OPTION ONE: TERM PAPER

The information that follows should tell you everything you need to know about researching and writing your term paper. This information includes:

• Guidelines for Term Papers

• Possible Topics

• How to Research Your Topic

If you have additional questions, please send let me know though "Private Messages."

Good luck!

Phil Farquharson

GUIDELINES FOR TERM PAPERS

1. Required Length: 1400-1600 words, not including references and not including quoted material.

2. Required references: a minimum of five relevant scientific articles and/or internet sites related to the topic. This is the minimum amount of reference material -- you may need more to do an adequate job of researching your topic. I recommend using PROQUEST to find scientific articles.

NOTE: WIKIPEDIA IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AS A REFERENCE!! NO WIKIPEDIA!!

Wikipedia is fine for informal browsing and for beginning to learn about a subject. But you can never trust the information there because anybody can post to Wikipedia, even if they don't know a darn thing about the subject! Don't be a dupe! Don't trust Wikipedia!

Also not acceptable are other online encyclopedias like “Britannica” or “Encarta.” Encyclopedias are secondary sources of information and are NOT appropriate references in a college-level course.

3. Things to focus on in your research

• what is the importance or significance of the topic?

• what methods have scientists used to investigate the topic?

• what kinds of information and data have scientists found?

• what major results and conclusions have scientists made, based on the above?

4. Format of the paper

• give the paper a Title that describes the topic.

• begin the paper with an Introduction: a section (one or two paragraphs) that clearly states the purpose of the paper and reviews the main points that the paper will cover

• break up the paper into logic sections using Subheadings to identify the subject of the different sections

• end the paper with a Conclusion (one or two paragraphs) that wraps up and summarizes in specific ways the main points of the paper

• spell-check and edit carefully for grammar and typos (sloppy spelling errors and poor grammar will result in a poor grade)

• following the Conclusion, provide a complete list of the References you used to research the topic

5. REFERENCES.

You must cite your references completely and properly, both within the text of the paper and in a page of “References” at the end of the paper. For guidelines about how to cite references, follow the A.P.A. guidelines as found on the MiraCosta College Library web site.

7. Plagiarism.

Cheaters occasionally try to foist plagiarized papers on me. Therefore it is sometimes necessary to screen papers using plagiarism-detection software, which searches for matches between blocks of text in the paper and literally thousands of sources on the internet (including papers available at cheater sites that sell pre-packaged term papers). By now everyone should be well aware of my policy on plagiarism, which you can review in the “Modules” section of ETUDES.

POSSIBLE TERM PAPER TOPICS

This is only a suggested list. You are welcome to choose any topic on this list, and you can pursue the topic without prior approval from me. You are also welcome to come up with your own topic, but if you do that please check with me about its suitability FIRST, before spending too much time researching the topic. The topic does need to be scientific in nature, and related to geology.

Regional Geology

• pick your favorite place, state, National Park, etc., and learn about its geology and geologic history.

Geologic Resources

• formation of petroleum and natural gas

• formation of coal

• the future of petroleum supplies on earth

• fresh water resources: where will future supplies come from?

• fresh water from the ocean -- a viable source of water for the future?

• geologic sources of building materials: sand, gravel, stone, cement, etc.

• alternative energy resources: wind energy

• alternative energy resources: solar energy

• alternative energy resources: geothermal energy

• ocean energy resources (energy from waves, tides, currents)

• formation of gold and gold deposits

• the California Gold Rush

• diamonds and kimberlite pipes

• hydrothermal circulation and metallic sulfide deposits at mid-ocean ridges

• mining methods (gold, silver, coal, etc.)

• the environmental impacts of mining

Geologic Hazards

• building earthquake resistant structures (buildings, bridges, freeways)

• how vulnerable is San Diego County to earthquakes?

• predicting earthquakes -- what are the methods? why don't they work!?

• mass wasting in southern California -- problems and solutions

• impact of a large meteorite -- a realistic threat? what can be done about it?

• flooding: causes, effects, and mitigation

• coastal erosion in San Diego County

Miscellaneous topics

• rising sea levels and global warming

• glacial retreat: evidence of global warming?

• fertilize the oceans to slow global warming?

• sequester CO2 in the oceans to slow global warming?

• glacial ice as a record of climate change

• tsunami warning systems

• desertification -- causes and solutions

• atmospheric problems: ozone layer depletion

RESEARCHING YOUR TOPIC

The Internet is an excellent source of information for researching your term paper topic. But you must be careful about the type of information you find. There is no "quality filter" for information on the net. Be sure the sites you use are from legitimate professional organizations and/or individuals concerned with scientific research. There are three good places to start: PROQUEST, the website of the U.S. Geological Survey,and Infotrac.

PROQUEST

One requirement of the term paper is that you have scientific articles as part of your reference materials. I recommend using PROQUEST to search for articles related to your chosen topic. PROQUEST is an online database for retrieval of full-text articles that you can access through MiraCosta College.

