-Regrettable ResearchDesigning Research Assignments
to Avoid Common Student Pitfalls
Example: a second-year resource geography course research paper assignment 1
Choose one of the following topics:
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Biodiversity;
Ocean pollution;
Transportation of hazardous waste;
Desertification; or
The tropical rainforest.
In your paper, discuss:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The nature of the issue
Its natural/biophysical aspects
What has been done on the issue since 1980?
What is being done on the issue currently?
What are some of the problems with this assignment? Can it be saved?
1
Leckie, G.J. (1996). Desperately seeking citations: Uncovering faculty assumptions about the undergraduate
research process. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 22 (3): 201-208.