Links or PDF copies of ALL sources must be turned by the paper deadline. This material (along with the correct citations/documentation) will be counted as part of your final grade; failure to submit this information will result in a loss of one full letter-grade.This is NOT a book report—there must be an argumentative thesis statement that is the result of the research you conduct.
This video tutorial will refresh your familiarity with OneSearch - our main tool for searching books, articles, news reports, and statistics.
This paper will require you to use a variety of research strategies that we have discussed in class— database research, web research, personal research (interviews and/or experiments)—as well as a diverse mix of types of sources--both primary and secondary source material. Primary sources are those original documents. Secondary sources are any material that comments on another text (e.g., articles in a journal or books about a topic).
Note: these are NOT your only options. YOU need to design your own question whenever possible
How does higher education vary from country to country (i.e., what does higher education look like in Asia?
Australia? Russia? France? UK?) Why might these differences be what they are? Be able to offer examples
and discussion of international educational structures and requirements.
What is the history of community college? How did they come to be? (Items to investigate: night school,
junior college, correspondence college, et cetera)
Compare higher education (namely college/university) to trade schools. What sort of entrance requirements
are there? What is the curriculum like? How long does it take to graduate?
Investigate the history and appeal of a liberal arts education as it applies to the American university system
(What is it? What is the purpose of this sort of educational structure? What are the benefits/drawbacks?).
You might also compare a liberal arts education to that gained at a R-1 University.
Investigate the rising costs of college— Why does college cost so much? what is included now that wasn’t
before? What does the tuition money pay for? (hint: it’s not professors’ salaries). 😊
What’s the difference between a non-profit and a for-profit college or university? What are the benefits?
Drawbacks?
Examine the various forms of plagiarism—what exactly is it and why is it wrong? Is it an ethical or cultural
issue? Why do people plagiarize (hint: it’s not just students who do this)? What discussions are out there
about plagiarism? What should be done when someone is caught plagiarizing?
Grading systems—not all colleges and universities use a conventional grading system. Research the various
ways of assessing knowledge and argue which method is best.
What three courses should ALL college students take, regardless of their major? Why?
Higher Education & Freedom of Speech—how does “cancel culture” affect higher education? Does it
undermine education? Why or why not?
OneSearch covers a wide variety of academic & popular topics and it searches many of our databases simultaneously. For more focused research, try SIRS Issues Researcher or Opposing Viewpoints in Context on the other tabs.
In addition to Keywords make sure to use the Subject Tags in the OneSearch toolbar to focus on your specific inquiry topic.
Fun fact: If you are using your phone instead of a PC, the toolbar might be hidden behind an icon that looks like a golf tee at the top of the page. On a normal desktop browser, the toolbar will already be visible and will run down the left-hand side of the page
