Fall 2011 Research Design Proposal

Ella Wilkie
Mrs. Lester
10th Honors Lit/Comp
25 October 2011

Fall 2011 Research Design

1.) My multi-genre research paper topic
My topic for the multi-genre research paper is terrorism between the Middle East and the United
States. I want to explore why there is a call for such acts and what we as a nation can do to help
prevent terrorism.

2.) What I already know
I have a limited range of knowledge when it comes to terrorism. I am aware that most terrorist
events in the United States occur around Muslim hatred toward Christians. Through my little
research on the topic, I am now aware that most suicide bombings as well as other act of
terrorism are influenced through religion. In my reading, I found that the holy book of Islam, the
Quran, has some passages that could be interpreted in a violent way. Most Muslims believe
that if they die killing Islam’s enemies, they will be guaranteed a rightful place in Heaven as
well as honor from the God, Allah. Much of this generation are being influenced to hate through
school, sometimes religious teachings, by those who already despise Westerners. The Taliban
and Al-Qaeda have been around for many years, expressing their hatred toward Americans and
Christians. They are Muslim extremist groups that will do anything in the name of their religion.

3.) What I want to learn
Although I have researched terrorism in the Middle East, there are still several holes. I am still
wondering why the United States has not found a better alternative to the war. Most of my
questions revolve around how the United States is handling this situation. Yet, I do want to know
more about what causes a Muslim to feel the need to kill others. Through my research, I found
myself wanting to learn more about the daily lives of an average Muslim and how some of them
have “run off the track.” Al-Qaeda is a powerful extremist group, but what I would love to learn
is the group’s origins and motivations. Further knowledge into the beliefs of Muslims/Islamic
extremists is something that might help me to better understand the origins of terrorism against
the United States.

4.) The origins of my research
Although I was very young at the time, the 9/11 tenth anniversary has sparked my attention of
the terrorism that takes place around the world. It appalls me to learn why Muslims and these
Islamic extremist groups think it is necessary to kill people who do not believe exactly what
they do. Also, through reading the book Under the Persimmon Tree, I am more interested
in the effect all of the wars have had on the innocent people held victim in the Middle East.
Not to mention what the children are going through, such as the main character in my novel.
From traveling on airplanes several times throughout my life, I am constantly intrigued by how
terrorists come up with ideas on how to make such unpredictable explosive devices. I also find it
odd that sometimes terrorists can get through security without being detected. My interest in the
thoughts that cross a terrorist’s mind has caused me to want to preform more research.

5.) Some questions I have about terrorism and the wars in the Middle East
1. If Israelis, or any other ethnicity in the Middle East, are so religious, why do they
murder large numbers of innocent people?

2. Why do the United States and NATO have to turn to air strikes first?
3. Are there no other more efficient precautions the United States could take before
enforcing an air strike?
4. Why does the Quran consist of “violent commands”?
5. Who was the first person to claim that Allah is for suicide terrorism?
6. Why have the US/NATO done anything to prevent the growing army of the Taliban?
7. Where is the sudden increase of financial and human support for Terrorism coming
from?
8. What fuels the Islamist movement in general?
9. Why is the US one of the top terrorist targets?
10. When did terrorism really pose as a threat to the world?
11. When/How did Al Qaeda come about?
12. What are they doing to outsmart the rest of the world?
6.) My research plan
My plan for collecting information about my topic is to start by taking a mental note of all
that I know about terrorism. I then would like to look through the Internet and find some key
informational sites that might help me to better understand the background of terrorists, their
motivations, and the wars going on in the Middle East. Through Symbaloo, I will keep record of
all the valuable sources I find so that I might come back to them to use as a reference. Scoop.it
will be useful in allowing me to write down all that I find important from these sites. Noodletools
will also come in handy along with Symbaloo to help me keep record of the valuable sources,
for I am sure they will eventually be used in a bibliography. For my sources, I will most likely be
using online databases, but maybe I will be able to conduct interviews of people I find who have
some type of experience with a terrorist or know what it is like to live in the Middle East at the
time of war.

7.) Preliminary bibliography

Human Rights Watch. “Civilian Deaths Undermine Allied Security Efforts in Afghanistan.”

Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Greenhaven Press, 8 Sept. 2011. Web. 25 Oct.

2011. <http://ic.galegroup.com/‌ic/‌ovic/‌ViewpointsDetailsPage/‌ViewpointsDetailsWindow?

displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate

=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010741205&mode=view&userGroupName=cant48

040&jsid=89f533948d7d66c014e372f7a498c646>.

Ibrahim, Azeem. “Islamic Extremists Are Motivated by Moral Disgust.” Gale Opposing

Viewpoints in Context. Greenhaven Press, 6 Jan. 2010. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http:/

/ic.galegroup.com/‌ic/‌ovic/‌ViewpointsDetailsPage/‌ViewpointsDetailsWindow?



040&jsid=128c34865f16a1eef4308e64b705fe86>.

Kronstadt, K. Alan. “Anti-Americans Are a Problem in Pakistan.” Gale Opposing

Viewpoints in Context. Greenhaven Press, 2010. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http:/

/ic.galegroup.com/‌ic/‌ovic/‌ViewpointsDetailsPage/‌ViewpointsDetailsWindow?



040&jsid=af54611dce79e8a9cbd38c84b5a322b7>.

Pappe, IIan. “Some Israelis Believe That Israel Committed Genocide in Gaza.” Gale

Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Greenhaven Press, 3 Jan. 2009. Web. 25 Oct. 2011.

<http://ic.galegroup.com/‌ic/‌ovic/‌ViewpointsDetailsPage/‌ViewpointsDetailsWindow?



040&jsid=369a2507a90e54cf08d73eda4711253c>.

World Daily Net. “Islam Advocates Suicide Terrorism.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints

in Context. Greenhaven Press, 27 Sept. 2006. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://

ic.galegroup.com/‌ic/‌ovic/‌ViewpointsDetailsPage/‌ViewpointsDetailsWindow?



040&jsid=6776aaa29461aac39d38aace576ca0fb>.

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