Fall 2011 Research Design Proposal
- 1. Ella Wilkie Mrs. Lester 10thHonors Lit/Comp 25 October 2011 Fall 2011 Research Design 1.) My multi-genre research paper topic My topic for the multi-genre research paper is terrorism between the Middle East and the United States. I want to explore why there is a call for such acts and what we as a nation can do to help prevent terrorism. 2.) What I already know I have a limited range of knowledge when it comes to terrorism. I am aware that most terrorist events in the United States occur around Muslim hatred toward Christians. Through my little research on the topic, I am now aware that most suicide bombings as well as other act of terrorism are influenced through religion. In my reading, I found that the holy book of Islam, the Quran, has some passages that could be interpreted in a violent way. Most Muslims believe that if they die killing Islam’s enemies, they will be guaranteed a rightful place in Heaven as well as honor from the God, Allah. Much of this generation are being influenced to hate through school, sometimes religious teachings, by those who already despise Westerners. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda have been around for many years, expressing their hatred toward Americans and Christians. They are Muslim extremist groups that will do anything in the name of their religion. 3.) What I want to learn Although I have researched terrorism in the Middle East, there are still several holes. I am still wondering why the United States has not found a better alternative to the war. Most of my questions revolve around how the United States is handling this situation. Yet, I do want to know more about what causes a Muslim to feel the need to kill others. Through my research, I found myself wanting to learn more about the daily lives of an average Muslim and how some of them have “run off the track.” Al-Qaeda is a powerful extremist group, but what I would love to learn is the group’s origins and motivations. Further knowledge into the beliefs of Muslims/Islamic extremists is something that might help me to better understand the origins of terrorism against the United States. 4.) The origins of my research Although I was very young at the time, the 9/11 tenth anniversary has sparked my attention of the terrorism that takes place around the world. It appalls me to learn why Muslims and these Islamic extremist groups think it is necessary to kill people who do not believe exactly what they do. Also, through reading the book Under the Persimmon Tree, I am more interested in the effect all of the wars have had on the innocent people held victim in the Middle East. Not to mention what the children are going through, such as the main character in my novel. From traveling on airplanes several times throughout my life, I am constantly intrigued by how terrorists come up with ideas on how to make such unpredictable explosive devices. I also find it odd that sometimes terrorists can get through security without being detected. My interest in the thoughts that cross a terrorist’s mind has caused me to want to preform more research. 5.) Some questions I have about terrorism and the wars in the Middle East 1. If Israelis, or any other ethnicity in the Middle East, are so religious, why do they murder large numbers of innocent people?
- 2. 2. Why dothe United States and NATO have to turn to air strikes first? 3. Are there no other more efficient precautions the United States could take before enforcing an air strike? 4. Why does the Quran consist of “violent commands”? 5. Who was the first person to claim that Allah is for suicide terrorism? 6. Why have the US/NATO done anything to prevent the growing army of the Taliban? 7. Where is the sudden increase of financial and human support for Terrorism coming from? 8. What fuels the Islamist movement in general? 9. Why is the US one of the top terrorist targets? 10. When did terrorism really pose as a threat to the world? 11. When/How did Al Qaeda come about? 12. What are they doing to outsmart the rest of the world? 6.) My research plan My plan for collecting information about my topic is to start by taking a mental note of all that I know about terrorism. I then would like to look through the Internet and find some key informational sites that might help me to better understand the background of terrorists, their motivations, and the wars going on in the Middle East. Through Symbaloo, I will keep record of all the valuable sources I find so that I might come back to them to use as a reference. Scoop.it will be useful in allowing me to write down all that I find important from these sites. Noodletools will also come in handy along with Symbaloo to help me keep record of the valuable sources, for I am sure they will eventually be used in a bibliography. For my sources, I will most likely be using online databases, but maybe I will be able to conduct interviews of people I find who have some type of experience with a terrorist or know what it is like to live in the Middle East at the time of war. 7.) Preliminary bibliography Human Rights Watch. “Civilian Deaths Undermine Allied Security Efforts in Afghanistan.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Greenhaven Press, 8 Sept. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow? displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate =normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010741205&mode=view&userGroupName=cant48 040&jsid=89f533948d7d66c014e372f7a498c646>. Ibrahim, Azeem. “Islamic Extremists Are Motivated by Moral Disgust.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Greenhaven Press, 6 Jan. 2010. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http:/ /ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?
- 3. displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate =normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010699211&mode=view&userGroupName=cant48 040&jsid=128c34865f16a1eef4308e64b705fe86>. Kronstadt, K. Alan.“Anti-Americans Are a Problem in Pakistan.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Greenhaven Press, 2010. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http:/ /ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow? displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate =normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010654211&mode=view&userGroupName=cant48 040&jsid=af54611dce79e8a9cbd38c84b5a322b7>. Pappe, IIan. “Some Israelis Believe That Israel Committed Genocide in Gaza.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Greenhaven Press, 3 Jan. 2009. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow? displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate =normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010687215&mode=view&userGroupName=cant48 040&jsid=369a2507a90e54cf08d73eda4711253c>. World Daily Net. “Islam Advocates Suicide Terrorism.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Greenhaven Press, 27 Sept. 2006. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http:// ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow? displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate =normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010329214&mode=view&userGroupName=cant48 040&jsid=6776aaa29461aac39d38aace576ca0fb>.