WP3: Formal, Research-Based Solution(s) Proposal

4,000 words minimum, 30% (300 pts)

Goals

In this project, you will utilize the research and information you have gathered during this course in order propose a solution about an issue of larger relevance. Using the proposal from WP2 and your annotated sources, you will now write an argument on your issue that has tangible goals: a proposal. By doing this, you will be providing a minimum of one possible solution for the issue you have researched. Your solution(s) should be couched in evidence you have collected from your research in order to validate the significance it has to the people it affects. You should discuss multiple schools of thought in relation to your own, partly to locate your contribution and partly to cite those who inspired your original position on the matter.

Use these brainstorming questions for freewriting and revising while working on this project:
As a researcher, what can you add what you have read so far? What aspects/points/angles are missing from your reading? How can you fill in the blanks? What remains to be covered? What is your contribution to the scholarship, or what new points, connections, or arguments can you make?

In this project you will demonstrate your ability to

use information from outside sources to inform your own debatable position in a credible way.
find information and evaluate its reliability.
summarize, paraphrase, and quote sources correctly
use evaluative knowledge to assess the relevance of an issue
use critical thinking to suggest at least one solution to a problem including feasible steps
provide effective peer feedback
revise well between drafts

On incorporating your sources:

-You will use a minimum of 10 SCHOLARLY sources for this essay. These sources should present a variety of authors who employ differing research methods and come from different schools of discipline in order to give the reader a holistic and enriching sense of the academic conversation concerning your issue.

-As weve discussed, for this class a scholarly source is an article of at least 7 pages from a peer-reviewed journal or a book by a scholar for a scholarly audience published by a university press.

-Use at least 10 but no more than 30 sources.

-Of your sources, at least half must be scholarly/secondary and no less than ten scholarly/secondary sources. For example, if you use 10 scholarly sources, you can use 5 primary sources.

-Your use of primary sources must be paired with your evaluation of their credibility especially in terms of why they are relevant to a general/popular or specific belief that brings some new, important perspective to your essay.

REMEMBER WHILE WRITING:

Make your goal narrow and debatable. Narrow your focus and do not let your argument topic be too broad or general.
Make your point with a strong thesis statement connected by topic sentences to a logical series of well-organized, appropriate, and specific details.
Your project should logically develop a complex argument about a topic, and in developing your argument, you should explain your reasoning rather than simply relying on descriptions. Remember to back your claims with evidence, reasoning, and warrants to connect these.
The sources do not necessarily have to carry the same weightsome will be mentioned more than others and in different ways.
You should dwell on the variety of methods, approaches, disciplines, audiences, and outcomes used by the authors of the sources you have collected.
Use quotations, paraphrases, signal phrases, along with correction citation format, both in-text and on your Works Cited page.
Your essay should focus on what scholars contribute, as you are only a new scholar to the area, however you can include your experience as a researcher. However, your experience, if any, should NOT be the bulk of your argument. So, yes, you can use I, but only when appropriate and referring to your own experiences.
Your essay should have:
A Title,
Introduction with a thesis. The thesis should be original, debatable, and focused
Body paragraphs that clearly develop your thesis
A Conclusion
Works Cited page
Minimal grammatical/coherency issues. While you can use I where appropriate, remember to check for you/we/our, contractions, and non-referent pronouns.
Correct MLA format
If you elect to use subheaders, remember that each section has a specific purpose and that not all sections carry equal importance. If you elect not to use subheaders, you should still satisfy the content that a proposal with subheaders provides to support and guide your proposal. See specific points about these components below.

General Criteria to Center Efforts

When revising or stuck in your writing process, review the following GENERAL criteria and ask yourself if youve covered them to the best of your ability:

Criteria

Absolutely

Sometimes

Not really

Your essay has a title that accurately reflects your topic and forecasts your position/argument.

Your introduction engages the reader’s attention and quickly sets up the specific context of your position/argument. Your thesis makes the position/argument clear early on in the essay and reflects the direction the paper will take.

Your assertions are supported by specific, thorough evidence that is also explained in terms of the essays overall argument.

The essay boasts a minimal number of mechanical (sentence-level) errors.

The position/argument shows complexity and is arguable. In short, you explain why the topic is important and worth debating.

Your essay includes evaluative judgments along with descriptions, which help the reader see how you connect the issues.

You incorporate an appropriate balance of direct quotations and paraphrases to adequately support your assertions. All resources are well integrated, fully discussed, and logically connected to the position/argument.

Your quotation and citation formats are correct.

Your conclusion answers “so what?” and outlines the solution(s) for the issue.

Subheaders and Specific Content Requirements

While using Subheaders is optional, the elements below will need to be satisfied in your proposal even if you do not use them. The names of these components also serve as generic subheading titles:

Elements required:

Set Up

Research Aim: Introduce the goal you had in your original research and the overall point of the proposal. This is the first opportunity to note why your issue matters along with which demographics it effects most and how.

