Topic

Choose a technology topic that interests you. It may take some searching the Library and the internet to know exactly what topic you wish to choose, so plan your time accordingly.

· Identify your research question. The discussion this week should help you focus your efforts and your classmates’ and professor’s input may be considered as you choose the most interesting and appropriate open-ended question.

Research

You need exactly four sources as listed below; help in locating appropriate works is found in the unit reading. Sources used for previous assignments in this course may not be chosen again; look for all new materials.

· Two peer-reviewed professional journal articles from the University’s online Library.

· You must be able to access the full article, not just the abstract.

· When you look in the library, make sure you have chosen work identified as “Academic Journal” articles, not magazines or other types of sources.

· One ebook found in the University’s online library, either from SkillSoft or EBSCOhost.

· This must have human authorship specified.

· One website article with identified human authorship and specified publication date.

· This may be an informational site or news; check the Citation-Referencing Take-Away PDF from Unit 2 to verify the formula and use of italics depending on the type of web source you ultimately choose.

While there are other means to locate the journal articles and ebook, your professor must have easy access to your materials, and therefore use of the University library is required for those items. Additional source parameters:

· All sources chosen must have been published  within the last six years.

· Remember that website copyright dates are not an indication of when the content was published; look for a specific publication date.

· All sources must be appropriate for master’s-level work. Do not include Wikipedia or other encyclopedias or dictionaries, user-input sites, forums, casually-written blogs, etc. If in doubt regarding the appropriateness of any source, email your professor well before the assignment deadline to ask for guidance.

Writing

For each of your four sources:

· Provide a complete 7th edition APA-standard reference entry.

· Follow the entry with an annotation of 150–180 words:

· Paragraph 1: A summary of the source’s content, without adding opinion, quotes, or citation.

· Paragraph 2: An evaluation of the source itself (not of the technology). Include commentary about the following:

1. Author and/or sponsor credentials and reputation (follow links if possible)

2. Writing clarity, organization of ideas, and/or readability

3. Appropriateness of links and/or sources listed, or lack of source information

4. Optional: imagery, writing style, currency of information, any noted shortcomings

Additional requirements:

· Include your research question.

· Write the annotations in paragraph form (no lists, tables, or images).

· Do not quote for this assignment. Write entirely in your own words.

· Do not include in-text citation; the formatting of an annotated bibliography makes it clear which information comes from each source.

· Your writing must follow the rules for formal writing. Do not use first person (I, me, my, myself, we, us, our). Avoid wording that may be construed as emotional or opinionated.

· Your assignment’s title must be brief and descriptive of your topic.

· Do not use your question as the title; it will be far too long.

· Option: follow a very short title with a colon and the words An Annotated Bibliography – for example, Technologies for Voting: An Annotated Bibliography

· Alphabetize the sources by the first letter of each entry.

Formatting

· Turn off track changes if it is still active in your new Word document.

· Review the Formatting Take-Away PDF from Unit 3 and look for the section that specifically addresses annotated bibliographies.

· Check the example in the Unit Reading PDF.

· Do not include an abstract; this is not a paper.

· Do not include a separate reference list; this is a reference list.

· Do not use Word’s citation tool or other citation generators; you are expected to learn to create entries on your own.