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Prize-Winning Thesis and Dissertation Examples

Published on September 9, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on July 18, 2023.

It can be difficult to know where to start when writing your thesis or dissertation . One way to come up with some ideas or maybe even combat writer’s block is to check out previous work done by other students on a similar thesis or dissertation topic to yours.

This article collects a list of undergraduate, master’s, and PhD theses and dissertations that have won prizes for their high-quality research.

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Table of contents

Award-winning undergraduate theses, award-winning master’s theses, award-winning ph.d. dissertations, other interesting articles.

University : University of Pennsylvania Faculty : History Author : Suchait Kahlon Award : 2021 Hilary Conroy Prize for Best Honors Thesis in World History Title : “Abolition, Africans, and Abstraction: the Influence of the “Noble Savage” on British and French Antislavery Thought, 1787-1807”

University : Columbia University Faculty : History Author : Julien Saint Reiman Award : 2018 Charles A. Beard Senior Thesis Prize Title : “A Starving Man Helping Another Starving Man”: UNRRA, India, and the Genesis of Global Relief, 1943-1947

University: University College London Faculty: Geography Author: Anna Knowles-Smith Award:  2017 Royal Geographical Society Undergraduate Dissertation Prize Title:  Refugees and theatre: an exploration of the basis of self-representation

University: University of Washington Faculty:  Computer Science & Engineering Author: Nick J. Martindell Award: 2014 Best Senior Thesis Award Title:  DCDN: Distributed content delivery for the modern web

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University:  University of Edinburgh Faculty:  Informatics Author:  Christopher Sipola Award:  2018 Social Responsibility & Sustainability Dissertation Prize Title:  Summarizing electricity usage with a neural network

University:  University of Ottawa Faculty:  Education Author:  Matthew Brillinger Award:  2017 Commission on Graduate Studies in the Humanities Prize Title:  Educational Park Planning in Berkeley, California, 1965-1968

University:  University of Ottawa Faculty: Social Sciences Author:  Heather Martin Award:  2015 Joseph De Koninck Prize Title:  An Analysis of Sexual Assault Support Services for Women who have a Developmental Disability

University : University of Ottawa Faculty : Physics Author : Guillaume Thekkadath Award : 2017 Commission on Graduate Studies in the Sciences Prize Title : Joint measurements of complementary properties of quantum systems

University:  London School of Economics Faculty: International Development Author: Lajos Kossuth Award:  2016 Winner of the Prize for Best Overall Performance Title:  Shiny Happy People: A study of the effects income relative to a reference group exerts on life satisfaction

University : Stanford University Faculty : English Author : Nathan Wainstein Award : 2021 Alden Prize Title : “Unformed Art: Bad Writing in the Modernist Novel”

University : University of Massachusetts at Amherst Faculty : Molecular and Cellular Biology Author : Nils Pilotte Award : 2021 Byron Prize for Best Ph.D. Dissertation Title : “Improved Molecular Diagnostics for Soil-Transmitted Molecular Diagnostics for Soil-Transmitted Helminths”

University:  Utrecht University Faculty:  Linguistics Author:  Hans Rutger Bosker Award: 2014 AVT/Anéla Dissertation Prize Title:  The processing and evaluation of fluency in native and non-native speech

University: California Institute of Technology Faculty: Physics Author: Michael P. Mendenhall Award: 2015 Dissertation Award in Nuclear Physics Title: Measurement of the neutron beta decay asymmetry using ultracold neutrons

University:  Stanford University Faculty: Management Science and Engineering Author:  Shayan O. Gharan Award:  Doctoral Dissertation Award 2013 Title:   New Rounding Techniques for the Design and Analysis of Approximation Algorithms

University: University of Minnesota Faculty: Chemical Engineering Author: Eric A. Vandre Award:  2014 Andreas Acrivos Dissertation Award in Fluid Dynamics Title: Onset of Dynamics Wetting Failure: The Mechanics of High-speed Fluid Displacement

University: Erasmus University Rotterdam Faculty: Marketing Author: Ezgi Akpinar Award: McKinsey Marketing Dissertation Award 2014 Title: Consumer Information Sharing: Understanding Psychological Drivers of Social Transmission

University: University of Washington Faculty: Computer Science & Engineering Author: Keith N. Snavely Award:  2009 Doctoral Dissertation Award Title: Scene Reconstruction and Visualization from Internet Photo Collections

University:  University of Ottawa Faculty:  Social Work Author:  Susannah Taylor Award: 2018 Joseph De Koninck Prize Title:  Effacing and Obscuring Autonomy: the Effects of Structural Violence on the Transition to Adulthood of Street Involved Youth

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Here we present four vidcasts that offer a broad introductory overview of graduate writing. In this context, it is helpful to think about writing as a conversation , a process , a social endeavor , and a disciplinary undertaking . Stay tuned as we continue to publish these vidcasts!

Writing at the graduate level is quite different from writing at the undergraduate level. As emerging scholars, graduate writers will need to become well-versed in the scholarly conversations taking place in the journals and at the conferences within their field. Where undergraduate writers may find themselves primarily writing for their professor as audience and to show mastery of subject matter as a purpose, graduate writers’ audience will be their colleagues in the field, and their purpose will be to engage in conversation with and to disseminate new research to those colleagues. A graduate writer’s identity as scholar requires a concurrent identity as writer.

Materials in this section cover a range of topics relevant to graduate-level writing and to the process of becoming a scholarly writer within a particular field. Two sets of vidcasts fall in the category of Intensive Writing Experience (IWE). An IWE is a concentrated program aimed at a particular group of graduate students (e.g., those new to graduate writing or those writing theses and dissertations). These programs ask writers to learn about and engage with information about and strategies to apply to writing that they can then use in their own work. The Introduction to Graduate Writing vidcast series explores how writing is a conversation, a process, a social endeavor, and discipline specific. The IWE for Thesis and Dissertation writers offers material on how to set goals for and remain motivated during a long-term project. It covers topics relevant to drafting and revising documents, such as reverse outlining, sentence concision, and flow in scholarly writing.

In addition to the vidcasts, this section of the OWL houses a number of handouts specific to graduate writing on topics such as style or organization and on genres such as literature reviews and conference proposals. These materials offer explanations and samples of the particular topic or genre being covered in the handout.

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13.1 Formatting a Research Paper

Learning objectives.

• Identify the major components of a research paper written using American Psychological Association (APA) style.
• Apply general APA style and formatting conventions in a research paper.

In this chapter, you will learn how to use APA style , the documentation and formatting style followed by the American Psychological Association, as well as MLA style , from the Modern Language Association. There are a few major formatting styles used in academic texts, including AMA, Chicago, and Turabian:

• AMA (American Medical Association) for medicine, health, and biological sciences
• APA (American Psychological Association) for education, psychology, and the social sciences
• Chicago—a common style used in everyday publications like magazines, newspapers, and books
• MLA (Modern Language Association) for English, literature, arts, and humanities
• Turabian—another common style designed for its universal application across all subjects and disciplines

While all the formatting and citation styles have their own use and applications, in this chapter we focus our attention on the two styles you are most likely to use in your academic studies: APA and MLA.

If you find that the rules of proper source documentation are difficult to keep straight, you are not alone. Writing a good research paper is, in and of itself, a major intellectual challenge. Having to follow detailed citation and formatting guidelines as well may seem like just one more task to add to an already-too-long list of requirements.

Following these guidelines, however, serves several important purposes. First, it signals to your readers that your paper should be taken seriously as a student’s contribution to a given academic or professional field; it is the literary equivalent of wearing a tailored suit to a job interview. Second, it shows that you respect other people’s work enough to give them proper credit for it. Finally, it helps your reader find additional materials if he or she wishes to learn more about your topic.

Furthermore, producing a letter-perfect APA-style paper need not be burdensome. Yes, it requires careful attention to detail. However, you can simplify the process if you keep these broad guidelines in mind:

• Work ahead whenever you can. Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” includes tips for keeping track of your sources early in the research process, which will save time later on.
• Get it right the first time. Apply APA guidelines as you write, so you will not have much to correct during the editing stage. Again, putting in a little extra time early on can save time later.
• Use the resources available to you. In addition to the guidelines provided in this chapter, you may wish to consult the APA website at http://www.apa.org or the Purdue University Online Writing lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu , which regularly updates its online style guidelines.

General Formatting Guidelines

This chapter provides detailed guidelines for using the citation and formatting conventions developed by the American Psychological Association, or APA. Writers in disciplines as diverse as astrophysics, biology, psychology, and education follow APA style. The major components of a paper written in APA style are listed in the following box.

These are the major components of an APA-style paper:

Body, which includes the following:

• Headings and, if necessary, subheadings to organize the content
• In-text citations of research sources
• References page

All these components must be saved in one document, not as separate documents.

The title page of your paper includes the following information:

• Title of the paper
• Author’s name
• Name of the institution with which the author is affiliated
• Header at the top of the page with the paper title (in capital letters) and the page number (If the title is lengthy, you may use a shortened form of it in the header.)

List the first three elements in the order given in the previous list, centered about one third of the way down from the top of the page. Use the headers and footers tool of your word-processing program to add the header, with the title text at the left and the page number in the upper-right corner. Your title page should look like the following example.

The next page of your paper provides an abstract , or brief summary of your findings. An abstract does not need to be provided in every paper, but an abstract should be used in papers that include a hypothesis. A good abstract is concise—about one hundred fifty to two hundred fifty words—and is written in an objective, impersonal style. Your writing voice will not be as apparent here as in the body of your paper. When writing the abstract, take a just-the-facts approach, and summarize your research question and your findings in a few sentences.

In Chapter 12 “Writing a Research Paper” , you read a paper written by a student named Jorge, who researched the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets. Read Jorge’s abstract. Note how it sums up the major ideas in his paper without going into excessive detail.

Write an abstract summarizing your paper. Briefly introduce the topic, state your findings, and sum up what conclusions you can draw from your research. Use the word count feature of your word-processing program to make sure your abstract does not exceed one hundred fifty words.

Depending on your field of study, you may sometimes write research papers that present extensive primary research, such as your own experiment or survey. In your abstract, summarize your research question and your findings, and briefly indicate how your study relates to prior research in the field.

Margins, Pagination, and Headings

APA style requirements also address specific formatting concerns, such as margins, pagination, and heading styles, within the body of the paper. Review the following APA guidelines.

Use these general guidelines to format the paper:

• Set the top, bottom, and side margins of your paper at 1 inch.
• Use double-spaced text throughout your paper.
• Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, in a legible size (10- to 12-point).
• Use continuous pagination throughout the paper, including the title page and the references section. Page numbers appear flush right within your header.
• Section headings and subsection headings within the body of your paper use different types of formatting depending on the level of information you are presenting. Additional details from Jorge’s paper are provided.

Begin formatting the final draft of your paper according to APA guidelines. You may work with an existing document or set up a new document if you choose. Include the following:

• Your title page
• The abstract you created in Note 13.8 “Exercise 1”
• Correct headers and page numbers for your title page and abstract

APA style uses section headings to organize information, making it easy for the reader to follow the writer’s train of thought and to know immediately what major topics are covered. Depending on the length and complexity of the paper, its major sections may also be divided into subsections, sub-subsections, and so on. These smaller sections, in turn, use different heading styles to indicate different levels of information. In essence, you are using headings to create a hierarchy of information.

The following heading styles used in APA formatting are listed in order of greatest to least importance:

• Section headings use centered, boldface type. Headings use title case, with important words in the heading capitalized.
• Subsection headings use left-aligned, boldface type. Headings use title case.
• The third level uses left-aligned, indented, boldface type. Headings use a capital letter only for the first word, and they end in a period.
• The fourth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are boldfaced and italicized.
• The fifth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are italicized and not boldfaced.

Visually, the hierarchy of information is organized as indicated in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” .

Table 13.1 Section Headings

A college research paper may not use all the heading levels shown in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” , but you are likely to encounter them in academic journal articles that use APA style. For a brief paper, you may find that level 1 headings suffice. Longer or more complex papers may need level 2 headings or other lower-level headings to organize information clearly. Use your outline to craft your major section headings and determine whether any subtopics are substantial enough to require additional levels of headings.

Working with the document you developed in Note 13.11 “Exercise 2” , begin setting up the heading structure of the final draft of your research paper according to APA guidelines. Include your title and at least two to three major section headings, and follow the formatting guidelines provided above. If your major sections should be broken into subsections, add those headings as well. Use your outline to help you.

Because Jorge used only level 1 headings, his Exercise 3 would look like the following:

Citation Guidelines

In-text citations.

Throughout the body of your paper, include a citation whenever you quote or paraphrase material from your research sources. As you learned in Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , the purpose of citations is twofold: to give credit to others for their ideas and to allow your reader to follow up and learn more about the topic if desired. Your in-text citations provide basic information about your source; each source you cite will have a longer entry in the references section that provides more detailed information.

In-text citations must provide the name of the author or authors and the year the source was published. (When a given source does not list an individual author, you may provide the source title or the name of the organization that published the material instead.) When directly quoting a source, it is also required that you include the page number where the quote appears in your citation.

This information may be included within the sentence or in a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence, as in these examples.

Epstein (2010) points out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Here, the writer names the source author when introducing the quote and provides the publication date in parentheses after the author’s name. The page number appears in parentheses after the closing quotation marks and before the period that ends the sentence.

Addiction researchers caution that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (Epstein, 2010, p. 137).

