Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this assignment, review the Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) and Annotated Bibliography (Links to an external site.) web pages, and Evaluating Sources (Links to an external site.) and Annotated Bibliography (Links to an external site.) tutorials.

Reflect: Reflect back on the Week 1 discussion in which you shared with the class the global societal issue that you would like to further address. Explore critical insights that were shared by your peers and/or your instructor on the topic chosen and begin your search for scholarly sources with those insights in mind.

Write: For this assignment, review the Annotated Bibliography Formatting Guidelines and address the following prompts:

• Introductory paragraph to topic (refer to the Final Paper guidelines for your topic selection).
  • Write an introductory paragraph with at least 150 words that clearly explains the topic, the importance of further research, and ethical implications.
• Thesis statement.
  • Write a direct and concise thesis statement, which will become the solution to the problem that you will argue or prove in the Week 5 Final Paper. (A thesis statement should be a concise, declarative statement. The thesis statement must appear at the end of the introductory paragraph.)
• Annotated bibliography.
  • Develop an annotated bibliography to indicate the quality of the sources you have read.
  • Summarize in your own words how the source contributes to the solution of the global societal issue for each annotation.
  • Address fully the purpose, content, evidence, and relation to other sources you found on this topic (your annotation should be one to two paragraphs long—150 words or more.
  • Include no less than five scholarly sources in the annotated bibliography that will be used to support the major points of the Final Paper.
  • Demonstrate critical thinking skills by accurately interpreting evidence used to support various positions of the topic.

The Introduction, Thesis Statement, and Annotated Bibliography

Required Resources

Multimedia

Cendejas, M. (2015). Scholarly and popular sources (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://ashford.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/Scholarly+and+Popular+Resources%281%29/0_ue1ih9qt

• This video addresses the differences between popular and scholarly sources. It also provides some tips on how to search for specific types of sources through various databases in order to determine what sources are scholarly and can be used in a research paper. This article will assist you with your Scholarly Sources and Research discussion.

Kloza, B. (Executive Producer), Fabian, R. (Director), & Baber, J. (Producer). (2011). Effective Internet search: Basic tools and advanced strategies (Links to an external site.) [Streaming video]. Retrieved from Films On Demand database.

• The full version of this video is available through the Films On Demand database in the Ashford University Library. This video addresses the differences between popular, scholarly, and trade publications. It also provides some tips on how to search for specific types of sources through various databases in order to determine what sources are scholarly and can be used in a research paper. This article will assist you with your Scholarly Sources and Research discussion forum and your Introduction, Thesis Statement, and Annotated Bibliography assignment this week. This video has closed captioning and a transcript.
  Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)
  Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)

Library La Trobe University. (2009, September 16). Why can’t I just Google? (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/hqjJyqfceLw

• This video provides an animated dialog between two college students in which one appropriately researched her sources for the assignment and the other student simply did a web search and used sources that were not scholarly within his paper. The student who did better on the paper explains the issues with finding sources via a web search compared to scholarly sources one can find in the school library. This article will assist you with your Scholarly Sources and Research discussion this week.
  Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)
  Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)

Week 1 Discussion:

I chose the topic of ‘religious conflict and violence.’ The first strategy is the aspect; in the aspect, I considered the lens through which I view the research problem as presented in the topic. The second strategy is the components. In the elements, I figured that if the content of the topic can be broken down into smaller units, the problem can be analyzed more precisely. It creates a more in-depth understanding of the research in various perspectives. The third strategy is the methodology. The methodology is the considerations of the research methods that will be used in collecting the information concerning the research. The fourth is the relationship. Through the relationship, there is an understanding of how different prospects relate to one another. And the fifth is the time. It is essential to consider the time available to research since the shorter the time the narrower the focus. 

To tell if the source is scholarly is through the author. The writers of academic articles are experts in their areas of study. Another way is through the audience. The educational materials are engraved for academics and scholars. 

The first article focuses on how to narrow a topic. The first step is creating a list of areas of interest, coming up with the research question, and concentrate on the research questions (Ashford University Writing Center, 2018). These are the strategies that are used when trying to narrow down a research topic. The third article is the one that explains the importance of the in-depth of learning. It also focuses on the cultural differences and the things that will help you think more critically. It is crucial to use scholarly articles because it allows you as a writer to produce a credible and convincing paper that is based on the paper facts and evades biases due to emotions and hearsay. They are utilized in supporting the arguments.