WRDS 150 – Dr.

Mike Borkent

Sustainability, Adaptation, and Climate Change

Research Project Assignments
COMPREHENSIVE VERSION

The following pages review in detail the rationale and criteria for the interconnected assignments in the Research
Project.

What we will do: Project Workflow

1. Pick a focused area of research (incl. joining a research cluster) >
2. Develop a research statement/research question and working bibliography (submitted online and with
proposal) >
3. Proposal >
4. Presentation >
5. Final Paper

See the course syllabus for dates for these steps and document deadlines, both printed for class and online.

How it works
You will develop a research topic relating to a key area of interest (your “Research Clusters”—to be discussed
below). You will pick a particular problem within that area and work to develop a position for a beneficial
solution for it.

Please keep in mind that you are not developing your own data (i.e. primary research), but will be collecting,
synthesizing, and analyzing primary and secondary research to make an argument (like our readings by Zari, or
Chazdon & Brancalion).

(2) You will write a short research statement and develop a working bibliography that you will share with a
group of peers (your “Research Cluster”) on Canvas.

Then, (3) you will develop a proposal, including going through a peer review processes, before submitting your
working bibliography, together along with your draft and final proposal to me.

These first steps, in researching and writing the research statement, working bibliography, and proposal, will
ground your work for the remainder of the course, as you continue to develop and refine your topic and
materials for delivery first as (4) an oral presentation and then (5) as your final paper.

Be sure to pick a topic and source that really intrigues you, since, as you can see, you will be spending a lot of
time working on it!

Choosing a topic
For your project you can choose any research focus that interests you for your project (which will be developed
through the proposal, presentation, and final paper), as long as it addresses and proposes a solution to a
specific issue relating to sustainability, adaptation, and climate change in detail. You can take inspiration from

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(or qualify and contest) the directions offered in our course readings, or range more afield following your
interests and knowledge.

You must delve deeply into an issue relating to the course topic. Be specific to make an argument for an
important approach to addressing a particular concern surrounding sustainability, adaptation, and/or climate
change. There are many ways to be proactive and rigorous about these issues, and our class projects will give us
an opportunity to explore those together (especially during the presentations ). Most importantly, you will need
to move beyond summarizing what others have said, to take a position and convince your audience or readers
of your position.

Your project, in the end, must draw on prior research and analyze why it is significant as a solution to a
particular problem. One way to do this is to develop a specific case study (not yet analyzed by researchers),
marshalling prior research to address the case’s particular issues. For instance, you may be interested in water
management. You would research what academics have said about proactive, sustainable and adaptive water
management practices elsewhere. You might then apply a particular framework to your case study, to show how
it might benefit specifically from your approach, such as the increased potential for droughts in BC’s Okanagan
valley, or the increased winter storm risk and associated water management for Metro Vancouver.

To develop your research, you will draw knowledge from prior research, seeking to extend, and potentially
contest, possible issues and solutions. In a sense, you will be reviewing the research and applying it to a
particular situation to showcase the why and how of its significance. Convince us that your approach is the best
one for your very specific issue.

Research Clusters
Projects will be grouped by general research areas called Research Clusters.

You will categorize your project by its dominant interest (sometimes there is overlap, so just go with your main
interest). Research clusters will be used to share resources between peers and gather more focused feedback at
various points in the process of developing the project.

Research clusters choices:

1. Environmental systems: biodiversity, ecosystem services and management, etc.
2. Design and Engineering: materials, energy, etc.
3. Social and Political issues: institutions, policies, behaviours, etc.
4. Economic issues: social responsibility, fiscal policy, incentives, etc.
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ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
Formatting
All drafts and final versions of assignments (except the presentation handout) must
• Include the word count at top of first page, along with your name and pithy title
• Be double-spaced
• Use 12 point Times New Roman or 11 point Calibri font
• Use regular (not narrow) margins to give room for written feedback
• Be stapled together (paper clips often fall off).

