1. Applying for Research Funding
Workshop for Paterno Fellows

2. Finding a Topic Start with a puzzle
Think in terms of a question, of starting a conversation
Observe yourself; notice what strikes you as interesting/curious/strange
Brainstorm with friends and professors
Read as much as you can
Don’t be shy about asking for feedback and help

3. Developing a Topic
Consider the who-what-when-where-how and why of the issue
The why question allows you to address the broader context of your topic by engaging issues of cause and effect.
Show the relevance of your topic
Acknowledge the limitations of your data/sources
Be skeptical

4. What to Avoid Straw man arguments Bandwagon fallacy
Single-cause fallacy
Oversimplification
Traditionalism
Ad Hominem

5. A Good Project will: Be sharply focused Have a clearly stated argument
Be built step by step, on carefully acknowledged evidence
Reflect the dispassionate thoughts of the author
Be clearly written

6. Writer’s checklist of basic principles
Have I sufficiently narrowed my topic?
Do I have a clearly stated argument?
Are my ideas on the subject clear?
Is the evidence on which I based my research explicitly discussed?
Have I written dispassionately?
Have I written clearly by using common conventions of formal written English?
Have I kept my intended audience in mind?
Have I cited my sources accurately?
I. WRITING AND HISTORY

7. Research Support Discovery Grants-February 11
Liberal Arts Enrichment Funding-rolling, but before May 1
Rock Ethics Institute Honors Thesis Research Awards – only for PFs, end of March
Schreyer Honors College- April 1
Department level support