Peoples and Cultures of Europe
Term Paper
and
Class Presentation

1. Where do I begin a project?

   Your textbooks and class materials are the best place are most often the best place to start.

   Using Wikipedia and Desk References

   It is fine for you to begin a project by consulting with Wikipedia (and similar on-line sources of encyclopaedic-type information) but you should be aware that the Wikipedia entries are open-source and are not checked and verified in the same manner as other reference materials. And sometimes the entries are confusing (have a look at "Macedonia," for example).

   And Wikipedia, should you use it, should only be a starting point.

   Wikipedia more information on using Wikipedia in class A caution before citing Wikipedia Citing Wikipedia APA style MLA style Chicago style CBE/CSE Style Turabian style

   It is also OK to start out your research by consulting reference works such as encyclopedias, dictionaries and lexica, glosaries, other general reference works, and the like, but this stage should only be a preliminary preparation for more focused and in-depth research work.

   For a college research paper you should also have a look at other references, either traditional materials from the library, or on-line materials from sources like UMD E-Journal Locator, JSTOR, etc., or books and manuscripts On-Line. That is to say Wikipedia and the other reference-type sources listed should not be your only source of information. And you must add your own evaluations, comparisons, development, criticisms, critiques, and the like to any reference materials used. Simply cutting and pasting information from sources is not sufficient to satisfy the requirements of either a required or extra-credit research paper.

   Your paper should reflect a synthesis and evaluation of materials researched.

   
   
   
2. Try getting more information by looking at sites on the web:
   
   
3. • Try surfing the web by searching with the search engines found by clicking on the Web "Search" button found on the upper righthand corner of the course WebPages. This will take you to the course Search Engines Page.
     
     
   • Hint: When you do a search on an item that has more than one word, like "stone tools," use the "Advanced Search" option and enter the words in the "exact phrase" box -- otherwise it will search out everything with "stone" and everything with "tools," and the list of "hits" could get quite large.
     
     
4. Also try getting more information from JSTORE, elelctronically stored journals, and look for other items from the UMD Library Catalogue.
   
   
5. For your paper you should also use traditional library materials, and, where appropriate, interviews and videotapes.
   
   
6. On-line Resources which might be helpful include:
   
   
   1. European Countries and other materials indexed in the course A-Z index:
   • A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
     
     
   2. Infotrac®
   3. JSTORE©
   4. LEXIS-NEXIS®
   5. Sociology-Anthropology Search Engines and Reference Works
   6. General Reference Works
   7. Books and Manuscripts On-Line
   8. UMD Library Catalogue
   9. Other Library Catalogues
   10. have a look at one or more of the daily newspapers to see what they're reporting
       
       
       
7. Length: 10 - 12 well-written pages
   
   
8. Style: For the Paper, academic
   
   
9. Format: Any standard format and citation convention (APA, MLA, Turabian-Chicago . . . )
   • doublespaced
   • with one-inch margins all around
   • with body type font 11 or 12
   • illustrations, tables, figures, diagrams . . . may be included, but must be properly placed and cited

10. Criteria for Grading College Writing
    
    
11. When you write anything you should consider audience, purpose, and your personal style. For your case studies, your audience should be your classmates in this class. (Do not write your college papers to the professor as audience.
    
    
12. Information about Handing in Your Paper to WebDrop
    <https://webdrop.d.umn.edu>
    
    
13. See the "Preparing the Final Draft" section of the Sociology-Anthropology Writing Guide to see the details of what your Case Study report should look like when you hand it in. Basically, it should look like the paper which follows.

[more information on your title]

Basque Personality through the Ages:

The Prehistoric Roots

of Independence and Separatism

by George Bush, Jr.




Anthropology 3635

People and Cultures of Europe

Professor Roufs

25 May 2012

[more information on an Introduction]

Put your paragraph(s) summarizing your paper here.

Put a transitional statement here.

Body
[Give this section an interesting subtitle, something other than "Body"]

Describe and discuss your chosen topic(s) here. Use some form of organizational structure. The "Journalist's Questions," Who,What, When, Where, How and Why are often helpful. A time sequence is also useful.

Use the Paradigm Online Writing Assistant if you do not have much experience writing college papers.

Conclusions

Put your conclusions here.