Paper Instructions:
- All text in your document should be Times New Roman 12-point font (including the page number in the header area).
- Your text should be double-spaced and left justified. Indent the first sentence of the paragraph 0.5″.
- Paper margins should be 1″ on all sides.
- APA Reference list or MLA Works Cited page goes on a new page.
- Follow the APA or MLA paper samples above.
- This Library Research Report can be seen as a type of “annotated bibliography.” But
please note that your goal in developing this report is not simply to summarize sources;
your purpose here is to focus on finding research that is relevant to your research
question. As you write your summaries, you will be producing “building blocks” for the
first draft of your Final Research Project. This means that you should be summarizing
only content that is directly relevant to your research question. - Your writing should also
be clear and accessible to non-specialist readers. A carefully constructed Library
Research Report will significantly lighten your workload when you reach Week Three,
when the rough draft of your Final Research Project is due, since you’ll be able to
construct your draft from writing you’ve already completed rather than starting from
scratch. - Assignment Specifications:
- Your finished Library Research Report should include:
• Your name at the top of the document. (You can follow strict APA if you’d like and
include a separate title page, but this is not required);
• Your research question (at the top of the report);
• Complete and correct citations for 4-6 scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles
accessed through NU Library databases;
• A paragraph of 60-120 words on each source that answers the following questions:
WHO?
Who stands behind the information? Your entry should identify (quickly and concisely) the
background/credentials that connect the article’s author/s to the topic. (See Lecture 6 in
the Week Two Lectures folder) on identifying scholarly sources for guidance and
examples: Identifying Sources (Part 2)
WHAT?
Identify a claim (or claims) presented in the article that is relevant to your inquiry.
(Remember, your task is not to summarize the entire article, but to summarize the article
content that is relevant for your own inquiry. In some cases, of course, the entire article
may be directly relevant to your project.)
HOW?
How is the claim supported? How do the authors back up the claim? (Don’t go nuts here
and summarize every detail of the methodology. Instead, strive for the kind of concise,
general summary one might find in a news account of recent research findings.)
3/6
SO WHAT?
What is the relevance of the claim for your inquiry? (Sometimes you’ll be able to express the
“what” and “so what” at the same time, in which case you shouldn’t try to artificially
separate them. Just make sure that your paragraph addresses all of the categories–WHO,
WHAT, HOW, and SO WHAT? And remember that your answer to the “so what?” question
should point to your own research inquiry.)
Tip! If you’re having trouble getting started, tackle each of the above questions—
Who/What/How/So What? —one at a time. Before you know it, you’ll have written—or at
least sketched out–your first paragraph.
Note: Limit your use of direct quotation. Quote only when you need to call attention to
key terms or phrases. Use complete sentences, correct spelling and punctuation, etc