Selecting a Research Topic and Finding Academic Sources:As we begin the first stage of the research process, we need to formulate a topic worth exploring. Not all topics can stand analytical inquiry in the same way, so we need to first make sure that we are selecting a topic that is up to the task. After reading this week’s assignment in A Writer’s Reference, you will be better prepared to understand the elements of a good research topic. For example, your research topic should avoid the Judgment Reflex discussed in last week’s analytical tools lesson. That is, it should give the reader a sense of being grounded in more than just your beliefs or opinions. A strong research topic has a “So What” element to it. The video at the end of this lecture should help you in refining a topic or research question that yields rich avenues of inquiry. Instead, of asking “Is it wrong to administer drugs to children with ADHD?”, A more analytical and grounded question would be, “How effective is medication on children with ADHD, and what alternatives are available?” Notice how that last question allows for many possible lines of inquiry and permits multiple conversations.Choose a topic from an area you are currently interested in. Since most of you are adult learners coming to this course with life experience and an interest in a particular course of study, you might benefit from choosing a topic from a discipline or profession in which you already have some background knowledge.Exploratory Paper: For this module, you will be selecting a topic and posting that topic to our Discussion Forum for peer-review by your fellow students. Your purpose in this assignment is not to argue for or against an idea, but to explore the issues surrounding the topic as you give readers an overview of the topic. Often, we come to a topic believing we have to process all the ideas and issues around it before we sit down to draft or pick up a pen to write. Actually, writing can be seen as process of learning. As you write, you discover what it is you actually mean or want to say. This notion of “writing to learn” allows you some freedom from the often constricting false assumption that you need to know everything before you sit down to compose. This essay is your opportunity to explore.Library Resources/Databases: That said, you will still need to do some background research on your topic if you haven’t already done so. Next week, you will be required to find scholarly articles related to your research topic. For now, while you are free to do this, you should be looking more at finding general sources on the web or in resources like the CQ Researcher, in order to get an overview and a sense of the issues and conversations going on around your topic.Ultimately, you will need to create an Annotated Bibliography of at least 5 sources, 3 of which are scholarly in nature.Subject-Encyclopedias: Some of us remember the large encyclopedia sets found in high school libraries and in some of our homes. While Google has certainly replaced the encyclopedia in the 21st century, it may not have replaced what is known as a Subject Encyclopedia. You can use the Library Resource Guide tab, “Encyclopedias,” to access a few of these. These encyclopedias focus on a specific area within a field: for example, The Encyclopedia of Social Work, The Encyclopedia of Marketing, The Encyclopedia of Bioethics, etc. The entries are written by experts in the field and usually present, in a few paragraphs, all the issues around a sub-topic within that field. They also complete the entries with selected bibliographies of important research on the topic. So, say for example, you decide to write about substance abuse and depression, you can look up both those terms within a social work encyclopedia and get a very quick and reliable background on the issues surrounding this topic. It’s a wonderful way to narrow your own topic or do some background reading on an academic topic before committing to it.Plagiarism:As you will learn in your reading this week, plagiarism comes in many forms. Technically speaking, a writer plagiarizes when he or she fails to document or acknowledge outside sources and contributions. This can be done in a variety of ways:1. The writer omits citing quotations and other borrowed material.2. The writer omits enclosing direct borrowed language within quotation marks.3. The writer omits converting summaries and paraphrases into his or her own words and fails to cite those in the body of the paper.But more importantly, there are two forms of plagiarism you should be familiar with:Intentional: Intentional plagiarism occurs when a writer intentionally and consciously fails to cite or acknowledge external sources or borrowed material.Unintentional: Unintentional plagiarism is the most common in adult academic writing. It occurs when a writer is simply unaware or uneducated in the conventions of proper citation.Nonetheless, both forms of plagiarism are unacceptable.Methods for Acknowledging Sources: The cure for unintentional plagiarism is educating oneself in the standard expectations for correct acknowledgment of all your sources. Below are just a few of the most common methods used in academic writing:Direct Quotation: Placing quotation marks around the author’s exact words.Summary: Condensing an author’s words and ideas into a brief paragraph while using your own language.Paraphrase: Restating the author’s own words and ideas using approximately the same number of words, but in one’s own language.Signal Phrases: Acknowledging the author and integrating quotations and summaries with a short phrase to mark the beginning of borrowed material. Signal phrases mark the boundaries of where borrowed material begins and where it ends.In-text Citation: Parenthetical information included with all borrowed material in the body of your paper. In APA Style, an author/date/page system of citation helps the reader go back to the full entry in the References page.Entry in the List of References: An alphabetized list of all your sources is included at the end of the paper. Each entry allows the reader to locate your source, whether digital or in print.***For this Discussion Forum, please type your proposed research topic in the form of a research question or statement. The purpose of the forum is to help you articulate your topic as clearly as possible through the peer-review process. As a quick reference guide for critiquing your fellow students’ topics, please see the chart at the top of WR, p. 333: Testing a Research Question. Use the feedback to begin your Exploratory Paper for this week.((A Writer’s Reference, 9th ed. (2018): ))
