ResearchProposalandPreliminaryBibliography.docx

Instructions

Research Proposal and Preliminary Bibliography

· In Module 2, you began conducting research for your final paper examining one of the themes “Closing the Gap Between College and Career“ noted in the course.
For this Critical Thinking Assignment, provide a short research proposal and cite 7 or more credible sources in an annotated bibliography. You may use the sources you worked with in this week’s discussion. 

This Critical Thinking Assignment has two parts.

Part 1: Research Proposal

Address the following in your proposal:
· What topic/question do you plan to research? Why? What sparks your interest in this issue? And why does this issue matter to others beyond yourself?
· Who are the various stakeholders when it comes to this issue? Then, who your intended audience? What specific group of individuals has the power to make change when it comes to this issue?
· How have you narrowed this topic/question to make it more manageable? How could you keep narrowing it if needed?
· What makes your topic/question debatable? What are 3-5 open-ended questions within this topic?
· Based on your preliminary bibliography, how researchable does this question seem? Have you found a wealth of diverse sources and opinions? How credible and reliable do your sources seem? How easy or difficult was it to find peer-reviewed/scholarly sources? Which sources are most promising? Why?

NOTE: This assignment is not a full research essay. For now, you are writing a few paragraphs defending your research topic, why it matters, what its central questions are, etc.

Your research proposal must be approved by your instructor to move forward with your research.

Part 2: Annotated Bibliography

Address the following for the annotated bibliography:
· APA formatting for the citations
· Citations/sources listed in alphabetical
· Note how each source will help you explore your topic more fully.
· All sources should be print books, eBooks from the library, articles from the library databases, or articles (print or web) from local, regional, and national/international newspapers and magazines. No general websites, .com websites, wiki sites, personal blogs, etc.
· At least 2 of your sources need to be peer-reviewed/scholarly journal articles from the library databases. What is a peer-reviewed scholarly article? Watch the following video: 
The Peer Review Process (Links to an external site.)

· All sources should be from the last five years (approx.) to avoid out of date information. Include annotations for at least 4-5 sources cited in the discussion board.
Use the following template:
· Research Proposal and Preliminary Bibliography Template (Template found in the Module folder.)
Required elements to turn in with submission:
· Research Proposal with Strong Working Thesis
· Annotated Bibliography
· Appendix – following references:
· Pattern of error log (Template found in the Module folder.)
· Turnitin report (provide similarity score and any comments)

Requirements:

· Part 1 Length: Minimum of 300 words
· Part 2 Length: 1-2 paragraphs