Alternate Non-Research Assignments

If you do not wish or are unable to participate in a particular research opportunity for research credit or extra credit (commensurate with the policies of your specific course), there are two alternatives for receiving research credit, in addition to other non-research opportunities your instructor may provide. For a non-research alternative, begin by checking with your course instructor.

First, you may choose to take part in another study for which you are available—there are typically several studies throughout the semester, and another study can provide equitable research credit.

Second, for each research study you may complete an alternate non-research assignment for the researcher. These non-research alternatives are conducted with the researcher, not the course instructor, so direct your initial and subsequent inquiries, as well as completed assignment, to the researcher identified for that particular study. To take advantage of this option, please do the following

1. Read one article from a recent scholarly publication relevant to your field. Ask the instructor of your course to which the research credit should apply to identify a journal from the list below. The selected journal’s field should correspond with the course’s emphasis within the School of Communication.

2. You will need to access the journal through Milner Library or other source—please contact a Milner librarian if you need assistance accessing the latest issue.

3. From the publication identified, pick any article from the latest issue of that journal. You are encouraged to select an article that seems of particular interest to you, your major, or your intended career path.

4. After reading the article, you will write a 300-500 word annotated bibliography of that article. For an overview and guidance on writing an annotated bibliography, including examples, please see https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/annotated_bibliographies/index.html.

a. Write and save the entry as a Microsoft Word 97-2003 *.doc or Adobe *.pdf file. Alternate file formats may not be able to be opened by researchers, and will not be accepted.

b. Write the entry in either APA, MLA, or AP style, consistent with the course policies for the course to which you will be attributing the research credit.

c. Do not just cut-and-paste the article’s abstract. Your annotated reference should be entirely new. A student submitting the work of others—either of the original authors or another students—is in violation of the ISU Code of Student Conduct, which can result in official actions up to and including dismissal from ISU.

d. Ensure the following information is clearly identified on the cover page of your entry: Your first and last name (as listed in ISU’s enrollment system), your ULID (the part of your university email before “@ilstu.edu”), the course and section number and instructor’s name of the course to which you would like the associated research credit attributed. Without this information, researchers may be unable to assign research credit.

5. While the research study is available period (see study dates for the timeframe associated with each study), email the researcher with your alternate assignment submission as an attachment. The researcher’s contact information can be found the “Researcher” column of the studies page for contact information. The subject line of your email should be “[Study Name] – Alternate Assignment” to ensure receipt and processing.

6. Each alternate assignment submission is worth 0.5 research credits. For studies valued at more research credits, you will need to create entries for the appropriate number of articles from the assigned journal.