Purpose of Secondary Source Research:

You will need to formulate a good research question (i.e., NOT a thesis statement), search for scholarly, peer-reviewed articles, find those sources, analyze them in order to figure out how you can effectively summarize and synthesize them, and then write a research paper that uses those articles to answer your research question.

Step 1: Choosing a Topic and Developing a Research Question

The topic has to be about food related to any business major.

Here is a list of possible research topics we’ve talked about this semester to help you get started.

Local Food School Food Food Education Farmer’s Markets Food Waste Health/Nutrition Industry Food Marketing/Advertising Gardening/Farming Food/Agriculture Workers Overfishing Pollinators Food Sovereignty Food Justice Food Labeling

Those are some examples of different topics as mentioned, but the one I need is related to a (business topic).

Once you pick a business food topic, you will formulate a research question, which will help guide and focus your research. Your research question should be complex, allowing you to explore not only “what?” but “why?” and “how?” questions. It should also lead you to an unbiased, specific research question, not a thesis statement. Reread pages 28-31 in RoI on developing a good research question.

Step 2: Conducting Secondary Source Research

Once you’ve developed a research question, you will search for 3-5 scholarly secondary sources to answer your research question. One of your secondary sources may be a print source, a book that you check out from the library. Also, you may use only one non-academic website/article. We will spend one class period with a librarian as well as spend time in class discussing how to find secondary sources efficiently and how to evaluate them for relevance and credibility. A key part of your grade will be how well you summarize, synthesize, and incorporate your sources.

Step 3: Writing an Annotated Bibliography (NOTE: A separate page provided):

You will annotate the secondary sources you plan to use. An annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources you plan to use to answer your research question (you are also welcome to use sources with which you disagree). Writing an annotated bibliography will help you to read more carefully and critically, and will provide you with a greater comprehension of a source. It will also help you to further develop your summarizing skills. Finally, writing an annotated bibliography can help you gain a helpful perspective on what is being said about your topic. By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you’ll start to see what the issues are, what people are arguing about, and how you can use the information in the articles to answer your research questions. Your annotated bibliography should include the following information in paragraph form:

  • Descriptive summary: What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? (50-75 words in a separate paragraph)
  • Evaluation: Is it a useful source? What are some strengths of it? What are some weaknesses, if any? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source? (50-75 words in a separate paragraph)
  • Reflection: How is this source helpful to you? How and where can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic? (20-30 words in a separate paragraph)