Additional Exercises

Chapter 6, Additional Exercise 4: Conducting Research for a Project

Check with your instructor about whether this assignment should be done individually or in a small group. Choose a topic on which to write a report for this course. Make sure the topic is sufficiently focused that you will be able to cover it in some detail. Subjects that you can narrow into suitable topics include the following:

What is the evidence that the requirements should be revised? What is the process for revising them? What are the challenges that need to be met in order to carry out the process successfully? Conduct your own analysis of the situation, draw conclusions, and recommend what should be done next.
What alternatives are being developed now? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What factors encourage their development? What are the social or political barriers to their widespread introduction? Which fuels or technologies are most likely to succeed in the marketplace?
What data exist on job prospects, both locally and nationally? What are the trends? Does one aspect of the field appear to have better prospects than others? What steps can a student take to ensure the best preparation for the job market? How well does the curriculum meet the needs of the field?
Determine the different skills and backgrounds of technical professionals in your field. What kinds of documents do they produce? What kinds of equipment do they use? Where did they learn their skills? How well equipped is your college to prepare tomorrow's technical professionals to communicate in the workplace? What steps could be taken to improve their preparation?

Using the web and one of the guides-to-the-guides, plan a strategy for researching your topic.
- Which guides, handbooks, dictionaries, and encyclopedias contain the background information you should read first?
- Which basic reference books discuss your topic?
- Which major indexes and abstract journals cover your topic?
- Which of these basic tools are available online in your library? In which media (for instance, online bibliographies, CD-ROM, the web) are they available?
Write down the call numbers or Internet addresses of the three indexes and abstract journals most relevant to your topic.
Make a preliminary bibliography of two books, five articles, and five websites that relate to your topic.
Find one of the works listed in your bibliography and write a brief assessment of its value.
Paraphrase any three paragraphs, each on a separate note card, from the first two pages of an article listed in your bibliography. Also note at least two quotations, each on a separate card: one should be a complete sentence, and one an excerpt from a sentence. Include a photocopy of the original when you submit the assignment, with the sentences you have quoted highlighted or underlined.
Write a 500-word summary of an article in your bibliography. Include a photocopy of the article when you submit the assignment.
Using a local directory (such as a phone book, campus directory, or business directory), make a list of five people who might have firsthand knowledge of your topic. Arrange and carry out an interview with one of the five.