J202--Information Gathering

Warm Up #1
A Sample Assignment



We want you to get started on your project early in the term; therefore you have to start thinking about and exploring possible project topics and questions.
The first assignment is to propose three possible project topics and questions. The three should be listed in order of preference, that is , the topic and question you are most interested in doing should be listed first and the one you are least interested in should be listed third.


You are required to give us three topics with questions. You are encouraged but not required to also provide a brief discussion of your first choice topic and the question.

Note: The asignment must be typed, doubled- spaced. Don't forget your name, student number and e-mail address!

Deadline: Monday, October 7, in class

A Sample Assignment



Sally Student
000-00-000
sstudent@gladstone.uoregon.edu


PROPOSED TOPIC #1: Problems of our criminal justice system

PROPOSED QUESTION: How have prison overcrowding, plea bargaining and parole board policies affected the criminal justice system?

DISCUSSION:Prison overcrowding, early

release programs, delays in prosecution and plea bargaining,

among other factors, have led to a steady decline in the effectiveness

of the criminal justice system. By examining books, periodicals,

academic studies, government documents and statistical data, I

hope to present an annotated bibliography that will give me enough

material for an in-depth article for Mother Jones

magazine.

Already, I have found two books on prison overcrowding. The

Facts on File service has directed me to several

periodical articles on excessive plea bargaining. I have found two

important government documents: a 1993 congressional hearing on

prison parole policies and a special report on this topic from the U.S.

Department of Justice. In addition,I am thinking about request an

interview with the federal prosecutor in Eugene.


PROPOSED TOPIC #2: Affirmative Action

PROPOSED QUESTION:What is the status of affirmative action (racial preferences) programs in higher education (admissions and scholarships)? Are they effective? Do they meet the goals of the original planners? Do the current practices/theories need changing, or should they left untouched?


PROPOSED TOPIC #3: Land Use Policy in the San Juan Islands
PROPOSED QUESTION:Considering the socioeconomic and enviromental effects of increased growth and development in long-time residents of the San Juan Islands, what can be done to ensure the integrity of the community and the quality of the island environment in general?

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