Here, the writer provides a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence that includes the author’s name, the year of publication, and the page number separated by commas. Again, the parenthetical citation is placed after the closing quotation marks and before the period at the end of the sentence.

As noted in the book Junk Food, Junk Science (Epstein, 2010, p. 137), “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive.”

Here, the writer chose to mention the source title in the sentence (an optional piece of information to include) and followed the title with a parenthetical citation. Note that the parenthetical citation is placed before the comma that signals the end of the introductory phrase.

David Epstein’s book Junk Food, Junk Science (2010) pointed out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Another variation is to introduce the author and the source title in your sentence and include the publication date and page number in parentheses within the sentence or at the end of the sentence. As long as you have included the essential information, you can choose the option that works best for that particular sentence and source.

Citing a book with a single author is usually a straightforward task. Of course, your research may require that you cite many other types of sources, such as books or articles with more than one author or sources with no individual author listed. You may also need to cite sources available in both print and online and nonprint sources, such as websites and personal interviews. Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.2 “Citing and Referencing Techniques” and Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provide extensive guidelines for citing a variety of source types.

Writing at Work

APA is just one of several different styles with its own guidelines for documentation, formatting, and language usage. Depending on your field of interest, you may be exposed to additional styles, such as the following:

• MLA style. Determined by the Modern Languages Association and used for papers in literature, languages, and other disciplines in the humanities.
• Chicago style. Outlined in the Chicago Manual of Style and sometimes used for papers in the humanities and the sciences; many professional organizations use this style for publications as well.
• Associated Press (AP) style. Used by professional journalists.

References List

The brief citations included in the body of your paper correspond to the more detailed citations provided at the end of the paper in the references section. In-text citations provide basic information—the author’s name, the publication date, and the page number if necessary—while the references section provides more extensive bibliographical information. Again, this information allows your reader to follow up on the sources you cited and do additional reading about the topic if desired.

The specific format of entries in the list of references varies slightly for different source types, but the entries generally include the following information:

• The name(s) of the author(s) or institution that wrote the source
• The year of publication and, where applicable, the exact date of publication
• The full title of the source
• For books, the city of publication
• For articles or essays, the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears
• For magazine and journal articles, the volume number, issue number, and pages where the article appears
• For sources on the web, the URL where the source is located

The references page is double spaced and lists entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If an entry continues for more than one line, the second line and each subsequent line are indented five spaces. Review the following example. ( Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provides extensive guidelines for formatting reference entries for different types of sources.)

In APA style, book and article titles are formatted in sentence case, not title case. Sentence case means that only the first word is capitalized, along with any proper nouns.

Key Takeaways

• Following proper citation and formatting guidelines helps writers ensure that their work will be taken seriously, give proper credit to other authors for their work, and provide valuable information to readers.
• Working ahead and taking care to cite sources correctly the first time are ways writers can save time during the editing stage of writing a research paper.
• APA papers usually include an abstract that concisely summarizes the paper.
• APA papers use a specific headings structure to provide a clear hierarchy of information.
• In APA papers, in-text citations usually include the name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication.
• In-text citations correspond to entries in the references section, which provide detailed bibliographical information about a source.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Masters research paper guidelines

See the PDF version of the masters research paper guidelines .

The master’s research paper is worth 2 units of credit towards the MA or MES degree. The student will normally prepare a master’s research paper over three terms, in two stages

• the research paper proposal, and
• the completed research paper.

At University of Waterloo this paper is considered a “milestone” and at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) this paper is recorded as "GG 698".

I. The proposal

Each research paper MA/MES student will have a supervisor and a reader. The student will develop a research paper proposal for approval by her/his supervisor prior to the end of the first term.

Detailed guidelines for the preparation of the research paper proposal are attached.

II. The completed paper

Each research paper MA/MES student will have a supervisor and a reader. The student will develop a research paper proposal for approval by her/his supervisor prior to the end of the first term. A copy of the approved research paper proposal will be kept in the student’s file.

The research paper will normally be completed in the Spring (third) term. The paper should be approximately 8,000 - 12,000 words and be organized into clearly defined sections on problem statement, status of research, research procedure, findings, and conclusions. Student and supervisor together must agree on the organization of the paper into discrete chapters and on the necessity or suitability of maps, statistics or appendices.

Research papers can take a variety of forms such as a journal article format or a standard research paper. In principle, the research paper shall be of such quality that it is publishable in a refereed review journal relevant to the discipline in question.

The research paper must be evaluated by the student’s supervisor and one reader, who will review the paper independently, and then agree upon a final numerical grade.

Guidelines for the preparation of the research paper proposal

The title should be as short as possible with key words given prominent place.

Proposal format

Divide your proposal into 5 sections: the problem statement (1-2 pages), status of research (10 pages), research procedure including a time frame for each task (2-3 pages), references cited (1-2 pages), and a chapter outline for the research paper (1-2 pages). The text should be presented as a series of well integrated paragraphs. Some ideas on what to include in each section are provided below.

Section 1 - Problem statement (1-2 pages)

• Ease your reader into the proposal. Identify current activity in your research area and indicate reasons for your interest in the area.
• Clearly and succinctly state what you intend to do. In one sentence, identify your problem statement, either as a question, statement, or hypothesis.
• Briefly indicate the scholarly and practical/social relevance of your project. Here you should state the contribution that your work will make, i.e. why bother?

Section 2 - Status of research (about 10 pages)

Place your research into context with previous work. The literature review should be presented in a way that justifies both your topic and your methodological approach. It is normal to go from the general to the specific. For example:

The first paragraph might describe the general area of human or physical geography that is involved and identify landmark works, key authors, and the main research emphasis. At this general level, much has been written and you will need to be selective in what you reference. The idea is to give a brief historical overview of the field.

The next paragraph(s) might focus on research that is similar to your own. Try to provide a brief overview of the different questions that have been asked and the most common methodologies that have been used. Include references to works that exemplify or illustrate these various questions and approaches. The purpose is to establish what already is known about the general problem, so it is clear how your study will contribute to further understanding.

Finally, you will want to provide more detailed comments on research studies that are very similar to your own, noting what questions have been answered, what questions are left unanswered, and what evidence and methodologies appear appropriate for research of this type. You may find only a few studies that fit into this category (or possibly none). Studies that fit into this last category can sometimes provide a blueprint for your own research.

Section 3 - Research procedure (about 2 or 3 pages)

This is where you state how you plan to operationalize the research problem, i.e. how will you accomplish your research goal? Consider the following:

What general approach or framework will you use? synthesis and critical evaluation of qualitative materials? survey work? statistical analysis of quantitative data? comparison of different cases/places? numerical modelling? reasoned logical argument? development/application of a technique for a specific type of problem? etc. The general approach largely determines both the information and techniques needed to answer your question and can usually be explained in one sentence.

What information/data is needed to answer your question? How much information will you need? What should it look like? Where and how will you get this information - from direct field measurements? questionnaires? secondary data (e.g. census or other government data)? air photos, maps, or archives? participant observation? published literature? etc. Check out as far and as early as possible the availability, reliability, comprehensiveness, costs, and format of data. Also be careful about logistics, such as the need for specialized computer support or training, language or distance barriers, and the need to have all research involving human subjects reviewed by the Office of Research Ethics.

- What techniques will you employ in the examination of your data? Be as specific as you can. Decide before you collect the data whether you want to make statements of inference as this will affect how the data must be collected. Decide how you would like to present the evidence (as statistics, graphs, tables, verbal argument). Determine what skills will be needed for data collection and data analysis, e.g. field techniques, survey design methods, library skills, techniques like content analysis, cost-benefit analysis, parametric and non-parametric statistics, GIS. Decide how you will develop your skills in these areas and make concrete plans to do so. Remember - the research paper is an opportunity to learn.

-Prepare a time frame that indicates when you will undertake the various tasks that are necessary for the completion of the project. Present this as a chart in the proposal.

Section 4 - References (about 1 or 2 pages, 20-40 references)

A reference list is not the same as a bibliography; a reference list includes only those materials that have been cited in the proposal. As a general rule, references are needed when the information is not general knowledge or when specific points are being made. An acceptable method must be used consistently. The author-date system is strongly recommended as it is the most widely used method in the social sciences. Remember that the page number is included in the reference only when you are using direct quotes or when you are reproducing tables or figures. Of course, page numbers for articles are given in the reference list.

Section 5 - Outline for the completed research paper

Most research papers are 40-60 pages long and contain 4-6 chapters. Usually you will have an introductory chapter, followed by a literature review or research context chapter, followed by a methodology chapter, followed by one or more results chapters, followed by a concluding chapter. Give your chapters appropriate titles and decide on the approximate length of each chapter. Then decide what is likely to be included in each chapter and organize these themes into chapter subsections. Give these subsections titles and once again indicate the approximate length of each.

Writing style

Model your writing style after a refereed academic journal. Expect to rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. Reorganizing paragraphs, polishing sentences and searching for the best word are all part of the revision process. Identify your weaknesses (spelling, grammar, adjective use, useless phrases, etc.) and work on them. Don't treat what you have written as sacred. If necessary, scrap part of your text entirely and start with a fresh piece of paper or a blank computer screen.

Referencing guidelines

For detailed guidelines on the appropriate formatting of references consult a reference relevant to the discipline in question, such as:

Northey, M. & Knight, D. (1992). Making Sense in Geography and Environmental Studies: a student’s guide to research writing and style. Toronto: Oxford University Press.

Graphical, tabular and photographic illustrations

Graphs, maps and tables all provide information and so they can be used in any report, including a proposal. Never include filler, however, such as graphs that are not referred to in the text or tables that contain too much detail. Always think about how information can be best communicated to the reader. Be careful so as not to over describe a graph or table; just make the points which are central to your argument.

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Department of Anthropology

Writing a successful master's research paper in anthropology.

By Janet McIntosh, Department of Anthropology, Brandeis University

As a reminder, here is what the Graduate Handbook says about the Master's Research Paper: The Master's research paper must involve substantial research by the student and should be 25 to 40 pages long, not including references. The paper may have been written previously for a Brandeis course; normally students will undertake substantial revisions on the paper as part of the rewriting process.

The paper must be approved by two faculty members, at least one of whom is a member of the anthropology department. Master's paper deadlines are generally as follows: a first full draft of the master's paper is due approximately one month before the semester ends; one or both readers will provide feedback within two weeks; the final revised paper is due to both readers two weeks later.

View the specific deadlines .

Working Independently

The master's paper is an opportunity to undertake a "capstone" project that takes your independent research in anthropology to a new level. Completing this paper requires a great deal of self-motivated work. You should expect to put into the project at least the level of work you would put into a one-semester seminar course. It is up to you to determine your project and collect your own data and to present your reader (or readers), in a timely fashion, the updates and drafts that will help them to help you. Please don't wait to be contacted by your advisor about meeting deadlines; you should be proactive about this schedule.

How to Begin

Get started as early as you can in formulating your project and seeking a potential advisor (or "first reader")..

Students make their way through the master's degree in anthropology at different paces; most finish the degree in two to four semesters. Some students complete their master's paper during a semester when they are taking courses; others do so in the summer after their first or second year of coursework.

Many master's papers emerge as further developments of a course term paper; some do not. Regardless, it is in your interest to conceive of a master's paper topic/question well in advance of the period when you will be writing it. This will give you time to seek out a potential "first reader" (see below) for the paper, and precious time to plan fieldwork toward the paper (often conducted in the summer after your first year), should you decide to write a paper based on such data.

If you wish to use human subjects-based data in your master's research paper for a future dissertation, publication or public presentation, apply for IRB permission before conducting fieldwork.

A master's paper does not count as a "public document," so technically the research described in it need not be approved by the IRB (Institutional Review Board). However, if you anticipate revising your master's paper for publication, or using your data in a future public document or presentation such as a doctoral dissertation or conference paper, AND if your data collection involves research with human subjects (such as interviewing or participant observation), then you need to apply for and receive IRB permission in advance of conducting the research.

It is not possible to get IRB approval retrospectively.

You should submit your application as soon as possible since it can take one to two months to complete the process and the board not infrequently asks students for revisions. You can find detailed IRB information and instructions Human Subjects Research Information page . One of our faculty members, Jonathan Anjaria , has served on the Brandeis' IRB board, and he welcomes questions from our graduate students about the process and their proposals. Feel free also to contact the IRB administrator with queries.

If you opt to conduct original fieldwork toward your paper, you can apply for fieldwork/travel funding.

Possible funding sources include anthropology department grants, GSAS master's research grants, GSA travel grants, Jane's Travel Grants, and funds from Women and Gender Studies. Within the Anthropology department, there are two rounds of application deadlines for department-internal "GTR" funds; one in fall semester (typically, to support research over winter break) and one in spring (typically, to support research over the summer).

Master's students sometimes apply for these funds to support their fieldwork, and we try to support as many well-conceived projects as we can, to the best of our abilities (contingent upon our budget in any given semester).

Finding Readers

Your first reader for the master's paper assumes the role of primary advisor for this project. The best first reader is usually the professor best intellectually matched to the project, all other things being equal (e.g., equitable distribution of master's paper advisees across professors). This may or may not be your primary academic advisor in the department; often it is a professor who has taught you in the class that most closely inspires your master's paper.

Ultimately, the master's paper needs to be approved by a first and a second reader. Second readers can be drawn from faculty outside of the anthropology department. Sometimes a student may have a second reader in mind; if not, they can work with their first reader to generate ideas for a second reader. The student should certainly approach the second reader about the possibility of their reading a draft or drafts according to the standard timelines listed above, but the second reader is under no obligation to accept that responsibility (some will be very keen to give early feedback; others may simply not have the time).

