Important Aspects of Each Culture

Anthropology or sociology research papers often cover the important aspects of a culture. Culture is relevant to every person and a deeply ingrained part of society. Get help writing a research paper on any culture, world-wide. Below we have outlined the elements you need to include in a research paper on the important aspects of culture.

Paper Masters suggestions for an Important Aspects of Each Culture Research Paper:

1. In a cultural aspects research paper, you will use selected resources to research and report on the lifestyles, values, mores, and other characteristics of at least two sub-cultures living in your state.
2. The body of your report should focus on the important aspects of each culture. Be sure to document your findings during your research. You will need to go beyond simply copying material you find in encyclopedias. Follow the task prompts (below) to maximize your scores.
3. Upon completing your research you will take the information and place it into context for your future classrooms. Formulate your response around questions like: How does this piece of information help me understand this culture? What implications does this information have on my practice? What kinds of questions does it raise?
4. In order to understand the information you find, you will need to perform research in primary and secondary sources (e.g., information about the art from a given culture found in a textbook versus original documents such as the works of art from artists within the culture). This will help you to understand the information about each culture within the broader context of your future classrooms.

How to formulate your research on the important aspects of culture:

1. Write a statement of purpose for your research project.
   1. A statement of purpose is a sentence that you write which states what
      you want to learn about in your research project.
   2. A statement of purpose acts as a guide so that you will read and take
      notes only on what you will need for your project.
      Note: Your statement of purpose will go in the introduction of your paper
      (see #4 below).
2. Locate and gather sources of information.
   1. Secondary Sources: Locate at least two books on each culture (total
      of four books). Look for different types of sources (e.g., textbook,
      library monograph, brochure, etc.). None of the four required books
      may be an encyclopedia. However, you may begin your search by
      reading an encyclopedia entry for each culture you will research.
      
   2. Primary Sources: Locate at least three primary sources for each
      culture (total of six sources). For example, if you are writing
      about a subculture based on a religion, a basic statement of beliefs
      without outside comment offered by a leader of that religion might
      be useful. Seek various types of materials (e.g., pictures,
      documents from authoritative bodies, poetry from members of the
      culture, etc.).
   3. Primary Government or Public Policy Sources: Locate at least one
      source on either culture from an official resource. For example, if
      you are writing about the African American culture, you could use
      one of many documents from the U.S. Supreme Court or U.S. Department
      of Justice, Civil Rights Division.
   4. Do not use an author's description of an official document - such as
      a discussion about the U.S. Constitution in a textbook. The goal
      here is to find an official document. Many government documents and
      public policy documents are available on the Internet at [*.gov]
      sites.
   5. Gather copies of the books and other materials from the library,
      Internet, Inter-library loan, or directly from organizations that
      represent that culture you wish to study.
3. Review, organize, synthesize, and summarize information from multiple
   sources in a logical manner.
   1. Create a concept map or an outline for EACH culture. Identify common
      themes, concepts, and ideas. For example, your concept map or outline
      may include such things as beliefs, foods, arts and entertainment,
      educational aspirations, political tendencies, traditions, family
      life, holidays, languages spoken, etc.
   2. You can find many good explanations of concept mapping and outlining
      on the Internet. Find these materials by entering the words "Concept
      Map" into an Internet search engine (e.g., Google.com). We highly
      recommend using concept maps.
4. Write an introduction (1-2 paragraphs).
   1. Place your statement of purpose at the beginning of your
      introduction.
      
   2. State explicitly the cultures you researched and describe the aspects
      of each culture you will address.
      
   3. Describe why the report is important to you as a person and as a
      teaching professional. Be sure to dig deeply into your personal
      feelings and make connections between the information you learned and
      your future as a teacher.
5. Write about materials and methods employed (1-2 paragraphs). This section should be clear enough to allow others to follow your methods.
   
   1. Give a brief description of how the information was collected. What
      methods did you use to find your resources?
      
   2. Describe which sources you thought were most important and why.
      
   3. Describe how you reviewed and synthesized the information you found
      in the sources.
6. Write a results section to describe each culture (1-2 pages per culture)
   1. Present the information you found on each culture.
   2. Cite any information you include using in-text citations (as opposed
      to footnotes or endnotes).

7. Write a discussion and conclusions section (1-2 pages).

a. Discuss how the two cultures are similar and how they are different.
Be sure to provide at least two ways the cultures are the same and
three ways the cultures are different.


b. Identify at least three ways the information you learned from this
project could be applied in your classroom.

8. Create a list of references (1 page).

a. List all references used in your report in APA format.


b. At the end of each reference categorize the material to help graders.
Within square brackets [], identify each source as:


c. Primary or Secondary - to help the grader verify you met the
requirements of prompt 2a. and 2b. (above).


d. Internet, Library, or Other - to help the grader verify you met
the requirements of prompt 2c. (above).


e. Government, Public Policy, or Other - to help the grader verify
you met the requirements of prompt 2d. (above).