Process Paper
How did we choose our topic?
We developed our topic idea as we conducted preliminary research regarding worldwide debate and diplomacy. We initially knew that we wanted to find a topic that included an act because we knew this would be a good choice to match the theme of diplomacy. We started to conduct our research by looking into different acts in U.S. history. Additionally, we researched by looking through a debate and diplomacy of the United States book which provided us with information on many potential options.
How did we conduct our research?
We began our research learning about the act itself, and then honed in on researching specific elements of our acts' debate, successes, and failures. We found many New York Times articles which were newspapers published the year the act was passed. These articles were a starting place for us to conduct our research and they gave us a general idea of this topic. We then looked through pub.med to find many studies conducted on the effects of raising the drinking age. We found many successes of this act and there was a lot of data that proved the effectiveness of it.
Why did we choose our modality and how did we create our project?
For our National History day project we chose the website modality. This modality appealed to us since it accommodated our busy work schedules and allowed us to collaborate without needing to meet in person. We discussed our comments and thoughts after each group member attended a different modality presentation. We thought that a website would be the best fit for our topic, and we already had website design experience, which would help us during the design process. Our group first met to brainstorm a website theme and layout, as well as work on finding quotes and photos. When we first started constructing our website, we split up the sections and each focused on topics that we felt most comfortable with. We met several times throughout the creation process to ensure that we were on the same page, and this helped us design a more cohesive website.
How does our topic relate to the theme?
There was a national debate prior to the national minimum drinking age act about whether the federal government had the right to control specific states. Before the act was passed, many people advocated in favor of it and others lobbied against it. There is still controversy today about whether this act was useful or not, and whether it was a success or a failure. Studies and people (or organizations) who have been affected by the raising of the drinking age have differing perspectives on the act's outcome/consequences/implications. Additionally, our topic is a constitutional act that serves as a model of national diplomacy