Reasearch Paper?

Question

I have not written a paper in years. I am a computer science major and I am taking a course in Sociology. I have to write a paper, and I can't for the life of my figure out where to start. My topic is the gender gap in computer science education. Any help would be great!

Answer 1

I would think that one way to approach a project like this would be to thumb through some scholarly journal articles on sociology to see the type of structure and style they use in their articles.

After all, the dream scenario for any college writing project is for your instructor to say, this is great. Not only am I giving it an A+, I would suggest you submit it for publication to the such-and-such journal. I would be happy to offer a few suggestions to make it suitable for publication and recommend you to the board of editors of the journal.

Good luck!

Answer 2

First you have to decide if it's an expository paper (just explains the topic) or a persuasive topic.

For example, a thesis for an expository paper would be--The gender gap in computer science education is getting smaller. (If indeed it is)

For a persuasive paper, the thesis could be--Since a gender gap exists in computer education, schools should encourage girls to take courses in computers.

Do some preliminary research so that you are familiar enough with the topic to decide upon a pattern of organization.

Good luck

Answer 3

Typically, for a research paper, it's better to find your thesis. The thesis is, in my opinion, the back bone of the research paper The next things is to categorize what can help support your thesis and give readers knowledge on the subject. The categories can be your paragraphs and it will help make finding information easier. Then write your conclusion and put the work cited.

This is how I am taught in high school...I am not sure if it will help you or not.

Answer 4

Blogs are a great place to collect well-written ideas for a research paper...

Technorati offers blog searches and makes tracking down a group of articles much easier...start with the Technology Channel:
http://www.technorati.com/topics/technology

Answer 5

Your probably have access to a number of periodical databases through your college. Using one called Ebsco Academic Search Premier, I searched computer science and women and education and came up with 55 full text articles, a number of which looked as if they might be useful. I'd suggest you contact your college library and see which databases you might have access to.

Also, check:
http://www.cra.org/reports/gradrr07.pdf
http://anitaborg.org/files/womenhightechworld.pdf
http://www.cs.unt.edu/~rakl/KA07.pdf
http://olympus.cs.cmu.edu/news/Articles/NYTimes.pdf
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~menzel/pubs/G-UGreportFinalv4.pdf
http://wtp.mit.edu/2-sided%20Poster(2008).pdf
http://www.cs.brown.edu/~dang/media/conduit_robert_redford.pdf
http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/ocwic/docs/sader.pdf