D#5, HW#6 - Primary or Secondary Research

Purpose –
The research is intended to give readers a better understanding of the topic and perhaps see that teenagers are:

• Mature at 16 to make sound decisions
• Follow legal procedures for changing laws
• Be an active member with society

The research is also intended to give a clearer view on the fact that teenagers are serious about this issue. They’ve tried to lower the voting age in several states by contacting the appropriate council person(s) to present the bill(s) needed to affect change.

Information that will be needed to support this research is:

• Factual statements
• Stats that are current
• Authoritative and Credible opinions

Audience –
Types of sources/data that will be valued by my readers:

• Newspaper articles
• Government official(s) opinions
• Expert Medical opinions
• Expert Educational opinions
• Youth opinions
• Number and Statistics
• Case Studies

Circumstance –
The time frame to complete this research is three weeks. The type of resources currently accessible is the internet and libraries. It is undetermined at this time whether Primary materials/locations or expert opinions will be accessible in the time frame allotted.

Topic/Question –
The type of information needed to answer the research question thoroughly is expert opinions on teens maturity at 16, studies done on teens and civic curriculum, articles verifying teens are serious and perhaps numbers and stats showing how many more possible votes this would add to the city; county; state; and country levels.

Author –
Through initial research, there are records establishing teens have attempted to lower the voting age in at least three states (Arizona, California & New York) and unfortunately failed. It’s unclear who else could assist with locating and gathering further data/information that’s needed to be complete this research. The current accessible information sources are the internet and libraries.