Research Project for US History!!!

Let’s take it step by step. No need to make it

a horror movie.

What am I doing?

4 Graded Assignments for this Research Project

• 2.01 Choosing a Research Topic (Topic Selection Worksheet) (25 points)• 2.03 The Annotated Bibliography (25 points)• 2.04 The Research Journal (50 points)• 2.04 Research Paper (Project) along with a regular bibliography (200

points)

That’s right- 300 points total!

4 Assigments!!!!

National History Day

The National History Day website is the basis for all information you need to complete this Research

Project.

You should take some time to visit the website and look at the criteria and examples for the Project.

Here is the website: http://www.nhd.org/CreatingEntry.htm

Choosing a Research Format

5 Formats to Choose from:

• Paper• Exhibit

• Documentary• Performance

• Web Site

2.01 Choosing a Research Topic• You will choose a topic from any period in American history between

1600 and about 1900 and produce a project in one of four formats.

• The theme of the project, regardless of topic or format, is "turning points in American history, 1600-1900.“

• We would prefer you select a topic from “1800 to 1920” since this is the time period we have just covered.

• This assignment is due on 2/18, and the assignment sheet is in DOC SHARING.

2.01 Choosing a Research Topic• You will choose an event or action in U.S. history before 1920 that you believe was

a turning point.

• Your project will describe the event or action and explain why it is a turning point.

• What happened because of it?

• In what new direction did the nation or the world move as a result of it?

• Did people at the time realize that a turning point had been reached, or did it take time to assess the impact of the event or action?

2.01 Choosing a Research Paper: The Questions

1. Write your topic idea. Why do you think your topic is an example of a “turning point in American History between 1600-1920”? Remember, it is my suggestion that you focus your topic on events we covered more recently in class, 1800-1920 (15pts.)

2. What is your working title (and subtitle, if appropriate)? (5pts.)

3. What presentation format have you chosen? (5pts.)

It’s as easy as

2.03 Annotated Bibliography

• An annotated bibliography contains all the sources that provide information for your research project.

• It differs from a regular bibliography in that each entry includes a brief explanation about how the source was used, how it helped you understand your topic, and whether it is a primary or secondary resource.

• This explanation is normally about 1-3 sentences long.

2.03 Annotated Bibliography

Here is an Example:

Weinberg, Steve. Taking on the Trust: The Epic Battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller . 1st ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2008.

Ida Tarbell confronted practices of the Standard Oil Company run by John D. Rockefeller. Her exposé resulted in the Supreme Court breaking up the monopoly. This secondary account was important to my paper because it showed how unfair monopolies hindered the growth of smaller businesses.

2.03 Annotated Bibliography

Primary versus Secondary Sources

Primary Source is defined as a “first hand account” such as diaries, journals, or anything written that would tell a story as it happens.

For example: Ms. Schweighardt writes a book about her life!

Secondary Source is defined as a “second hand account” such as a biography, news story, magazine article, anything that tells the story from someone who did not experience the event or story first hand.

For example: Ms. Sanford writes a book about Ms. Schweighardt’s life.

2.03 Annotated Bibliography: Resources• Remember, although you will probably look at many more sources

than you actually use, you should only list those sources that you used to develop your project.

• Use www.easybib.com to help you format your citation into MLA format. All you need is the source information, plug it into the information fields, and easybib will create a citation format you can copy and paste.

• For further help with MLA formatting go to the Purdue Univeristy Onine Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/This will help you with formatting citations.

• This site also provides links to information which will help you write your citations correctly:

http://www.nhd.org/ConductingResearch.htm

2.03 Annotated Bibliography

Criteria for this Assignment3 Resources in all.

• At least one must be a Primary Source.• At least one must be a Hardcopy Source, meaning it is a book, magazine, newspaper

article, etc.- NOT ELECTRONIC• NO WIKIPEDIA will be accepted.

• This assignment is DUE on Feb 23rd.

2.04 Research JournalAfter you have completed your research project, you will submit a journal

that explains your efforts during the project. • Your journal should include at least 5 entries. As you are working on your

paper, make some notes in your journal. • When you have completed your project, review your journal and submit

it for a grade.• The journal will be turned in on 3/7

No… it’s not painful.. Remember, no horror films here..

2.04 The Journal Entries

1. FIRST JOURNAL ENTRY- 10 PointsYour choice of topicWhy did this particular topic interest you?Why do you believe the event or action you chose was a turning point

in America?2. SECOND JOURNAL ENTRY - 10 PointsYour researchWhere did you find your resources?What different types of primary and secondary resources did you use?

3. THIRD JOURNAL ENTRY - 10 PointsYour presentationWhat factors led you to choose your presentation format?Did the topic you chose lend itself to a specific type of format?4. FOURTH JOURNAL ENTRY - 10 PointsThe writing processDid you complete an outline and note cards for your research? Was this

helpful for you? Explain how you proofread your project. Was this helpful? 5. FIFTH JOURNAL ENTRY- 10 PointsFinal thoughts What did you like best about completing this research project? Did you have any challenges? What were they? How did you get past

those challenges? Any other thoughts?

2.04 Final Research Project

By now, you have come to know your topic very well, so the last part should be a cake walk.

Get it! Cake.. Walk….OK. So it was corny…

Possible first reaction to the research project

2.04 Final Research Project

Criteria for the Project

The most popular choice for the format of this Research Project is a paper.Here is the criteria for this format.

• No less than 3 pages, No more than 5 pages• MLA format preferably!

• 12 Point Font, Times New Roman• Double Spaced Body

• Clear Indented Paragraphs• Proper Credit in Citing Sources

2.04 Final Research ProjectIf you have chosen another format other than a paper, you need

contact your teacher and establish criteria before proceeding.

Again here is the link to the National History Day website so you can look at the criteria for other formats.

http://www.nhd.org/CreatingEntry.htm

This assignment is due by Sunday, March 19th. It must accompany the final bibliography and be submitted via the

Dropbox.

Good Luck and Remember….• Communication is the Key.• If you have an issue or get stuck, please notify your teacher

immediately. • The sooner we know that something is wrong, the sooner we

can figure it out.• Please remember to stick to the deadlines for each assignment.

Leaving this work to do all at once will make a very approachable assignment difficult, to say the least, and will certainly effect the quality of your work. DON’T LET IT HAPPEN.

• We have built plenty of time into the schedule for this Project for you to make revisions and conduct research, please make sure you use your time wisely.

• We look forward to seeing you work progress and viewing your final product. Have fun, and let us know how we can help.

2.01 Choosing a Research Topic - 2/18

2.03 The Annotated Bibliography – 2/23

2.04 The Research Journal (Different than the Research Paper) - 3/7

2.04 Research Paper (Project) along with a regular bibliography - 3/19

Today’s Passcode

RESEARCH

Please submit this into the week of 2_14 dropbox basket for credit!

Good luck with your project.