STEM280 WEEK 3

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Once you have selected your topic, you will first conduct research to find at least five (5) research sources for your Final Paper.

Assignment Objective: Assess sources for your research for your final presentation (for credibility, reliability, and relevance) and list references in proper MLA format through the creation of an annotated bibliography.

Assignment Instructions: An annotation is both a summary and an evaluation. Therefore, your annotated bibliography will include a summary of your reference's content and an evaluation of that reference considering how you will use each for your final paper.

To prepare for this assignment, I recommend that you do the following:

• Read these directions carefully.
• Read the grading criteria below. The grading criteria is a detailed evaluation that I will use to assess your performance. It also will help you understand what is expected of you as you prepare your assignment.

• Email me with any questions!

The reason the annotated bibliography is included as part of the research project is that writing an annotated bibliography provides excellent preparation for the final paper. One of the issues regarding any type of research is the credibility of the sources used, particularly those obtained from various websites. By forcing you to evaluate your potential sources carefully, the annotated bibliography helps you determine if the sources you chose are credible and relevant to your topic. It will also help you understand the topic better, which will help you develop your final paper.

For this project, you will assess 5 sources to include:

1) a complete citation for each source,

2) a summary of the content of each source, and

3) an evaluation of each source.

Five sources are required for this assignment (i.e., you are to write an annotation for each source).

Use the TEMPLATE attached to summarize and evaluate each of your Three sources.

• Citation: Written in MLA reference list format.
• Summary: What is the purpose of the source, review article, original research? What topics are covered? This section is generally 3-5 sentences that summarize the author's main point. Be certain to paraphrase here, not provide direct quotes.
• Evaluation: After summarizing the article (or research paper or book), it is necessary to evaluate it and state where you found it – its source (e.g., journal, website, etc.). Briefly answer the following questions in 3-5 sentences: What is the format or type of source (e.g., peer-reviewed journal paper, website, book)? How reliable is the information in the article, and how credible is the source (e.g., website's sponsoring organization, journal or book publisher) and the author(s)? Evaluation will be particularly important for your final presentation as you are making connections between works of fiction and modern societies/technologies. Be very careful when evaluating the credentials of the author and the source in particular. Every source does not have to be a peer-reviewed journal, but you need to be careful in noting opinion versus fact.

Additional Resources:

• If you need assistance with research, whether finding resources or refining your topic, consider the research services offered by the Library staff: https://www.apus.edu/apus-library/online-research/search/getting-started.html

Evaluation: Please review the Annotated Bibliography Grading Rubric for how this assignment will be assessed