1. Go the MiraCosta Library home page: http://www.miracosta.edu/StudentServices/Library/index.htm

2. Click on the link for ProQuest.

3. On the next page that comes up you will see boxes for User Name and Password. Use your SURF ID and SURF password. (The same things you used to register. Your SURF ID begins with a “W” followed by numbers.)

4. When the ProQuest page comes up, here is a quick step that will save you time. Click on the "Databases selected" link in the upper left corner. On the next page that comes up, click "Clear all databases." Then scroll down and check the box next to "Sciences Module". (This will limit your search to only scientific articles in the ProQuest database, and save you time sorting through lots of articles from non-scientific sources.) Once you have done this, scroll all the way down and click the "Continue" button at the bottom.

5. In the Search box, type in some subject words of a topic that interests you. The more specific your subject words the better. Before you click Search, check the box next to "limit results to full text articles only." This will save you time by showing you only full text articles, as opposed to just abstracts and summaries.

Your search will list a number of articles. There are several options for downloading the article, including directly printing out the article or sending it to yourself by email.

U.S.G.S. WEBSITE

I recommend looking at the United States Geological Survey site, which has information on nearly every field of geology: http://www.usgs.gov/

INFOTRAC

If you bought a NEW copy of the class textbook, you have automatic access to a database of online articles through InfoTrac. Follow the directions that came with your book to access InfoTrac.

Additional Useful Information:

Links to some "Geo-Writing" Pages

APA Formatting and Style Guide - The OWL at Purdue

Sample APA Research Paper

APA Citation Guide (2001)

APA Style Samples (MiraCosta College)

APA Style Home Page

Son of Citation Machine

Samples from MCC, Spring 2009

Sample Paper 1 ( 99 / 100 )

Sample Paper 2 ( 100 / 100! )

Sample Paper 3 ( 80 / 100 )

OPTION TWO: GEO-PHOTO RESEARCH PROJECT

This assignment will help you to become aware of your surroundings and to record geological observations with a camera.

It is also a research project. Once you have the pictures, you will need to explain what you have observed, in technically correct language, citing your references within the text, and with a list of cited references at the end of your report.

You don't have to be a professional photographer or a camera expert to do this project. You just have to keep an eye out for geologic features, and a desire to learn. The assignment is as follows:

• You need to prepare and submit a photo album that includes, at a minimum, ten (10) image subjects. You may use the list below as a guide.

• You must shoot the photos yourself! They might have been from a recent trip to some far-away place, or right here in your own back yard. If there is any doubt, you should be able to provide either the film negatives or the original files from the camera memory which contains EXIF information.

• You will need a camera, either digital or film. If you do not own a camera, you may borrow a friend's or use a disposable version. Note: Your cell phone may contain a digital camera, but it will NOT produce desirable results!

• If you aren't already comfortable with the technology involved in this sort of work, you may be better off doing the research paper instead. If done correctly, it's much more work than it might appear to be at first glance, but you will learn a great deal!

• The photo album presentation is up to your imagination (so be creative), but you must include the following items for each photo included:

o a title at the top of the page

o clear illustration of the geological feature or process (you might need two or more photos from different angles, close-up and panoramic, etc. to make your point)

o name of geologic feature or process (be specific!)

o date and specific location in which you took the photo (small index map might help)

o clear labeling directly on the photo to help distinguish the feature

o complete, scientific, type-written caption (one or two paragraphs) describing the feature and how it was formed (do your research, and cite your references in your text, in A.P.A. format)

• You should have a title page at the beginning, and a page of A.P.A. references at the end.

Possible feature choices include: (use each feature only once)

• Silicate mineral (specific)

• Ore mineral (specific)

• Igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rock in its natural environment

• Igneous intrusion

• Xenoliths

• Cross-bedding or other sedimentary structure

• Example of chemical or mechanical weathering

• Example of spheroidal weathering

• Soil profile

• Differential erosion

• Example of relative dating principle (cross-cutting, superposition, intrusions, etc.)

• Fossil (specific)

• Fault (specific)

• Fold (specific)

• Shield volcano

• Cinder cone

• Stratovolcano

• Example of mass wasting (specific)

• Example of mitigation or prevention of mass wasting

• Example of earthquake hazard

• Example of earthquake mitigation

• Example of surface runoff

• V-shaped valley

• Floodplain

• Flood control device

• Point bar

• Aeolian sand dune

• Wave refraction

• Cove

• Example of an emergent coastline feature (sea cave, sea stack, wave-cut bench, marine terrace)

or…

Use any of the field trips from Abbott (1999) or Walawender (2000) to go learn about San Diego area geology from the experts!

or…

Any of the field trips from John Turbeville's web site - click on "Virtual Labs" and go out and check them out!

or…

Any other geologic feature you choose (but make sure you identify it correctly!)

Sample Projects from Spring 2009 (PDF's, new windows):

• Sample Project 1 (score: 84/100)

• Sample Project 2 (score: 99/100)

• Sample Project 3 (score: 91/100)

Additional Useful Information:

• APA Formatting and Style Guide - The OWL at Purdue

• APA Citation Guide (2001)

• APA Style Samples (MCC Library)

• APA Style Home Page

• Son of Citation Machine