IDS 105
Research Assignment
Name:
Course Instructor:
Librarian Teaching Session:
Course Day and Time:
Date:
Assignment
The purpose of this project is to teach you how to conduct research on a topic, choosing a variety of appropriate and reliable sources. You will incorporate your findings into a final paper, citing (or giving credit to) the sources you used, using a prescribed standard format. At the end of the course, you should be able to locate articles and other relevant information using CCC Information databases and locate a reliable website, using evaluation techniques.
This project will be presented with the help of CCC Librarians in two class sessions. If you need additional help with your research ask for help at the library’s research assistance desk. Anyone working at this desk can assist you.
For this assignment you will be writing a two to four page paper on a topic you have selected. The topic will include your opinion, and will use articles found using college databases. You must include a works cited page, using MLA format.
Your instructor will decide what percentage this assignment is worth for your final grade. You will be required to work through the following steps for this assignment(example) in addition to writing your final paper. Your instructor will decide when your works cited page, final paper and search sheets are due.
The following steps outline a simple and effective strategy for finding information for a research paper and documenting the sources you find. Depending on your topic and your familiarity with the library, you may need to rearrange or recycle these steps. Adapt this outline to your needs.
Step 1. Select a topic from the Opposing Viewpoints Database
This database has two opposite points of view on topics, such as euthanasia, the death penalty, medical use of marijuana, gays in the military, etc. All students will pick a different topic. Discuss the topic selection with your instructor, who will approve the topic.
To get started, write a topical question to focus your research. (This question can also serve as the title of your paper). Identify the main concepts or keywords in your question, then think of 2 or 3 or more related concepts to serve as keywords. These keywords will be essential to finding relevant information quickly as you research your topic. Your library instructor will demonstrate this process. You cannot pick the main topic or the related keywords that were demonstrated in the library session.
Select a topic that is interesting to you. State your topic as a question. For example, if you are interested in finding out about the practice of euthanasia, you might pose the question, "Is euthanasia to relieve suffering morally acceptable?" Identify the main concepts or keywords in your question.
Choose one viewpoint article from the Opposing Viewpoints Database:
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
General Topic:
Question/Thesis Statement:
Keywords:
What is the title of the viewpoint essay you chose?
Why did you select this article?
Step 2. Find background information
A Reference Source is a book or database which gives brief information or an introduction to a topic. There are many types of reference sources, including encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, directories, and sources for statistics. Increasingly many of these sources may be found online.
Look up your keywords in subject encyclopedias and read the articles to provide context for your research. Note any relevant items in the references at the end of the encyclopedia articles.
Find one article from one of the following online reference sources:
CQ Researcher,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Health and Wellness Resource Center,
General Reference Center Gold
Which reference source did you choose?
What information did you find?
Why did you select this reference source?
Step 3: Find magazine articles
Books often do not contain the most recent information on a topic. If you a researching a current topic, magazine or journal articles are a good source of information. Articles can be found in indexes which may be in paper or electronic format. An electronic database is a tool used for finding information on recent topics. All indexes, both electronic and paper have a specific focus and a specific range of years which they cover. You must be aware of a database's focus in order to search for a topic effectively.
Find one magazine article from one of the following library databases:
Academic Search Premier,
Health Source
Which database did you choose? Make sure you use a database rather than a print magazine.
What information did you find?
Why did you select this magazine article?
Step 4: Find newspaper articles
For accessing the most recent day-to-day events, newspapers are an excellent source of information. Find one newspaper article from one of the following library databases:
Newspaper Source,
Hartford Courant
Which newspaper database did you use? Make sure you do not use a print newspaper.
What information did you find?
Why did you select this newspaper article?
Step 5: Find Internet resources
The Internet is a vast resource for information. It is self publishing, meaning anyone can (and often does) post a website. Different sites exist to inform, sell, advertise, persuade, entertain, and report research. It is up to you to decide if the information is reliable. Students must learn to evaluate the various sources of information which they find including books, journals and web sites. Authors of scholarly articles are experts in their field of study and generally write articles in one subject area. The authors at Time Magazine write a variety of articles on various subjects. One week they may write an article on AIDS, the next week an article on United States foreign policy. These writers are not usually experts in a particular subject. The Internet is not reliable as there is no editorial control such as we find with books or journals. Special care should be taken when using the Internet for research purposes as there are many web sites of questionable value.
