(a) Choose a substantive, empirical issue pertaining to the topic of the class. The
topic may certainly have normative implications, but it should be
fundamentally an empirical issue. The paper should not be an advocacy
document.
(b) Examine a substantial portion of the social scientific or scholarly literature
analyzing that issue.
(c) Select one or more explanations or perspectives from that literature (or derive
a new approach) for the chosen phenomenon.
(d) Meet with the prof (or communicate by phone or e-mail) to discuss the
project. This may be done at the start of the student’s research, if desired.
At some point students who are examining an empirical issue should be able
to state, in hypothesis form, what observable implications can be drawn from
their explanation(s).
Sample Solution