Worksheet 1

PART 1

1. Primary Concept/Topic

Select a topic that interests you and that you have questions about based on your classes or life experience (e.g. alcohol use and abuse). You must have at least this in mind before you begin to plan a research project.

Primary topic:

______

2. Population:

Population focus:

______

What is your unit of analysis?

___ individual people (refugees)

___ groups of people (fraternities)
___ artifacts (song lyrics, clothing, TV ads, books, etc)

___ geographical areas

___ social interactions

3. Secondary Concept/Topic

You may also already have additional topics that you think will be related to your primary topic (e.g. job stress). It is not necessary to specify secondary topics right away.

Secondary topic/s:

______P

PART 2

  1. Begin a literature review on your primary concept/ topic

Do library research to investigate the primary concept/topic you have selected. List below at least 5 academic references you have located that relate to your primary topic. Use APA, ASA or AAA format to write complete reference entries for each book, chapter, peer-reviewed journal article, government document, thesis or dissertation you have found.

Reference 1:

Reference 2:

Reference 3:

Reference 4:

Reference 5:

2. Begin a literature review on your selectedpopulation.

Do library research to investigate the primary concept/topic you have selected. List below at least 5 academic references you have located that relate to your primary topic. Use APA format to write complete reference entries for each book, chapter, peer-reviewed journal article, government document, thesis or dissertation you have found.

Reference 1:

Reference 2:

Reference 3:

Reference 4:

Reference 5:

3. Begin a literature search on your secondary concept/topic

Do library research to investigate the secondary concept/topic you have selected. List below at least 5 academic references you have located that relate to your primary topic. Use APA format to write complete reference entries for each book, chapter, peer-reviewed journal article, government document, thesis or dissertation you have found.

have found.

Reference 1:

Reference 2:

Reference 3:

Reference 4:

Reference 5:

Part3

Charting Your References

  1. Assign numbers to your references as you collect them.
  2. Read and analyze all of the references you have gathered.
  3. Create a table, numbering columns to correspond with your references.
  4. In the far left hand column, begin a list of the topics and/or populations that you will be addressing in your literature review. Add to this list as you read and discover new variables and populations that you need to address.
  5. Check the row of each topic that is covered in a reference as you analyze it, marking the intersection of the topic and the reference number.

Reference (Article/Chapter/Book) Number
Concept/Variable / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12

Worksheet 5: Target Population

Specify the population you plan to study and how you will get access to that population (e.g. through personal contacts, permission from an institution or company, etc.). Be specific and give all the information that someone would need to know to do exactly the same research in the same population using the same entry contact you used.

Who ______

e.g. Vietnamese Amerasian immigrants to the United States.

Where ______

e.g. Orange County, California

When ______

e.g. Fall Semester 2001

Access ______

______

______

e.g. Contact will be made through St. Anselm’s CrossCulturalCommunity Center in Garden Grove, California. Personnel at the center have agreed to introduce the researchers to prospective participants.