Finding Your Data, Motivating Your Thesis, Crafting a Well-Written Paper

Your master's research paper can be based upon your original research in the field, upon data gathered from other sources (say, videotaped footage; political speeches; Internet chatrooms; archival or museum material), and/or upon existing theoretical and ethnographic literature. A fieldwork-based master's paper has certain advantages. Fieldwork is of course the foundation of anthropology, so conducting original fieldwork gives you a chance to flex these muscles, and (if need be) to test the waters to determine whether you think a future in anthropology is for you.

It is also wonderful to have a fieldwork-based writing sample when applying for doctoral programs, or, minimally, to be able to summarize one's fieldwork-based project in one's applications. However, fieldwork is not a must for an MA paper, and plenty of strong papers have been grounded in other material instead.

No matter where your data comes from, your master's paper must emerge from questions that are motivated; questions that feel like they need to be asked. Ideally, your introduction will set up your thesis statement (that is, your statement of your central argument) with a context that shows how your thesis stems from a tension, question, or puzzle in your data or the anthropological literature or both.

Rather than simply stating "I'm interested in X and Y," you must set up the problematic from which your (clearly stated) argument emerges. It is sometimes helpful to formulate a "why" question that your thesis will attempt to answer, or at least illuminate. For example, "Why does a critical mass of finance executives abandon their comfortable lives for a week every year to participate in the Burning Man Festival?", "Why, in the society under consideration, are young women much more likely than older ones to be accused of practicing witchcraft?", "Why did empire X collapse under this particular set of conditions, while empire Y, seemingly under the same conditions, flourished?"

"How" questions can also be fruitful. For instance: "How do Hawaiians sustain the notion that certain culinary and ritual practices are 'traditional' even when they are actively engaged in the process of altering them?", "How do members of society X — who have historically tended to espouse context-dependent models of the person — react to, assimilate, and question the essentialist models of the person in Facebook personality quizzes?" or "How do the power dynamics between coaches and players manifest themselves even in seemingly casual and friendly conversations?" Your motivating queries may, of course, be more detailed and nuanced than these. Regardless, having an interesting question or puzzle — a "motive" — built into your introduction helps you and your reader feel the urgency or importance of your argument.

If you wonder what kinds of argumentative gambits are available to you more generally, A Student's Guide to Reading and Writing in Social Anthropology (PDF) from the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University and Harvard College has a useful summary of common types of arguments in anthropological papers (see page 25).

The same guide is also richly laden with suggestions about how to engage with anthropological literature/sources. We recommend as well reading the annotated student essay at the end.

Engaging With Anthropological Literature and Ideas

Since this is a master's program in anthropology (or in anthropology and women's and gender studies), your master's paper must engage meaningfully with the anthropological literature on the subject matter and demonstrate proficiency in that literature. Drawing on the insights of other disciplines can enrich the work, but the paper must be anthropological at its core.

Thoroughly review the salient anthropological and scholarly literature on your topic, in consultation with faculty members and library staff. Be sure to search through the various databases, including AnthroSource, Anthropological Abstracts, Anthropology Plus, JSTOR, Academic Search Premier, and so forth. It doesn't hurt to run relevant terms through Google Scholar (the "cited by" function, which displays other works that have cited a given article or book, can be particularly useful). We encourage you as well to attend library workshops on research and on citation software.

Your master's paper should show signs that certain core lessons of anthropology have been internalized. A sociocultural anthropology master's paper should, for instance, reflect your understanding that the normally taken-for-granted conceptual categories of modern western societies are themselves subject to critical examination, and that anthropologists tend to try to understand the internal logic of cultural practices. An archaeology paper should also reflect such approaches, and should be about the people behind the potsherds, buildings, and other objects. It should question the how and why of patterns of material culture, striving to understand the cultural contexts and natural processes that produced the archaeological data.

Whether or not your paper directly addresses a non-western case, it may be strengthened by the comparative, cross-cultural perspective associated with anthropology. For example, a master's paper concerned with modern American conceptions of pets might benefit from thoughtful engagement with anthropological work on totemism and animal symbolism in a range of non-western societies. A paper on archaic states might benefit from a comparative review of the role of kinship in segmentary and unitary forms of socio-political organization. That said, while the comparative literature should inform the paper, it might not need to be written about at length. This depends on your project, and should be discussed with your reader(s).

Writing About Methodology

A successful paper should have a (brief) methodology section that not only explains the methods used, but also justifies them. If, for example, your data comes from written surveys rather than ethnography, this choice requires some explanation. If your fieldwork was constrained by logistical or social considerations, these should be explained. If you chose to focus on a particular subgroup, this choice requires some background.

You should also indicate your awareness of the potential pitfalls and limitations of your chosen methods. Your methodology section often appears in your introductory section, but in some instances, methodological issues may be addressed in an appendix.

If you used surveys or an interview guide, for instance, those usually are placed in an appendix. Depending on how well this serves your argumentative purposes, you may also wish to include a reflexive section, clarifying your own relationship to the topic in question. Are you studying a tradition or community that you count yourself a part of? Did you begin this project with a strong draw towards, or anxiety about, the social group in question? Why?

Titling the Paper

Even your paper draft(s) should have a working title, to organize the sense of argument for yourself and your readers. Your title should be precise; rather than merely gesturing at a topic ("Gender among Boston Construction Workers," or "Globalization and Childbirth in Tibet"), it should give the reader a more precise hint of your argument or your theoretical focus (e.g., "Rebuilding Gender: Practices of Self-Fashioning among Boston Construction Workers," "Cutting Cords: Global Anxieties and Contested Midwifery in Cosmopolitan Tibet"). In the case of a sociocultural paper, it is at times helpful for the first part of the title to incorporate an especially evocative quote by one of your informants — a quote that foreshadows the central concerns of the thesis.

Final Tips on Writing Well

• Consider opening your paper with a detail — a vignette or a quotation, for example — that encapsulates some of the key issues or puzzles that you will dig into in the paper. This helps to hook your reader's attention more than broad generalizations do.
• Remember that the introductory paragraphs must motivate your argument, provide a sufficiently detailed thesis statement (this can be two sentences or longer, if need be), and offer the necessary context to situate your argument.
• Your paper must have enough summary of the relevant literature, and explicit definition of key concepts, that a well-educated generalist would be able to follow it. Do not assume that your reader is highly familiar with anthropological literature.
• When you do summarize, be sure the summary is clearly articulated and signposted in service of your argument. In other words, you should control the summary for your purposes rather than being controlled by and getting lost in your sources.
• Use the beginnings of paragraphs to transition from one point to another, placing a stitch between the preceding paragraph and the point to come. Often the start of a paragraph is also a good place to signpost back to the thesis, so as to re-orient the reader, and to make explicit how the logic of your argument is unfolding. (This gambit can help to avoid the "laundry list" paper structure, where points seem to arrive in no particular order.)
• Use the ends of paragraphs to hammer home the central point of the paragraph if it is not already obvious. As you re-read your draft, make sure every paragraph has a clear center of gravity.
• Assume a fairly inattentive reader, who requires frequent signposting to the key terms/key concepts in the thesis so as to be reminded of where the writer is taking the reader, and why.
• Assume a fairly impatient reader, who will be irritated and distracted by grammatical solecisms and spelling errors. Have someone — or even two people — proofread your paper.
• Please cite sources and format references competently and professionally — see below for helpful websites.
• Read your paper out loud to yourself to catch run-on sentences and awkward constructions.
• Paginate your drafts and final version before submitting to your reader(s).

Helpful Links

• Brandeis Writing Center Services for Graduate Students — Graduate-level consultants can work with you on a variety of needs.
• American Anthropological Association's (AAA) Style Guide
• Chicago Manual of Style (used by the AAA)

Nuts and Bolts of Submission and Approval

One month before the registrar's deadline to file an application for your graduate degree for the semester in which you seek to graduate, please fill out the "Master's Paper Plans" form available from Laurel Carpenter's office. This form requires that you list a provisional title, four or five lines describing your likely topic/argument, and the names of your first and second readers. Your first reader will need to sign this form before it is submitted to Laurel Carpenter.

• Check in with your second reader about whether they will have time to offer feedback on a draft of your paper. As noted above, such feedback can be helpful, but it is not strictly required from second readers.
• Check in with your readers about the medium they prefer for draft and final paper submission. Some may be happy with email submissions; others may require printed copies in their mailbox. Be sure you know what they want in advance so that you are able to get printed versions to readers who require them in a timely fashion.
• If you are hoping to finish your master's paper over the summer, it is especially important to check in with your readers well in advance about availability.
• When both readers have approved the paper, they will let you and Laurel Carpenter know, most typically by email. The readers then fill out and sign a form that goes into your record to indicate your master's paper has been approved. You do not need to procure or sign this form, unless you are a joint WGS and Anthropology student (WGS has its own administrative process). Email signatures can be accepted in lieu of paper signatures. A copy of the approved version of your master's paper must be submitted to the department.
• If your readers find that your final version of the master's paper does not yet meet the requirements, you will be asked to make further revisions, and may need to delay your graduation date.
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M.S. Qualifying Research Paper Writing Guidelines

An important part of your master’s education is the writing of your final master’s qualifying research paper (also called a master’s thesis). To aid you in this process we have assembled the following guidelines.

Qualifying research papers fall into two categories, those based on laboratory research and those based on literature research. Both types are mentored by a faculty member or principal investigator of a research laboratory sought by the student. For laboratory research, the student will write the paper based on original experimental results obtained in the laboratory of the mentor. For a literature-based thesis, after selection of a suitable topic by the student and mentor, the student will research the topic by reading and analyzing original literature on the subject, and then prepare a substantive analysis that will constitute the paper. All qualifying papers are graded "Pass", "Pass with Distinction" or "Fail". Further information can be found at the  M.S. in Biology website .

STYLE INFORMATION

Qualifying papers in the Department of Biology should follow the structure of the types of papers that appear in the journal Cell. Laboratory research based papers should be modeled after a Cell research style articles and library research based papers should be modeled after Cell review style articles. Example articles with links are listed in the notes below.  

IMPORTANT NOTES

• Plagiarism is an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author: This means that you cannot copy lines of text from another source without noting that it is a quote (“put quotes around the text”) and citing the reference. In general avoid direct quotes from other sources unless the quote makes a strong point. General facts do not need to be referenced, but more specific facts and ideas must be referenced, even if they have been rewritten in your own words
• Litertaure Review:  Lopez-Otin et al., 2023. Hallmarks of Aging: An Expanding Universe. Cell 186(2), 243-278 .
• Research Research:  Lyons et al., 2023. Functional partitioning of transcriptional regulators by patterned charge blocks. Cell 186(2), 327-345 . 
• Seek a thesis mentor and decide on a topic to study.
• After beginning your literature research, provide a list of references you are reading to your mentor.
• Proceed to write a brief outline of the paper with subsection ideas, then a more detailed outline with subsection descriptions, and share with mentor for comment.
• Proceed to write a first draft of paper, which the mentor will read and provide suggestions/questions for comment.
• Revise accordingly and submit the final version of your paper (~ 25 pages double spaced and reference list). Use citation format (Jones et al., 2023) and reference list as done in Cell papers (see above links). All figures taken from articles must be cited in the legend.

Home > Graduate College > Student Work > Graduate Research Papers

Graduate Research Papers

The Graduate Research Paper/Project is a non-thesis paper/project, which can be considered the capstone of the graduate program. For the paper, students synthesize information they have learned throughout the program and apply it to the field experience. There are some papers/projects in this collection that were done for specific classes within the graduate curriculum. To view the Award Winners , click here .

