Your paper is a research paper, thus must consist of more than just opinions. All information must come from reliable sources. Any paragraphs you take from another source must be enclosed in quotes and cited. To receive a passing grade, at least 70% of the writing in your paper must be your own. This means don't cut-and-paste together a paper. First understand, analyze, and evaluate the ideas and arguments surrounding your topic. Then write the paper in your own words, paraphrasing when necessary and using quotes where appropriate to back up your statements.
This is a research paper, not an essay. Clearly show where your facts and ideas came from.
When you choose your topic, you must also choose your citation format from the list of approved formats. Currently these are MLA, APA and Chicago. You must follow the forms of that format. Do not create your own format or you will lose points.
Focus on the computer related aspect of your topic. For example, if you discuss ID theft, discuss the use of the Internet in this crime.
Your investigation may include an interview with a knowledgeable person in the field or a site visit, but this should not be the core of your research. Cite such a source and include them in your bibliography.
Your paper must discuss the issue using an ethical theory, and present multiple perspectives. Clearly state a normative claim of what ought to be done. Your ethical position may be on one side of the issue or a compromise among opposing sides. Support your position with ethical theory and expert opinion. For example, if you make a utilitarian argument, support it with Mill or with a utilitarian theorist. If you are making a rights theory argument to support free speech, you might quote the court's opinion in a Supreme Court case. You may assume your reader knows ethical theory, thus no need to explain the theories.
You must have 5 scholarly sources. You may have as many additional reliable sources as you wish. If you have trouble finding scholarly sources for your specific topic (such as identity theft) look under the broad ethical or legal category that the issue belongs to. In the case of identify theft look for sources that cover fraud, information security, privacy rights, or civil liberties. If your topic is blogs look under "journalism ethics," "Internet news" or "news credibility."
Scholarly sources will meet both of these criteria:
Government publications and mainstream news sources are reliable but not scholarly. Trade magazine such as Internet World, eWeek, and Wired are reliable but not scholarly. Wikipedia may be useful for you to get some background, but it is not acceptable as a citable source. You will lose one point for every citation of Wikipedia.
You must quote where appropriate and give citations for facts and quotes.
You are required to submit an electronic version of your paper to http://www.turnitin.com Failure to do so will make the paper unacceptable. Review the originality report and correct as necessary. Your citations should show as "not original" but nothing else should. You will need to create an account on Turnitin.com's site if you haven't already.
The paper should be double-spaced and 6-8 pages. Use a professional 10-12pt font and make sure you number your pages. Margins should be 1 to 1.25".
Your paper should include the following:
The list of references page does not count toward the page requirement, and neither does the cover page.
The class standard for citations and format is MLA.
Your paper will roughly be graded on three components (also see detailed grading rubric):
Legal and Social Component
Ethical Component
Mechanics
ABSTRACT.
You are not required to submit an abstract unless you need approval for a topic not on the list. You may also submit an abstract to get some initial feedback on an approved topic. Your abstract is a 1-2 page overview and should include:
What not to do.
Do not plagiarize. See http://www.cs.csubak.edu/academic_honesty.txt for the computer science dept's policy on academic honesty. You will fail the course and a letter will be submitted in your student file if you plagiarize. This includes turning in a paper from another course or from your job.
Do not make your paper a collection of the cited work of others. The majority of writing and ideas should be your own; cited work should simply support this.
Do not hand in papers that are purely factual or historic (e.g., a history of the Internet, a summary of computer technology used in the military). You must include a normative analysis of your issue; i.e. an ethical perspective.
Do not use unsupported or unreliable sources off the Internet. If you use articles from the Web, give the URL and the organization sponsoring the site. Pay attention to quality of your sources.
Do not use the text of this class as your main source. Report more in depth and/or on newer or other aspects of the topic.