ARTICLE REVIEW GUIDELINES

Select an article, which is directly focussed on aging in Canada, published between 2006 and the present that is at least 10 pages in length in a Canadian academic journal. Possible journals include, the journal Canadian Public Policy, Canadian Journal of Political Science, Canadian Journal on Aging, as well as others, and write a five-page (double spaced) review. Please include a hardcopy of the article with your review. Please check with me in advance to confirm the selection of your article.

The review is not summary of the article, just as a movie review is not a mere summary of a film.

The review should include most the following (in whatever order you think is best):

1. A summary of the content of the article that is being reviewed, which should be no longer than one page.

2. What, in your own words, is the author of trying to demonstrate, achieve or explain in the work?

3. A brief discussion of how the work fits into the larger literature. For example, does the article seek to challenge previous findings or approaches?

4. Possibly a discussion of the research methods of the article: What are these? Do they seem reasonable to you in order to answer the question(s) of the author?

5. A discussion of the flaws of the article: Are the conclusions reasonable? Are you convinced by the conclusions? Why or why not? What would you like to have seen added (or deleted) from the work? What would you have done differently?

6. What was the most interesting part of the article for you, and why?

7. Why did you select this particular article?

Attention should be paid to the manner in which the review is structured especially the order in which material is presented. The review should be coherently organized, and concisely written without grammatical and spelling errors. Try to avoid too many headings.

RESEARCH ESSAY PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

The proposal may be conceived as a map that provides direction for the research and writing of the research essay. The more detailed and developed the map, the less difficult it should be to write the essay.

You may select any topic of interest related to policy development and analysis, although logically it might be closely linked to our course and to your previous article review. The readings for our course may also provide you with suggestions or ideas, as well as sources. Aim to have a focussed topic, problem, issue, controversy, debate or dilemma that is central to your proposal. Avoid vague and general topics. For your proposal you should also indicate why what you have selected to explore is interesting and important.

The proposal will require library and web-based research and you must include bibliography that includes the works consulted so far. It will not be acceptable to have only on-line documents in your bibliography.

There is no one format that will be most appropriate for the proposal. The length of the proposal should be no less than five pages, in addition to the bibliography.

RESEARCH ESSAY GUIDELINES

The research essay must be professional in all aspects. As such, it must have a cover page, title, table of contents, five or six sections (such as introduction, etc.), bibliography and, if you wish, appendices. You are encouraged to use a few visual aids – graphs, charts, photos, diagrams and tables – that must be clearly labelled and referenced. The essay should be a holistic work that demonstrates considerable research and reflection, as well as strong writing skills.

The essay must be at least 16 pages in length using double-spacing and 12 point font. Grades will be deducted for grammatical errors. You must have the paper read (edited) by others before submitting it. Please attach your proposal to the essay.

At least 50% of your citations must be from academic sources (books and articles) and no more than 75% of your sources can web-available. You will need to obtain material from the Scott Library, and/or other libraries that you may have access to.

WEB BASED RESOURCES – POLS 4135 – Winter 2010

Considerable information on public policy related to aging available from web-based sources. Below is a small sample of hot-linked sites that might be of interest for our course.

Index to Federal Royal Commissions: materials associated with the more than 200 federal Royal Commissions that have taken place since Confederation from the National Library of Canada

Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire: access to the House of Commons, Senate and the Library of Parliament, including debates, committee proceedings, and status of legislation

Statistics Canada is the best source for data. Be sure to enter the Stats Can site from York Libraries’ e-resources.

There are also many web sites primarily related to public policy that might be useful. A small sample is hot-linked below. The last two are especially helpful.
 
Caledon Institute of Social Policy
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN)
CD Howe Institute
Conference Board of Canada
Fraser Institute
International Labour Organization
Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP)
Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD)
Policy Research Initiative (PRI) (look under ‘publications’)