GEOG 571
Intelligence Analysis, Cultural Geography, and Homeland Security

2.10 Research Project Proposal

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A central part of earning a master's degree is demonstrating the ability to conduct research and to analyze real-world phenomena. The value of doing research and analysis is not limited to academia; these are skills that have immense practical value in both personal and professional spheres, especially within the fields of intelligence and human security, where analysis is the heart of the work. It takes training and practice to learn and refine research and analysis skills; this is why the successful completion of a well-written and well-documented research project is one of the requirements to pass GEOG 571. This research project is worth 200 points total.

The first step in developing a research project is having a clear idea of what phenomenon you want to address. Typically this means finding a question for which you do not have an easy or ready answer, and which is not immediately answered by existing literature. This is your research question. A good research question will help you determine what kind of background information, theoretical concepts, and data you will need to carry out your research.

The Research Project Guidelines page contains a list of broad research project questions to get you started, and some examples of specific research questions used by previous students. You are encouraged to develop your own specific research question that falls within those guidelines.

To ensure that your research project is relevant to this course, you will need to incorporate at least two of the theoretical concepts that we use during the term. It is important to use them because they will help you maintain a spatial or geographic perspective, and will allow you to actually use what you’re learning in this course.

We do not expect you to have a deep understanding of these concepts up front, and we expect that the concepts you incorporate may shift as you begin your research—but it is important to start thinking about it now. To that end, we ask that you include two or more concepts from the list below that you think may be relevant to your research project. The list includes links to the sections of our course text that introduce each concept.

A note about sources

We ask you to provide three scholarly sources that will get you started on your research. Students sometimes struggle to find sources that fit their project. One thing to remember is that there are different kinds of sources, which serve different functions in research:

  • Context (e.g., historical or geographical background information that you need to know in order to do your research effectively.
  • Methodology (i.e., sources that talk about systematic approaches to collecting and analyzing data—e.g., spatial analytic methods, quantitative methods like statistical analysis, or qualitative methods like interviews or archival methods)
  • Data (i.e., information that, when interpreted, can directly answer your research question; this may include things like crime rates, migration data, demographics, responses to interview questions, policy, etc.)
  • Theory (i.e., concepts from our discipline that inform how you interpret the data)

There are several ways to find sources. Here are two that we recommend:

  • Search the Penn State library system (which, if you’re logged in, sometimes gives you access to the full text of books or journal articles)
  • Google Scholar (look for results that give you access to the full text of the source, not just the abstract)

Remember to vet your sources. Scholarly sources will be published in peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes, or books from major academic publishers (e.g., any of the university presses, Routledge, Sage, Brill, etc.). Just because a source comes up in the Penn State Library or on Google Scholar does not necessarily mean that it’s a scholarly source. If it’s from a journal, make sure the journal is peer-reviewed. If it’s a book, make sure it’s from an academic publisher. Sources from newspapers, weekly magazines, or policy documents may be relevant and you may use some in your research, but they do not count as scholarly sources.

For more information about the research project, please review the Research Project information pages. A link to the Research Project information pages is also available in the Lessons menu.

Deliverable:

Your submission for this week should contain the following:

  • The primary (i.e., specific) research question, which will be the focus of your project
  • Justification for your question, explaining the merits of this project
  • A list of three potential scholarly sources (see this video if you need a refresher on what constitutes a scholarly source)
  • At least two theoretical concepts from the list above that you think may be relevant to your research (with the understanding that these may change as you do your research).
  • A list of three to five keywords or search terms that you will use to find additional sources
  • The format you would like to use to deliver your project
  • Not required, but you may also list any concerns, challenges, or roadblocks you foresee while conducting your research

When you are ready to submit your research project proposal and related information, please return to Canvas and open the Lesson 2 Research Project Proposal dropbox in the Lesson 2: Cultural Geography, Intelligence, and Security module.