Research project:
Choose a terrorist group that is a threat to the United States’ homeland security. Analyze the group’s capability regionally and globally as well as the threat it poses to the United States’ homeland security in the 21st century. What is the group’s threat to stabilization of the region of the group’s home base? What recommendations would you make to the Secretary of Homeland Security for improving the United States’ response to your group? What are the most significant challenges in emergency response towards your group? Can the United States establish a dialog with your group? What are the risks? What are the advantages?
Topic Selection/Thesis Statement:
Choose a topic based on the above information and write a thesis statement summarizing the main argument you will be making in your final paper. This may change as you move forward, but it will be your general road map.
Annotated Bibliography:
Provide a list of at least six sourcesthat you have identified for the paper. Two of these must be a primary sourcedocument and two must be an academic journal article. These should be specific sources, not just places where you can find sources.
Abstract:
Prepare a short abstract (less than one page) with a brief overview of your paper and a summary of the main arguments of your paper.
Final Paper:
The final paper must contain eight-ten full pages of content, double-spaced, with standard 1-inch margins and 12-point standard font. You may use APA style for the citations. All papers must use a minimum of five primary and five secondary sources. You may use the sources assigned for this course, but you may not count them toward the minimum sources for your project. At least two of your secondary sources must be academic journal articles.
Your paper should have a minimum of 10 sources, five primary and five secondary sources. (If you are unfamiliar with this distinction, check out the information here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/resource.html.) Restrict your sources to newspaper articles from major national and international papers, published journals and magazine articles, academic sources, and websites from major organizations and government agencies. Course materials may be used as a reference, but it does not count toward the minimum number of sources. Encyclopedias and dictionaries are not appropriate sources for college level work. Online sources are fine, but they must be authoritative sources. Wikipedia, About.com, and other nonacademic websites are not acceptable sources. (Bear in mind that anyone can submit an article to Wikipedia.)
If you are unsure about how to determine whether an online source is a good one, the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University has an excellent resource guide: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_evalsource4.html. If you still have doubts as to whether a source is acceptable, send your instructor an e-mail.
