Assignment
Topic: Daughters of Liberty (women and the American Revolution)
Remember that you are not writing a research paper. You are conducting research in an academic database to produce an annotated bibliography. Did you watch the video and review the resources on annotated bibliographies in the Topic Assignment? If not, go do so now. Annotated bibliographies are usually assigned before doing a research project. They are also a great way to keep track of everything you read for future assignments. It is quite common to read more than you need for a project and you should save the information for the future. This is one way experts in fields stay on top of so much information. We keep records.
All students must submit bibliography of their sources in the Chicago Style (Links to an external site.) and three, research questions for instructor approval. The instructions are listed below and this is where your work is submitted. Failure to receive instructor approval for Step Two means you may not submit Step Three for credit. Failure to meet the deadline for Step Two means you are out 100 points for this part of the assignment and must still do the work.
Three Research Questions:
Now that you have an approved topic, think about what you want to learn or ask about this topic. Write this into a series of questions and pick the three that are the best and work together. Type the three questions up and save them. These questions will help guide the type of source you look for in the research.
Do not ask one-dimensional topics for basic objective information.
Examples:
1. When did the battle of Gettysburg occur?
2. How many Union and Confederate soldiers died at Gettysburg?
3. Who led the Union and who led the Confederacy at the battlefield?
If you were researching the Battle of Gettysburg, then you would want this information but all are rudimentary and lack depth. A broader question and one with depth asks for more than just factual information (who, what where, when). Historians normally want to understand the WHY of events and the causes, consequences, significance. Historians collect perspectives of events
Ask questions that might look like these (and there are hundreds of variations for every topic):
1. What made the Battle of Gettysburg the bloodiest in American history? Was there a winning military strategy? Did military leadership take a decisive action that led to victory or was there a critical mistake?
2. What were the experiences of Union and Confederate soldiers on the battlefield? What were the memories of this battle?
3. How were men treated for wounds in field hospitals? How were the dead managed?
Collection of Five Journals from JSTOR and Only JSTOR
Students are required to use the JSTOR database from the MSJC library. Why? JSTOR is the most common resource for the social sciences and humanities because it is a collection of scholarly/peer reviewed articles and book reviews. The majority of university libraries will offer this resource for students. It is important that you use only peer reviewed materials for academic research in history. A peer reviewed or scholarly journal article means that the piece was written by an expert (someone trained in the field of the topic or a related area) and reviewed by other experts. This is similar to the Master's thesis or PhD dissertation process where a graduate student has a team of scholars overseeing their research and vouching for the credibility. This is more critical for you all because of the internet. Anyone can post anything but that does not make it accurate, plausible, credible, or even a realistic possibility. Think of it this way: if you have a brain tumor that needs removal, will you consult me (a historian) or a brain surgeon specialized in neurology?
Final Product Should Look Like This:
Research Questions:
1. What made the Battle of Gettysburg the bloodiest in American history? Was there a winning military strategy? Did military leadership take a decisive action that led to victory or was there a critical mistake?
2. What were the experiences of Union and Confederate soldiers on the battlefield? What were the memories of this battle?
3. How were men treated for wounds in field hospitals? How were the dead managed?
Bibliography: (All five sources in the proper format for Chicago Style bibliographies. Do not number your bibliography.)
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.