Citation Chain Assignment
Course: Social Science 1SS3 – Inquiry in the Social Sciences
Basic Information:
Compose and submit a ‘resource chain’ based on your own supplementary searching. This activity is called a ‘resource chain’ because your goal will be to find three (3) scholarly sources that are relevant to your research topic, and which cite each other so that they form a metaphorical ‘chain’.
The relationship between the three resources you use should be as follows:
• Source #1 is relevant to your topic.
• Source #2 is relevant to your topic, and cites Source #1
• Source #3 is relevant to your topic, and cites Source #2 (but probably does not cite #1)
Details:
Your completed research chain should take the form of an annotated bibliography of approximately one to two pages in length (single spaced), composed in APA style.
The annotations following each item should:
a) briefly but explicitly identify (by reference to author/date) which other resource in your list cites (or is cited by) this resource, and in what context;
b) indicate which strategy you used to discover these links (e.g. forwards citation searching using X tool; bibliography mining, etc.);
c) explain which tool you used to retrieve the source; and
d) use appropriate source integration strategies to show an overall familiarity with the basic contents and relevance of the source by summarizing, paraphrasing and quoting noteworthy ideas or elements.
Citation Chaining
The most challenging part of this exercise will be finding three relevant sources that form this sort of chain. In order to do this, you may need to use your library search skills to trace patterns of citation both ‘backwards’ and ‘forwards’, which can be understood in the following ways:
• Backwards Citation Searching: Starting with one relevant resource, how can you identify, locate, and evaluate other resources that it cites?
• Forwards Citation Searching: Starting with one relevant resource, how can you identify, locate, and evaluate other resources that cite it?
Submission:
All assignments must be submitted in MS Word or PDF format to the proper Avenue to Learn folder. To submit your assignment:
1. Click Assessments (top navigation bar)
2. Select Assignments
3. Click the assignment folder.
You may submit to the assignment folder multiple times, but your instructor will mark only the final document uploaded. So make sure your final document is the correct one.
The due date for this assignment is indicated on the Detailed Course Schedule in the About the Course module.
Evaluation:
This assignment will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
o Quality of Resources
o APA Citation of Resources
o Identification of Evidence
o Explanation of Linkages and Search Strategy
o Writing and Clarity
