1333414.
In this article, Jason Hickel challenges a dominant narrative (from the World Bank, among others) that
global inequality is decreasing. He argues that the measurement techniques used by those who make this
argument are misleading and that if China is removed from the data, the same data shows that absolute
inequality is actually increasing. Hickel also suggests an alternative way to measure inequality, not through
the Gini coefficient (used by the World Bank), but rather through the relation between core and periphery
countries. He argues that looking at the gap between core and periphery countries shows that global
inequality has tripled since 1960. This article is relevant to my research because it is part of the debate
about global inequality. I will use this article in my essay to support my thesis that the World Bank’s study
of global inequality is misleadin