· Your research paper must be between 10 to 14-pages (i.e., 2,500 to 3,500 words, respectively)—no more, no less. Points will be deducted for missing this criterion.
· It is not necessary to include an Abstract, or a Title Page. Regardless, the required word count noted above excludes the Abstract (if you write one), Title Page, and/or the References page.
· The paper you submit for a grade must be typed and double-spaced in a single Word file that includes your References. You do not need to use “Headers” in your paper, but the document must include your name.
· DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR PAPER IN A PDF.
· APA style is required for both (a) the citations in the body of your research paper, and (b) the References page. Points will be deducted for missing this criterion.
· Do not use a canned bibliographic program to construct your References, a Citation Generator, or a standard citation provided by the source. Points will be deducted for missing this criterion.
· This is a research paper (e.g., based on fact/objective inquiry), and not an exercise in editorializing (i.e., based on personal opinion or belief), or for offering gratuitous commentary. Points will be deducted for ignoring this criterion.
· You must include a discussion of any policy implications and/or potential solutions that flow from the findings of your paper.
· You must proofread any paper that you submit for a grade to ensure that it is free of typos, and other errors (e.g., grammatical, spelling, and/or punctuation errors; unsupported statements). Points will be deducted for ignoring this criterion.
Ø You are required to use at least seven (7) scholarly sources, i.e., references from books, scholarly journals, and government documents and reports, to write your research paper. Points will be deducted for missing this criterion.
· Please view the YouTube video prepared by UAlbany Subject Matter Librarian Abby Adams on September 17th, 2020, titled “Peer Reviewed Articles” as you search for scholarly resources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xujIrgKpr7E
· Sources assigned for this class can be used, but do not count toward the seven.
· Internet web-page references are permitted, but likewise do not count toward the seven.
· However, scholarly articles and documents (primary sources) which you obtained by downloading them from the internet are acceptable toward the seven citations. In such cases, the internet is simply serving as a library for you to access independently existing resources.
· Newspaper articles, encyclopedias, magazine articles, and online web pages are not considered scholarly. While these materials thus will not count toward the required seven sources, they nonetheless can be used in your paper.
· You may not use Wikipedia. Why? Because it is a user-controlled site where entries can be changed by anyone; it thus is extremely unreliable.
· “Interviews” that you conduct also can be considered a scholarly source, but only if you obtain prior approval from me.