Major Research Essay Guidelines

Pick one question to answer only.

1. How can states respond effectively to cyber-attacks originating beyond their own borders? Compare and evaluate responses of two or three different governments.

2. How have the Internet and cyber-weapons impacted on-going conflicts, and how will they impact conflicts in the future? Respond using multiple recent, ongoing, or potential future conflict scenarios.

Remember the major research essay is an academic research and writing assignment. What this means is that any time you make a factual claim, this claim should be supported by relevant supporting evidence. This is true even if you are offering recommendationsrather than tell the reader what you think might help address a problem, show the reader what the research has demonstrated to be an effective solution. For the most part, this evidence should be drawn from peer-reviewed research, which you can find in relevant academic journals and monographs. While newspaper articles can be useful, they should be a secondary (rather than your primary) source of evidence. Also, where possible, you should try to synthesise information from multiple sources, rather than just repeating the claims of one source to support a given argument.

Please note to include at least 15 academic references, also it is to be in 12-point font, double spaced with Harvard referencing and the word limit is 3000 words.

The Research Essay is intended to:
Allow you to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of a
Cyber Conflict, Cyber Espionage or Cyber Terrorism topic;
Build on research skills; Develop your academic writing
and referencing skills;
Encourage critical analysis of your topic.