Focus Topic and References
[WLO:3] [CLO: 6]
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read Section 1.4 of the Newman (2016) textbook, view the instructional tutorials embedded in the How to Locate Scholarly Articles quiz (A Digital Library (Links to an external site.), Keywords Are Critical (Links to an external site.), Database Search Tips (Links to an external site.), and Help! Need an Article! (Links to an external site.)), view the Evaluating Sources (Links to an external site.) tutorial in the Ashford University Library, and read Developing a Topic (Links to an external site.) in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.). Part of the preparation work for applying the scientific method is to define the research topic and learn what is already known about it, based on previous research.
Using the topic you selected for the Week 1 discussion, go to the Ashford University Library and find three scholarly/peer-reviewed journal articles about the topic. Download the full-text PDF of each article and save them on your computer.
In this paper, you will describe your research topic, identify the articles you found, and discuss what you think each article says about your topic. Upload the PDFs of the articles with your assignment in Waypoint.
For this assignment,
- Describe the chosen research topic.
- Identify three scholarly/peer-reviewed journal articles from the Ashford University Library that directly relate to the topic. Read each with the intent of understanding what it reflects about your topic.
- Evaluate how each article relates to your topic.
- Properly cite all articles within your paper. (For assistance see the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.))
- Upload the full text PDFs of the articles with your paper.
The Focus Topic and References paper
- Must be three to four double-spaced pages in length (not including title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)’s APA Style (Links to an external site.)
- Must include a separate title page with the following:
- Title of paper
- Student’s name
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Date submitted
For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).
- Must use at least three scholarly/peer-reviewed journal articles.
- The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
- Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)
- Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