Browse Graduate Research Paper/Project by academic department :

College of Education

• Curriculum and Instruction
• Educational Psychology, Foundations, and Leadership Studies
• Health, Recreation, and Community Services
• Kinesiology
• School of Kinesiology, Allied Health and Human Services

College of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences

• Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Communication and Media
• Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Languages and Literatures
• Science Education Program

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

• Social Work

Browse Graduate Research Papers by year of completion :

Submissions from 2024 2024

Achieving Cost-Effectiveness in the Production of High-Quality Plastic Tiles through Chemical Recycling , Emmanuel Ophel Gilbert Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Where are the Girls in Young Adult Sports Fiction Books? , Sara Stark Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Challenges and Opportunities in Implementing Smart Grids: A Comprehensive Literature Review , Steven Stroud Graduate Research Paper (Electronic Copy Not Available)

Submissions from 2023 2023

An Analysis of a Multigenerational Workforce , Paula F. Atkins Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

An Analysis of Sex Trafficking Support Services in Mental Health Care for Survivors , Darian Marie Alexandria Auge Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Bat Boy: A Novel for Grades 3-6 , Ryan Basye Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Assessing Policy Implementation In The Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs: A Case-By-Case County Analysis , Dylan Boles Open Access Graduate Research Paper

¿Adónde ir? Los efectos perpetuos de la formación "inexistente" para maestros de inmersión lingüística , Cody J. Boozell Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Diversity in Collections Utilizing Accelerated Reader Programs , Leah Cahill Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Tolerance Allocation Considering Multiple Phases of the Product Life Cycle for Optimum Cost, Performance, and Sustainability Using the HEIM Framework , Shravya Dorna Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

A Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Aligned 3rd Grade Weather Unit , Jennifer Hageman Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Digital Marketing as Best Practice for Fundraising and Donor Loyalty , Jake Hennes Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Development and Implementation of a NGSS Curriculum Unit for Astronomy in Ninth-Grade Earth and Space Science , Jessica Hughes Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Motivations and Execution of Corporate Charitable Giving , Matthew Richard Johnson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Communicating Emotions Through Art and Conversation , Paige E. Kayvan, Samantha R. Doyle, Payton Cannon, and Traci Jolley Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The Impact of Summer Camps on the Perceptions of Individuals with Disabilities and Their Support Systems , Sally Krull Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Failure to Thrive: Exploring the Relationship Between Organizational Resilience, COVID-19, and The Great Resignation , Tyler R. Lanz Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The Influence of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors in a Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) Program and Its Effects on Urban and Rural Demographics as a Long-Term Solution for Community Cat Management , Hannah E. Litke Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Research Portfolio , JuanDaniel Lopez Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Read the Feed: Evaluating the Role of an Interactive Infant Feeding Simulator on Demonstrated Feeding Skills , Sarah MacDougall, Kelsey Feller, and Alyssa Mason Graduate Research Paper (Electronic Copy Not Available)

The Impact of Philanthropic Stewardship on Distributions from Donor Advised Funds , Elizabeth Messerli Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Promoting Social-Emotional Development in Elementary Children Through the Use of Quality Picture Books: A Content Analysis , Shauna Mostek Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Matching the Art with Science: Best Practices for Major Gift Programs , Andrew Peter Graduate Research Paper (Electronic Copy Not Available)

How Women Are Changing Philanthropy in the United States , Katrina M. Pipasts Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Latino/a First Generation College Students: Academic Success, Sense of Belonging, and Overall Well-Being , Alma Puga Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

White Saviorism and the Nonprofit Sector , Candice Revita-Ramirez Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

What's Your Story? An Analysis of Video Storytelling for Nonprofit Organizations , Madeline Rummel Open Access Graduate Research Paper

An Analysis of Social Media Practices in the Nonprofit Field , Samantha Schupanitz Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Factors Influencing Participation in Collegiate Bands , Stephen Seaberg Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Fostering Post-Secondary Education Opportunities for Today's Foster Children , William Michael Smith Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Does systematic phonological awareness in the early primary grades impact student learning beyond primary grades , Renee Lyn Sorenson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

La Serva Padrona: Production Research and Design , Grace Sullivan Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Comparison of Load Balancing Algorithms in Cloud Computing , Rajkumar Vishnani Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Integrating a humanities and business education course: Issues, problems, and benefits , Rhea R. Walker Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using Fundraising Data Strategically in Nonprofit Organizations to Drive Relational Fundraising , Anna L. Warner Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Somewhere I Belong: An Assessment of Nonprofit Retention Initiatives Through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion , Janessa Weightman Graduate Research Paper (Electronic Copy Not Available)

A Survey of Science and Social Studies Series Bibliographies , Carol Wolf Open Access Graduate Research Paper

An Investigation of the Life and Times of John Locke Reflected in Selected Writings and Writers of Three Centuries , Ethel Doescher Zwanziger Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Submissions from 2022 2022

Building an understanding of the Common Core state standards and complex texts, while supporting upper elementary readers with complex text through shared reading , Joanna Mae Carlson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Identifying misconceptions about evolution relative to science curriculum exposure at the secondary level , Rachel Carney Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A historical analysis of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agencies (FEMA) response and recovery to Gulf Coast hurricane and other weather-related disasters , Lauren Marie Denning Open Access Graduate Research Paper

High school earth science students evaluating agricultural solutions , Jaclyn Citlali Sanchez Erickson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

An examination of the six roles of the dental hygienist in relation to the field dependence-field independence construct , Melanie R. Hamer Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Relationship between decoding and writing with early readers: An action research study , Nicole M. Henningsen Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Vocabulary strategies in elementary science - A self-study , Katherine Hooey Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Partnership to grow effective readers: professional learning for interventionists and classroom teachers , Jennifer Lane Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Teacher librarian influence on students' self-selection of books , Elizabeth A. Nelson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Portrayal of Native Americans and Native culture in children's picture books , Janace Nester Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Integrating the Next Generation Science Standards into a 9th grade physical science classroom using Newton's second law of motion , Chad Pietig Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Pleasure reading workshop: Meeting SEL competencies based on sustained (and maybe not so silent) reading , Lora Sink Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The influence of book talks on reader engagement in fourth grade students , Jennifer Smith Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Sustainability aspects of 3D printing , Subhashree Sundharram Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

A case study of the impact a pleasure reading curriculum has on students' passion for reading , Danielle M. Wolfe Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Hey! That's how I feel! A qualitative content analysis of anxiety in middle grade literature , Heather M. Wood Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Submissions from 2021 2021

Mental illness representation in young adult literature , Ashley Aberle Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Re-socialization within organizations: Examining the socialization and job satisfaction of employees following an organizational transition , Sloan T. Alberhasky Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Exploring work environment standards in Saudi Arabia companies , Yousef Almalki Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Portrayal of characters with autism in picture books , Tara Amundson Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The impact of advocacy and social justice work on nonprofit funding and support , Brittany Appleton Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Analysis of assessments on secondary students' development and interpretation of models , Alaina L. Appley Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Impact of inquiry science courses on preservice elementary students' ideas on science , Lance Charles Baetsle Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Bias and barriers: An exploration of preventive measures to minimize the presence of Latinx professionals in postsecondary education , Janine Baeza Graduate Research Paper (Electronic Copy Not Available)

Teaching race through multicultural children's literature , Kaley Bailey and Maiya Duthoo-Wolpert Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The potential of affecting final potency of a poultry vaccine using Lean methodology , Amber Bergeson Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

A preferred vision for administering elementary schools : a reflective essay , Brenda M. Boleyn Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Examining diversity in the Iowa Goldfinch Award , Jill M. Doyle Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Creation and implementation of an integrated climate change curriculum centered on earth and life science standards , Katherine Eastin Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Best business practices in cause-related marketing , Anna Eiskamp Graduate Research Paper (Electronic Copy Not Available)

Impacts of evolving technology In nonprofits , Abby E. Engelberth Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The influence of book club conversations on reluctant or struggling readers , JaDee Jo Gloede Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Examining teacher librarians' impact on students' self-selection strategies , Sarah Gunsolley Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

New frameworks for fundraising in performing arts nonprofits: trust, commitment, and utility as donor motivation , Evan Hilsabeck Graduate Research Paper (Electronic Copy Not Available)

The portrayal of fathers in children's literature , Kate A. Hite Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Inspiring students to take action in order to make positive change through the integration of social studies themes in children's literature , Morgan Ives, Taylor Marsho, Ashtyn Riley, and Deidra Rudd Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Accuracy of self-assessment in a ninth grade earth science classroom , Alyssa Jacobson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Effects of stepwise guided inquiry on students' attitudes and depth of knowledge from written lab reflections in high school chemistry , Melissa Rae Campbell Johnson Open Access Graduate Research Paper 2022 Award

Abracadabra: Combatting Nonprofit Turnover When Your Staff Perform the Disappearing Act , Averi Gabrielle Jones Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Data-Driven Decision Making in Nonprofit Organizations , Amanda Kline Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The Process for Nonprofits and Foundations to Engage in Productive Partnerships , Anna McCutcheon Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Diverse representation within secondary-level state consortium-provided e-books , Jill McDonald Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Enhancing scientific literacy through attention to argumentation as a disciplinary literacy practice , Whitney McWilliams Open Access Graduate Research Paper

School speech-language pathologists' identification, use, and need of resources and materials , Emily Michael, Melissa Tranel, and Hannah Fahey Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Rising above the Stigma: Developing young leaders through Peer Mentoring , Shawn Miller Open Access Graduate Research Paper

What are the benefits and challenges of diversification of revenue for nonprofit organizations , Mckenzie Musser Graduate Research Paper (Electronic Copy Not Available)

A case study of the impact of teacher librarian collaboration in the instruction of information literacy and digital citizenship on student achievement in inquiry skills , Abby M. Mussmann Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

It's hard to lose: Embracing a place-based mindset and reculturing rural areas and students , Anthony T. Skip Olson Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Student access to school-based health care and the effects on academic achievement, behavior, and mental health , Brooke C. Olson Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The historical and cultural accuracy of the Japanese internment camps in children's literature , Zoey Perrigo Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Human impact on the environment: A middle school project based learning unit development , Shannon Power Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Development of a NGSS curriculum unit for periodic trends and properties in ninth-grade physical science , Amy L. Price Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Engaging Older Adults in Virtual Volunteering: Benefits and Barriers in Good and Trying Times , Theresa Price Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Portrayal of females in notable science trade books for children , Carolyn Proesch Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Model-based predictive controller design , Soheil Sadeghi Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Analysis of student perceptions on climate change in a rural Iowa school district , Tyler Scholl Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Nonprofit Crowdfunding Best Practices , Shelly Smith Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Immediate vs. deferred feedback during formative assessments in a 9th grade physical science course , Jordan Sonntag Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Examining the impact a teacher librarian has on students' self-selection strategies , Stefanie Throndson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Autoethnography on teaching during a pandemic , Kelsey Ufford Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Nonprofit fundraising: A look at effective employees’ participation , Moses A. Ulom Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Collaboration in a Crisis Management , Ann Wolf Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Submissions from 2020 2020

Representation of Native peoples in picture books about Christopher Columbus: A literary analysis , Mari Butler Abry Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Elementary school library program integration with art, literacy, and STEAM through makerspaces , Kristi Baldwin Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Portrayal of characters with physical disabilities in picture books , Emily Biederman Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The Presentation of Race at Mark Twain Historical Sites in Hannibal, Missouri , Anthony Wayne Birch Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Disclosure of trans & gender variant identities by students to students , C. A. Brimmer Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The impact of confidence-based marking on unit exam achievement in a high school physical science course , Casey Clark Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using mentor texts to enhance the teaching of reading comprehension and writing , Alexandra Jordyn Cushman Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Portrayal of Diverse Family Structures in Children's Literature , Beth Grafft Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of educational attainment of state legislators on state appropriations to public higher education , Nathan J. Gruber Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The impact of the use of mobile computing on vocabulary learning in the language classroom , Lorena Harger Open Access Graduate Research Paper

An analysis of learning targets on summative assessments in a high school chemistry course , Mark R. Hennessy Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

De Vos a Tú: Acomodación lingüística y actitudes lingüísticas en estudiantes internacionales de Centroamérica en los Estados Unidos = De Vos a Tú: linguistic accommodation and language attitudes among Central American international students in the United States , Jose Salinas Herrera Open Access Graduate Research Paper 2021 Award

Characterizing protagonists in graphic novels for teens , Danielle Lahr Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using adapted primary science literature to enhance argumentation and reasoning skills in middle school students , Betsy Wiederin Lemus Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Clinical outcomes of orofacial myofunctional therapy in children without concurrent orthodontia , Julia Logan Open Access Graduate Research Paper 2021 Award

Portrayal of immigration in fiction for grades 4-6 , Melissa N. Marwedel Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Issues of accessibility in victim services for survivors with disabilities: an agency assessment , Sara Naughton Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Three cases of makerspace integration in school library programs in conjunction with district initiatives: Literacy, design thinking, and STEAM , Sara Pflughaupt Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Influence of book clubs on reading motivation for third through fifth grade students , Allyson Reister Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Trauma in children's literature , Kyra Ross Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The Trump Administration: Government secrecy, bureaucracy, and democracy , Logan J. Santel Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Utilizing pre-laboratory strategies in a high school chemistry classroom to improve performance on guided inquiry labs , Jacquelyn Schmitt Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

An analysis of ADHD in middle grade and young adult literature , Sydney Schuler Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Representation of LGBTQ characters in 2019 young adult literature , Janelle M. Snyder Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Gazing at scattered stars: Immigration through the lens of elementary graphic literature , Jennifer K. Stanerson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The digital bridge to campus: Mass communication and graduate student enrollment decisions , Ashley Stoppel Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Making the water cycle accessible and relevant for English language learners , Summer Teed Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Three cases of makerspace integration in school library programs in conjunction with district initiatives: STEAM, design thinking, and literacy , Lisa Tegels Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Identification of trends in scientific communication by minority students in an integrated and advanced ninth grade science curriculum , Loren Thalacker Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Culture in transitional chapter books: Assimilation or inclusion , Jeanette P. White Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Submissions from 2019 2019

Communicating about being parents in the workplace , Ruqayah Almuzayn Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Teacher perceptions of understaffed school libraries , Amanda Bonjour Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effect of gamification on student motivation , David A. Brahn Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The effects of gamification on student engagement and motivation , Sara Butcher Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Computer science is elementary: Comprehensive plan for computer science implementation at the elementary level , Erin Chute Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using critical literacy and emotionally responsive teaching to discuss racism in a literature circle unit , Autumn Rose Den Boer Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Student engagement within the use of graphic novels , Melissa Felsenthal Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A Feasibility Study on Utilizing Data Science as an Advanced Lean Manufacturing Tool in the Biopharma Manufacturing Sector , Tanya Heerts Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Best practices in assessment and evaluation of literacy at the secondary level , Meaghan Kathleen Johnson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using NGSS phenomena as a formative assessment to measure understanding of science concepts in a ninth grade physical science classroom , Keith Richard Kohl Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Design of an Arduino Based Smart Home System , Qi Lu Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Is there a correlation between oral reading rate and social conversational speaking rate? , Sarah C. Mason Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Portrayal of females in agriculturally themed children's books , Malinda Mick Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The effects of a makerspace curriculum on the 4C's in education , Staci Novak Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of text-to-speech on students with reading disabilities , Melissa Oberembt Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Data Analytics of Job Market Requirements for Technology Related Doctoral Degrees , Sidra Meo Rajput Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The Representation of Controversial Materials in Middle School Library Collections in Iowa , Danielle Ramsey Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effect of digital game-based learning on student learning: A literature review , Katrina Serrano Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Effective professional development design , Katie Stull Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The effectiveness of using intelligent tutoring systems to increase student achievement , Tedi Swanson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Supporting early social-emotional development with wordless picture books , Kayla E. Takatsuka Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The effects of computer coding on elementary students , Cassidy Winslow Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Submissions from 2018 2018

