Instructions: Using your chosen topic, first do the Brainstorming Exercise (class hand-out). Next, follow the instructions below each of the following headings in bold. Type or word process your assignment.
Topic:
Based on what you know about your topic so far: Develop a topic question
your research will seek to answer.
Scope:
Describe your project in a paragraph explaining what you intend to cover.
Include ideas taken from:
Please use your OWN words, based on what you learned in the encyclopedia articles. Please identify the encyclopedia articles you are using: title of article, title of encyclopedia, author of article, if given, and date of publication.
Outline:
Make a brief preliminary outline of what you already know about your topic,
and list specific questions you want to answer.
Academic Disciplines:
Identify the subject areas (academic disciplines) that would be most likely
to contain information on your topic. (e.g., History, Literature, Geography,
Art, Music.) You must review the material in Chapter 2 of the textbook to
respond to this part of the assignment.
Library of Congress Classification
Categories:
Review the LC Classification section in Chapter 3 of your textbook. Select
the categories that seem most likely to cover your topic. Record the names
of the categories that apply and the letters used to identify it them. Tip:
Think in terms of the academic discipline(s) you listed above.
Key Terms:
Make a preliminary list of key words and subject headings to use in your search.
Feel free to try using indexes and the online catalog as well as encyclopedias
and dictionaries to help you develop this list. Use the results of your Brainstorming
Exercise to create this list.
Nature of Topic:
Think about the kind of information you will need to complete this project.
At this time, what kinds of resources do you think will be most likely to
have the information you need. (Review the Research Strategy section
in Chapter 1 of the textbook while considering this question. Tip: Will you
need to rely more heavily on current information? Or historical information?
Who would be interested in researching your topic? Economists? Environmentalists?
Psychologists? Medical or Physical Science researchers?)
NOTE: If you are doing a research project for another class, it is your responsibility to speak to the instructor for that class to determine the requirements for their project. Your work for this class will be limited to finding relevant and useful information and reporting the best sources you find as defined in the final project.
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by Francine Walls