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Follow APA style for citations both in text and for your References list for all elements of research (see the
syllabus and Canvas for links to resources on APA style). Proper citation use will be marked.
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1. Proposal (15%)
Overview
The final proposal assignment submission includes 3 required components: (1) working bibliography (with
research statement at the top), (2) draft proposal with peer-review comments, and (3) the final draft of your
proposal.

These elements reflect several steps in the research process of building the proposal, and will come in together
as one submission, stapled together.

NOTE: A complete and stamped working bibliography and peer-annotated draft proposal must be included with
the final version, otherwise 10% will be deducted from the assignment’s final grade for each missing part (i.e. up
to 20% total deducted).

CHANGED DEADLINE INSTRUCTIONS: To avoid unnecessary digitization issues, the final proposal should be
printed out and stapled together with the other parts. Unlike what the syllabus says, these documents must be
submitted by 12pm (midday) at #379/#380 IKBL (Irving K. Barber Learning Centre) in the box with my name on
it. If you are willing to digitize your stamped bibliography and annotated draft (it must be legible), imbed it in
your final proposal document and email it to me by the same deadline.

Working Bibliography
Working bibliographies track research around a topic, to help scholars gather relevant sources and to organize
their thoughts.
Students will develop a bibliographic list of at least 3 peer-reviewed academic articles along with short, point-
form annotations. The 3 articles may not come from the course readings, although you are still welcome to use
those, on top of your own sources, as part of your work.
PART 1: Criteria
1. A specific project title.
2. Research statement: Brainstorm ideas about your topic/area of interest in order to develop a specific
research topic statement for your project (max 20 words long). Place this statement below your title, to
give context for your entries. Be specific.
3. Write out the bibliographic information as you would for a References list for 3 or more peer reviewed
primary or secondary academic sources using APA, including alphabetizing the entries by the author’s
last name (if more than one author, by the first author’s last name).
a. Use peer-reviewed articles (or academic chapters from a reputable academic publisher – check
with me) of a substantial length (no shorter than 4 pages long – like our Bastin et al reading) that
are relevant to your specific topic. Make sure the text is not a book review, encyclopedia entries,
or general news article, which can sometimes be labeled as an article in databases, but are not
peer-reviewed.

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b. To find relevant sources, search through UBC Library’s main search bar or specific databases (see
the “Get Started” > Guides > click on letter for discipline name). Be sure to filter your results for
“academic + peer reviewed”.
c. We will discuss what qualifies as a primary or secondary source in class. See also this helpful
resource: http://scwrl.ubc.ca/student-resources/finding-identifying-and-citing-sources/
4. Brief annotations: under 3 of your chosen peer-reviewed article, indent and write out very short
statements or bulleted points (approximately 50-100 words long) that document the key contributions,
concepts, and evidence of the source, like notes for a longer summary. Seek to show in detail what is
covered, how knowledge is made, and how it relates to your topic (be sure to include page numbers
when citing key ideas or quotes). Make sure your annotation is clear and well organized.
a. You are not required to annotate anything other than your 3 peer reviewed academic sources. If
you’d like, you may also include a few other relevant academic and non-academic sources, all in
alphabetical order, mixed in with your annotated sources, but without annotations.
PART 2: Canvas
Cut and paste (do not attach) your Working Bibliography as a comment/reply to your Research Cluster
Discussion post on Canvas on the due date listed in the syllabus (preferably after class, so you can integrate
feedback as well). This will pool knowledge for the cluster, so that you can benefit from each other’s research as
your project develops.

Proposal
Based on the research reflected in the Working Bibliography, students will write a proposal (250-300 words long,
not including the References list) that:
• isolates a specific topic
• orchestrates a state of knowledge based on at least 3 peer-reviewed scholarly sources,
• includes specific concepts (abstractions) relevant to the discipline and topic
• takes a position regarding a defined knowledge gap/issue and primary source(s).
• describes a case study area and outlines a specific approach for further research and analysis.
• suggests expected contributions to knowledge.
• includes a References list in APA style.
• DRAFT: Proposals will go through a required peer-review workshop process in class and commented on
drafts must be included with the final submission or 10% will be deducted from the assignment grade.
• Each of your 3 chosen articles must include a short entry documenting its content underneath (criteria
below).
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2. Presentation (15%)
Much like at an academic conference, but in a shorter form, you will give a 5-minute oral presentation on your
research project. The presentation must be accompanied by a one page handout (bring 16 copies, so everyone
can share one).