Capital Equipment Procurement Process and Integration Into Production , Mike A. Borwig Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Development of curriculum for Next Generation Science Standards in high school chemistry , Jennifer L. Brown Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Teaching evolution and common ancestry with dissection, fossils and phylogeny , Nicolas A. Brown Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Parent perspectives on inclusive bookclubs , Amy Bucciferro Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Shift into ctrl: Integrating digital citizenship into high school freshman transition curriculum , Ellen Fairfield Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Blended learning and second language acquisition in the classroom , Victoria R. Hamilton Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Genetics unit lesson plan for the Next Generation Science Standards , Erin Hogan Open Access Graduate Research Paper 2020 Award

Embracing New Experiences: Young Adult Literature About the Immigrant Experience , Ashley Hoppenjan Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Thermopile Sensor Imaging System , Sumit Joshi Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Blended learning in credit recovery , Robin Kuhn Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Qualitative Study of Realistic Fiction Subject Headings in a Middle School Library , Kathleen Michaelson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Selecting a Software Development Methodology Based on Project Characteristics , Semir Music Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Exploring the effects of web-based parenting support on access to information and resources for rural families , Anne Plagge Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Improving Machine Utilization with RFID Technology During the Acquisition of a Large Capital Equipment Purchase , Richard Price Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The role of virtual environment and virtual reality for knowledge transfer , Michelle Rice Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Depression and Anxiety in Current Middle Grade Fiction: Finding Quality, Authentic Portrayals for Use in Bibliotherapy , Tonia Sandersfeld-Miller Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of a station-rotation model of blended learning on student engagement , Melinda Tremmel Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The eleven days of Christmas: an analysis of and conductor's guide to Alfred Reed's Russian Christmas Music , Logan Vander Wiel Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Information Literacy: Expectations of High School Students in Joint Enrollment Courses , Steven Witmer Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Evaluation of a flipped classroom on student achievement in a low income school district , Michael Yeoman Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Submissions from 2017 2017

Collaborative learning: Do two-stage quizzes positively affect students' perceptions of their understanding and achievement in high school physics? , Benjamin J. Arp Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Fluency and instruction in the elementary grades , Stacey Bakken Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Taking university business courses online: An instructional designer's perspective , Zachary P. Benton-Slocum Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Ultrasound simulators: Determining the simulator's role in diagnostic medical sonography programs , Lisa Bindert Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Developing writing prompt assessments for the next generation science standards: Physical science , Kristen Ann Birchard Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Vocabulary matters : why vocabulary instruction is important and how to implement quality instruction in preschool , Melanie Blocker Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Visual phonics : its impact as an instructional tool to promote literacy development in kindergarten students , Lori J. Bower Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Going 1:1 across the district , Kim Carlson Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

TPACK learning activity types for secondary computer science courses , Rebecca Carton Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Defying the odds: A research based reading program project guide , Megan Casey Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Understanding by Design approach to a Next Generation Science Standard in high school chemistry: Chemical reactivity , Jill Christofferson Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Invented spelling and its effect on kindergarten students' reading and writing abilities , Kelli A. Daly Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Examining student selection behaviors with library fiction collections , Katie Delaney Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using Google tools to enhance secondary writing instruction , Sarah Ebener Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The power of professional learning communities , Amanda Eller Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The value of inquiry-based science instruction for elementary students , Jessica Renae Enger Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Book selection approaches and the middle school student , Sara Fischer Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A Comparison of Model-Based Design and Traditional 2D Engineering Drawings in Manufacturing Using Flowchart Analysis , Josh Gerbig Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Reading Aloud to Tweens and Teens to Create Empathy: A Functional Criteria , Elizabeth Good Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of blended learning on K-12th grade students , Laura Hesse Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Impact of family engagement on child outcomes in preschool , Kathryn S. Ingham Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of using technology to enhance and enrich music instruction , Megan L. Kannenberg Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Dungeons and Dragons and literacy: The role tabletop role-playing games can play in developing teenagers' literacy skills and reading interests , Stefanie L. B. Kaylor Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Teacher librarians and technology leadership , Jennifer Kizer Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of using digital tools to support writing in the ELL classroom , Katrina Lint Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Play-based early childhood classrooms and the effect on pre-kindergarten social and academic achievement , Amy McGinn Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The use of touchscreen devices to support writing development of preschoolers , Celeste Mortvedt Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Collaboration between School and Public Librarians , Elizabeth Pearson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

First year professional learning community implementation within the Marion High School Science Department , Madilyn M. Ramaekers Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Energy, matter, and change: A high school chemistry unit development , Allison Schipper Open Access Graduate Research Paper

An Investigation of Gasket Improvement in Vehicle Drivetrain Applications , Keith David Schrader Graduate Research Paper (Electronic Copy Not Available)

Strategies for integrating literacy into a science classroom , Michelle Seddon Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Development of a standards-based classroom for high school physics at Solon Community School District , Tim Sheeley Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Developing model identification skills in an advanced placement Physics 1 classroom , Ian Spangenberg Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Prep-kindergarten teachers' beliefs : basic skills versus child-centered orientation , Katie Stundahl Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Vocabulary development with instructional coaching support , Jessica L. Swaab Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Parent-child interaction : how it impacts language and literacy skills , Angie Thurman Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Infant and toddler care , Maggie Trecker Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Technology and young children , Jamie Vircks Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Benefits of movement for academic achievement and classroom behaviors , Alison A. Waltz Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Recreational reading in secondary schools through book clubs , Briana White Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using the Next Generation Science Standards EQuIP Rubric: Evaluating a course in biomedical science , Brandon Yoder Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Submissions from 2016 2016

The effect of flipped instruction on student learning : perspectives from students and teachers , Britta Adams Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Fostering reading with a summer literacy unit for elementary students , Diane M. Bahrenfuss Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The use of meditation and yoga as a treatment tool for juvenile offenders in Residential Treatment Centers for relapse prevention , Danielle K. W. Ballard-Green Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The development and support of geometric and spatial concepts in preschool- and kindergarten-aged children , Laura J. Becker Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Effective professional development for teachers : read-alouds in the middle level , Kelly Ann Behmer Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of digital storytelling on student motivation and student engagement , Robyn Bredvick Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Effective Implementation of Lean Practices in a Secondary Educational for the Purpose of More Effectively Preparing Students for a Career in a Manufacturing Setting , Brandon Brooks Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Developing authentic summative assessments that correlate to the Next Generation Science Standards for a middle school science classroom , Nick Bushkofsky Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Increasing vocabulary and oral language skills of pre-K English language learners through shared storybook reading and take-home literacy bags , Angela Butler Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Supporting reading curriculum without restricting access to library materials: Resources for teacher librarians , Tricia Carty Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using interactive read-alouds to support students' comprehension , Emily D. Chaffin Open Access Graduate Research Paper

How can a child's fluency be improved and provide support for comprehension? , Sharon Marie Collins Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Fogging practices of Iowa counties for mosquito abatement , Alex Jay Davey Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Exploring effective classroom management techniques in a 1:1 classroom setting , Kenton Engels Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The impact of specific interventions on child engagement in a preschool classroom , Sarah Elizabeth Farber Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of using digital storytelling for fourth graders' literacy learning , Benjamin J. Feight Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Continuous Manufacturing Performance Improvement: An Investigation of Overall Equipment Effectiveness as a Valid Shop Floor Performance Evaluation Tool , Jeremy Joseph Fettkether Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of flipped learning on students in secondary education , Abigail M. Fish Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Word study and its importance to reading and writing in the primary classroom , Korie Frazier Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Female sexuality in current young adult literature , Joanna M. Freking-Smith Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Parent perceptions of support from the school library , Heather Garrett Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Sign language in the preschool classroom : a self-study , DiAnna Geiger Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Readers' advisory program for non proficient readers , Lisa Gogel Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Make it so: Employing a multi-player starship bridge simulator in a military-based leadership course , Robert Green Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A unit design : learning to code with Finches , William V. Gruman Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A selective annotated list of reading promotion events recommended for elementary students , Nicole Nadine Guldager Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A twist on happily ever after : Fractured fairy tales for young adults , Kathryn Hale Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Critical literacy and digital technology with a novel unit , Brandon Harrison Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Comparing of Distance Education and Traditional Education , Chuan He Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The use of mentor texts to teach writing in kindergarten, first and second grades , Mary Heeringa Open Access Graduate Research Paper

E-readers and struggling middle school readers , Abigail L. Hendrickson Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The impact of augmented reality on curriculum and training design , Destery K. Hildenbrand Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Content analysis of two libraries resources for supporting primary economics instruction , Lindsey J. Hilts Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Racial disparities among African Americans primarily in the criminal justice system and other areas in society , Juana D. Hollingsworth Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Enhancing student motivation and success in reading through learning clubs , Sarah Pamela Jackman Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Strengthening early mathematics in early childhood classrooms : a professional development project , Jennifer Lynn Jansen Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Empowering elementary teachers to explore critical literacy through drama-based instruction , Courtney J. Jensen Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Utilizing local project experts to provide professional development for early childhood educators : a professional development project , Dawn Janette Johnson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Cinematherapy in gifted education identity development : integrating the arts through STEM-themed movies , Timothy Carl Kangas Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The attitudes of typically developing young children toward their peers with disabilities : a review of the literature , Sara Elizabeth Kayser Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Designing a self-directed gamified professional development course for technology integration , Rebecca J. Kinnander Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The design of a professional development program for technology integration , Dana M. Lampe Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The rise of close reading , Jayne E. Larsen Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Changing early intervention provider practices to a coaching model through self-study and distance mentoring model : family-guided routines-based interventions and the key indicators , Cindy Lefeber Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Robotic High Precision Gaging Process , Andrew Leinen Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Online audiobook reference guide for Iowa elementary school librarians , Kerry LeWarne Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Green Supply Chain Management , Ravi Teja Marneni Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Makerspaces and the Iowa Core: Connections in a high school library , Tracie Marshall Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The advantages and disadvantages of school- and center-based preschool programs : implications for early childhood policy , Christy Martin Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Methods for Supporting 21st Century Learning in School Library Spaces , Ashley McGrath Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using digital writing tools in supporting student writing , Sarah McKee Open Access Graduate Research Paper

After-school success: Associations between youth participants and youth outcomes , Dana Miller Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Sound : the study of differentiating pitch and volume with preschoolers , Jennifer Lyn Miller Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Effects of gamification on motivation and engagement in secondary curriculum , Matthew J. Molumby Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effect of serious gaming on elementary student learning , Amanda Moritz Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Self-study of one to one reading conferences in a third grade setting , Angel Munson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Robotics in the classroom: The effectiveness of robotics based curriculum in STEM education , Mark Nall Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Gender stereotypes in children's literature , Christine C. Nebbia Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Six Sigma Research Project: Loss of Hydraulic Fixture Pressure , Tyler Neigum Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Differentiated reading instruction through guided reading : a framework for effective reading instruction in the primary grades , Kara L. Neville Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A professional development plan to increase student motivation through the analysis of three motivational components : student, teacher, and accountability measures , Ashley Ann Oleson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using sign language in the infant room , Sara Paar Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A Picture Book Biography of Jessie Field Shambaugh , Kimberly Peterson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Adjusting Production Processes for Use in Engineering and Testing Environments , Jordan Proctor Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Manual Versus Automated Drawing Checking: A Case Study , Thirupathi Reddygari Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The need for a teacher librarian to take a leadership role in the implementation of supplemental reading program initiatives to achieve desired student outcomes , Mindy M. Reimer Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Exposure therapy discontinuation among Iraq War veterans , Kendra Renner Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The Use of Minecraft as an Educational Tool to Improve Student Performance in the Classroom , James Roberts Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The transition of flipped instruction : from professional development to classroom , Alison J. Sauter Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A New Vision for a 6-12 Library Science Curriculum , Jacqueline Leigh Seidl Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Outsourcing Effect on Product Quality , Hasudin Siljkovic Graduate Research Paper (Electronic Copy Not Available)

What relationship between preschool class sizes and student behaviors do teachers report? , Lindsey Steen Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A journey of designing and beta-testing a game-based unit , Renee E. Thomas Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using running records data in planning for literacy instruction , Tabitha A. Waltz Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using comprehensive literacy instructional modules for literacy instruction with students with disabilities , Amanda M. Wasylik Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Small-Scale Enterprises Supply Chain Lean Conversion , Jianhua Xu Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Impact of problem based learning on teaching light to middle school science students , Stephanie Yager Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Corner Case Strategy and Its Application in Medical Device Design Verification: A Case Study with Syringe Break Loose and Expulsion Force Testing , Xin Zhang Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Extending mathematic learning beyond the classroom through online discussion and reflection , Linsey Zimmerman Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Submissions from 2015 2015

Osteoporosis in older Saudi women: A perspective study , Zahra Saeed Alfaraj Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Alternative therapy for sickle cell disease , Huda Alsultan Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The 21st century school teacher librarian: Trends in the Iowa school library survey data over the last decade , Emily Baltes Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Active landing velocity: "pawing motion" , Erin Dean Blind Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The return on investment from comprehensive worksite health promotion programs , Kayla Nicole Blocker Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The downside of being up: The blight of the nonprofit pedestal , Jamie Branch Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Instruction and standards-referenced grading in a 9th grade conceptual physics classroom , John C. Chai Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Closing the knowledge gap between virtual design and product manufacturing : using 3D printing for the ninth grade , Jeremiah D. Cooper Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The 1930s: The Great Depression and beyond ; an annotated bibliography , Tydra Corbin Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The impact of school library circulation policy change: A case study , Kristen Downes Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

