Proposed research question: Why is the United States alone among advanced democracies in not having universal or ‘single-payer’ health care?
Proposed thesis: The absence of universal healthcare in the United States is a combination of entities with a vested interest (pharmaceutical and insurance companies and private healthcare providers) as well as American’s preference for individualism and choice.
- You must answer your research question with a clearly articulated thesis statement. Your thesis is the argument you will be supporting with empirical evidence in the body of the paper. Your thesis/argument must be presented in your introduction, following your research question. Depending on your research question, your thesis may contain several “explanatory variables.” For example, if your purpose is to explain why we do not see a more concerted and aggressive policy response to the problem of climate change, your thesis/answer would focus on two or three key explanatory variables (i.e., key factors).
- You must support your thesis variables with empirical evidence. Simply put, you need to offer evidence that links your dependent variable (that which you are attempting to explain) with your independent variables (that which you are offering as an explanation). For example, what is your evidence to explain the absence of strong federal gun control policies?
- Your paper must be 5-7 pages in length (numbered), double-spaced, using a 12-point standard font. No title page is required (nor recommended), but your paper should include a title. Any charts, tables, or graphs must be presented in appendices (they will not count toward the minimum page requirement).