Extended Definition of the Problem/Research Memo. Now that you have written preliminary statements of your research problems in an earlier threaded discussion, it is time to define the problem in more detail. To do that, please write a memo of 1-1/2 to 2 pages that meets the following criteria:
Address the memo to me and write in standard memo format. (See p. 365)
Define in detail the problem you want to address or attempt to solve, keeping in mind the 15-week time frame. As I noted before, I don’t want you to try to solve problems that you may clearly see as problems, but that you don’t have the time, expertise, or budget to address, such as balancing the national budget or curing cancer.
Also important here is the presentation of detail. It means that you should provide a history and background of the problem, including facts and figures and ideas of how people have looked at the problem up until the present. In all cases, this will require some reading of secondary sources such as monographs, significant articles (journals can be used in the library or, when available full-text, online).
The advantage of doing this kind of specific background work is that you will have, if you have done the job well, the basics and substance of the statement of the problem for your proposal, which is a later assignment.
**Please keep in mind the problem-solving questions we have discussed (what is wrong, lacking, unknown, and who benefits?), and use those techniques of defining for an unspecialized reader (educated lay reader) where appropriate. I am an educated lay reader, but I will need specific definitions meant for someone who is not an expert in areas that are highly technical. For these kinds of projects, your intelligent use of metaphors and analogies will come in handy.
Tip: WSU Libraries are prepared to help you through all phases of your research. A variety of methods for contacting a WSU librarian are available by visiting the Washington State University Libraries homepage and selecting “Ask a Question.”
**Specify the audience who will benefit from your address or solution to the problem, and if you can, the audience who would be in a position to support your research with funding. This latter, the funding source, will come into play later, so don’t worry if you can’t go much further than the people who will benefit directly from your research.
**Suggest ways of conducting primary (firsthand) research, and (fairly specifically) secondary (published) sources of information you will need to consult. As was noted earlier, your addressing or solving the problem requires some firsthand research such as surveys, field work, lab work, interviews of experts, etc. At this point, all you have to do is suggest the kind of primary research you would plan to do; the same goes for secondary research. Please suggest the kinds of journals, monographs, or possibly Internet sources that you would consult.
**Suggest the kind of final document that will result from your research: a formal report or an article for publication (in what kind of publication?). This is not in stone, and you can switch later if the need arises.
Since your Extended Definition of the problem will be in the form of a memo to me, please check the format provided on p. 365 (Ch. 10) of your text for this and all memos written for this course. Please pay careful attention to both its form and its content, keeping in mind the following about memos and letters. While letters and memoranda share the fact that efficiency is key in both, much about them is different.
Letters are written to people outside the organization, while memos are written to people inside the organization.
Memos are less formal than letters in tone, style, and format.
Significantly, a memo documents, i.e. records an opinion, an action, a plan; and/or a sequence of events for legal purposes (e.g. your memo to me will document your research plan).
Part 2:
Prepare an annotated bibliography, using either MLA or APA citation style, of at least four published sources that deal in some way with your research problem, according to the following criteria:
Make sure that your annotations are conclusive, not simply descriptive. Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the book or article. Include one or more sentences that (a) evaluate the authority or background of the author, (b) comment on the intended audience, (c) compare or contrast this work with another you have cited, or (d) explain how this work illuminates your bibliography topic.
All entries should be arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name or by the first substantive word in the title, if there is no author. (Do not alphabetize by use of articles–”a,” “an,” or “the.”)
Provide complete bibliographic information, including inclusive page numbers and, if the article is from an online version of a journal, include the author of the site, place of origin, and date of internet citations.
Double-space between annotations. Entry information may be single- or double-spaced.
Within each entry, indent all lines after the first five spaces. This includes the bibliographic citation material as well; if it takes more than one line, indent the second, etc.
THE PROCESS
Creating an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis, and informed library research.
First, locate and record citations to books, periodicals, and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic. Briefly examine and review the actual items. Then choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.
