Write a Research Question and Conduct Preliminary Research (1-1-1/2 pages)
After you have read the week’s Lesson Materials, please develop a research question that you will build on during this class. Your paper should include a paragraph or two to provide some background about the topic you have chosen and the gap you see in the literature that leads you to ask this question. Also, explain your search method to access the most relevant information about your topic.
If you are wondering what a search method is, it is a process or technique. It is “how” you go about researching a topic. Typically you will have criteria (a way of measuring what you find to determine if it is relevant) and you will have search terms (which are specific references to dates, places, events, people, concepts, authors, etc., that can be used in a search engine). A search method might include examining a wide variety of databases; it might including using the bibliographies in books and articles to find more sources. It might include restricting yourself to peer reviewed journal articles, etc. No matter what paper or what topic, you will always be using some method for searching for the information you need.
Then go to the APUS online library and conduct a search for articles in peer-reviewed, academic journals or books about your topic. You can access the Library from the Classroom by selecting Library on the left vertical toolbar. Navigate the online databases and conduct a search based on keywords relating to your topic.
