Topic: This should be a paper that describes an important and interesting (yet brief) investigation of a water resources research, state of the science, management, or policy issue that is inspired by a current event or news item. It can be an extension of a topic we have discussed in class, or a topic that we did not cover but is related and would be of interest to the class. The research has a clear objective or question that focuses and guides the research. *Send me an email about your topic by 11/16.
Details: paper length requirement is 1,250-1,600 words (about 2-3 pages single-spaced *note, this is shorter than stated in the syllabus); 11 or 12-point font size; font style Helvetica, Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri. Given the short research report format, make sure every sentence counts! Do not use first person perspective.
Illustrations: Include at least one but no more than three figures and/or tables in an appendix at the end of the paper which support your paper (e.g., a map or possibly two maps; a table of summary yet important information or data; an important conceptual diagram or figure of important data). Include a caption to the table (above) or figure (below) and be sure to refer to it within the main text. If you use or adapt a figure from a published source, include the reference in the caption.
Sources: Include at least: 1 primary peer-reviewed literature source, 1 news article source, and 1 government or intergovernmental organization report. Evaluate all websites critically and do not use if information cannot be substantiated, isn’t referenced or is likely highly biased. If website is critical to your investigation, explain any potential issues. Wikipedia is not a source to reference in your report. Include quotes sparingly, and when used, cite page number. At the end, list all references in alphabetical order by author’s last name. Use APA citation guidelines for references compiled for your paper.
Example in-text citations and reference list formatting:
For in-text citations, place the author name(s) (or the organization) and year in parentheses at the end of the sentence that references their work: example (WHO, 2012). If it is a direct quote, include the page number: example (WHO, 2012, p. 69). If there are two authors give both names, and if there are >2 authors use “et al.”: examples (Beckingham and Ghosh, 2011) and (Ghosh et al., 2011), respectively. If there are 2 or more works from the same author in the same year, use lower-case letters to differentiate them: example (Werner, 2013a). If referencing more than one work to support the same idea in a sentence, separate them within the parenthesis by a semi-colon: example (WHO, 2012; Werner, 2013b). Include the year in parenthesis if the author is spoken of directly in the text: examples “The conclusions drawn by Ghosh et al. (2011) support the theory…” or “Werner (2013a) found that…”.
For details on style, refer to “Reference List” tabs from the Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/06/