Hi All,

This week your main focus should be on getting started on research for your literature review. The purpose of the literature review is to inform readers of the significant knowledge and ideas that have been established on a topic, and to compare, contrast and/or connect findings that were identified when reviewing researchers’ work.

Because of the nature of the paper, research is an important part of the process, and not something to be done in haste at the last minute.

In the research process, it is very normal to find and skim many articles, and then make your final selection. Generally speaking, for each article you decide to use in your paper, it is expected that you’ll have found and skimmed AT LEAST 2-3 that you decided not to use. So if you need 8 total in the end, expect to review 16-24.

This week, I’m asking you to find and summarize at least 3 articles on your topic, and post the citations and summaries in the DB. You will need 8 for your final paper. If you find all 8 this week, great! You’ll have to do this work eventually, and if you can do it now you’re saving future you.

I strongly suggest using this week to find and read the scholarly journal articles, since that can be the hardest and most time consuming part of research. You should be using library databases to find scholarly journal articles. See the course schedule for the related readings.

Your source citations can be in the style of your choosing–APA, Chicago, or MLA. As long as you are consistent throughout, whichever you’re comfortable with is fine.

The source summaries should be short, very short. 3-4 sentences max. This is an exercise in identifying the relevant parts of the article, and concisely summing those up.

As always, if you have questions about the assignment or the research process, you can post them in the general questions DB, or email me at [email protected].