You will have an opportunity to research the physical geography of a US National Park with the goal of developing a research paper. The Introduction section will tell the reader what are you researching by stating the research question and expressing the importance of “why” behind your research. The Background section will provide descriptive information such as the physical landscape of the National Park, the geographic region, biome, seasonal temperatures, and other descriptive information to give your reader an understanding of the physical geography at your selected National Park. The Methods section will describe to your reader how you collected your data with such detail that it could serve as a “How-to” for another researcher to repeat the process. The Results section is where you share your results and findings with your reader, you will not convey your thoughts or opinions on your research, rather you will objectively interpret the data you collected so the reader can draw their own conclusions. The Conclusion section will allow you to share your opinion based on the results you gathered and your initial research question. Last, the Works Cited section will require that you properly cite (APA, MLA, or Chicago style) all the sources used to collect and analyze your data
Introduce your topic by giving the reader a contextual understanding of the national park’s physical environment; including native plants and animal species, and the park location; state, city. Then highlight the significance of the research being conducted by stating the purpose of the work in the form of the research question supported by a hypothesis or a set of questions. Last, make sure that you include the time frame you will be studying! Your submission should be no less than 300 words.
Consider the following questions when developing your introduction.
What am I studying?
Effects of climate change on your selected national park (Yosemite National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, etc.)
Why is this topic important to investigate?
Changes in species or phenomenon over time as global temperatures rise and regional landscapes change
How will this study add value to this problem? (highlight the scientific correlation between climate change and changes in physical landscape)
Where is your national park?
city, state
What time frame are you researching?
Ex. 1950-2000