You will be assigned presentation times with your Research Cluster, but are required to attend all presentations
as part of your participation grade. Attendance is double-scored for presentation days.

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The presentations will be followed by a short question period, and all students are required to participate in
peer-review of the presentations by giving feedback to their assigned peers. All students are encouraged to
engage in questions and feedback to help their peers develop their projects further. This is not a time for
interrogation, but for engaged and supportive input.

The presentation gives you an opportunity to run your project ideas past the class and myself. The process
allows you to gather further feedback that will help refine your topic and analysis for your final research paper.

Criteria
Presentations should develop from the proposal and should present a complete argument, much like a short
paper by:
• continuing to orchestrate a state of knowledge (including citing and orchestrating 3 peer reviewed
academic sources—as described under the Working Bibliography entry);
• presenting a clear position or solution for a knowledge deficit (a gap or area for elaboration);
• forecasting the structure of the argument;
• presenting a well organized and focused argument based in your own orchestration of evidence from
primary and secondary sources – these can include non-academic reports and sources like the IPCC
reports, as long as you meet the required minimum of 3 peer-reviewed sources described under the
Working Bibliography;
• About 2/3 of your presentation should be devoted to develop a clear approach to address your
topic’s problem (i.e. use about 2 minutes for your introduction and conclusion, and devote the
other 3 or more minutes for the body of the argument).
• concluding very briefly, by returning to the knowledge deficit and position to show the implications of
the evidence and approach, and to gesture to future work (including what you expect to continue to
develop in your final paper).

The handout must include:

• A pithy and informative title;
• Your name (just first name and last initial is fine);
• An example of, sample of, or figure about your primary data/evidence to be discussed in the
presentation;
• A very short statement (1-2 sentences long) about the main argument (your presentation’s purpose).
You may wish to also include a list of a few key abstractions to remind listeners of your focus and
methodology, but remember that brevity is clarity for presentation handouts; and
• A References list of all of your sources, both academic and otherwise, in APA style (this can go over to
the backside of the page, if necessary).
• Formatting note: only this document may be single-spaced rather than double-spaced to fit everything
in.

Presentations will also be graded for clarity of delivery (smooth, audible, paced, etc).

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3. Research Paper (35%)
Overview/instructions
Write a research paper on your chosen topic, integrating and analyzing your chosen sources to argue for a clear
position about a specific issue pertaining to sustainability, adaptation, and/or climate change. The paper should
be approximately 1300 words long (excluding the References list).

Sources: You must use at least 5 peer-reviewed, academic sources (excluding our course readings, which you
may use as well, but do not count toward the total). The total academic sources can include the sources already
used in your working bibliography, proposal, and presentation. Other, non-academic sources are welcome too,
of course, but will not count toward the total of required academic sources.

Draft: You must include a your peer-reviewed draft, with obvious peer annotations, stapled to the back of your
final paper. 10% will be deducted from the assignment grade if this is not included.

Criteria
Your paper should include all of the features we have discussed of academic argumentative papers and
academic style, by
• developing an introduction that orchestrates a clear state of knowledge (shows prior research), locates a
knowledge deficit (gap), stakes out the position of your argument, and forecasts the structure of your
paper (how you will contribute to the scholarly conversation);
• citing at least five peer reviewed academic sources. You may include the 3 sources from your proposal
and presentation in this minimum total;
• developing your contribution to research through a carefully structured series of descriptive and
analytical body paragraphs. Be sure to move beyond summary of other sources to show how/why they
support or contribute to your position. In the end, your voice must direct the orchestration, synthesis,
and positioning of the sources to make your argument clear. Be sure to distinguish what is your voice
from the content of your sources through clear reporting language.
• including a clear conclusion that reviews what has been argued, and states the implications of it for the
state of knowledge and future research.
• using all of the features of academic style that contribute to these elements of your research paper that
we will discuss extensively throughout the course.