Updated September 24, 2015
Substantial Research Paper Guidelines
Comparative and Regional Studies (CRS)
Program Director: Dr. Jessica Trisko Darden
Office: SIS 335A
Phone: 202-885-6568
Email: trisko@american.edu
SIS Graduate Advising Office
Office: SIS 250
Phone: 202-885-1690
Email: sisgradadvising@american.edu
Program Coordinator: Marianne Menius
Office: SIS 335B
Phone: 202-885-1760
Email: mmenius@american.edu
CRS Advisor: Marisa Rivero
Office: SIS 200
Phone: 202-885-1649
Email: mrivero@american.edu
The Substantial Research Paper (SRP) is the capstone, integrative project for master’s degree
students at the School of International Service. The purpose of the SRP is to further develop
your expertise in an issue and to demonstrate your ability to conduct theoretically informed,
analytical research.
I. SRP REQUIREMENTS
SUPERVISOR: Whenever it is appropriate, a full-time SIS faculty member associated with
CRS should act as the SRP supervisor. It is possible that a supervisor in another department of
SIS or AU may be more appropriate to the specific SRP. In such instances, the student must
receive approval from the CRS Program Director and is responsible for explaining the above
requirements to the 'external' supervisor. For the MA thesis, one of the two faculty readers must
be affiliated with CRS.
CONTENT: The SRP asks and answers an analytical research question based on a topic within
the field of Comparative and Regional Studies. The SRP must contain both a review of existing
scholarly literature and original research critiquing or contributing to that literature. The
research must be empirically grounded and theoretically informed.
SIS regulations require an approximately fifty-page paper plus a bibliography. For a MA thesis,
SIS regulations require a hundred page paper plus bibliography. The bibliography must consist
mainly of peer-reviewed scholarship from academic books, journals, and/or conference papers
and primary sources of data used in your research.
QUALITY OF THE WRITING: Recipients of master’s degrees in international affairs are
expected to be skillful writers. Consequently, students writing SRPs are held to a high standard
for the quality of their prose. The SRP must be logically organized and grammatically correct.
References to published literature (i.e., notes and bibliography) must follow an appropriate
academic format. You should strongly consider using EndNote or some other software to
manage your citations and bibliography.
1
Updated September 24, 2015
GRADING: SRP grades will be based on the quality of the research and the quality of the
writing. Students must receive a grade of B or better for the SRP to satisfy graduation
requirements.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Standards of academic conduct are set forth in the University’s
Academic Integrity Code. By registering for the SRP, the student acknowledges their awareness
of the Academic Integrity Code and is obligated to become familiar with their rights and
responsibilities as defined by the Code. This includes understanding and recognizing plagiarism.
It has become increasingly easy to copy digitized materials and to cut and paste from electronic
sources. Unfortunately, this makes plagiarism and other violations easier. This, in turn, has led to
increased scrutiny of student work to verify that academic integrity has been upheld. Therefore,
students should keep copies of their research materials and drafts so they will be able to
document the work they have done in case a question is raised about sources or the originality of
their work. Violations of the Academic Integrity Code will not be treated lightly, and disciplinary
action will be taken should such violations occur.
More information on academic integrity can be found at:
http://www.american.edu/academics/integrity/.
II. STEPS IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS
The Substantial Research Paper involves a series of steps:
1. INITIAL PLANNING: It is essential that you obtain faculty approval for your project in the
semester prior to when you plan to write your SRP. It is your responsibility to identify a
potential supervisor and to meet with him/her to discuss your topic in the semester that
precedes the one in which you register for the SRP. (See schedule below).
To prepare for a meeting with a potential faculty supervisor, you should have a topic in mind,
as well as several potential research questions and a short bibliography of the relevant
literature. Be sure to contact the faculty member via email in advance of meeting so that
your request for supervision is anticipated.
It is also your responsibility to be informed about research with human subjects. If your
project involves interviews, surveys, or observations of people, then before you begin this
portion of your research you must receive approval from the University Institutional Review
Board (IRB). See http://www.american.edu/irb/index.cfm for current protocols.
2. PROPOSAL: Prepare a proposal that is an extended outline (~5 pages), which lays out:
your research question; a discussion of its importance; a discussion of the literature you
intend to review; a description of your method for data collection and analysis; a preliminary
bibliography; and a schedule of expected completion dates for each stage of the research
project. This proposal must be fully completed and approved by your faculty supervisor
before you can register for SRP credits. (See schedule below.) Faculty members are not
obliged to supervise students who start the planning process too late to complete their
2
Updated September 24, 2015
proposal before the SRP registration deadline. Please note that the proposal is a draft
document subject to feedback and input from the faculty advisor.
3. ROUGH DRAFT: During the semester when you are conducting your research and writing
your SRP, you should submit a rough draft of the paper to your SRP supervisor for feedback.
Separate deadlines can be set for the rough draft of the literature review and the rough draft
of the analysis of evidence, as approved in the proposal.
4. FINAL PAPER: Submit the final paper by the deadline agreed upon with your faculty
supervisor. The final paper should be submitted to your faculty supervisor and to the CRS
Program office (crs@american.edu).
III. SRP SCHEDULE
1. FOR SRPs WRITTEN IN THE SPRING SEMESTER:
1. Initial planning: October/November, with approval of your proposal by November 15.
2. Registration deadline: last day of the Add/Drop period – for exact date, please see
academic calendar*
3. Rough draft: early to mid-March.
4. Final version must be submitted at least one week before the last day of class to your SRP
faculty supervisor and to the CRS Program Office (crs@american.edu) in order for the
faculty to evaluate the paper.
2. FOR SRPs WRITTEN IN THE FALL SEMESTER:
1. Initial planning: February/March, with approval of your proposal by March 15.
2. Registration deadline: last day of the Add/Drop period – for exact date, please see
academic calendar*
3. Rough draft: early to mid-November.
4. Final version must be submitted at least one week before the last day of class to your SRP
faculty supervisor and to the CRS Program Office (crs@american.edu) in order for the
faculty to evaluate the paper.
*American University Academic Calendar:
https://www.american.edu/provost/registrar/schedule/academic-calendar.cfm
IV. APPROVED FACULTY FOR CRS SRP/THESIS SUPERVISION
Comparative and Regional Studies:
1. Acharya, Amitav
2. Ahmed, Akbar
3. Auerbach, Adam
4. Darden, Keith
5. Dore, Giovanna
6. Egan, Michelle (On leave AY 2015/16)
3
Updated September 24, 2015
7. Gallaher, Carole
8. Giraudy, Agustina
9. Hardig, Anders
10. Hart, Austin (On leave Spring 2016)
11. Heng, Pek Koon
12. Lambright, Gina
13. Lee, Ji-Young
14. LeVan, Carl
15. Mokhtari, Shadi
16. Robinson, Rachel Sullivan (On leave Fall 2015)
17. Schneider, Cathy (On leave AY 2015/16)
18. Taylor, Matthew
19. Trisko Darden, Jessica
20. Zhao, Quansheng (On leave Fall 2015)
Please contact the faculty member directly if you wish to discuss your research proposal.
In order to work with a faculty member who is not on this list, approval of your SRP proposal
must be granted in writing by the CRS Program Director.
4