Research Topic (required - not graded)

Select a research topic that transcends both periods (pre-1700 & posst 1700) in order to show a transformation of the technology over time. Prepare a thesis statement/annotated bibliography The topic should be in the form of no more than (2) sentences. The thesis statement should note the technology or technological transformation and the historical time period.

Thesis Statement and Annotated Bibliography

The thesis statement should be approximately 50 words and explain what technological transformation is being explored, what time periods will be covered, and what groups were affected by the technology (see list below). Note for post-1700 technologies, one may have to generalize in the pre-1700 period. This should be in formal English and be as specific as possible. Include the thesis statement on a separate page from the Annotated Bibliography entries.

Background Information for the Annotated Bibliography

The internet provides enormous resources for research. In addition, information is available in the traditional formats of books, journals, newspapers, and more. This assignment requires five (5) sources from the internet, the UMUC Library database, or traditional formats (e.g., books, journals, etc.).

The UMUC Library offers guidelines for evaluating web resources to determine whether the contents are of high quality and acceptable for college-level academic research. These guidelines should be used to validate the web sites chosen to help the student complete their planned projects. The guidelines' application should be briefly explained per each source (including traditional ones) and are found here: http://www.umuc.edu/library/guides/web.shtml.

Also, for this assignment, you will do a search of UMUC's data bases for additional scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals on your chosen topic - please note that you must find articles which are available in full text on the UMUC library data bases. The UMUC Library offers help in the form of a tutorial if you should need it, called the "Research Skills Tutorial, about finding articles: www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/articles.cfm.

As you may need to find scholarly articles from peer-reviewed journals, the two best databases in the Most Recommended Resources list are JSTOR and Academic Search Complete.

In addition, UMUC's library subscribes to many data bases that contain such resources that are available to you in electronic format.

Complete the following in your annotated bibliography for each resource, whether internet, UMUC Library, or traditional:

· For an internet source, provide a complete citation for the site, including the URL and your date of access. For UMUC Library or traditional sources, review the formats needed in the website below. Note that the required style for this class is the University of

· Chicago/Turabian. For an example of what elements to include in your citation, go to http://www.umuc.edu/library/guides/chicago.shtml and click on Web Sites. There are also examples provided under Course Content by clicking Brief Primer to Citing Sources in Chicago Humanities Style (B = bibliography). Any information drawn from the websites need citations in the form of foot- or end-notes.

· Provide a complete bibliography reference in a separate bibliography in the University of Chicago/Turabian style.

· Write a short paragraph for each source, in which you describe the contents of the site/article/book, how it is related to your thesis and project, and why the site is acceptable for use in an academic research paper, using the information you collected from your evaluation of the site, article, or traditional source.

· This assignment requires five sources outside the assigned readings. One may continue to research and add more scholarly sources after this assignment is finished. The instructor intends this as a start or basis, not the exclusive set of sources to be used.

· This assignment requires a title page with student's name (first page), the thesis statement (second page), single-spaced bibliographic reference, summaries (your annotations) (also single-spaced), proper citations (if used) (third page or more), and a formal bibliography page (last page) (note: you may have more than one page of annotations and bibliography). By using this format, you are forming the framework of your mid-term paper. You will simply add material to this framework.