On the Prediction of the Peak Demand of Electrical Energy Use , Mahmoud Elbokl Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Middle school leisure reading selection: Influences during selection and implications for school library programs , Jessica A. Elliot Open Access Graduate Research Paper

An annotated bibliography of materials recommended for middle school classrooms regarding the multiple perspectives on the causes of the American Civil War , Emma Folland Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Coaching stances : changing practice through self-reflection , Patricia D. Foster Open Access Graduate Research Paper

ELA teacher perceptions of the school librarian's role in standards implementation , Franny Frey Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Genrifying the school library's fiction collection , Andrea Hora Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The use of marketing in nonprofit organizations , Elizabeth Kehret Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using a 5E learning cycle to adapt a college physics instructional unit for high school , Stacia Marie Kelly Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Best Practices for Adoption of an Inquiry Learning Model in K-5 Education , Michelle M. Kruse Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The inclusion of engineering design into the high school biology curriculum , Cody D. LaKose Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Examining variations in technology use for K-12 students of different gender and socioeconomic status , Nikki Lyons Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Bearing Endplay Verification: Oscillation Analysis , Nathan Madoerin Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Generational characteristics: How do we all play together , Jessica L. Malcheff Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The Role of Importance of Right Goals Setting in Developing the Company's Financial , Seyed Nazar Mousavi Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Effective professional development for elementary teachers : creating dialogic classrooms to improve reading comprehension , Amanda J. Mroch Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Poverty and homelessness : A content analysis of children's nonfiction literature , Christine Newell Open Access Graduate Research Paper

An analysis of online and blended learning environments : measuring approach and learning outcomes in corporate settings , Meghan B. O'Neal Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Factors influencing successful planning and implementation and employee participation in worksite wellness programs , Amanda Ramthun Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Lifeguard fitness readiness: Certification vs. qualification , Jacob Rasmussen Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A study for comprehensive and collaborative relationships: Partnering public schools and nonprofit outdoor programs , Nicole Rottinghaus Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Teacher librarians & literacy coaches: Their roles in reading support , Nicole N. Ruthaivilavan Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Nonprofit marketing strategies for small organizations , Emily Saveraid Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Understanding by Design unit lesson plans for the next generation science standards: life science , Arie Schiller Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Annotated Bibliography of Thematically Related Historical Fiction Picture Books and Nonfiction Pairs , Katherine Seibel Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Poverty's Effect on Students' 21st Century Skills Acquisition and Learning Experiences , Anne Sellers Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The Public Library Experience: Choosing Books to Read from Predetermined Levels and Its Implications , Amy L. Seufert Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Student achievement in the area of inquiry learning with the implementation of 1:1 iPads , Denise Shekleton Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Strength in numbers: collaborating to support nonprofit advocacy , Emily J. Shields Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Plaque Manufacturing Process , Rhys South Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Influx of child immigrants to the United States: Policy & practice implications , Megan Vogt Open Access Graduate Research Paper 2016 Award

How Does the Use of Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Volunteer Programs Impact the Image of Manufacturers? , Krista L. Wahl Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Sustainable microfinancing: improving microenterprise's traditional measures of success , Stephen R. Watson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Submissions from 2014 2014

Productivity Improvement - Six Sigma Influence , Hamad Alhadab Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effectiveness of flipped classroom learning in higher education : a literature review from 2009 to 2014 , Samir Taha Amin Open Access Graduate Research Paper

An investigation of adolescent boys' dispositions toward leisure reading , Julie Barnett Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Value of 5S in Manufacturing , Emsad Begic Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Influencing incoming fourth graders' reading habits through a summer literature circle: A case study , Brandy E. Bingman Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Affordances of flipped learning and its effects on student engagement and achievement , Jarod Bormann Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Overhand throwing: overuse injury analysis , Peter Z. Broome Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Examining professional history as context for instructional meaning , Kristie L. Beyer Campbell Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of on-line math games and e-books use on elementary student achievement , Mel Carnahan Open Access Graduate Research Paper

To complete or not complete : Student persistence in post-secondary education online courses , Amy Christian Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Why don't they read? , Cynde Duncan Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Development and Evaluation of Effectiveness of Performance Improvement Program for a Call Center Organization , Aleksandr Durinov Open Access Graduate Research Paper

"Clicker-Type" Torque Tooling - Calibration Study , Duane Enos Open Access Graduate Research Paper

How fifth grade elementary students select books , Tiffany Evans Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Digital storytelling : the impact on student engagement, motivation and academic learning , Mindy Foelske Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A review of the effects of computer-based reading programs on middle school students , Ann Hansen Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Integrating iPads into the elementary physical education curriculum , Tyler M. Hellmann Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The Usefulness of Graphic Novels as Information Sources for Nonfiction Reading , Sarah Holub Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Understanding motivating factors for college students involvement in club sports , Ryan Thomas Houselog Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The Perceptions of Teacher Librarians and Principals Regarding the Role of the Teacher Librarian in the Implementation of the Iowa Multi-Tiered System of Supports , Katy A. Kauffman Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The collaborative relationship between teacher librarians and public librarians , Jennifer J. Keltner Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of interactive videoconferencing on elementary literacy : collaborative learning environment , Heather A. Klenke Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of Web 2.0 pedagogy on student engagement, collaboration, and achievement , Kelsey Lage Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The impact of blogging on K-12 student learning: engagement, self-expression, and higher-order thinking , Brian McGurk Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Reducing the Manufacturing Critical-Path Time , Matt Meyers Graduate Research Paper (Electronic Copy Not Available)

Technology's Role in Inquiry-Based Learning , Melissa Mulder Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Determining the benefits and designing an externship program for medical office students at Marshalltown Community College , Kristin Murphy Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effect of game-based learning on middle school students' academic achievement , Marija-Lisa Musselman Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Resource to Support Teaching Local History in Baxter, Iowa , Greg Pickett Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Resource to support teaching local history in Baxter, Iowa , Greg Pickett Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The implementation of problem-based learning for adults: Student, instructor, and organization leader challenges , Randon Ruggles Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Project Planning for Insourcing Manufactured Steel Components , Brett M. Schlomann Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using the Apprenticeship Model in a Library Setting , Jennifer Sloan Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The health benefits of dietary fiber consumption of adults in the United States , Nathan Stewart Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Department of Technology Research Paper , Jeremy Thede Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Effective implementation of 1:1 computing : benefits and teacher readiness , Kirstin Thompson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Video modeling : play skills for students with autism spectrum disorder via peers , Ashley Ulin Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Effectiveness of blended learning on student engagement , Tyler Youngers Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Induction Hardening of Axles for Tractors: Metallurgy & Processes , Stephanie Young Graduate Research Paper (Electronic Copy Not Available)

Submissions from 2013 2013

Reader's workshop: A new approach to integrating literacy , Ashlea M. Ahrenholtz Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Prevalence of obesity and culturally appropriate prevention among young adolescents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , Wardah Almahdi Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Improving multiplication fact recall; Interventions that lead to proficiency with mathematical facts , Brandon J. Bauer Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Cold Shoulder: An Alaskan adventure , Christine C. Berlin Open Access Graduate Research Paper

What are the effects of integrating technology into student literacy? , Lauren A. Bitetto Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Teacher perceptions of graphic novels , Katherine Block Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Getting graphic: Exploring the inferential thinking skills that are required to comprehend graphic novels , Angela Brauns Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Vocabulary instruction : becoming word conscious to support reading comprehension , Amy Evelyn Bries Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Building empathy through literacy: A review of classroom literacy practices , Alyssa J. Bruecken Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using TPACK to promote effective language teaching in an ESL/EFL classroom , Wilson M. R. Bugueño Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using readers theaters to help students develop reading fluency , Adrianna D. Cavanaugh Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of explicit writing instruction , Christine M. Clark Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Comparison of student achievement, understanding, enjoyment, and motivation in mathematics units for high-achieving fifth graders with and without creative problem solving games , Kalyn Jon Cody Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Portrayal of Latinos in young adult fiction , Jennifer Cole Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A training guide and reference handbook for elementary school library secretaries in the Iowa City Community School District , Lisa Collier Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Library instruction designed to support core curriculum , Julie Courter Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Artist residency programs: The present and future , Emily Coussens Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Technology, toddlers and vocabulary development , Gwendolyn Dayton Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Effective comprehension strategies in the elementary classroom , Melissa Ann Determan Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The uniqueness of the English language learner : Research based strategies for English language learners , Carolyn Lindgren Dietz Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using the instructional coaching model to implement positive behavior supports in early childhood special education programs , Heather Donoho Open Access Graduate Research Paper

College freshmen dispositional readiness: Examining the perceptions , Jennifer Dovre Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

College freshmen dispositional readiness: Examining the perceptions , Jennifer Dovre Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Literature circles and technology : a study of students' attitudes , Laura Ann Edwards Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Effect of student choice on acquisition of alphabet knowledge , Lindsey L. Fonkert Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The effects of STEM inquiry practices on English language acquisition in a first grade classroom in Thailand , Rebecca J. Fuhrman-Petersen Open Access Graduate Research Paper

What are the mechanisms of action of stereotype threat and how does it contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease in African Americans , Anthony Gage Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Transition to kindergarten : a project for the Grinnell-Newburg School District , Donna Godar Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects of peer-conferencing on writing revisions in a second grade classroom , Emily C. Guetzlaff Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A WebQuest for the Instruction of Appropriate Online Behavior , Susan Heilig Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Books, blogging, and boredom : the impact of one-to-one computing on student engagement and literacy , Amanda M. Hudson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Iowa core technology integration: A resource for kindergarten through second grade teachers , Shalyn Huerter Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Investigating the use of an interactive whiteboard to teach literacy in the early childhood classroom , Laci A. Hummel Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

How elementary students can apply self-guided learning strategies in the classroom , Nicole Ivers Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Gifted student achievement and motivation levels related to participation in gifted programming , Stacey M. Jambura Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A comparison of print and e-book texts with 4th grade students to evaluate comprehension and motivation , Sarah Johnson Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

Misconceptions of the Teacher Librarian Role , Mary Junker Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Collaboration of the Teacher Librarian and the Classroom Teacher to Incorporate Literature and Information Literacy Skills into a Sixth Grade Social Studies Unit , Susan A. Klett Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Library Paraeducators' Training: Assumptions or Facts? , Virginia H. Knapp Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Portrayal of agriculture in children's literature: Contemporary stories in picture books, traditional tales, and nonfiction , Kathryn S. Koller Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Making Historical Fiction Appealing to Young Adults Through Book Trailers , Chelsey Kolpin Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A professional development program for balanced literacy , Sheila Charlene McCullough Open Access Graduate Research Paper

How educators and parents can collaborate to improve student reading fluency , Jackie M. McDermott Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A selective annotated bibliography of materials recommended for junior high classrooms regarding resistance during the Holocaust , Katharine Mulfinger Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Young Adult Memoir Dealing with Alcohol, Abuse, Infidelity, Violence and Poverty , Kelly Reinhold Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using virtual worlds in medical and health education , Amy J. Renze Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Early Childhood Library Resources and Support , Lisa Catherine Riese Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Examining the benefits of technology in training , Nelson Rokke Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Portrayal of Characters with Disabilities within K-6 Fictional Literature , Katie Roling Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Vocabulary acquisition in kindergarten for English language learners: Ventriglia's Rule of 3, or Marzano's Six Steps to Effective Vocabulary Instruction? , Danielle Marie Rose Open Access Graduate Research Paper

101 books for youth that feature hunters & hunting , Leann Seddon Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Integrated curriculum in the elementary classroom , Katherine Decker Simpson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Scheduled library visits and reading achievement , David Stanfield Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Improving 21st century literacy skills and student engagement by integrating digital storytelling across the curriculum , Sandra J. Steinfadt Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Student, Teacher and Parent Perceptions of the Role Accelerated Reader Plays in Elementary Students' Reading Motivation , Jannette Thrane Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Successful Leadership and Communication Within a Company , Ésaïe Toïngar Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A comparative analysis of leisure and tourism in China and in the USA , Xin Wang Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

A need for motivation : increasing engagement to bolster success , Libbie M. Willert Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Facilitating transfer for adult learners through cross-cultural e-learning , Min Zhang Open Access Graduate Research Paper

An Examination of the Criteria for the Iowa Children's Choice Award List , Jessica Zimmerman Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Submissions from 2012 2012

Understanding and meeting the needs of the millennials in the classroom: A literature review , Amanda Alexander Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Implementing a family involvement project in early childhood classrooms , Elizabeth Barrett Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Teens Read book trailers , Jill Besler Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Teachers' perceptions of skills needed for children's entry into kindergarten , Jessica Blohm Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Early Algona: A digital story , Kathy Bottaro Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Leadership of identified gifted compared to high-potential students studying Iowa's natural history , Katie E. Broeg Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Lecture capture technology : does it make a difference on college student achievement? , Debra S. Bruxvoort Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Parental perspective on technology integration in PK-2 in a rural community school , Stephanie L. Callan Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The influence of digital communication on young adult contemporary fiction , Melissa J. Dagel Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Effective professional development and social media technologies' potential for enhancement , Jami J. Elliott Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Professional development for the library para educator: Developing a guide to answer questions about school libraries in the 21st century , Tifini Foglesong Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Supporting English language learners in today's early childhood classrooms , Katie Furlong Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Multicultural picture books: Windows and mirrors , Dawn M. Goodale Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Implementing electronic storybooks and the effects on reading achievement at the elementary level , Chelsey Heidemann Open Access Graduate Research Paper

