Steps Taken for My Research Proposal

Nardos Yosef

Anlicker

English 1102

3 October 2016

Steps Taken for My Research Proposal

               This week in class, we began our research projects. The topic that I am writing my research proposal on is immigration which aligns directly with my exploratory essay topic. The first step for this project was choosing a topic. This was easy since I have already decided to focus on immigration to the United States of America. I had to start finding a way to introduce this topic. I had to define what I wanted to study and why my topic was important. I also had to find multiple sources in order to succeed on this project. I then have to find what specific question I am trying to answer and make sure to include it into my introduction. After that, I must outline the route I am planning to take in order to conduct my research. Using these steps, writing this proposal will be more organized and simpler to write down

               Although I have never done a research proposal before, with the steps included on the assignment instructions, I thought it would be easy. On our class ‘field trip’ to the library, I discovered how to find books related to my topic. After searching for my two books in the very large Georgia State library, I finally figured the system out by narrowing it down to the location. The hardest part was finding the specific shelf that the call number of the book was. I also decided that I would definitely be using this method of finding sources for my paper because I believe that online sources are not always as reliable as a hard back book. I also discovered that the library was a great place to get work done. It’s always quiet and I can focus a lot better than if I was in my room!

               Since my topic is immigration, a very broad and widely controversial topic, I decided to focus on only immigration from other countries to America. While my sources include books like Migrants and Migration in Modern North America and Culling the Masses: The Democratic Origins of Racist Immigration Policies in America, I will include some online articles from established websites of newspapers. The books and articles shows both sides of the immigration debate in America. It also gives statistics and numbers in order to give legitimate facts. They also focus on what different policies may discriminate against certain groups of people. Some certain key words I used at the library in order to find particular books were citizenship, immigration, discrimination, race, and transnationalism. These made my search for particular books with my topic much easier.

After doing some of my research, I believe that I am on the track to be successful on my final paper. It has already led me to information I had not come across on my exploratory essay. The Hunt for Sources search that we completed also aided in my research proposal. The online Georgia State University Library website’s advanced search option was helpful as well. I will definitely use some of the online sites provided by GA State to complete my project.