Assignment Goals

The purpose of this assignment is to facilitate learning and provide a review of the research processes used in Information Behaviors research while developing an understanding of topics such as, what is research, the research question, problem or thesis statement, types of research, methodologies, data description, hypothesis testing, examining relationships, and the use of scholarly journals to review the trends and future of Information Behaviors research.

Assignment Details

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare an annotated bibliography in a topic area that represents the research in the area and provides the opportunity to learn about the topic area. The journal articles should focus on the trends in research within the topic area you select. It is recommended that the topic area and journal articles you select for this annotated bibliography be used for the final essay “The Future of Information Behaviors Research”. The bibliography should be in APA format.

1. Select and read six (6) journal articles in one of the following topic areas:

1. Information behavior – what is it? (Case, ch1); information behavior – complex nature (Case, ch2); Information behavior research – history and focus (Case, ch3)
2. Information needs, motivations and use (Case, ch5); information behavior – related concepts (Case, ch6)
3. Models of information behavior (Case, ch7); Metatheories, theories and paradigms (Case, ch8)
4. Research Designs and methods for studying information behavior (Case, ch9)
5. Information behavior research by roles and contexts (Case, ch10)

Note: the journal articles for the bibliography may be selected from the research articles presented in the Case&Given text as well as other selections from the USF library via the library website showing the research trends, that is, what is the prevalent research trend in the subject matter in the topic area you have selected.

2. The Annotated Bibliography – is to be created with annotations of 1-3 paragraphs that describe the content of the journal article and how the article is relevant to the topic area you selected. In the annotation you should describe the journal article, its relevance to the topic area and provide a brief assessment of the article. See the “OWL” website for details, it is an informative and comprehensive reference with examples of the format to help you prepare the bibliography…

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_… (Links to an external site.)

3. Summary – after completing the annotated bibliography prepare a separate summary of at least three paragraphs that (1) describes how the journal articles you selected are related to the topic area and show trends in information behavior research from 2000-2017 (2) compares the content of the articles (3) and provides information about how and where you obtained the journal articles.

Basis for Grade:

• Follows assignment instructions, discussing all items and/or answering all questions focusing on the topic of the essay;
• Follows APA format for an annotated bibliography;