Annotated+Bibliography+Project

toc __Welcome to the West __ Welcome to the West project! During this project you will develop the expertise you need to become a confident, responsible researcher. This project will give you skills in researching, questioning, citing and thinking to prepare you for the high school. You might also learn something about Westward Expansion as well.

The Assignment
In recent months, we have worked on essay writing skills, presentation skills, and reading skills. In this next project, the focus is on learning some research skills to get you ready for the big, bad place known as high school. // I might also add that these skills will be useful for any web work you do later in "real" life, from shopping to deciding whom to vote for to trying to find the best reviewed video games and science fiction shows--oooh wait, that's what Ms. Chessman and I research on the web, not you! //

**Research Process:**

 * 1) You will be given a list of possible research topics. Each one will have a brief description to help you decide if it might be interesting to you.
 * 2) There will be in class lessons from Ms. Chessman about how to do the research.
 * 3) After you've picked your topic, you will choose 3-4 questions that you most want to know about it.
 * 4) The three big things you'll be learning
 * how to use a program called //**Noodletools**// to create notes and to cite sources in a bibliography.
 * How to find and evaluate resources for a specific purpose
 * How to create an mix of research questions, both factual and deeper


 * What you will create:** A document with 2 partsPart one will be a fairly short paragraph (no more than 1 page with 1.5 spacing) summarizing your topic. This summary should give answers to the 3-4 questions that you asked.

//Part two is more important.// It is creating what is called an "annotated bibliography". This will be a list of **__four__** "very useful" sources and __**one**__ "not useful" source you used. After listing each source, you will write a n annotation, or a short description of why each source was a useful (or not) for the project.

__Key Questions:__
We'll discuss a schedule of this during the week, but here's a start.
 * So what makes a resource "very useful" or "not useful"?**This is something we'll discuss together, but to get you started, here is an acronym we have started using with 6th and 7th graders:**C- current** Is the information up to date? Might you be missing new scholarship? Sometimes this matters a great deal, sometimes not.**A- accessible** Can you understand the reading level of the information? What do you see as strengths and weaknesses of the source design?**R- relevant** Is the information from this source a good match for the questions you need answered in your research?**T- trustworthy** Do we know who created the source? What do we know about them? Are we certain that they are an expert source?
 * When is all this due?**


 * What's the difference between a good grade and a great grade?**The __big difference__ is analysis of the sources, i.e. the stuff you do in part two. More thoughtful answers about what makes a source useful or not will help. Having a strong, clearly written summary for part one will also be useful, but this is __**less**__ about learning factual information and **__more__** about showing you know how to analyze research sites (i.e. you know what you questions you should be thinking about) as you research.

Does the paragraph and annotated bibliography be typed? **Yes** Can it be sent electronically to me rather than printed? **Yes**
 * What does the final product look like?**

What is it?
An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles and websites. Each citation is followed by a brief paragraph (the annotation) describing and evaluating the resource. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the source. The idea of an annotated bibliography is that someone could use it in the future to find resources for their research.

The Process
To create an annotated bibliography, you must research, evaluate and describe. **Step 1**: Find and locate books, articles and websites that will help you answer your research questions. Examine and review the resources (using CART) and then choose the resources that will answer your questions and pass the properties of CART. **Step 2:** Cite the book, article, or website using Noodletools (whether you end up annotating it or not). **Step 3:** Write a concise annotation that includes: • At least one sentence about what the resource is (book, website, etc.) • An analysis, using CART as a guide o is it up-to-date? o is the author or publisher trustworthy? o does it help answer your questions? o is it accessible to you? o etc. • What makes it the “best” resource? For example: o does it give information from multiple perspectives? o does it include primary source information? o does it present information in a variety of formats? o Anything else that came up in our CART+ discussion • What makes it the not as useful? For example: o does it pass CART? o does it pass CART, but not provide other information? //Remember, a not-as-good resource doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a bad resource. It might pass CART and be useful, just not as useful as other resources you’ve found.// • Anything else you think should be included
 * For the Very Useful annotation:**
 * For the Not-as-Useful annotation:**

Sample
Topic: Head Injuries in Football

Fact Questions: What percentage of professional football players suffer traumatic head injuries during their career? What kinds of head injuries are suffered? At what age do football head injuries start to lead to potential life threatening situations? What brain disease can come from repeated football related head trauma?

Deep Thought Questions: What will the effects of head injuring resulting during football games be on the future of professional football?

Citations: Hill, Raymond P. "Head Injuries and Football: A Crisis Too Long Ignored?" Today's Science. Facts on File News Service, Nov. 2009. Web. 5 Feb. 2010. .

Annotation: This resource is an article originally published in the Boston Globe in 2009. The article discusses recent findings that link repetitive head injury occurring while playing football to incurable debilitating disease in people younger than they originally thought were affected. This resource was published just over a year ago and provides good, factual information and is published by a reliable source. This is a good resource to use along with other resources that offer more up-to-date factual information. This article features quotations from of doctors, coaches and other professionals who provide a variety of points of view on the topic. This article also gives information that helps answer all of my research question, though is most useful in addressing at what age it is that people begin to be affected by repeated injuries to the head. This article helps answer my questions and also inspires me to explore certain areas further, thus expanding upon what I thought I wanted to know about and my knowledge of the topic