1. Research Paper Guidelines and Suggestions

2. The Main Components Introduction Literature Review Statement of Hypotheses Justification of Hypotheses Findings Conclusion

3. Introduction Generally, an introduction should be no more than 1-1.5 pages in length. Speak in general terms about the topic and perhaps a brief historical view would be helpful. State your hypothesis in general terms. Example: “The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence Hispanics had in the 2008 election with attention being paid to national origin.”

4. Literature Review For this paper, the literature review should be between 4-6 pages. Discuss the theoretical and substantive themes in the field you’re studying. Gay Marriage  Abortion, Moral Politics, Prayer in Schools. Hispanics  Blacks, religious minorities, examples from other nations.

5. Statement of Hypotheses This should just be a small section, perhaps no more than a paragraph. State clearly what you expect to find in your research. Example: “Countries that border established democracies have fewer problems with illegal immigration than those who border more corrupt governments”

6. Justification of Hypotheses This depends how many hypotheses you may have: 1 hypothesis: 1-2 paragraphs 2 hypotheses: 1-1.5 pages 3 or more hypotheses: 2-3 pages You should use some of the literature you have already discussed to justify why you expect to find what you claim you are going to find.

7. Findings Obviously this is where there is some fluctuation on every paper (4-7 pages) This is where you discuss what you’ve found, which means that I want you using some of the methods we’ve been talking about for your own original research.

8. Findings continued Not everyone is going to have the same sort of findings section. Some of you are going to use: Your own survey Analyzing a dataset/statistics Presenting evidence for your theory Doing in-depth interviews Content Analysis Participant Observation

9. Findings Continued Whatever your findings may be, you want to report it in a way that constantly relates back to your stated hypotheses. You do NOT have to site as many pieces of literature during this section and you may end up focusing on non-academic sources. Charts and graphs can be included in the text.

10. Conclusion Should be short and sweet, so no more than 2 pages. Summarize how your findings related back to your hypotheses. Discuss why your hypotheses succeeded or failed and what future research would be helpful in this particular field.