Directions for this Find Article Annotation Exercise:

MUST BE REDONE

Research one narrow ethical issue of social networking (or an approved technology ethic topic). Draw a hypothesis about what should be done in regards only to that specific issue. Write a thesis statement. Also write an annotation of one article that you found in the Adelphi library databases (not just AlicatPlus or Google Scholar).

• Note that you will later adjust your thesis based upon more research and add 2 more annotated bibliography entries for your final Annotated Bibliography. In this class, you will never write the complete paper.

STEP 1: Pick a topic as though you intended to write a full paper.

• It must be one narrow ethical issue of social networking. (If you prefer it can be on an ethic aspect of another technology topic.)
• Sample topics are listed at the bottom of this assignment, but please range further for a topic that interests you about the ethics involving social networking or technology.
• You may find that the information literacy getting started section that you read the first week of class is helpful.

STEP 2: Find a scholarly article in an Adelphi database (not Google Scholar) related to your topic.

Trouble finding an article?

• Watch this video in which I show you how to find articles in Adelphi's databases
• Review the information literacy research section that you read in the first week of class.
• See the list of recommended databases at the end of this assignment.
• This powerpoint may help

STEP 3: Write Part I - Thesis Statement:

• Think about a research paper you plan to write. Consider an ethical issue relating to social networking or technology. Now that you read one article, think about what you might want to prove in a research paper, and write a thesis statement. Your thesis statement should be a statement of the status quo, a statement of what is disturbing that status quo, and your hypothesis. It can be one to three sentences. (Note: You never will fully write the paper, and you will have one more chance to change your thesis statement in the future.)

  Here is a sample: "While there were active discontents in each North African nation involved in the Arab Spring, the availability of Social Networking was a requirement for turning that discontent into a rapid spread of revolution throughout North Africa."

  Trouble writing your statement?

• See the sample thesis statement below. Notice that this is not a thesis statement of the article, but rather of the research paper I planned to write. In this example, the article actually supplies the rebuttal argument instead. The article only needs to supply some evidence that will be used in your paper.

STEP 4: Write Part II - Annotate one source that comes from an Adelphi database (not Google Scholar): Write an annotation considering your thesis statement. Your goal is to communicate to the reader how to find the source and what you plan to use from the source in your paper. Please look at the sample Annotation below. Your entry will have 4 distinct and labeled paragraphs:

1. Citation: Write a citation of your article in either MLA or APA format. Please include the database name in the citation, and format with a hanging indent so the beginning sticks out.
• Use the Purdue Owl MLA Guide or Purdue Owl APA Guide
• Many databases have citation tools attached or have the citation at the end. Be sure to choose only MLA or APA citation format.
• You may find this powerpoint helfpul

 

2. Summary: Write a brief summary of the material covered by the article.

• Include the main point of the article and a high level view of the topics covered.

3. Credentials: Write about the credibility of the source.

• You should research the author on another site. Be sure to search using the full name of the author and their affiliation to get the right person. You are looking for their credentials and to see what they have published.
• Find out whether the journal is peer reviewed. Ulrich's Web lists whether a journal is peer reviewed or refereed.
• State the author's affiiliations such as the source of their degree or the company they work for.
• If they have published other articles on this topic, mention that as well.
• You may find this powerpoint helpful.

 

4. What I might use: Explain how the source will fit into your essay and how it relates to your thesis. Include facts.

• Mention facts or discussions you would plan to use from the source if you were going to write your paper.
• Describe which section of your paper this source would support or refute.
  • For example: This article provides a counter-argument to facebook being only slightly useful to the Arab Spring.
• This section must relate directly to the thesis. It should not include any information that is not directly related to your thesis.
• You do not need to include in-text citations.
  

STEP 5: Upload this document to moodle's "Find Article Exercise" when you are done.

Grading. You will receive comments on this exercise, and then use those comments in your final ethics annotation report, which will be a significant grade in this class.

Sample Annotation :

Part I - This sample essay considers the thesis statement "While there were active discontents in each North African nation involved in the Arab Spring, the availability of Social Networking was a requirement for turning that discontent into a rapid spread of revolution throughout North Africa."

Part II - Annotation Source 1 (This sample does not come from a database, but yours should.)

1) Citation: Rahman, Zahir. " Online political activism in Morocco: Facebook and the birth of the February 20th movement." Journal of New Media Studies in Mena 1 (Winter 2012): 1-13. Web. 18 January 2013 http://www.academia.edu/1417051/Online_political_activism_in_Morocco_Facebook_and_the_birth_of_the_February_20th_movement

2) Summary: Zahir considers whether the uprising in Morocco, particularly the "February 20 Movement" could have occurred without Social Networking. "Youth", those under 30, did become more politically active in Morocco recently. Zahir analyzes the role of Facebook in 3 protests: "I'm a 9%", MALI Public Fast Break Groups, and "The February 20 Movement". Zahir concludes that real world activism was more important than online activism. He even finds that Facebook was not an extremely powerful tool.

3) Credentials: This is a peer reviewed article with many citations to explore. Zahir Rahman completed a Fulbright research grant in Morocco to study youth and online activism.

4) What I might use: This article provides a counter-argument to facebook being only slightly useful to the Arab Spring. This article gives concrete examples of how effective or not effective Facebook was in the movement. Facebook did not bring the organizers together; they met at sit-ins instead. Activists were able to use Facebook as a news media when other periodicals were banned, but the police watched the Facebook page and used the information to interfere with the protests. A U-Tube video and Al-Jazeera shows gave more momentum to the movement than the facebook discussions, but the reactions on other peoples pages to that media was significant. The one movement that was promoted entirely online was the least successful.

Notes:

http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/12/13/in_morocco_february_20th_does_what_the_king_will_not is the source for Zahir Rahman recently completing a Fulbright research grant in Morocco where he studied youth and online activism. It is good to at least briefly research the author.

I found that it was a peer reviewed article at : http://jnmstudies.com/index.php/about-jnms

Social Networking Topics you might explore:

using facebook for political activism - Mid East; North Africa; Occupy Wall Street
using facebook information for court cases
employers using facebook
Using facebook at work
oversharing - too many details of your life
Privacy
Censorship
Libel
Protection for underage
Ownership of material
Free speech
Hate speech
How to protect kids

Non-Social Networking topics you might consider

Hacktivism
Net Neutrality
Internet Security Issues
Computers in Education
Web content responsibility - wikipedia blackout; wikileaks
Email SPAM
Intellectual property and information
Filtering Online Content

Good databases:

A good Adelphi database for Pro/Con of Social Networking in general and maybe your specific issue as well: CQ Researcher

Ebscohost - choose Academic Search Complete, Communication and Mass Media Complete, ejournals, MasterFile Premier, Philosopher's Index
You might also want to try Family and Society Studies WorldWide, and SocIndex
Academic One File
ProQuest Central
JSTOR
OmniFile Full Text