Assignment: Researching Scenarios

Throughout the course of your academic career, you will be asked to conduct research to support the assertions you make in papers, presentations, and projects. Sometimes getting at the material you will need is fairly straightforward, while other times the research process forces you to get a little creative in seeking out (and finding) the types of source material that will be most useful to you. This exercise will allow you to practice conducting different types of searches.

Choose two of the following scenarios. For each scenario you choose, answer each component as clearly and completely as possible.

1. You are writing up your weekly responses for your COM106 course and want to respond to a classmate who discusses the need to use social media in a job search. You are not familiar with this phrase.

1. Describe what sort of search you would conduct to help you in responding to this student and why. What search engine(s) or database(s) might you use and why? What search terms? How would you go about evaluating the credibility of the information you found?

2. Share three search results you found after conducting this search that you think would be the most helpful in responding to your fellow student. Give a brief summary of the content of each source and describe why you think it would be appropriate to use in this particular context.

2. You are going to be writing a research paper for your ENG101 class on a social issue of your own choosing. You know that you have always been interested in the role addiction plays in the problem of homelessness, but you are not sure what credible research is available to support this connection.

1. What sort of search might you conduct to help you get the information you seek and why?

2. A search that deals with multiple components sometimes requires a few tries to get at the appropriate information. What keywords or combinations of keywords might help you find the relevant information here? Be sure to include details regarding how you might represent these words within the actual search box (using quotation marks, "and," "or," etc.)

3. Share three search results you found after conducting this search that you think would be the most helpful in supporting this connection. Give a brief summary of each source and describe why you think it would be appropriate to use in this particular context.

3. You are putting together a presentation on the benefits of sports in the lives of children for your COM180 course. You think that your presentation would be much stronger if you were able to argue against some of the opposition to your point of view, although you are unsure where to find information that opposes your stance.

1. What sort of search might you conduct to help you get the information you seek and why?

2. How will you ensure that the sources you use are credible and reliable?

3. Share three search results you found after conducting this search that you think would be the most helpful in supporting the opposition's point of view. Give a brief summary of the content of each source and describe why you think it would be appropriate to use in this particular context.

Compile your responses in a 2-3-page paper in Microsoft Word. Clearly cite your sources. Since we do not cover APA format until Module 2, you do not need to use any specific citation format, but you must identify where you found any information you use in your response.