Many times, your instructor will assign a project for which you will choose a topic. Often, this can be just as difficult as preparing for an assigned topic. There is so much information out there. How do you begin to choose?
This guide will help you answer that question by providing tips and tutorials for selecting a research topic that both you and your instructor will find interesting and beneficial for the course.
Techniques for coming up with a research topic include
Annotated Bibliographies
This summary from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab provides information about annotated bibliographies in MLA, APA, and CMS:
Definitions
A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, Web sites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called "References" or "Works Cited" depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).
An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following.
Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source. What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your annotations will determine how detailed your summary is.
Assess: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source?
Reflect: Once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?
Your annotated bibliography may include some of these, all of these, or even others. If you're doing this for a class, you should get specific guidelines from your instructor.
For more help, use the Online writing lab:https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/1/
Most reference resources are considered "tertiary" souce materials. These books and websites provide background information and an overview and analysis of a subject or concept.
Tertiary souirces have been compiled from secondary sources. Unlike a secondary source book or journal article, tertiary sources are not intended to be read in their entirety. Instead, they are most often used to clarify terms and concepts about a particular topic.Tertiary sources include
*Also considered secondary
Plagiarism Tutorial
The following tutorial was adapted from Robert A. Harris's book, The Plagiarism Handbook: Strategies for Preventing, Detecting, and Dealing with Plagiarism, Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak Publishing, 2001:
1. Pre-Test Your Knowledge of Plagiarisim
3. Citing Quotations: How to Avoid Plagiarism
4. Paraphrasing and Summarizing: How to Avoid Plagiarism
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due Tutorial: Unit 8
Copyright, citing sources and the perils of plagiarism is a uint in the Online Library Learning Center created as one of the tutorials on libraries and researching developed as part of the eCoreTM Project in collaboration with the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. This unit acts as an introduction to the issues and how they concern you, as a researcher: http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit08/
General Research, Literature and Literary Criticism, Databases and Websites:
Savannah State University 2200 Tompkins Rd Savannah, GA 31404 Phone: (912) 358-4324 Reference Text Line: (912) 226-2479