This assignment involves completing online research and writing a mini research paper on your findings. In order to complete it successfully, you will need to choose a narrow, focused topic; research that topic; write a 1-2page essay, including an image as well as text and citing your sources; and post it to the Research Wiki.Step 1: Choose a TopicYour first task is to pick a topic to research. Since digital literacy is the subject of the course, as a broad guideline you should choose a narrowly-focused topic that is related to the digital world and phrase it as a question. The specific topic that you choose is ultimately up to you.The following is a sample topic– you can use it as a model, but should formulate your own specific, narrow topic:• How does the digital divide affect residents in [name of country, city, rural area, etc.]?Step 2: Research your TopicFirst, take some time to work through the Bare Bones tutorial for a great lesson in doing online research. The Bare Bones tutorial is a required step before you move onto completing your actual research.One approach to the research process is to ask Who, What, Where, When, and Why questions in your search. Put the answers to these journalistic questions into a short piece written as if you were a reporter.Step 3: Write the Mini-EssayOnce you have completed your research, you will write a 500-word essay (this is the equivalent of 1-2 double-spaced pages). This essay must:• Include a relevant image in addition to the text of the essay;• Be based on research you did for this assignment; and• Attribute your sources and link to them using “nice links” to make it clear where information or quotations came from (see how to create “nice links”). You can do what newspaper reporters do: if you have an interesting fact or quotation, briefly say where you got it (“According to …”; “So-and-so reports that…”).Post the essay as a new page on the Research Wiki. You are also encouraged to comment on others’ mini research papers, but this is optional.If you have questions, or want to bounce around topic ideas, come to the “Q&A” forum!
