paper project (Research question )
Im trying to learn for my Social Science class and Im stuck. Can you help?
This is a final project paper
I have a research question for this paper which is (What kinds of interactions take place between those responsible for administering justice and the accused in traditional courts and MHCs? And how do these interactions compare across traditional courts and MHCs?)
I will attach down a file you should find the literature you used to help refine the class research question. You will need to develop a bit of a literature review for your project; you must use this material but you do not need to go beyond it. I have not changed the names of the files; I have left them as you sent them to me.
I will also attach a word document of how the structure of the paper should be.
The professor will be looking for the following elements in your paper:
An introductory section where you outline your research question or focus, the answer to this question (your thesis), and describe the structure of your paper to the reader. This thesis statement should represent an answer to the question or curiosity that you began to articulate as a group in Week 6.
A middle section where you use information/concepts from the readings and qualitative evidence from your court observations and interviews to support your thesis statement (this should comprise the bulk of your paper).
A concluding section where you summarize your argument and outline how your discussion addresses the thesis statement. This is also the place where you should include your own thoughts about these readings if you have not already done so.
Use headings to help organize your paper.
More detailed suggestions on this general structure A. Descriptive Introduction: Set the scene and introduce the project with research question or problem and a thesis. Describe the scene where you went and provide some background on the people with whom you worked. Describe the topic(s) and focus of your project. State your argument (thesis) and original goal/research question (and why you were interested in it). Make sure that your introduction draws the reader in. B. Methods: Describe your methodology. How did you go about collecting data? How did the methods you select help you find and interpret material? What problems or challenges did you encounter? Did those problems tell you something about the phenomenon you studied, or about your methods? C. Presentation of Data. Provide examples of the data you generated that are relevant to your argument. E. Discussion/Interpretation: Synthesize the collected data into a logical interpretation. Use the argumentative structure outlined by Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw (1995) and draw on the ethnographic work discussed in class as a model. What did your study show about the social and cultural significance of the phenomenon? Does your data support your conclusion? If not, why? Did your own research reinforce some of the ideas you have encountered in this class, or did it lead you to further questions? What is the significant or meaning of your study?
F. Conclusion: Restatement of your thesis, and a quick summary of your arguments for why you conclude this. Why do you think this conclusion is significant? What did you learn? What do you think other people can learn from what you have done? What did you get out of this experience? What did it teach you about the fieldwork process and about cultural difference? Your conclusions may be the place to engage in a bit of reflection. How did your own history shape what you found out? What insight did your project give you into the problem or topic you studied? For example: What were your ideas about the topic before you went into the project? Did your ideas change? Did your experiences and data force you to think or do things differently for the project?
Note: Please bear in mind that in many cases, the distinctions between these sections might be much more blended. It is a better idea to treat these sections as elements or aspects of a paper that you can find in any papereven though they might not be in this exact order.
