The Capstone course seeks to have each student conduct an original research report on a current or relevant topic in political science. For this week’s written assignment, each student will select a topic from the list below and will begin the preliminary research on the topic.

• U.S. counterterrorism and counterinsurgency policy in Afghanistan circa 2009 to present
• U.S. Health Care Reform legislation debate and policy circa 2009 to present
• Financial sector legislation and policy changes resulting from the financial market collapse and bank bailouts circa 2008 to present
• U.S. immigration reform policy circa 2001 to present
• U.S. debate on deficit spending circa 2009 to present
• Comparative national policies on restricting Internet access to a country’s citizens

In two to four pages (excluding the title and reference pages), complete the following tasks:

• Identify the topic for your research paper, develop research questions and provide a brief background overview of the topic. Explain why you believe the topic is worthy of research. Then, create a research question that you intend to answer regarding the topic. Keep in mind that this is not a book report, it is a research design. Therefore, it is important to choose a current topic and develop a question that can be evaluated scientifically.  
• Once you have crafted a research question, create three hypotheses that might answer your question. These hypotheses will be the research areas you will pursue to answer your research question.

Example
Topic- Global Warming
Question: Is it in U.S. interests to sign the Kyoto Protocol to reduce carbon emissions? 
Hypothesis- If the U.S. signs the Kyoto Protocol, the competitiveness of American businesses will decrease. (See page 26 of your text for a description of hypothesis formation.)

Students will need to elaborate further than this brief example.  

Cite your resources in text and on the reference page. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar, in your online course.