Length:~ 3pages, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point Times or Times New Roman

.Sources:You should consult at least a minimum of three scholarly sources. While I strongly encourage sources from newspapers/magazines/trade publications as well, at this point you must have at least three scholarly sources. You are also encouraged to make use of any articles and books assigned in class later in your research, but these do not count toward your three scholarly sources for the proposal. Please use APAor MLA format for in-text citations and your bibliography.

ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW:

Your final research paper in this class should meet the following criteria:Identify and explain a specific issue, problem, trend, etc. concerning your popular music-related topic and offer a well-formulated and well-supported argument on the topic you choose. You should carefully analyze the topic, applying relevant theory and arguments from readings or any related classroom discussions, as well as critically evaluate the different existing perspectives on your subject. If your topic concerns a specific problem (low royalties for digital streaming), you are encouraged to offer potential solutions. This proposal is intended to help you focus your topic and allow me an opportunity to help you plan the writing of your paper. Keep in mind that your final paper is 10-12 pages and, as such, you must present a topic that is narrow enough to be handled appropriately in a paper of this length. Please note that your proposal must be approved before you can proceed with your final paper. This does not mean that this proposal has to be perfect –part of the nature of research is that your questions may change as you write and research. However, this proposal should demonstrate that you have completed some preliminary research and have a firm grasp of the best way to tackle your chosen topic. If you do not turn in a satisfactory paper proposal, youwill need to speak to me further as you work to come up with a more satisfactory topic. I encourage you to e-mail me or make an appointment to see me if you need help narrowing your topic or want to bounce ideas off of me

.ORGANIZING YOUR PROPOSAL:Identification of the area of study: Give some background information about the topic youwant to explore further. For example, introduce thereader to your topic, assuming the reader is someone who knows nothing about the subject being discussed. Do not just depend on your own knowledge in writing this part, but supplement this section with research citing statistics, examples, quotes, etc.

Importance and relevance:In this section, tell me why what youare researching matters. How does it fit into the study of media? What have other researchers written about this topic? What are some of theoretical questions that play into your research? What are some of the ethical questions? For this section, I would advise consulting scholarly sourcesas well as any relevant readings from class.

Research questions (around two is appropriate):What is it that you want to find out/explore about the topic? Remember this is your first foray into the topic and itis completely acceptable for your research questions to change as you go along. REMINDER:Every good research paper aims tochroniclewhat other people have said, but you are also expected to critically analyze the topic yourself and come to some conclusions. Your purpose in this paper is to think critically and offer an in-depth analysis. In constructing your research questions, remaincognizant of the building blocks of analysis so common to media studiesas a discipline, including institutions, content and audiences.