Innovations for Better Democratic Governance: An Annotated Bibliography on Scholarly Sources

Understanding Scholarly Sources and Evaluating their Credibility

TOPIC-. What innovations are possible using contemporary technologies to make democratic governments work better? Explain.. . . Description As part of the process of writing your RESEARCH PAPER, you need to find useful and credible scholarly sources as part of your topic research. For this graded assignment, you are to write an annotated bibliography of eight different scholarly sources. Each annotation is to be 150 words (± ten words) of text, excluding the bibliographic reference itself. At least three sources are to be scholarly articles and two either scholarly books or a chapter from a scholarly book. Otherwise, any sources that you deem to be credible (see “Evaluating Sources” in the Purdue Online Writing Lab) are acceptable, such as government reports, TEDtalks, or statistical databases. Instructions A scholarly source is one where the information and analysis presented follow standards that ensure their truthfulness. In the past, scholarly sources were defined in part by the mode of publishing, such as refereed academic journals, major publications like The Economist that have a known high-quality editorial policy, or academic books published by university presses. However, with the advent of easy digitized production of source material, selecting credible sources has become more complex. While it is still true that the traditional ways of determining ‘scholarly sources’ remains valid, innovations such as Wikis, or the fast-paced publication on the Internet of information that far outstrips the slower pace of traditional academic publishing can also be credible sources. You, as a contemporary scholar, must be able to separate credible from non-credible sources, while remaining open to genuinely insightful ideas and information that may exist. For this particular assignment, however, you are required to choose bibliographic sources that are considered to be scholarly within the traditional definition of ‘scholarly source’. A good, short guide to evaluating sources is given by: “Evaluating Sources” in the Purdue Online Writing Lab. This is also linked on your Student Online Services (SOS) page. You are to read this to get a sense of what is considered a ‘scholarly source’ - or at least a ‘truthful source’ in our contemporary world of an unprecedented information glut. Reading this short guide too will help you to write a better scholarly paper, as the guide in essence tells you what are the indications of a non-scholarly paper. It is both important, and intellectually satisfying, to be able to spot deceptive arguments and analyses. There are a number of online open-source guides available that describe how to write an annotated bibliography. In your required readings, you are to read: “Annotated Bibliographies” Purdue Online Writing Lab. Some of the sources that you choose to use may already have a published abstract; you are expected to write an annotated bibliography based on your own judgment of the source, and you are required to specify how the source relates to your essay’s thesis. Evaluation The following rubric indicates those areas you should be focusing on in preparing your assignment, and how the instructor will weigh these components relative to one another. Activity/Competencies Demonstrated % of Final Grade Content (70%)   - The sources you select are appropriate to your topic and the assignment requirements. /25 - Your description of the source summarizes accurately the sources. /20 - You offer a clear assessment of the sources’ value and reflect on its relevance to your research topic. /25           Communication (20%)   - You use language clearly and effectively. /15 - Your information organized intelligently /5 Attention to Detail (10%)   - APA Formatting and text formatting /5 - Spelling and grammar /5 Total /100   Worth 10% of final grade