Researching Scenarios Assignment

Throughout the course of your academic career, you will be asked to conduct research to support the assertions you make in papers, presentations, and projects. Sometimes getting at the material you will need is fairly straightforward, while other times the research process forces you to get a little creative in seeking out (and finding) the types of source material that will be most useful to you. This exercise will allow you to practice conducting different types of searches.

Researching Scenarios

Choose two of the following scenarios. For each scenario you choose, answer each component as clearly and completely as possible.

1. You are writing up your weekly responses for your COM106 course and want to respond to a classmate who discusses the need to use social media in a job search. You are not familiar with this phrase.
   1. Describe what sort of search you would conduct to help you in responding to this student and why. What search engine(s) or database(s) might you use and why? What search terms? How would you go about evaluating the credibility of the information you found?
   2. Please share three search results you found after conducting this search that you think would be the most helpful in responding to your fellow student. Give a brief summary of the content of each source and describe why you think it would be appropriate to use in this particular context.
2. You are going to be writing a research paper for your ENG101 class on a social issue of your own choosing. You know that you have always been interested in the role addiction plays in the problem of homelessness, but you are not sure what credible research is available to support this connection.
   1. What sort of search might you conduct to help you get the information you seek and why?
   2. A search that deals with multiple components sometimes requires a few tries to get at the appropriate information. What keywords or combinations of keywords might help you find the relevant information here? Be sure to include details regarding how you might represent these words within the actual search box (using quotation marks, “and,” “or,” etc.)
   3. Please share three search results you found after conducting this search that you think would be the most helpful in supporting this connection. Give a brief summary of each source and describe why you think it would be appropriate to use in this particular context.
3. You are putting together a presentation on the benefits of sports in the lives of children for your PSY180 course. You think that your presentation would be much stronger if you were able to argue against some of the oppositionto your point of view, although you are unsure where to find information that opposes your stance.
   1. What sort of search might you conduct to help you get the information you seek and why?
   2. How will you ensure that the sources you use are credible and reliable?
   3. Please share three search results you found after conducting this search that you think would be the most helpful in supporting the opposition’s point of view. Give a brief summary of the content of each source and describe why you think it would be appropriate to use in this particular context.

Compile your responses in a 2–3-page paper in Microsoft Word. Clearly cite your sources. Since we do not cover APA format until Module 2, you do not need to use any specific citation format, but you must identify where you found any information you use in your response.

Use the following file naming convention for your submission:LastnameFirstInitial_M1_A3.doc. For example, if your name is John Smith, name your document SmithJ_M1_A3.doc.

By Tuesday, February 24, 2015, deliver your assignment to the M1: Assignment 3 Dropbox.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

Assignment 3 Grading Criteria
Maximum Points

Identified logical search criteria and method for the two  scenarios you chose.
24

Conducted requisite searches and shared three results for each of the two scenarios you chose.
20

Summarized and assessed each search result in terms of the needs particular to each research scenario.
36

Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
20

Total:
100

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.