• choose a topic that you are interested in exploring throughout the rest of the course;
• conduct background research, using an encyclopedia database, Wikipedia, or Google, in order to narrow your topic and help identify keywords for further searching;
• practice writing citations and reflection annotations by creating them for one background research source;
• research question that you plan to address through your in-depth research later in the course; and
• identify some of the information you will need to find in order to answer your research question, and some keywords that will help you search for that information.

Tips for Success

• Choose a topic that interests you! If you need ideas, see the Topics & Background Info page of the course research guide for brainstorming strategies.
• Choose a topic for which you will be able to find a variety of types of sources, including the five sources that will required for the research assignments in this course:
  • one background information source such as an encyclopedia article;
  • one non-fiction book, in either print or ebook form, from the SBCC Luria Library that is not a reference book or textbook;
  • one full-text peer-reviewed scholarly article from a library database;
  • one visual media source such as a photograph or video; and
  • one additional full-text written source, which may be a website.
• I recommend that you use an encyclopedia database such as Credo Reference for your background research. If you use Wikipedia or Google instead, the source you cite will count as your one website for your Library 101 research.
• Use what you learned from this week's videos and tutorials to guide your work on this assignment, including the Annotated Bibliography tutorial.
• See the Citations & Annotations page of the course research guide for citation and annotation guidelines and examples. See the Research Questionsand Keywords & Search Strategies pages for help with those topics.
• Use the Sample Assignment: Research Proposal and Background Research as a model.

Instructions

Copy the following questions into your document, and answer each of them individually.

1. What is your overall research topic?
2. Background Source
   • an MLA 8th Edition citation* forone background source that helped you narrow or clarify your topic. Include a link to the full text of the source. For sources from library databases, be sure to use the permalink/bookmark/stable URL tool to generate a link (do not copy the link from your browser's address bar).
   • reflection annotationfor this source.Your annotation should be at least and mustuse your own words.
     • A summary of the source, including an overview of its main points, arguments made, research presented, topics covered, etc.
     • An evaluation of the source, an assessment of its quality, accuracy, objectivity, purpose, thoroughness, etc.
     • A reflection on the source's usefulness for your research, including how helpful it is, how it affects your thinking on the topic, how well it addresses your research question, etc.
3. How have you narrowed your research topic?
4. least one open-ended research question based on your narrowed topic (this is the
5. question you will explore for the remainder of the course). Avoid questions that can be answered with a only "yes," a "no," a list, or a short paragraph.
6. What are some specific kinds of information that you will need to find in order to answer your research question (list at least four)?
7. What keywords have you identified for further searching (list at least four)?