Background: extremely brief summary of the history of your topic in which you may introduce why it deserves attention

Definition of Terms: introduce and define the main terms you use in your essay so the reader enters your proposal with a ready set of vocabulary. If no specialized terms exist, reflect on why this might be.

Substantial and Original Contribution to Knowledge: Transition from Set-up to discussion of Academic Conversation. This section outlines how you will build and add to what you have already researched and learned.

Academic Conversation

Literature Review: A discussion of the academic conversation surrounding your issue with meaningful evaluation of what each author contributes to your research and how their findings compare to those of your other sources. 

Research Plan and Methodology: Theoretical Framework: In this section you discuss which research methods you used, including evaluation of your own research narrative in terms of how useful certain approaches were in comparison to others. Also note specific disciplines that informed your research more than others and evaluate why. So if for example, many of your sources come from scholars of psychology, note how that enhances and limits your findings. This area is also an opportunity to note additional research needed to reach conclusions in projects outside this one (i.e. in the reality where you might continue this past this project, what research would need to be done). Note how those gaps influence your findings or lack thereof.

Your Contributions

Solutions and Conclusion (Called Coding in one of our examples): These two elements are key to this project. You may decide to present them in combined form using one section or separate them into their own sections.

Solutions: Provide at least one tangible solution to a problem youve pinpointed within the issue youve researched. Provide steps and procedures you imagine necessary to reach this solution. Continue to imagine any obstaclesin the physical world or from those who oppose your goalsand even if you cannot imagine a way to overcome or calm those obstacles, acknowledge that the obstacles exist. Do not forget to emphasize why your solutions matter. Support your solutions with what youve learned from your research in order to provide credibility to your invented (original) elements. Be very specific and explicit.

Conclusions: Bring together the main points youve located in your research and created in your solutions in a reflective wrap-up that ties the essay together. This should be more than one brief paragraph.

Citation

MLA Works Cited Page and In-Text Citations where appropriate. Consult Owl Purdue with Citation Questions.

Elements not required: Cover page, Table of Contents, Abstract, Timeline, Facilities, Costs, Confidentiality

WP3 Grade Rubric: 300 points total

Set Up, 60 pts:

Research Aim(s)

Background

Definition of Terms

Substantial and Original Contribution to Knowledge

Academic Conversation, 100 pts:

Literature Review

Research Plan and Methodology: Theoretical Framework

Your Contributions, 100 pts:

Solutions

Conclusions

Citation, 30 pts:

Works Cited Page

In-text Citation

Fresh author note, 10 pts

Rubric
151 wp3
151 wp3
Criteria    Ratings    Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Fresh author note, 10 pts
10.0 pts
Full Marks
0.0 pts
missing
10.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Set Up: Research Aim
Introduce the goal you had in your original research and the overall point of the proposal. This is the first opportunity to note why your issue matters along with which demographics it effects most and how.
15.0 to >14.0 pts
Full Marks
14.0 to >7.0 pts
Good to Decent
7.0 to >4.0 pts
Fair to Adequate
4.0 to >0.0 pts
Poor
0.0 pts
MISSING
15.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Set Up: Background
extremely brief summary of the history of your topic in which you may introduce why it deserves attention
15.0 to >14.0 pts
Full Marks
14.0 to >7.0 pts
Good to Decent
7.0 to >4.0 pts
Fair to Adequate
4.0 to >0.0 pts
Poor
0.0 pts
MISSING
15.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Set Up: Definition of Terms
introduce and define the main terms you use in your essay so the reader enters your proposal with a ready set of vocabulary. If no specialized terms exist, reflect on why this might be.
15.0 to >14.0 pts
Full Marks
14.0 to >7.0 pts
Good to Decent
7.0 to >4.0 pts
Fair to Adequate
4.0 to >0.0 pts
Poor
0.0 pts
MISSING
15.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Set Up: Substantial and Original Contribution to Knowledge
Transition from Set-up to discussion of Academic Conversation. This section outlines how you will build and add to what you have already researched and learned.
15.0 to >14.0 pts
Full Marks
14.0 to >7.0 pts
Good to Decent
7.0 to >4.0 pts
Fair to Adequate
4.0 to >0.0 pts
Poor
0.0 pts
MISSING
15.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Academic Conversation: Literature Review
Note the required number of scholarly articles in the main guidelines under “On incorporating your sources.”

