FDSCI 101 GROUP RESEARCH PROJECT

Project Guidelines:
1. Choose a study practice that you and your group members are truly curious about and will be interesting to investigate and present. DO NOT just choose the first thing someone mentions that will be easy and will meet the requirements. 2. Your topic can be specific to a type of classroom format (large lecture, small lecture, lab, online, hybrid, etc.) or generalized to learning across formats.

TOPIC:
What is the title of your project?

Briefly describe what you plan to do.

TOPIC DEVELOPMENT:
What observations/questions lead you to choose this topic?

What question are you trying to answer?

Why is this question worth investigating?

RESEARCH DESIGN:

You will be conducting a review of the current literature on the topic of your choice. In your review you should focus on the following: Problem formulation which topic is being studied and what are the main issues Literature search find material relevant to the subject being investigated Data evaluation determine which sources are most reliable and significant Analysis and interpretation discuss the findings and conclusions of your sources Application Based on your investigation what are your conclusions and what further action should be taken? You may use a combination of primary research papers, reviews, and other sources, but must include at least 2 primary research papers published in 1995 or later and a total of at least 5 sources. A primary source is first-hand information. (If I tell you something directly that is a primary source. If you then repeat what I said to someone else that would be considered a secondary source.) Primary sources include the results of direct experiments or observations. The results of these types of studies are generally found in scholarly articles or papers delivered at conferences. Primary research articles generally have a commonly used format with sections titled Methods, Results and Discussion. The article will also include citations in the document and a Works Cited section at the end. An Abstract at the beginning will summarize the research findings and give you a good sense of the kind of article that is being presented. A secondary source is basically anything else. It is something written about a primary source that could include: comments on, interpretations of, or discussion about the original study. Some examples of secondary sources are newspaper, magazine or online articles, as well as reviews of primary research. You should not quote directly from other sources unless you use quotation marks and identify your source. Close paraphrasing should be avoided. All statements you obtain from published sources should be carefully documented. After conducting your review of the literature you will create a PowerPoint presentation to submit via I learn, as well as a hardcopy print out to use as you present your findings to the class in a poster session.