Literature Review Social Sciences Research Paper

Fall 2019 LITERATURE REVIEW Due Dates: 1. Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review Charts Due: October 16, 2019 by 11:59pm on Blackboard 2. Literature Review Due: October 23, 2019 by 11:59pm on Blackboard What is an Annotated Bibliography and a Literature Review? An annotated bibliography is the first step in crafting a research project for a specific research question. Creating an annotated bibliography means researching what other sociologists have already studied, and published, about a research question. This helps researchers to narrow their research questions (i.e. has the question already been answered? What other questions do other researchers bring up? What still is not answered about the question?). A researcher will read relevant peer-reviewed research papers about their research question, and then describe what those research papers were about: what were the findings? How was the study conducted? What additional questions are there? This description is the annotated bibliography. The annotated bibliography is then used to prepare the literature review, which is a synthesis of the different findings, similarities, and differences in the existing research. This helps prepare the researcher to understand what has, and has not, been studied about a particular question, and what still needs investigation. Purpose The purpose of this assignment is to: 1. Develop your literacy with the format of peer-reviewed research papers 2. Learn to identify important information in scientific research papers 3. Learn to synthesize research findings from different research papers All scientific disciplines have peer-reviewed academic journals where research is published, including sociology, psychology, information technology, economics, business management, education, and medical sciences. Knowing how to interpret these papers, identify the important information, summarize, and synthesize that information is a skill that will help you to research and understand complex issues, regardless of the topic. Instructions 1. Choose a research question to investigate 2. Choose FOUR peer-reviewed journal articles relevant to your research question (using the UMass Boston Library SOCIndex) 3. Complete the Annotated Bibliography Chart 4. Complete the Literature Review Chart 5. Write a 2-3 page paper synthesizing what you discovered about your research question Fall 2019 Grading Rubric The Literature Review assignment includes three parts: 1. Annotated Bibliography Chart 2. Literature Review Chart 3. Literature Review Essay Cumulatively, these three parts are worth 20% of your final grade and are worth 20 points. You must submit all three parts in order to get full credit for this assignment, Criteria Does Not Meet Expectations Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations Sources and Citations (0-2 points) In-text and/or bibliographic citations are absent or not in a reasonable approximation of ASA format; fewer than 4 peer-reviewed academic journal articles are used; and/or sources are not appropriate to the topic/assignment (3-4 points) At least 4 peer-reviewed journals are used; in-text citations are used appropriately and consistently; citations and bibliography represent a substantial attempt to conform to the requirements of ASA format. (5 points) At least 4 peer-reviewed journal articles are used; in-text citations are used appropriately and consistently; citations and bibliography contain no or only very minor formatting errors. Review of Sources (0-2 points) Literature review does not emphasize the findings of prior studies, instead focusing on quotes, limiting coverage to the first few pages of prior studies, or being formatted as a "book report;" literature review emphasizes the research process rather than the product; is too normative, or is unrelated to the topic at hand. (3-4 points) Literature review focuses primarily on the findings of prior studies as related to the topic under study in this assignment, but may utilize too many quotes, incorporate too much irrelevant information, etc. (5-6 points) Literature review emphasizes findings (or methods) of prior studies as they relate to the particular topic/research question under study in this assignment Organization (0-2 points) Literature review is unorganized and/or does not make connections between articles. (3-4 points) Literature review is organized by article, but makes connections between articles clear. (5 points) Literature review is organized around topics or themes, with clear connections between articles. Annotated Bibliography Chart (0 points) Not completes (1 point) Partially completed (2 points) Fully Completed Literature Review Chart (0 points) Not completed (1 point) Partially completed (2 points) Fully Completed