Comprehensive Essay

Being the sixth week after determining the research questions for your comprehensive essay, it is time to do check on your research and that you have begun researching the chosen topics.

This will be a graded exercise to mark completion.  The grade will be factored by 25 points for each completed row for up to four rows.  This applies whether you have one chosen topic or three. 

The grade will be applied to your total grade for the comprehensive essay as 4% of the category grade.

The intent of the Research Log is to provide a form enabling you to track your research.  Presenting your research log to classmates will provide opportunity for research collaboration and discussion.

There is an example provided on the log, which should be deleted in your final draft, but the following will provide explanation for each column.

1. SEARCHED - Note what you searched for research and possible source material, such as the Internet or the specific database in the library.

2. LIMITERS - Note what qualifiers you used to limit search parameters, such as author name only or a date range for example.

3. KEYWORDS (# of RESULTS) - Note which keywords you used and how many results were returned.

4. SOURCES (NOTES) - Provide the APA formatted citation for the item you may use for research and provide a brief description of content, relevance, significance, and how it might be used in the research or how it may be cited.

5. RESEARCH PROCESS QUESTIONS - Use this field to show how you will improve your research. Find something you could change and provide a solution.  Only one possibility is needed to complete this field, but the example shows three.