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1.  Your working research topic.

1a.  Why is this topic interesting and important to you personally?

1b.  Why should this topic be interesting and important to other people?

2a.  Chronology -- time frame (from when to when)?  Why?

2b.  Start date (year or decade)?  Why?

2c.  End date (year or decade)?  Why?

3.  Geography -- specific place and general context?  Why?

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4.  Bibliography of secondary sources, drawn from IUCAT, the America: History and Life database, and anywhere else.

4a.  Thematically central books and articles (these are crucial for helping you generate your own hypotheses and ultimate thesis):

4b.  Useful background books and articles:

4c.  From the existing scholarship we seem to know what?  (Take a stab at this based on titles, table of contents, and your initial reading.)

4d.  Once you complete your research, how will you add to our knowledge?  What will you tell us that we don't already know?  Why is this interesting and important?

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5.  Keyword and subject search terms so far used in IUCAT or any other database.  (Always keep track of searches.)

5a.  Keywords:

5b.  Subjects:

6.  Bibliography of primary sources (you should be exploring the various databases via the course website, to make absolutely certain you have enough to work with -- otherwise we will have to adjust your topic, which is better done sooner than later).

6a.  What kinds of primary sources are these?  E.g., genre of book?  Newspaper?  Magazine?

6b.  What kinds of authors?  E.g., elite?  Middle-class?  White?  Non-white?  Men?  Women?  Urban?  Rural?  Etc.

6c.  What kinds of audiences?  E.g., elite?  Popular?  Etc.