You must critically look at web page as you critically look at books, journals or newspaper articles. You must ask yourself these questions.
(1) Is the web page biased? This means does the site try to influence you in any way.
(2) What is the authority of the web page author?
(3) Can you determine the background of the author of the web page?
(4) Is the author an expert in the field that the web page covers?
(5) Does the web page offer facts, statistics, data or just opinions?
(6) Does the web page author tell you where they found their facts or information?
(7) Does the site have a bibliography or list of sources?
Use the following sites to understand how to evaluate the quality of a website:
Evaluating Web Sites
Web Site Evaluation Checklist
Find one reliable website on your topic:
Search Google
Search Yahoo
Which website did you choose?
What information did you find?
Why did you select this website?
Step 6: Cite what you find using a standard format
WHAT IS A CITATION?
A CITATION is a reference to an item from which a quotation or information was taken or to which a person is being directed. Includes enough information to locate the original item. For example: a book citation would include author, title, place of publication, publisher and date of publication; an article citation would include author, title, name of periodical, date, and page reference. Citations are generally listed at the end of a research paper.
After you formulate your research question, examine various sources of information, and write your paper, the final product should be uniquely yours. If you decide to use the exact words of an author you have to give that person credit. If you do not give the author appropriate credit you are guilty of plagiarism. Webster's Dictionary defines plagiarism as stealing and passing off the ideas and words of another as one's own. "Ideas or words" can include written or spoken material, statistics, lab results, art work, etc. If you have quoted a published writer or critic in a book, magazine, encyclopedia, or journal; another student at this college or elsewhere; or various Internet sites, you must give appropriate credit in your paper (CCC : A Guide to Research Papers, pages 4-5).
The penalty for plagiarism is determined by the professor teaching the course; more often than not, however, it will involve failure for the paper and it could mean failure for the entire course. Repeated infractions of this essential principle of academic responsibility could result in expulsion from the college. Penalties published in Capital's Student Handbook are subject to guidelines determined by the Board of Trustees of Connecticut Community Colleges (CCC : a Guide to Research Papers, pages 4-5).
Capital's Guide to Research Papers MLA Format and APA Format give you information concerning gathering materials and documenting your work in the proper format. The guide gives you examples of citing books, encyclopedia articles, journals, newspapers, interviews, audio-visual materials and radio or television broadcasts. Both printed and electronic sources are covered. Print versions of the MLA and APA Guides are available in the library.
Citation Machine
Step 7: Preparing a works cited page.
WHAT IS A WORKS CITED PAGE?
A WORKS CITED PAGE is an alphabetic list of all materials (books, journals, newspapers, websites, etc) consulted in the preparation of your assignment written in the form of a citation.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A WORKS CITED PAGE?
A works cited page may serve a number of purposes such as:
Reviewing the literature on a particular subject.
Illustrating the quality of research that you have done.
Providing examples of the types of sources available.
Acknowledging and giving credit to sources of materials summarized or paraphrased.
Showing that you are respectfully borrowing other people's ideas, not stealing them, i.e. to prove that you are not plagiarizing.
Giving readers an opportunity to check out your sources for accuracy.
Sample paper in MLA format
Sample paper in APA format
Step 8: Final Paper
You have conducted research, using appropriate and reliable sources, to gather information on your topic from books, articles, and websites. Write a 2-4 page paper describing your opinion on your topic. If you use a direct quote from a book, article, Opposing Viewpoints information or website, make sure you put quotation marks around it.
Your paper must include the following:
Your opinion on the topic you chose. Discuss whether there are specific authors, or journal or newspaper articles you agree or disagree with?
A bibliography or work cited page that tells what sources you used, such as magazine and newspaper articles, Opposing Viewpoints information, online reference sources and websites.
Format of Final Paper:
Electronic Word Document (such as Microsoft Word)
Double-spaced
Default Word Document margins (usually about an inch)
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