A Storybook for Children with Celiac Disease , Heather A. Hope Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Fifth graders' discussions of graphic novels facilitated by de Bono Thinking Skills , Kimberly Ann Jennings Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Access versus circulation for kindergarten students , Linda Johnson Graduate Research Paper (UNI Access Only)

The inverted classroom : a literature review , Jennie Kies Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Comparing fossil instruction with and without analogy use for gifted middle-school students , Tabatha J. Klopp Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Concept-Based Picture Books for Mathematics , Miranda E. Kral Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Digital storytelling : building 21st century literacy skills in the secondary classroom , William P. Lammers Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The role of the school principal in technology integration : a literature review , Lance Lennon Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Building 21st century business skills in high school business classrooms using digital games and simulations , Stacy Marcus Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Universal Design for Learning at the University of Northern Iowa , Marty Mark Open Access Graduate Research Paper

School Libraries: Developing a Valuable Resource for Gifted Learners , Corinn K. Matheson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Effective in-service professional development for child care providers , Tina McCullough Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Invented spelling and its value in kindergarten , Michelle J. McDonald Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using Positive Behavior Instructional Support (PBIS) in early childhood , Megan Merkel Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Differentiated instruction : learning profiles, assessment, and professional development , Sharon Kay Meyer Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The effects new literacy and digital learning have on our youth , Joshua L. Mitchell Sr. Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using social technology in professional development: a literature review , Catherine M. Olson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Vocabulary acquisition in preschool English language learners , Leann Perkins Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Teacher education protocol : how social media improves connections between teachers and students , Darcel Pledge Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Integrating literacy into the math classroom : a staff development for innovative educators , Kathryn Pollina Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Social bookmarking in the classroom , Sara Richardson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Try to See Me as Me: Understanding Autism in Children's Literature , Brandee Roelfs Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The use of nonfiction with early childhood aged children , Lacy J. Rose Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Decoding Hollywood: An instructional design module for visual literacy of race, ethnicity, & cultural portrayals in Hollywood films , Derek A. Sallis Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Kindergarten transition and parent communication , Jessica Rae Sandboth Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Measuring depth of understanding when using smartphones as cognitive tools in the elementary classroom , Lisa Westcott Schaa Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The new literacies: Transitioning the secondary writing workshop classroom , Laura Schafer Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Boy's Recreational Reading in a One-to-One Computer School , Michaela Seeman Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Peer coaching in early childhood , Michelle Silvera Open Access Graduate Research Paper

School library circulation records: What do they reveal about boys' reading preferences? , Chelsea Sims Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Positive Portrayal of Family in Children's Books with Homosexual Characters , Amanda Skellenger Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The impact of pretend play on cognitive and academic development of kindergarten students , April Marie Thelen Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Observation as a formal assessment tool in early childhood classrooms: A professional development module , Kathleen M. Thornton-Lang Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Teacher Librarian Evaluation in Small Districts in Four Iowa Counties , Marci Titera Open Access Graduate Research Paper

What About the Girls? The Female Fantasy Protagonist in Contemporary Young Adult Literature , Christine M. Tomlinson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Beyond the dictionary : what teachers can do to help build struggling readers' vocabularies , Stefanie Van Heukelom Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Digital gaming as a learning tool : a literature review , Seth Weylin Vickers Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Library and Technology Combined Curriculum for Kindergarten/First Grade Common Core , Dyann K. Vilez Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The role of teacher belief systems in technology integration , Joni M. Walvatne Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Using serious games in an educational setting , Angela Webb Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Infant literacy , Tera Weber Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Teaching perfectionism through cartoons compared to bibliotherapy for primary grade students , Miranda L. Zousel Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Submissions from 2011 2011

Supporting student learning through scientific inquiry , Allison J. Barness Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Accelerated reader and sustained silent reading's impact on students' motivation to read , Amy Benedict Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Kindergartners can read and understand : emergent reading strategies at work , Kacey Lynn Beyer Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Homework : Providing quality activities that engage the students and extend the learning from the classroom , Angella M. Blatz Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Connecting children's quilt literature with the Iowa Core Curriculum social studies standards , Suzanne D. Burris Open Access Graduate Research Paper

The presence of gender stereotypes in children's picture book illustrations , Jenahlee Chamberlain Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Teaching poetry writing in the primary grades , Staci Cramer-Wilkinson Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Immigration as portrayed in literature for youth , April A. Crowder Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Readers' workshop in the elementary classroom , Alaina Terese Daters Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Surveying the online classroom : Student reactions to e-learning , Jordan Dierks Open Access Graduate Research Paper

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Research Paper Guidelines | Graduate School | SIU

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Standards for the preparation of research papers are established by the graduate faculty at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and the administration of the Graduate School. All revisions are subject to the approval of the Graduate School. Guidelines for Preparation of Dissertations, Theses, and Research Papers A research paper may have chapters or may be a continuous document (without chapters). If you are unclear as to whether you are completing a thesis or a research paper, please consult with your advisor.

Each department has selected one or more preferred style manuals , and all students within the department are to use one of those styles. 

Submission Site:

Mr. John Russell [email protected] 618-453-4529 Student Services Building 325

General Instructions

Filing of Research Papers with the Graduate School

Submit electronically through  OpenSIUC . A Microsoft Word document is preferred, Adobe pdf documents are acceptable.

Approval Form.  All research papers submitted to the Graduate School must have an original approval form signed by the student's committee, and generally the department chair. This must be submitted to the Graduate School.

Human Subjects . All copies of research papers submitted to the Graduate School that need the human subjects approval as defined by the Human Subjects Committee must file a copy with the Graduate School.

Deadline Dates for Submission.  The dates are posted at the Graduate School for both deadlines to apply for graduation and the submission of papers. These deadlines are firm dates and no extensions will be given.

Organization Of Material

Download the Research Paper Template to use for your research paper. It contains all of the required formatting.

Organizational format should be as follows:

• Approval page
• Abstract (optional)
• Acknowledgments / Dedication (not required)
• Table of Contents
• List of tables with page references
• List of figures with page references
•  Exhibits (tables, figures, photographs, etc. when not distributed in the text)
•  Bibliography (or appropriate title prescribed by style manual chosen)
• Appendices (not required)
• Human subjects committee approval form when required (photocopy)
• Vita sheet (should have a page number)

If a research paper is to be copyrighted, an extra page must be inserted after the title page.  The copyright statement is to be centered on the page as follows:

Copyright by (your name) 20__

All Rights Reserved

Charts, Tables, and Figures

• Generally, students will use the computer to design figures and graphs.
• Table heading and style of headings must follow the style manual chosen. Generally, table titles are above the table and figure titles are below the figure, but the placement selected must be followed consistently.
• Spacing within the table may be single or double spaced based on the readability of the data.
• Font style and size should be consistent throughout the document, unless a table requires a smaller size. Six (6) point font should be the smallest used. Titles should be consistent in size and style of font as used throughout the document.
• There should be a judicious use of spacing to "set off" tables, charts, and figures; typically one or two double-spaces before and after the table. Again, once spacing is chosen, you must be consistent throughout.

MAPS.  Oversize maps may be included as a supplemental file.  

APPENDICES.  List of terms, definitions, questionnaires, and other supplemental information which is useful, but not essential, to the body of the research paper may be included in an appendix.

MARGINS. Margins are flexible within the appendix but keep in mind that the left binding edge will cover approximately 1 inch of data. Page numbers need to continue within the appendix with the same font and the same position on the page as in the text. The Graduate School consultants can advise you about this if needed. 

COLOR.  Color is permitted.

ADDITIONAL FILES.  You may upload multimedia files (video or audio files). Follow instructions at  OpenSIUC .

Formatting Guidelines

• Ariel, Bookman, Courier, Times New Roman
• The body of the document should use a 10 or 12 point font. Headings and subheadings may go up one size and up to 14 point but must be of the same font style as the body of the text. 
• Bold  format may be used only as specified by the style manual chosen.
• Italics  may be used only as specified by the style manual chosen. In general, it may be used for Genera, species, letters, words or phrases cited as an linguistic example, and foreign words.
• The body of the document must be double spaced.
• Extended direct quotations should be presented consistently with the style manual selected.  

MARGINS AND INDENTATIONS

  ** MARGINS ARE ONE INCH ON ALL SIDES.

• Opening pages (Table of Contents, Chapters, Bibliography, etc.) that are required by the style manual to have a set top margin may have a larger than one inch top margin on those pages. Charts, tables, and figures may have greater margins than listed but may not go into the required margins.
• Paragraph indentations should be uniform five spaces. There should be no extra spacing between paragraphs.

The following guidelines are for the pages preceding the text, i.e. Abstract, Acknowledgments, and Table of Contents.

• The pages preceding the text should be numbered in small Roman numbers. The numerals should be centered between the one and one-half inch margin on the left, the one inch margin on the right, and one-half inch up from the bottom edge of the paper.  
• Text pages, bibliography, and appendices should follow the style manual chosen. Numbers should consist of numerals only, without punctuation, embellishment, or running headers. Paging should be continuous including the bibliography, appendices, and vita. Except for preceding pages, the style must be adhered to throughout the document. The first page of text starts with Arabic numeral 1.

This recent guideline revision supersedes all previous editions. Take this into consideration as you review previous research papers from the library or your department.

Roles And Responsibilities

The Graduate Student's Responsibility

• Subject matter and content
• Organization and format
• Editorial, linguistic, and bibliographic quality
• Quality of text, figures, and photocopy
• Quality of data, evidence, and logical reasoning presented
• Presentation of the manuscript based on current style manual of the field and Graduate School guidelines

The Advisory Committee's Responsibility

• Approval of the subject matter and methodology of the research
• Approval of the organization, content, and format
• Review of the quality of data and evidence, logical reasoning, and the editorial, linguistic, and bibliographic quality
• Evaluation of the research paper as a basis for certification that the student has fulfilled the requirements of the degree for which the student is a candidate

The Research Paper Consultant's Responsibility

• Providing counsel and advice upon request by students and members of the student's committee about the format aspects of research paper preparation
• Checking the final draft of each research paper to insure that it has been prepared in conformity with the requirements of this guide

Departmental Style Manual

Each department has selected one or more preferred style manuals and all students within the department are to use one of those styles.

*APA:  American Psychological Association Publication Manual

*MLA:  Modern Language Association Handbook for Writers of Research Papers

HOW TO SUBMIT RESEARCH PAPERS TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL (At a Glance)

Submission site -  OpenSIUC

ALL REVISIONS ARE DUE BY THE DEADLINE DATE! NO EXCEPTIONS!

KEYWORD: Be Consistent

• Write your paper following the Graduate School Guidelines and the Departmental Style Manual.
• Apply for graduation by the 4th week of the term you plan to graduate for Fall / Spring and by the 2nd week of the Summer term.
• Defend your paper.
• Margins: Left, right, top, and bottom margins = 1 inch.
• Spacing: Double spacing throughout; no right justification.
• Headings: Be consistent with top margin, font style, and size. Primary / Chapter headings should be in all caps.
• Pagination: Front matter should have Roman numeral page numbers bottom centered.
• Submit to OpenSIUC.
• Make changes as indicated by the consultant.
• Submit one approval form and one oral defense form.

1000+ FREE Research Topics & Ideas

If you’re at the start of your research journey and are trying to figure out which research topic you want to focus on, you’ve come to the right place. Select your area of interest below to view a comprehensive collection of potential research ideas.

Research Topic FAQs

What (exactly) is a research topic.

A research topic is the subject of a research project or study – for example, a dissertation or thesis. A research topic typically takes the form of a problem to be solved, or a question to be answered.

A good research topic should be specific enough to allow for focused research and analysis. For example, if you are interested in studying the effects of climate change on agriculture, your research topic could focus on how rising temperatures have impacted crop yields in certain regions over time.

To learn more about the basics of developing a research topic, consider our free research topic ideation webinar.

What constitutes a good research topic?

A strong research topic comprises three important qualities : originality, value and feasibility.

• Originality – a good topic explores an original area or takes a novel angle on an existing area of study.
• Value – a strong research topic provides value and makes a contribution, either academically or practically.
• Feasibility – a good research topic needs to be practical and manageable, given the resource constraints you face.

To learn more about what makes for a high-quality research topic, check out this post .

What's the difference between a research topic and research problem?

A research topic and a research problem are two distinct concepts that are often confused. A research topic is a broader label that indicates the focus of the study , while a research problem is an issue or gap in knowledge within the broader field that needs to be addressed.

To illustrate this distinction, consider a student who has chosen “teenage pregnancy in the United Kingdom” as their research topic. This research topic could encompass any number of issues related to teenage pregnancy such as causes, prevention strategies, health outcomes for mothers and babies, etc.

Within this broad category (the research topic) lies potential areas of inquiry that can be explored further – these become the research problems . For example:

• What factors contribute to higher rates of teenage pregnancy in certain communities?
• How do different types of parenting styles affect teen pregnancy rates?
• What interventions have been successful in reducing teenage pregnancies?

Simply put, a key difference between a research topic and a research problem is scope ; the research topic provides an umbrella under which multiple questions can be asked, while the research problem focuses on one specific question or set of questions within that larger context.

How can I find potential research topics for my project?

There are many steps involved in the process of finding and choosing a high-quality research topic for a dissertation or thesis. We cover these steps in detail in this video (also accessible below).

