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Level 6

Tracking Sheets 9 & 10

Ebook and a Theory source

Sources for TS 9 & 10

Read about each tracking sheet farther below:
TS 9 will be an ebook in EFSC databases and TS 10 will be a theory you will use for the MLA paper.
Download the Tracking sheet

Purpose:

To find an ebook about the broader them on the EFSC databases and to summarize notes about them in Tracking Sheet 9.
To select a theory, then read and write about that theory in Tracking Sheet 10.
To create a list of ten connections between the theory you choose and the subject (broader theme).

Tracking Sheet 9

Using EFSC databases, find an ebook about your broader theme.
And no, I don't expect you are going to read a whole book; there's no time left in the term.
For the citation information at the top of the tracking sheet, use this page ; Valencia does not have ebook citations yet.
Once you find an ebook, skim the table of contents or skim through the book and find a chapter or section that appeals to you.
The ebook must have been published in 2020 or the most recent publication to date.
In the MAIN CONTAINER section of the tracking sheet summarize the WHOLE book.
In the SECOND CONTAINER, discuss a specific chapter or section of that book.
Then, like with the other TSs, discuss how it helps your research and lead-in to a quoted passage.
Create one proof of the quoted passage
Submit email with two attachments: Tracking Sheet 9 and the Word document with the proof.

Tracking Sheet 10

Finding a theory source

This source will NOT be about your subject.
You and I will have a discussion to decide upon a theory.
This source can be from any of the following:
- An authored article on a website, so fill out TS 10 as you did TS 1 & 2.
- An EFSC database peer-reviewed article, so fill out TS 10 as you did TS 5-8.
- An EFSC database ebook, so fill out TS 10 as you did TS 9.
You will need to send ONE proof of where you obtained the quote in the source.

Skim this section's bold areas, below, for a gloss overview,
then return to here and read through thoroughly

Choosing a theory: General Discussion of

TL;DR: Non-science research papers, such as we are writing, are not about your subject (the broader theme), they are really about the theory.
A research paper can be either applied or theoretical.
- Applied research is lab work (think of hard-sciences) or polling/surveying people (such as Psychology and sociology). Applied research usually follows the same hypothesis, etc of a science fair project. Applied research seeks fact or truth. We are not doing applied research.
- Theoretical research means attempting to understand some aspect of our world using a theoretical lens (a theory) to focus on a specific subject in a specific way to gain new insights and understandings.
We did theoretical research in the mini-research papers at the start of the term: applying a theory to a subject to narrow down the subject and see the subject in a specific way.
Theoretical papers help us gain meaning without judgement; if you want to judge something to gain meaning, write an essay.
Said another way, Applied research turns information about the world into verified knowledge that we can trust as accurate. Theoretical research enlarges meaning of fact and truth.
In theoretical research, the theory is the most important part, not the subject being studied.
Your MLA paper is really about the theory you choose to use, not the subject/scope you examine; that's the aim, to convey the theory to others. How you will convey that theory to others is by explaining that theory in a theory paragraph of the MLA paper and then using multiple examples from your subject/scope to help your reader understand that theory better.
If you keep in mind that the point of the MLA paper is to discuss the theory, you'll write a good research paper.
If you think the point of the paper is to write about the subject, you'll have an 8th grade book report.
If you want, you can read this article to learn more about "The Value of Theoretical Research and Applied Research"

What's the point?

Without peer review in industry, science, and academia, everyone would have to test every piece of information every day.
New headache medicine? better run the tests yourself because no one else would have.
Air bags work? Better hit something and test them, because no one else did.
Most of your day is surrounded by items, ideas, and objects that were tested by others to be efficacious or effective.

Why do I need to know this?

Most of the research papers you write throughout college will have a rubric that says you must use x number of peer reviewed articles.
If you have none in those papers, the paper will fail.
In your BA years, you will be reading peer-reviewed articles weekly for classes, because the newest peer reviewed articles are the most up-to-date useful information in any field of study, months if not years before that information makes it into a new volume of a textbook