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RESEARCH PROJECT ASSIGNMENT You need to turn a final version of a six-page topical research paper by 30 July on CANVAS, under the “Assignments” tab

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RESEARCH PROJECT ASSIGNMENT You need to turn a final version of a six-page topical research paper by 30 July on CANVAS, under the “Assignments” tab. This will be done via Turnitin, an application that is VERY GOOD at detecting plagiarism. This paper must consist of at least six pages, no more than eight pages, double-spaced, not including the title page and the references page. And no funny business with font size, margins, line spacing, etc. It just looks silly and it kinda makes me angry! If your paper is short then it’s short. Turnitin gives me a word count, so keep the font size no smaller than 12, the margins standard, and the line spacing no more than double. You must properly document all of your sources within the text of your essay when you are relying on such sources. Additionally, you must list all sources used on a reference page at the end of your paper. I want you to use at least five sources, including the Barbour and Wright text if at all possible. This paper will involve a careful and reasoned analysis of some issue in American and/or Nevada politics. A partial and suggestive list might include the politics of Social Security, education, transgender rights, immigration, the rights of the accused, presidential executive orders, property rights, gun rights, etc. In so doing, make sure you apply what you are learning in this class to your chosen issue. If, for example, you do immigration, explore the issue of federalism—what role for the federal government, what role for state and local governments. You could also look at the issue from a judicial angle—what have the federal courts said about this issue? What role for the President? Congress? And so forth. See, for example, the current battle over DACA and a wall with Mexico. Same for something like gun rights—what policy has the federal government adopted? Nevada? What have the courts said? The NRA? What role for the Second Amendment? Here’s a great issue that many students write about: The politics of education. Very relevant here in Las Vegas. Issues to look at? The recent decision (2015) to raise corporate income taxes in order to provide about $800 million in additional monies every two-year budget cycle for K-12 education in Nevada. How is that money being spent? See also the recent demise of the ESA program—vouchers for parents of school-age kids to use at the private school of their choice. A good idea? Should the legislature have provided funding for the ESA program? What role for charter schools? Magnet schools? The reform measure that has allowed the CCSD to reorganize into smaller units? Use of tax on pot to help fund schools? The use of scarce tax dollars to lure the NFL Raiders to Nevada? Great stuff here for sure, with an obvious state/local angle. The general idea here is for you to look carefully at some topical political issue, tell me what the arguments are on the different sides, weigh those arguments, then tell me which arguments you find most convincing and why—then note the policy implications of those arguments. If looking at gun rights, for example, explore the claims of those who want more regulations of firearms, then the claims of those who oppose such regulations. Weigh one side against another and tell me which ones seem most convincing and why, and then note the consequences. If, for example, you find the pro-regulation side more convincing, what would that mean? National laws designed to ban bump stocks? Local or state laws that strive for a rigorous and universal background checks regime? Etc. Conversely, if you find the pro-gun side more convincing, what might that mean for our politics? Beat back any regulatory laws? Allow some but not others? Press for concealed carry reciprocity among all 50 states? Etc. As for how best to research your paper, let me offer a few suggestions. Local sources that might be worth relying on would be the two local newspapers (Las Vegas Sun and Las Vegas Review Journal), the two weekly papers (Las Vegas Weekly and Vegas Seven), KNPR on your FM dial at 88.9 (KNPR.org), Desert Companion, an online newspaper called the Nevada Independent, and, of course, the proprietary databases at CSN’s library. The two I most recommend are the “Opposing Viewpoints” and “CQ Researcher” databases—really excellent, very accessible, super useful—this will give you access to high quality material that is NOT accessible with a simple Google search. Also good are JSTOR, EBSCO Complete, and Academic Search Premier. These databases are proprietary and require payment to access them—and you have already paid that fee via your tuition and fees at CSN. I have posted a brief web tutorial for you that shows you how to access some of these databases. As far as the above-listed local news sources, the best way to use them is actually to do a simple Google search. If, for example, you want to research the politics of water in Las Vegas (a great topic, by the way), then type in something like “Water Shortages Las Vegas Weekly,” or “Lake Mead Vegas Seven,” or “Politics of Water Las Vegas KNPR,” etc. Be creative here and poke around a bit until you find what you can use. I’ve also built a module that includes just about every imaginable state/local source for news about Nevada. I am going to require four distinct elements for this research paper assignment. One, I am requiring that you submit a research paper proposal by 20 June via the Assignments tab on CANVAS. This will count for 13.3% of your research paper project grade. For this I need a good paragraph or two on what issue you are choosing, why you’ve chosen that topic, how you might attack it, what you think the key issues are, what the state/local angle might be, etc. Two, I need you to submit an annotated bibliography by 1 July, again under the Assignments tab. For this part of your project I want you to identify at least five (5) likely sources other than our textbook, tell me how you found each source, and explain why you have chosen these sources. This submission will constitute 13.3% of your grade for the research project. Third, I need you to submit your rough draft or detailed outline of the paper by 16 July. This will count for 20% of your final grade for this project. Fourth, you must submit your final research paper by 30 July