Assignment 1D: Is my topic manageable?

In this section, you will think about different types of information sources and determine which sources are the most promising for your particular topic area. You will use this information to predict which of the research questions you identified in Assignment 1C will be the most manageable to research.

What to do

1. Read Chapter 15, sections a & b in St. Martin's.
2. Look at the questions you wrote down in Assignment 1C.
3. Write a paragraph answering the following questions:
   1. Which question do you think provides the most manageable focus?
   2. What kind of sources will you need to answer this question, and why? Be specific in terms of the format, audience and the purpose of the sources you suggest.
      • Consider where your topic falls in the timeline of information. Where do you think information about your topic has been published (books, newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, etc.)?
      • Consider who is likely to be publishing information about your topic (journalists, scholars, government agencies, corporations, etc.).

Look at the Scoring Rubric to see what you need to do to get full credit for this assignment.

For additional help:

These links will take you away from the OSU Libraries website. Use your browser's back button to return here.

The Flow of Information (UCLA Libraries)

Completing this tutorial will help you determine which kind of information source will be most useful for your topic area.

Distinguishing scholarly journals from other periodicals (Cornell University Libraries)

This page will help you understand what to expect from different kinds of magazines and journals.

What's a scholarly journal (Pfau Library, CSUSB)

This short movie describes what kind of information is available in scholarly journals, and how to find them.
Note: Requires Flash

After completing this assignment, add the following to your research log: Your paragraph analyzing the manageability of your research question.