How can I find quality sources for my research topic?

Finding quality sources is an essential step in the topic ideation process. To do this, you should start by researching scholarly journals, books, and other academic publications related to your topic. These sources can provide reliable information on a wide range of topics. Additionally, they may contain data or statistics that can help support your argument or conclusions.

Identifying Relevant Sources

When searching for relevant sources, it’s important to look beyond just published material; try using online databases such as Google Scholar or JSTOR to find articles from reputable journals that have been peer-reviewed by experts in the field.

You can also use search engines like Google or Bing to locate websites with useful information about your topic. However, be sure to evaluate any website before citing it as a source—look for evidence of authorship (such as an “About Us” page) and make sure the content is up-to-date and accurate before relying on it.

Evaluating Sources

Once you’ve identified potential sources for your research project, take some time to evaluate them thoroughly before deciding which ones will best serve your purpose. Consider factors such as author credibility (are they an expert in their field?), publication date (is the source current?), objectivity (does the author present both sides of an issue?) and relevance (how closely does this source relate to my specific topic?).

By researching the current literature on your topic, you can identify potential sources that will help to provide quality information. Once you’ve identified these sources, it’s time to look for a gap in the research and determine what new knowledge could be gained from further study.

How can I find a good research gap?

Finding a strong gap in the literature is an essential step when looking for potential research topics. We explain what research gaps are and how to find them in this post.

How should I evaluate potential research topics/ideas?

When evaluating potential research topics, it is important to consider the factors that make for a strong topic (we discussed these earlier). Specifically:

• Originality
• Feasibility

So, when you have a list of potential topics or ideas, assess each of them in terms of these three criteria. A good topic should take a unique angle, provide value (either to academia or practitioners), and be practical enough for you to pull off, given your limited resources.

Finally, you should also assess whether this project could lead to potential career opportunities such as internships or job offers down the line. Make sure that you are researching something that is relevant enough so that it can benefit your professional development in some way. Additionally, consider how each research topic aligns with your career goals and interests; researching something that you are passionate about can help keep motivation high throughout the process.

How can I assess the feasibility of a research topic?

When evaluating the feasibility and practicality of a research topic, it is important to consider several factors.

First, you should assess whether or not the research topic is within your area of competence. Of course, when you start out, you are not expected to be the world’s leading expert, but do should at least have some foundational knowledge.

Time commitment

When considering a research topic, you should think about how much time will be required for completion. Depending on your field of study, some topics may require more time than others due to their complexity or scope.

Additionally, if you plan on collaborating with other researchers or institutions in order to complete your project, additional considerations must be taken into account such as coordinating schedules and ensuring that all parties involved have adequate resources available.

Resources needed

It’s also critically important to consider what type of resources are necessary in order to conduct the research successfully. This includes physical materials such as lab equipment and chemicals but can also include intangible items like access to certain databases or software programs which may be necessary depending on the nature of your work. Additionally, if there are costs associated with obtaining these materials then this must also be factored into your evaluation process.

Potential risks

It’s important to consider the inherent potential risks for each potential research topic. These can include ethical risks (challenges getting ethical approval), data risks (not being able to access the data you’ll need), technical risks relating to the equipment you’ll use and funding risks (not securing the necessary financial back to undertake the research).

If you’re looking for more information about how to find, evaluate and select research topics for your dissertation or thesis, check out our free webinar here . Alternatively, if you’d like 1:1 help with the topic ideation process, consider our private coaching services .

Psst… there’s more (for free)

This post is part of our dissertation mini-course, which covers everything you need to get started with your dissertation, thesis or research project. 

Harvard University Theses, Dissertations, and Prize Papers

The Harvard University Archives ’ collection of theses, dissertations, and prize papers document the wide range of academic research undertaken by Harvard students over the course of the University’s history.

Beyond their value as pieces of original research, these collections document the history of American higher education, chronicling both the growth of Harvard as a major research institution as well as the development of numerous academic fields. They are also an important source of biographical information, offering insight into the academic careers of the authors.

Spanning from the ‘theses and quaestiones’ of the 17th and 18th centuries to the current yearly output of student research, they include both the first Harvard Ph.D. dissertation (by William Byerly, Ph.D . 1873) and the dissertation of the first woman to earn a doctorate from Harvard ( Lorna Myrtle Hodgkinson , Ed.D. 1922).

Other highlights include:

• The collection of Mathematical theses, 1782-1839
• The 1895 Ph.D. dissertation of W.E.B. Du Bois, The suppression of the African slave trade in the United States, 1638-1871
• Ph.D. dissertations of astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (Ph.D. 1925) and physicist John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (Ph.D. 1922)
• Undergraduate honors theses of novelist John Updike (A.B. 1954), filmmaker Terrence Malick (A.B. 1966),  and U.S. poet laureate Tracy Smith (A.B. 1994)
• Undergraduate prize papers and dissertations of philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson (A.B. 1821), George Santayana (Ph.D. 1889), and W.V. Quine (Ph.D. 1932)
• Undergraduate honors theses of U.S. President John F. Kennedy (A.B. 1940) and Chief Justice John Roberts (A.B. 1976)

What does a prize-winning thesis look like?

If you're a Harvard undergraduate writing your own thesis, it can be helpful to review recent prize-winning theses. The Harvard University Archives has made available for digital lending all of the Thomas Hoopes Prize winners from the 2019-2021 academic years.

Accessing These Materials

How to access materials at the Harvard University Archives

How to find and request dissertations, in person or virtually

How to find and request undergraduate honors theses

How to find and request Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize papers

How to find and request Bowdoin Prize papers

• email: Email
• Phone number 617-495-2461

Related Collections

Harvard faculty personal and professional archives, harvard student life collections: arts, sports, politics and social life, access materials at the harvard university archives.

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Types of Research Papers: Overview

A research paper is simply a piece of writing that uses outside sources. There are different types of research papers with varying purposes and expectations for sourcing.

While this guide explains those differences broadly, disciplines and assignments vary. Ask your professor for clarification on the purpose and types of appropriate research questions and sources.

Need More Help?

Related guides.

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• Starting Your Research

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Computer Science > Computation and Language

Title: realm: reference resolution as language modeling.

Abstract: Reference resolution is an important problem, one that is essential to understand and successfully handle context of different kinds. This context includes both previous turns and context that pertains to non-conversational entities, such as entities on the user's screen or those running in the background. While LLMs have been shown to be extremely powerful for a variety of tasks, their use in reference resolution, particularly for non-conversational entities, remains underutilized. This paper demonstrates how LLMs can be used to create an extremely effective system to resolve references of various types, by showing how reference resolution can be converted into a language modeling problem, despite involving forms of entities like those on screen that are not traditionally conducive to being reduced to a text-only modality. We demonstrate large improvements over an existing system with similar functionality across different types of references, with our smallest model obtaining absolute gains of over 5% for on-screen references. We also benchmark against GPT-3.5 and GPT-4, with our smallest model achieving performance comparable to that of GPT-4, and our larger models substantially outperforming it.

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AI has moved into its era of deployment; throughout 2022 and the beginning of 2023, new large-scale AI models have been released every month. These models, such as ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, Whisper, and DALL-E 2, are capable of an increasingly broad range of tasks, from text manipulation and analysis, to image generation, to unprecedentedly good speech recognition. These systems demonstrate capabilities in question answering, and the generation of text, image, and code unimagined a decade ago, and they outperform the state of the art on many benchmarks, old and new. However, they are prone to hallucination, routinely biased, and can be tricked into serving nefarious aims, highlighting the complicated ethical challenges associated with their deployment.

Although 2022 was the first year in a decade where private AI investment decreased, AI is still a topic of great interest to policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and the public. Policymakers are talking about AI more than ever before. Industry leaders that have integrated AI into their businesses are seeing tangible cost and revenue benefits. The number of AI publications and collaborations continues to increase. And the public is forming sharper opinions about AI and which elements they like or dislike.

AI will continue to improve and, as such, become a greater part of all our lives. Given the increased presence of this technology and its potential for massive disruption, we should all begin thinking more critically about how exactly we want AI to be developed and deployed. We should also ask questions about who is deploying it—as our analysis shows, AI is increasingly defined by the actions of a small set of private sector actors, rather than a broader range of societal actors. This year’s AI Index paints a picture of where we are so far with AI, in order to highlight what might await us in the future.

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Princeton engineering, grad alum avi wigderson wins turing award for groundbreaking insights in computer science.

By Scott Lyon

April 10, 2024

Avi Wigderson has won the 2023 Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery. Photos by Andrea Kane, courtesy of the Institute for Advanced Study

Princeton graduate alumnus Avi Wigderson has won the 2023 A.M. Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), recognizing his profound contributions to the mathematical underpinnings of computation.

The Turing Award is considered the highest honor in computer science, often called the “Nobel Prize of Computing.”

Wigderson, the Herbert H. Maass Professor in the Institute for Advanced Study ’s School of Mathematics, earned his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1983 in what was then the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

In addition to the Turing Award, he is also the recipient of the 2021 Abel Prize , considered the highest honor in mathematics, from the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. He is the only person ever to have won both the Abel Prize and the Turing Award.

“Mathematics is foundational to computer science and Wigderson’s work has connected a wide range of mathematical sub-areas to theoretical computer science,” ACM President Yannis Ioannidis said in a statement released by the organization.

“Avi Wigderson is a giant in the field of theoretical computer science, bringing fundamental insights to deep questions about what can — or cannot — be computed efficiently,” said Jennifer Rexford , Princeton’s provost and Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering . “He is also a wonderful colleague and a longtime friend of the University.”

Wigderson is best known for his work on computational complexity theory, especially the role of randomness in computation. Namely, in a series of highly influential works from the 1990s, Wigderson and colleagues proved that computation can be efficient without randomness, shaping algorithm design ever since. He has also established important ideas in several other areas, including protocol design and cryptography, which enables much of today’s digital infrastructure.

While his work is primarily mathematical, the notions he is trying to understand through that work are computational, Wigderson said in a video released by the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS). That approach has earned him a reputation as one of the most versatile minds in either discipline.

“He is one of the most central people in theoretical computer science, generally,” said Ran Raz , a professor of computer science at Princeton, who was Wigderson’s graduate student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Wigderson has influenced countless students and thinkers, having mentored more than 100 postdocs and collaborated with an unusually broad range of scholars. “He is always able to make connections between things,” Raz said.

“He’s an inspiration,” said Pravesh Kothari , an assistant professor of computer science at Princeton and a former postdoctoral advisee of Wigderson’s at IAS. “He’s a role model. If I could become 10 percent of the researcher he is, it would be a fantastic success for my career.” Kothari also said Wigderson implores young researchers to view the entire endeavor as one field. And that approach shows up in all of his work, connecting disparate problems from sub-disciplines that are normally seen as unrelated.

His research has “set the agenda in theoretical computer science” for decades, Google Senior Vice President Jeff Dean said in the ACM press release. His work has also found its way directly into everyday life.

In a series of findings at the intersection of mathematics and computer science, Wigderson cemented what is known as the zero-knowledge proof, critical in cryptography and digital security. The technique has found purchase in modern applications of privacy, compliance, identity verification and blockchain technology.

Raz said he was amazed at how far Wigderson’s ideas had traveled, from the depths of mathematics to the technologies that enable global enterprise to the everyday lives of billions of people. “It’s quite amazing that these things can be made practical,” Raz said.

Szymon Rusinkiewicz , the David M. Siegel ’83 Professor of Computer Science and department chair, added that Wigderson has been a great friend to Princeton’s computer science community, including to students and young scholars. “He has had a great influence throughout the world of computer science, and we especially feel that at Princeton, where he has been a great mentor and collaborator.”

Wigderson is the recipient of numerous other awards, including the 1994 IMU Abacus Medal, the 2009 Gödel Prize and the 2019 Donald E. Knuth Prize. He is currently a Fellow of the ACM, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

At Princeton, in addition to his Ph.D., he earned an M.S.E. in 1981, an M.A. in 1982, and he later served on Princeton’s computer science faculty from 1990 to 1992. He joined IAS in 1999, where he established the program in Computer Science and Discrete Mathematics.

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Facts Ignored: The Truth is Flexible When Falsehoods Support Political Beliefs

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This paper presents results from a series of online surveys—conducted among American voters during and after the (President Donald) Trump administration—that show how voters (both Republican and Democratic) provide explicit moral justification for politicians’ statements that flagrantly violate the norm of fact-grounding. Such justification is inconsistent with prevailing theory, whereby partisan voters’ tendency (due either to laziness or bias) to mistake misinformation for fact is the only factor responsible for their positive response to misinformation purveyed by partisan standard bearers. The studies presented in this paper provide consistent evidence of such factual flexibility. Yet they also provide consistent evidence of moral flexibility, whereby voters justify demagogic fact-flouting as an effective way of proclaiming a deeply resonant political “truth.” A key implication is that political misinformation cannot be fully eliminated by getting voters to distinguish fact from fiction; voters’ moral orientations may be such that they prefer fact-flouting. More general lessons pertain to the role of democratic norms in liberal democracies and to how moral orientations relate to perceived interests.

Why do people support politicians who make blatantly false statements?

A forthcoming study dug into this phenomenon and found that people knowingly support falsehoods when it aligns with their personal politics.

The research, led by Minjae Kim of Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business and co-authored by Oliver Hahl of Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and Ezra W. Zuckerman Sivan of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, sought to discern why people support politicians who disseminate information that is not truthful.

Read the full article here.

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