Research question and potential sources

Summary: Narrow your area of interest to a specific question and identify potential sources.

Goals:

• Consider how to frame a research question.
• Practice using the library catalog and databases to identify potential sources.

Due: Friday, March 6, 5:30 p.m.

Assignment

Although this assignment is listed in two parts, research question and potential sources, I expect you will work on both iteratively: revising your research question in light of the sources you find or are unable to find.

Part A: Research question

Write a research question that narrows the focus of your research topic. This need not be identical to one of the potential topics you proposed earlier. That is, it's OK to change direction based on the sources you find.

The Research Room (http://www.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc/writerscomplex.nsf/wholeshortlinks2/Research+Room+Menu) includes a one-page tutorial on developing a research question. You may use this tutorial to help you learn what makes a good research question: sufficiently focused that you can thoroughly address it, yet not so narrow that you cannot find appropriate sources, nor so factual that there is nothing interesting to say.

Please talk with me if you are having difficulty coming up with a question or are not sure whether your question is appropriate.

Part B: Potential sources

Provide a list in MLA citation style of sources you might use to address your research question. I encourage you to use RefWorks or another citation management tool to help you organize and format your potential sources.

For each potential source, give a very brief annotation (1-3 sentences) that discusses

• how you found the source (Google, library catalog, Academic Search Premier, reference from another source, etc.);
• why you believe it to be credible;
• why you think it might help you address your research question.

You do not need to carefully read these sources to produce the required annotation; looking at abstracts, tables of contents, indexes, and the information for the citation itself should be enough. Conciseness is good. The next assignment, the annotated bibliography, will require you to examine your potential sources in more depth.

You should aim for on on the order of five to fifteen potential sources, ideally including at least one book and at least one journal article. If you are having difficulty finding enough sources, please come talk with me about how to proceed.

If you find many more than that and are having difficulty choosing, you may need to narrow the focus of your research question. Conversely, if you are unable to find five sources, you may have chosen a topic that is too new or too narrow, or you may need to change your search strategy. Please meet with me or with a librarian if it's not clear how to proceed.

What to turn in

1. Your research question from part A.
2. Your list of potential sources from part B, in MLA citation style, with the required brief annotations.

Be sure to put your name and a title on the assignment and to acknowledge any help you received.

Please use at least 1" margins, 1.5- or double-spacing, and a 10-12 point font. I encourage you to save paper by printing on both sides. 

Place your document in the orange folder next to my office door by 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 6.

Evaluation

I will evaluate your assignment on 

• the clarity, appropriateness, and "researchability" of your research question;
• whether you have identified an appropriate variety and quality of sources to help you address your question;
• whether you have given a correct list of references for those sources and annotated them as required.

Janet Davis (davisjan@cs.grinnell.edu)