Research for your paper should include 2-3 scholarly texts and 1-2 pop culture texts. All
electronic sources must be verifiable. ‘Scholarly texts’ are academic journal articles (can be
found electronically through the UMass library) and books published by academic publishers
(such as University-named presses). ‘Pop culture’ sources are those found in the mainstream
media, such as newspapers, magazines (in print or online), movies (including documentaries),
TV shows, music, games, blogs, podcasts, etc
The first step in a research project is to choose the topic. All research answers the “so what”
question: What is the topic and why does it matter? How will studying this topic benefit society?
Most research fills a gap in understanding. And because this is a mini-research paper, be sure to
consider a manageable topic: What can be studied in just a few weeks, and reported on in just a
few pages?