For this research log, you will start to pull together what you understand about your chosen conversation and the potential answers to your research question.
Step 0:
Open your Google doc that you submitted for Log 2. You will use the same Google document and add your answer to Log 3 to the the document where you answered Log 1 and Log 2. Prepare your answers for this post under the heading for “Log 3”.
NOTE: do not use a new Google document. Instead, use the document that already has your answers to Log 1 and Log 2, which you submitted for Log 1 and Log 2.
Step 1:
In order to complete this research log, you will first need to choose a specific audience that you believe would be interested in the answer to your research question. Please do not say “everyone.” For example, if my research question is “should my county change the bus routes?”, interested audiences might be those who currently use the bus system and voters who may vote on this question in the next election. Part of your grade on this assignment involves choosing a specific audience that is appropriate for your research question. See the bulleted questions below in order to help you pick a good audience. Note: picking a good, specific audience will help you in Unit 2, so take a minute to really think about who you want to talk to about what you’re learning.
After you choose a specific audience, you will need to find one additional source related to your research question that is especially relevant to this specific audience AND which adds to your personal understanding of the topic. If the source doesn’t seem relevant to the audience, or if it merely repeats things you already know, it’s a bad source. For example, in my example above, I might find a source that explains how the new bus routes impact current bus users; or I might find a source that explains the language of the question on the ballot for voters.
Step 2:
Then, write a 300 word letter addressed to this specific audience. In the letter, you’ll explain your research so far and offer this additional source for their reading. (Although you are actually posting this letter to our class discussion board, you should pretend as if you are giving the letter to the specific audience you’ve identified and write the letter accordingly. This means you can address the audience specifically [“Dear Bus Riders”] and use second person pronouns such as “you.”).
Although you are actually posting this letter to your research log, you should pretend as if you are giving the letter to the specific audience you’ve identified and write the letter accordingly.
In your letter, you should do the following:
Explain your current research question and why you see this question as important to this particular audience. What specifically about your research is valuable, significant, and/or impactful to this audience? How does/will your research impact some aspect of their lives? Here, you might discuss personal impact, professional impact, cultural impact, political impact, or something else.
Describe some of the research you’ve done so far and how this is helping you answer your research question. Here, you do not need to necessarily go over all of your research from Logs 2 and 3. Instead, choose to focus on the particular idea(s) and source(s) that you think will be especially relevant to this particular audience.
Describe the new source you found for this audience specifically. What is the title and who is the author? Here, give a brief summary of what this source says and explain why you think this source might be especially interesting/relevant to the person/group who is reading your letter.
Explain to your audience where you plan to go next with your research. What ideas do you plan on exploring? What questions do you hope to answer? How will the next steps in your research help you to find answers/solutions to your research question?
The following link shows some student examples. Be sure to look at the rubric, which is different from the one used for Log 1 and Log 2.
Step 3:
Below your signature in your letter, add a space and write “Follow up analysis.” Then answer these questions:
1. Look at what’s still missing. What questions do you still have about your research? What questions can you imagine would be important to your audience beyond what you were able to cover in your letter? Are there any ideas/perspectives that you think that you should consider that you did not reflect in your letter? If you picked a different audience, what’s a perspective you would pursue that’s not reflected here?
2. Post at least one quote from the source you shared with your audience. The quote should add something to your personal understanding of your topic (rather than just repeat something you already knew).