Scientific Proposal

  • Your objective is to write a mini-proposal for a project that explores an aspect of "Climate Change" or "COVID-19."
  • The introduction of a research proposal typically includes the background characterization of the “problem” and interpretation of the existing data and evidence, and the hypothesis that you propose to explore.
  • Data and supplementary resources have been provided for each research topic (see the detailed list of readings and links to the data sets below), which provide the initial observations that you will use to generate your hypothesis.
  • Word count = 800-900 words (not including figure captions)
  • Use APA formatting to cite appropriate, scholarly work (i.e., https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/).
  • Be sure to draw attention to your most prominent applications of LOs (especially those mentioned in the “LOs to be graded” section below) by adding footnotes. In the footnote text (at the bottom of the page), provide the hashtag of the LO and a 1-2 sentence explanation of your application. Help the professor understand exactly why this constitutes a strong application. For a given LO, create at most one footnote per page. Click here for an example of this technique. Footnote text does not count toward the target length of the assignment, and all applications of the LO (not just those that are footnoted) will count toward your grade.

Climate Change

Data and Visualization Resources:

  • A set of initial data visualizations to spike your interest can be found here.
  • Gapminder: Gapminder contains a wealth of data and visualization tools about important global trends. Some climate change related variables you can find in Gapminder include greenhouse emissions, material footprint, types of energy used, and sustainability from a large number of countries, In addition to examining how a variable changes over time for a given country, Gapminder allows for making comparisons among countries and investigating relationships between different variables. You can get information on the source of the data you use by clicking on the question mark next to the variable on the graph.
  • Our World in Data: Another big data resource where you can find data on global problems. To help you find your way to relevant data sets, you will find links in this document to some of the most relevant data visualizations. Feel free to look for more but don’t get lost! To get information on the sources of the data click on the SOURCES button you will see on the visualization.

  • HELPFUL BACKGROUND READINGS:

NASA. (n.d.)._ What is climate change_? https://climate.nasa.gov/

Why/Use: On this website you can find information on the evidence, causes, effects, and solutions of climate change. This should illuminate some of the data that scientists collect used both to determine past climates and to predict changes.

Assignment Information

Length:
~900 words + Figures with captions