construct a research-based paper comparing/contrasting the cultures of two countries.

Research Assignment
You will construct a research-based paper comparing/contrasting the cultures of two countries. The countries must include one non-Western country; the other may be any country you wish. ( Japan and Germany)
For this project, you will need at least (8) unique, primary, journal-based sources (solo project. While you may cite multiple ideas from the same journal article, a single journal article counts once. Secondary citations from journal articles (one author reporting on another’s opinions or conclusions) do not count toward the total primary citations. You will require some secondary sources for some content areas not typically covered in journal articles in primary form, like demographics, history, and other encyclopedic information. Beyond the minimum, cite any additional primary or secondary sources you use (e.g. textbooks, credible web sources, encyclopedias, etc.), but do not cite Wikipedia, non-credible web pages or sites, or any unauthorized sources (although you might use them as pointers to reliable sources). You will find that Parts 2 and 4 are where you can easily find and use the minimum primary citations (e.g. defining or discussing intercultural constructs). Remember that any information, idea, conclusion, or opinion you present must have an inline citation and a full reference on the references page, unless it is your opinion (and you are sure the reader will be clear that it is). Include inline APA citations within the body text of your paper for all sources, and construct an APA reference page that lists all the sources you include inline. Use the APA source and examples I provide on Blackboard to help you with APA details. Do not rely only on automatic APA generators or other sources; they make mistakes. Be sure that every inline citation has a reference page citation, and every reference page citation is used at least once inline.
The completed paper must read as a single, coherent, well-written work, not as a set of individual assignments. Write this paper in a conversational tone. Do not use any words that an average reader (or you) would not recognize (unless you define them). Also, no quoting is allowed anywhere in the paper. Paraphrase the opinions or findings from sources you cite. Paraphrasing is not just changing a few words (a form of plagiarism). To be ethical and to enhance the voice of your prose, translate the ideas of your sources’ authors using your own unique sentences. You are responsible for the quality, consistency, and adherence to ethical and proper citation within the work. Spelling errors, punctuation, grammatical issues, changing tense, flawed or inconsistent citation style, etc. anywhere in the document will affect the paper grade.
You will submit the work to Turnitin at least once before you submit it to me for a grade. I have installed a Blackboard Turnitin assignment that will allow you to do this. Your submissions will not be added to the Turnitin database, so you are free to use it multiple times without risk (there is a delay between allowable submissions). Use the feedback it provides to correct potential problems and run it again as many times as you feel is appropriate. You must email your final paper to me as an attachment (a single Word file only) by the due date. I will submit that copy to the Turnitin database separately, which will be added to the Turnitin repository. You will be responsible for any originality problems at that point, so be sure you’ve checked and repaired any problems.
The Project
Each paper must contain the following five major parts (include each as a titled section):
1. Descriptive statistics and measurements. Demographics, geographic location, and resource availability strongly influence cultural communication behaviors. Research ties most cultural constructs to many elements covered in this part. Your discussion here must be in your own words, and must be written in cohesive paragraphs (no lists). Remember that no quoting is allowed. Each paper should cover the following, which are the minimum:
a. Total population and population density, ethnic subgroups, socio-economic information (like the average income), important geographic features (size, altitude, landlocked, mountains, island, desert, etc.), global location, climate, major industries and sources of income, average lifespan, average number of children.
2. Dominant cultural patterns: It’s likely that you will find few or no cultural studies on your particular countries. In Part II, you are to infer cultural characteristics using your research in Part 1 and your journal-informed knowledge of basic cultural constructs. For example, if you find that countries in northern climates are more likely to be individualistic and low context, cite your source and apply it to your discussion of your culture. Much of this section involves critical thinking and supposition based on what you know from Part 1 of your paper. The descriptive elements covered in Part 1 typically drive similar cultural patterns.
a. Include the following constructs in your discussion. Define or discuss what research has determined about each cultural construct using a primary journal source. Use critical thinking to infer how each of your two countries relates to the construct. Explain your reasoning; don’t just make a claim. For example, if you say that one of your countries is likely to be more collectivist, you must provide some reasoning as to why.
1. individualism – collectivism
2. high versus low context
3. power distance/orientation
3. “Deep structure” issues: In Part III, discuss specific connections between your countries’ cultures and their history, political structure, family structure, etc. Discuss the cultural effects of these structures and not on detailed description of those structures. Combine your research on the issues below with what you learned in Part I and Part II and take educated guess about the structures in your two countries. Your sources for Part III are likely to be mostly secondary here (since they are probably encyclopedic), but be sure they are credible. For each of your two countries:
a. Report on a single important historical event (secondary citation) and discuss at least one way the current culture of the country is affected (your defended opinion)
b. Report on the current or past political structure (secondary citation) and discuss at least one way the current culture of the country is affected (your defended opinion)
c. Report on the primary religious structures with the country (secondary citation) and discuss at least one way the culture of the country is affected (your defended opinion)
4. Verbal and nonverbal communication patterns: Again, this part builds on the previous ones. Use journal-based primary sources to establish and explain the key constructs below. Take educated guesses about the patterns likely in your two countries and defend your arguments
a. Verbal communication: review theory regarding verbal communication (see: linguistics, ethnolinguistics, or sociocultural linguistics). For each country:
i. Cite something very specific about the primary language of the country (primary or secondary citation)
ii. Discuss one way the language issue to noted is demonstrated in current culture of the country (opinion)
b. Non-verbal: Demonstrate and discuss the following nonverbal qualities:
1. Kinesics:
a) Establish something about kinesics, which is the study of body movement as communication: gestures, facial expression, eye contact, etc. (primary reference)
b) Make a defended claim about each country (opinion)
2. Haptics: Establish something about haptics, which is the study of touch as communication (primary reference)
a) Make a defended claim about each country (opinion)
3. Proxemics: Establish something about proxemices, which is the study of interpersonal space as communication (primary reference)
a) Make a defended claim about each country (opinion)
5. Cultural comparison/contrast
a. The two cultures you examined will likely lead to interesting and challenging interactions if members were to interact in real life. This part of your paper is critical opinion, not research. Examine a single specific communication interaction between members of these two cultures: real or hypothetical. Describe the interaction (briefly) and suggest potential problems/solutions regarding this intercultural interaction. While this section reflects your critical opinion, each problem and solution you discuss must draw on the research from earlier sections of your paper. Do not underestimate this section. This “critical thinking” area is what makes this assignment worthy of a college level analysis.
You are welcome at any time to schedule a meeting with me to review your progress. See the syllabus for office hours.

Citation tip:
I know some of you will use the CIA World Factbook and are not sure how to cite it inline (parenthetical) and on the references page. You’ll likely use that same source for both countries, which will require more than one reference citation on the references list. Below is an example of how to do it both inline and on the references page. In the example, I’m using information from the World Factbook pages about Brazil and India. Since there are two from the same online reference, I use an "a" and "b" to distinguish them.
Inline example:
Brazil is currently experiencing a very high inflation rate and an increasing level of unemployment (Central Intelligence Agency, 2017a). India has also experienced economic instability in the past decade (Central Intelligence Agency, 2017b), but in the last two years, the economic situation has improved considerably.
References page example:

References
Central Intelligence Agency. (2017a). Brazil. In The world factbook. Retrieved January 8, 2017 from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html
Central Intelligence Agency. (2017b). India. In The world factbook. Retrieved January 8, 2017 from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html

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