Course Goals.  This is the capstone course for students who have finished all of the required geography courses.  This course focuses on three goals:  1. conducting and presenting research in geography, 2. career exploration, and 3. the comprehensive geography examination. 

During the semester, you will develop the components of a sound research project, beginning with carefully justifying your research topic and creating a literature review, to choosing the appropriate methodology and data analysis, to interpreting the results.  As the semester unfolds, you will be applying critical thinking tools to your projects, and share your progress with the class.  The final grade is substantially dependent upon specific portions of your research project including the quality of the research, the design of the methodology, depth of the literature review, collection and analysis of your data, and the effectiveness of a written, oral and graphic presentation to a panel of faculty and the public.

The course is designed to help you understand each step in creating a good research project.  However, it is your responsibility to ask questions and seek solutions.  In addition, each component is graded (see Grading below) and due on certain dates in the schedule to keep you on track of the research (see Schedule below).  Because we will meet formally only 12 times, attendance is taken seriously and is a sufficient part of your grade (10% lower for each scheduled class missed).  In addition, you will be responsible for doing the outside assignments during the weeks that we don’t meet.   Each day that an assignment is late, 10% will be taken from that portion of your grade.

Grading
            Summary of Articles, Advisor Reports, Interview Summary                  24%
            Research Topic, Problem Statement, Outline                                        8%
            Literature Review, Methodology/Data Analysis                                   10%
            Progress Presentation                                                                        10%
            Final Presentation, Final Paper                                                           22%
            Comprehensive Exam                                                                        18%
            Attendance and Participation                                                                8%
 

Length of Research Paper:    15-18 pages of written text if working alone.
                                             22-25 pages of written text if working in a pair.

Length of Oral Presentation: 15 minutes (plus 5 minutes for questions) if working alone.
                                             25 minutes (plus 5 minutes for questions) if working in a pair.       

PRACTICE presenting, so that you do not go over time.   You will be stopped in the middle of your presentation, instead of given extra time!  This will affect your grade.

Plagiarism is a serious case of academic misconduct, and will result in a zero for that portion of your grade.
 

Research Project

As a finishing geography student, you should now have the knowledge and background to undertake a significant research project.  It is anticipated that in the process of conducting this research that you will draw on the different areas of geography that you have studied.  You may work individually or with one other student for the research project.  If you work with another student, it is understood that each student will contribute to both the written paper and the oral presentation.

•    Choose a geographical topic that is interesting and hopefully useful to you. 

•    Because your project will be based in large part on data collection and analysis, you should meet with the instructor and another faculty EARLY for approval.  

•    You will have several dates throughout the semester in which you will hand in components of the project.  Read the course schedule carefully! 

•    For example, the topic, research statement, and outline are all due within the first four to five weeks to help you start formulating ideas early on. 

•    The Methodology/Data Analysis and Literature Review are due in the next three weeks.  The Literature Review will help you identify references, and the Methodology/Data Analysis will describe how you will collect/use the data.  

•    You are REQUIRED to meet with a faculty with expertise in your choice of research at least five times during the semester, and to hand in Advisor Reports after each scheduled meeting. 

•    After Spring Break, you should be prepared to analyze your data, and organize the project enough to give a PowerPoint presentation for class critique.

•    You will have two weeks to correct any problems before the Final Presentation day. 

•    The final paper will be due the week after. 

Comprehensive Exam

•    You will receive the study guide in January.  This will help you identify your weak spots early on and sit in certain geography courses during the semester to refresh your knowledge of the subject matter. 

•    The last couple weeks will focus on studying for the Comprehensive Exam.