Introduction to Geography Julie Podmore
Research Project
As one of the summative assessment tasks in this course, you must prepare a research project demonstrating that you have achieved the following course objectives. You must demonstrate that you:
- Can use the vocabulary, concepts, theories and methods of geography;
- Have an understanding of social and environmental issues in a global context;
- Can describe global distributions of important human and physical conditions;
- Can use global, regional and local examples to establish relationships among geographical data; and,
- Have developed the cartographic and graphic skills required for the course assignments (maps and graphs).
Process
The research project has two parts, collectively worth 30 marks. In Stage 1, you must submit a draft of your introduction and a reference list of 6 properly formatted sources on your topic (10 marks). For Stage 2, you will prepare the final research project using the feedback given by your instructor (20 marks). Please note that you must submit Stage 1 in order to submit Stage 2.
Preliminary Stage 1 Revisions Stage 2
Submit
Stage 2
| •Choose from | •Write a | •Revise title |
| topics 1, 2, 3 or 4 | Comprehensive | •Revise |
| (see below) | Title | introductory |
| •Choose a case | •Write an | paragraph |
| study | Introduction | •Fix in-text |
| •Find sources | •Insert in-text | referencingand |
| •Complete the | references | reference list |
| Cite it! APA | •Compile | errors |
| formatting | reference list in | •Replace any |
| simulation | APA format | unsuitable |
| •Sumbit title, | sources | |
| Paragraph and a | •Find 4 additional | |
| list of 6 properly | sources (total of | |
| formatted | 10) | |
| references |
- Use revised title
and introduction
to start Stage 2
- Add 3 well
structured body
paragraphs
- Write a
conclusion that
summarizes the
themes of the
paper
- Add two
illustrations
- Add a reference
list of 10 sources
Topics
You may choose from any of the four following general topics:
- Describe the cultural diffusion of a specific trait (a musical style, a type of food, a single language) in space over time (Textbook, p.24)
- Using the example of either China, Nigeria, Kenya or India (Choose one), evaluate whether recent economic growth has led to increases in human development (textbook p.92).
Introduction to Geography Julie Podmore
- Comparing two selected core and periphery countries, explain the role of women’s education in the demographic transition (textbook p. 124).
- Select a megacity (i.e., Delhi, Sao Paulo, etc…) in a developing country (semi-periphery or periphery) and describe the problems faced by people living in its informal settlements (textbook, p.158).
Stage 1 – Project Proposal
Stage 1 has only three components: title, introductory paragraph, and reference list. Write an introduction of about 250 words and provide a reference list of six sources following the example provided on Léa. Be sure to include:
- A comprehensive title (theme, geography, time period, concepts);
- A definition of the geographical concept that you are working with (cultural diffusion, human development, overpopulation, overurbanization) drawn from your textbook;
- An overview of the problem (i.e., describe the context);
- A statement of your objective, purpose or argument;
- An outline of how you will proceed;
- Properly formatted in-text citations (APA Format)*;
- A properly formatted reference list (APA Format) of a minimum of 6 sources.
- Please note that submissions for either Stage 1 or 2 that do not have in-text citations and proper bibliographies will not be accepted. It is assumed that any work that does not properly reference its sources is plagiarism. To avoid this problem, please familiarize yourself with in-text referencing in APA format.
Stage 2 – Final Research Project
In Stage 2, you will present the full research project of between 750 and 1000 words. Please note that you must rewrite your introduction and reference list and integrate them into the paper for this stage. Be sure to include:
- A comprehensive title (theme, geography, time period, concepts);
- A revised introduction that describes your concept, objectives and outlines the main points of the paper;
- Three or four thematic body paragraphs each of which is introduced by a strong topic sentence;
- Properly formatted in-text citations (APA Format);
- A conclusion that summarizes the whole paper;
- Original maps and graphs to illustrate points made in your paper;
- A properly formatted reference list (APA Format) of a minimum of 10 sources.
Structuring Your Paper
The key to successful writing of any kind is to provide your reader with structure so that they can follow the way that you develop your argument. Below are examples of paragraph themes that you might choose for each topic.
| Introduction to Geography | Julie Podmore | ||
| Cultural Diffusion | Human Development | Demographic | Informal Settlements |
| Transition | |||
| Introduction | Introduction | Introduction | Introduction |
| Cultural Hearth | Income Change | Demographic Transition | Employment |
| Diffusion Patterns | Education Levels | Periphery Country | Housing |
| Cultural Change | Quality of Life | Core Country | Social Exclusion |
| Conclusion | Conclusion | Conclusion | Conclusion |
Using In-Text Citations
All in-text references must follow APA format (see the Purdue Owl website: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/). You may also use Cite it!, an on-line tutorial designed to teach you how to properly use APA format to prepare your research papers. Please note that research projects without in-text citations will not be graded.
Reference List Requirements
Your reference list must follow the APA-style format (again Purdue Owl and/or Cite it!). Please note that research projects without a reference list will not be graded.
All reference lists must have at least 10 sources and include a mixture of the following:
- Your textbook (relevant chapter) (REQUIRED)
- At least two peer-reviewed journal articles (see the list of those available in our library here: https://jac.cegep.opalsinfo.net/bin/home (Use Academic Search Complete, Academic One File)
(REQUIRED)
- At least two books (edited collections or monographs). JAC has a huge collection of e-books that are available on its website that you may check out and read. You can search for these on OPALS, the library’s web-based search engine (http://jac.cegep.opalsinfo.net/bin/home)
(REQUIRED)
- A few more general magazine articles (Use ProQuest located at the link above).
- One or two reputable websites (perhaps as your data source) (look for extensions like .org,
.edu, etc… but not .com)
- Sources for your two illustrations (REQUIRED)
A reference list that does not have a mixture of sources will receive a significantly lower grade. This is especially the case if students primarily depend on .com webpages. Also, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and Wikipedia, while they may be useful to provide general information on your topic, do not count towards the required 10 sources in any category and should not be used or included.
Illustrations
Your research project must also include a minimum of two illustrations. Generally, this should be at least one properly formatted thematic map and a properly formatted graph/diagram. You can prepare these in many different ways:
1) Make original maps using the blank base maps on Léa.
Introduction to Geography Julie Podmore
- Make original graphs using Excel based on data from other sources.
- Copy and paste maps and graphs from websites.
- Snip (or screen print) images from websites or published articles.
In all cases, you must refer to them in the text (Figure 1) and provide source information. You can either place them at the appropriate points in the text or at the end (after the reference list) as an appendix. Under the illustration, you should provide a number, caption or title and reference the source. For example:
Figure 1: GDP$USD/Capita PPP, 2019. Source: World Bank Group (2021). Available at:
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD?view=map (Accessed 17 January 2021).
Figure 2: Share of total music album consumption in the United States in 2018 by genre. Source: Statistica (2021). Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/310746/share-music-album-sales-us-genre/ (Accessed 17 January 2021).