A discussion of the academic conversation surrounding your issue with meaningful evaluation of what each author contributes to your research and how their findings compare to those of your other sources.
50.0 to >49.0 pts
Full Marks
49.0 to >23.33 pts
Good to Decent
23.33 to >13.33 pts
Fair to Adequate
13.33 to >0.0 pts
Poor
0.0 pts
MISSING
50.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Academic Conversation: Research Plan and Methodology, Theoretical Framework
In this section you discuss which research methods you used, including evaluation of your own research narrative in terms of how useful certain approaches were in comparison to others. Also note specific disciplines that informed your research more than others and evaluate why. So if for example, many of your sources come from scholars of psychology, note how that enhances and limits your findings. This area is also an opportunity to note additional research needed to reach conclusions in projects outside this one (i.e. in the reality where you might continue this past this project, what research would need to be done). Note how those gaps influence your findings or lack thereof.
50.0 to >49.0 pts
Full Marks
49.0 to >23.33 pts
Good to Decent
23.33 to >13.33 pts
Fair to Adequate
13.33 to >0.0 pts
Poor
0.0 pts
MISSING
50.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Your Contributions : Solutions (AT LEAST ONE TANGIBLE OF YOUR OWN INVENTION)
Provide at least one tangible solution to a problem youve pinpointed within the issue youve researched. Provide steps and procedures you imagine necessary to reach this solution. Continue to imagine any obstaclesin the physical world or from those who oppose your goalsand even if you cannot imagine a way to overcome or calm those obstacles, acknowledge that the obstacles exist. Do not forget to emphasize why your solutions matter. Support your solutions with what youve learned from your research in order to provide credibility to your invented (original) elements. Be very specific and explicit.
50.0 to >49.0 pts
Full Marks
49.0 to >23.33 pts
Good to Decent
23.33 to >13.33 pts
Fair to Adequate
13.33 to >0.0 pts
Poor
0.0 pts
MISSING
50.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Your Contributions: Conclusions
Bring together the main points youve located in your research and created in your solutions in a reflective wrap-up that ties the essay together. This should be MORE than one brief paragraph.
50.0 to >49.0 pts
Full Marks
49.0 to >23.33 pts
Good to Decent
23.33 to >13.33 pts
Fair to Adequate
13.33 to >0.0 pts
Poor
0.0 pts
MISSING
50.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Citation: MLA Works Cited Page
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_basic_format.htmlLinks to an external site.
15.0 to >14.7 pts
Full Marks
14.7 to >7.0 pts
Good to Decent
7.0 to >4.0 pts
Fair to Adequate
4.0 to >0.0 pts
Poor
0.0 pts
MISSING
15.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Citation: MLA In-text Citations
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.htmlLinks to an external site.
15.0 to >14.7 pts
Full Marks
14.7 to >7.0 pts
Good to Decent
7.0 to >4.0 pts
Fair to Adequate
4.0 to >0.0 pts
Poor
0.0 pts
MISSING
15.0 pts
Total Points: 300.0

Sources that need to be used for the information/quotes

            Ackermann, Daniel, et al. Reference Intervals for the Urinary Steroid Metabolome: The Impact of Sex, Age, Day and Night Time on Human Adult Steroidogenesis. PLoS ONE, vol. 14, no. 3, Mar. 2019, pp. 119. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0214549.
Choi, P. Y. L., et al. High-Dose Anabolic Steroids in Strength Athletes: Effects upon Hostility and Aggression. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical & Experimental, vol. 5, no. 4, Dec. 1990, pp. 349356. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/hup.470050407.
Dunn, Matthew, et al. Do Performance and Image Enhancing Drug Users in Regional Queensland Experience Difficulty Accessing Health Services? Drug & Alcohol Review, vol. 35, no. 4, July 2016, pp. 377382. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/dar.12363
Francis, Innocent E., et al. Topical Steroids Inducing Cushings Syndrome and Subsequent Adrenal Axis Suppression. Annals of Medical & Health Sciences Research, vol. 9, no. 3, May 2019, pp. 629632. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=138307907&site=ehost-live.
McManus, Jeffrey M., et al. Rapid and Structure-Specific Cellular Uptake of Selected Steroids. PLoS ONE, vol. 14, no. 10, Oct. 2019, pp. 123. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0224081.
Namjoshi, Dhananjay R., et al. Chronic Exposure to Androgenic-Anabolic Steroids Exacerbates Axonal Injury and Microgliosis in the CHIMERA Mouse Model of Repetitive Concussion. PLoS ONE, vol. 11, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 121. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0146540.
Sengupta, Sabyasachi, et al. Factors Predicting Response of Pseudophakic Cystoid Macular Edema to Topical Steroids and Nepafenac. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, vol. 66, no. 6, June 2018, pp. 827830. EBSCOhost, doi:10.4103/ijo.IJO_735_17.
SHEARY, Belinda. Topical Steroid Withdrawal: A Case Series of 10 Children. Acta Dermato-Venereologica, vol. 99, no. 6, May 2019, pp. 551556. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2340/00015555-3144.
Tetel, M. J., et al. Steroids, Stress and the Gut Microbiomebrain Axis. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, vol. 30, no. 2, Feb. 2018, p. 1. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/jne.12548.
Turvey, Brent E., and Stan Crowder. Anabolic Steroid Abuse in Public Safety Personnel a Forensic Manual. Academic Press, 2015.