Week Four: Research on Possible Topics
As I begin my final project, I first begin by starting to look for possible topics. My first idea is to study the differences between schools in various parts of Washington D.C. Primarily focusing on comparing areas with higher income against those with lower incomes. I would like in my research to discover if there are major differences in the education systems depending on where you live within the nation’s capital. I would also like to analyze past events and try to determine if there were any large factors that led to any discrepancies between school systems in different areas. This topic is particularly interesting to me because I am planning on going in to the teaching field, particularly in this area. I believe researching this topic would aid me when I choose exactly where to live later in life. I also think overall this topic is important because our nation’s capital should have the best school systems in order to act as a role model for other schools in our country. If schools are not up to this standard the government should do something to fix this problem. I would begin my research for this particular topic by searching “education in Washington D.C” in an inPrimo search on our university libraries’ home page. I would then use the search results to find current articles on the conditions of education in the city now. Next I would search for the past conditions of schools in the capital by limiting the search results to only those published before the 1900’s. After gathering all this information I would then compare time period, as well as areas of high income versus those with lower income.
A second possible topic that I am considering also has to do with the schooling system in Washington D.C; however, this topic deals specifically with segregation and the movement towards integration. I would analyze segregations long lasting effects on the capital by first researching the past history, and then comparing the results to the conditions now within school systems that were once segregated. I believe this is an important topic because conditions in the past effect conditions in schools today, and unfortunately there are many issues within school districts today. I would like to see if there is any correlation between the two. After doing some quick research on this topic to see if it was even an option, I discovered a helpful site created by the Smithsonian Museum of American History. This site offers a great deal of information specifically on this topic. For example it lists the names of schools that were segregated, there locations within the capital, as well as the supreme court cases that existed that eventually ended segregation within the school system. Finally I would finish my preliminary research by looking up conditions of schools in D.C. today to see the effects segregation has had on schools. I would once again complete an inPrimo search on the university school’s site, but limit the dates to those after 2001. I would then compare both results to see if there is any correlation between conditions now and segregation of schools in the past.
The final topic that I am considering is unlike the other two that I previously mentioned. My final topic deals with how the use of drugs has shaped the history of Washington D.C. Drug use has shaped American history overall, but I would like to focus specifically on how it has shaped history in the nation’s capital. I think this is important because unfortunately not only has drug use changed life in the past, but it still is a big part of life in D.C today. I would do research for this topic by performing a search on the Infoguides on George Mason University’s library page. I would then go to the history section and search in the America: History and Life area. Finally I would perform a boolean search for drugs and then Washington D.C. From this I would search through the articles for any that would shed light on my intended topic. After gathering this information I would then begin to piece together how drug use shaped the past of Washington D.C.