Cecily Greene

8180 Engineering Drive

University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742

February 17, 2017

Professor Erica Glasper-Andrews
Department of Psychology
4094 Campus Drive
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
RE: Research Project
Dear Professor Glasper:

Thank you again for allowing me to observe your lab last week. As I have mentioned, I am a
student in Intro to Professional Writing here on campus. For our class, my three team members
and I are assigned to write an ethnography on the styles, habits, and responsibilities related to
professional writing by an expert in a field we are interested in. Some of their majors include
psychology and neurobiology. Since I know that you are accomplished in writing publications, I
was hoping I could write my ethnography on you.

In writing this ethnography, I hope to learn about adult social, cognitive, and emotional behavior
research and professional writing you have done alongside it. My team members are aspiring
professional writers as well, so this will be truly beneficial to our learning experience. I also have
noticed how important it is to you that students are introduced to all aspects of science, this
includes writing scientific publications.

We are studying your professional writing achievements to identify how writing plays into the
career of a researcher in the social sciences. To do so, I would like to schedule an interview with
you, as well as gain access to some of your research publication and other written products of
your studies. The first draft of this ethnographic report is due April 17th, so I would like to
conduct my research as well as any necessary meetings before then, but would still like to follow
up with you afterwards regarding the final copy.

I want you to be aware that I will not use your real name in any of my materials, from notes to
the final ethnographic report. I want to be receptive to your input and analysis and I would not
portray you or your work in any way that you are uncomfortable with. I will respect your
workspace and make sure that I am cautious as to not disturb your work or make anything
difficult for you. I will work around your schedule for when we meet in person. I will not write
on any topics that you deem confidential. You will, of course, receive access to my writings
every step of the process.
We would be grateful for any and all information that you would be willing to share with us.

If you would get back to me with your response to my request, I would very much appreciate it.
If you are willing to participate, I will be getting in touch with you about when we can meet. I
am excited to perhaps be working with you in the near future!
Thank you,
Cecily Greene
In association with
Erin Hill, Janae Thompson, and Aileen Wood