Possible sources for my paper

A Candidate Gene Study of CYP19 (Aromatase) and Male Sexual Orientation.

A therapist's guide to the genetics of human sexual orientation.

Is male homosexuality maternally linked?

Measurement Models for Sexual Orientation in a Community Twin Sample

The Incredibly Shrinking Gay Gene

Types of Sources I will be Using

According to those who are homosexual and experts in the field of psychology, is homosexuality a choice or is it genetic?

In order to answer this question, I will be using a lot of primary sources. I will be interviewing a few gay people and I will also use information from studies done by psychologists interested in whether or not homosexuality is genetic. My best friend is gay, and I'm sure he'd be happy to give me a lot of insight to this topic. I will also explore the catholic church's point of view on the issue and I want to find out if they have any sufficient evidence that being gay is not genetic and that it is "curable". I am not sure what kind of articles I will find in the field of psychology, but I will hopefully find an actual legitimate study on the issue. In order to know if it is legitimate or not, I will need to make sure those who are conducting the study are qualified enough and that there are little or no biases affecting the study.

Roles for Research

I've decided to change my topic to homosexuality and whether or not it is genetic or a choice. I will probably take the role of a synthesizer of current best thinking on a problem.

According to the field of psychology and sociology, is homosexuality a choice or genetic?

My research so far...

I have found that I will need to focus my research topic on specific age groups. There is a lot of research on music therapy and the effects of music therapy could be different for each age group. Also, I will need to focus my attention to what kind of ailments music therapy helps. I'm not sure if would like to include many types of ailments or stick to just one. I am also not sure of if I will end up talking about one age group either. I will know once I have done further research. I don't think I will have very much luck in finding information. So far, I have searched "Music therapy" and many articles come up, so there will be no trouble in deciding how to narrow the subject down.

So far I have learned that there are in fact researchers who believe that music therapy is not as effective as others believe it is. This will be useful for me when helping my readers to see the whole picture.

Tentative Purpose and Audience of Research Paper

Plans to do:

Audience:

-Music majors

-Psychology majors

-People who are stressed out

Purpose

-Inform readers about the effects of music therapy

-Convince readers of the affectability of music therapy

-Illustrate using examples of case studies

-Clarify what music therapy can and cannot do for health

Questions for my Research Paper Topic

1. Is music therapy a legitimate way of helping people overcome physical or mental illness?

2. To what extent does music therapy help people overcome physical or mental illness?

3. What is the history of music therapy healing people in ancient times? (And how has it affected modern music therapy?)

Exploring my Research Topic

Part I: Exploration

1. Identify the issue or problem that you plan to focus on in your research project.

Does music therapy really work in helping to cure mental and/or physical illness?

2. What is your personal connection to and interest in this topic?

I love music and I have a friend who I majoring in music therapy. I think this is also a very interesting topic. When I play music, listen to music, and/or sing, I know first hand that a lot of stress is relieved. I also know that music can quickly allow people to escape their daily lives. As Aristotle put it, “music is the quickest way to the soul”.

3. What opinions do you already hold about this topic?

I feel that it can help to improve people’s mental stability and peace of mind. I believe that music is a great way of expressing emotions. Expressing emotions is a very good way to keep the mind healthy and happy. I think that music therapy should be incorporated into our everyday lives in order to prevent illness, because people are generally more healthier when they are happy.

4. What knowledge do you already have about this topic?

I know that some people believe that music therapy has helped people who have some kinds of mental illnesses and possibly physical illness too. Also it can help people who are generally stressed out. I know that music is very uplifting and helps us to connect with ourselves. I really don’t know a lot on the subject, I just know that I would like to research it more.

5. What are your main questions about this topic? What are you most curious about?

I would like to know what the opposing side’s point of view and support is. I would like to learn more information both sides to develop a more educated opinion on the subject. I would also like to know if this field is widely accepted in the scholarly world and if this is a new field.

6. Within what scholarly discipline (such as history, biology, psychology) do you expect to do most of your research? How does this discipline approach or study this topic?

I expect to do most of my research within the psychology discipline. I assume the psychology discipline studies this topic through case studies and through general observation in controlled environments.

7. How could you research this topic outside the library (for example, through interviews and/or observations)?

I could hold my own experiment on a stressed out college student and see whether or not music therapy works.

Part II: Focusing

Write an initial claim, or an open-ended question, to guide your research on this topic. Make it specific but exploratory. Remember that a good claim opens up an area of inquiry about a topic; a claim should invite evidence, support, and debate.

Music therapy is an effective way to improve the overall health of humans.

My Sources for Synthesis Paper

Visser, B. A. (2006, September-October). Beyond g: Putting multiple intelligences

theory to the test. Intelligence, 34, 5. Retrieved October 3, 2007, from Science

Direct database.

Visser, B. A. (2006, September-October). g and the measurement of Multiple

Intelligences: A response to Gardner. Intelligence, 34, 5. Retrieved October 3,

2007, from Science Direct database.

Gardner, H. (2006 September-October). On failing to grasp the core of MI theory: A

response to Visser et al. Intelligence, 24, 5. Retrieved October 2, 2007, from

Science Direct database.

Gardner, H. (1998 Winter). A reply to Perry D Klein’s “Multiplying the problems of

intelligence by eight”. Canadian Journal of Education, 23, 1. Retrieved October 1,

2007, from ProQuest database