Level III Task 2

Background Research:

Start a new page on your Google Site and title it “Background Research”.

Background Research:

The main purpose of a background research is to gain knowledge about your research topic and to summarize the scientific concepts that relate to your experiment. It should be written in a paragraph format (3-5 paragraphs with main idea, supporting details and conclusion). Background research information should come from accredited sources such as peer-reviewed science journals, articles and books. Avoid using wiki as a resource.

A well written background research should include following ideas:

•          Provide general introduction about your research topic.

•          Explain why this research topic is important scientifically and if applicable, explain any societal impact of your research.

•          Include definition of key terms as it relate to the research topic.

•          Describe scientific principals as it relate to the research topic.

•          Provide brief summary of previously published research experiments, data and findings as it relate to your research topic (all information should be from accredited sources and properly cited in APA format)

•     Be sure to do in-text citation in APA format. See some examples below and refer to OWL for help. 

                  If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses. 

                  Note: APA style requires authors to use the past tense or present perfect tense when using phrases to describe earlier research. E.g., Jones (1998) found or Jones (1998) has found...

                  Example: 

                  #1 According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199). 

                  #2 Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers? 

                  If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation. 

                  Example: 

                  #3 She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style," but she did not offer an explanation as to why (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

References or Bibliography:

Include at least three references from a (journal, article, or book). Avoid including wiki as a reference. Use APA style for in-text citation and reference (see how to do APA citation here). 

• References cited in text must appear in the reference list: conversely, each entry in the reference list must be cited in text. 

• Arrange these references in alphabetical order.

• Give the year the work was published in parentheses. If no date is available write (n.d). 

• Use italics for titles of books, newspapers, magazines, and journals.

• Include correct hyperlink address for online resources followed by authors name, data published, title, and volume (etc.)

            Examples of APA references in alphabetical order:

            Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 7-10.

Bernstein, M. (2002). 10 tips on writing the living Web. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 149. Retrieved from

            http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving

PCalfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.).(1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.