GET ANSWER – The Steps: 1. Choose a topic. You will develop a thoughtful research question that you will try to answer by doing some research. I will give you some examples of research questions that have worked well for students in previous classes.
2. Conduct research. You will learn how to use the databases to conduct research, create citations, and summaries of sources.
3. Put it all together: During this step you will share what you learned by writing summaries and critical evaluations and by reflecting on what you learned.
The Details:
The Research Question
Finding Sources:
Find three sources that help you answer your research question. 2 of the sources have to come from the TCC library databases; one can be a credible web source.
Create complete MLA citations for each source (the databases do this for you)
Writing Annotations:
1. Write a summary for each source: Summarize the source.
- What are the main arguments?
- What is the point of this article?
- What topics are covered?
- If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your source will determine how detailed your summary is, and IT HAS TO BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS! The first sentence of your summary should include the author, title and main idea of the text. After that, use the author’s last name. Remember a summary is about what the AUTHOR is doing. Use the guidelines for summary writing that we have discussed in class.
2. Critically evaluate and reflect on each source: include critical commentary about your source and reflect on the article’s applicability to your own research
- How well does the source explain the topic?
- What tools does the writer use to explain this topic to his/her readers,
- Is the information reliable?
- Discuss the credibility of each article and author.
- From what point of view is this told?
- Is there any bias?
- What is the goal of the source?
- Note trends and connections between articles
- Note any inconsistencies and gaps you noticed in your research.
- Is the source appropriate for the research you are conducting? If not, who would be the appropriate audience? Why?
Reflect:
The final step is to provide a reflection of what you learned from your research. This is where you give possible answers to your research question and share the most important findings. This can be done in two or three paragraphs and does not have to be a full essay. You also have the option of creating a short video for this part.
What you will turn in:
Requirements:
You will turn in a document in MLA format that has the following:
1. a one – two paragraph introduction that introduces the research topic and question, discusses why the topic is important, explains your research process, describes the types of sources you chose to include and how you selected them, and includes your research question. You can write this part of your paper in first person.
2. Citations for THREE sources on your topic. Two of these sources must come from TCC’s library databases.
3. A summary for each of the sources
4. A critical evaluation of each source
5. A reflection of what you have learned (can be written or in video form