A 12-15 plus page (this is a guideline) formal research paper on a topic related to the course content and approved by the instructor. Choose a topic for your paper that reflects a subject we've studied in this course that you'd like to know more about - it could be about the interaction of society and a particular disability, an aspect of disability history, about a societal issue (poverty, gender, services and supports) or an international issue relating to disability. The paper must include an analysis of the research topic using the social model of disability.

The paper must have a minimum of five peer reviewed journal articles, at least ten citations and use APA format. The page count does NOT include the title, abstract or reference pages. Peer reviewed journal articles are those from professional publications that have been reviewed before publication. For many students, the use of Peer Reviewed journal articles is a new experience. CUNY has one of the most extensive online full-text electronic references available of any University in the country. Learning how to find and use Peer reviewed journal articles in your research is one of the expectations of this class and of being a Master’s student. Tips, guidelines, and suggestions for finding and using Peer Reviewed journal articles are available in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the course Blackboard. For those students who have not had experience writing a research paper, I highly recommend you work with the CUNY tutoring center. A one-page written description of the proposed research topic must be submitted and approved by the instructor. You can submit the research proposal earlier for review, if desired, to provide more time for the project. The purpose of the proposal is for you to receive feedback from the Professor and your peers. The more detail you provide, the better feedback you will receive. The proposal should include: 1. What is the topic of your research? 2. What is the research question you are trying to answer? 3. Describe the goal of the research. Why did you pick this topic? 4. What research, making connections have you done to date? 5. Three (3) Peer reviewed journal articles with annotations and formatted in APA format. The journal articles should inform the research you are conducting (See below for how to find Peer Reviewed journal articles and how to write an Annotated Bibliography). An Annotated Bibliography describes the most important points in a journal article in a few sentences. I have provided an example of an annotated bibliography from a past student at this link: Annotated Bibliography Sample.pdf. A very helpful guide on how to do an annotated bibliography is available at http://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography. Another useful guide is at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/ If you would like help choosing a topic, ask early.