Use your curiosity, creativity and research skills to come up with an exciting research question addressing a specific topic in Physical Anthropology. After doing your research, choose three peer-reviewed (scholarly) articles and/or books to read thoroughly. After annotating your sources, come up with an original thesis around which you will organize your PowerPoint presentation.
Part 1: Annotated Bibliography and Thesis Statement (50 points, 3-4 pages total)
This part of the project gives you a chance to read your sources carefully and critically. State your project thesis at the beginning of your annotated bibliography. In your annotated bibliography, include the following for each source:
·Summary: What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say?
·Assessment: After summarizing your source, evaluate it. Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source?
·Reflection: Once you’ve summarized and assessed your source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?
Sample Project Topics & Research Questions (These are some suggestions: feel free to choose a topic from the list below or come up with your own idea. The more specific your topic, the better.)
Topic
Research Question
The Evolution of Whales
Why did whales evolve from wolves?
Transitional Fossils: Tetrapods
Why didn’t tetrapods survive?
Endangered Species: The Gorilla ……..
Why are gorillas endangered?
Kennewick Man
Why is the case of Kennewick Man so controversial?
Eugenics
Why was Eugenics a tool of the Nazis during WWII?
The Leakey Family
Why are the Leakey’s so important to Physical Anthropology?
Genetics of Malaria
Why is there still no cure for malaria?
The Evolution of the Appendix
Why do humans still have appendixes?
Cloning: The Case of Dolly
Why was Dolly significant in the history of cloning?
Noncoding DNA
Why is noncoding DNA helping us to understand human evolution?