This assignment measures your ability on how to assess the quality of various sources of information, distinguish peer-reviewed sources, and how to evaluate their credibility for use in academic research. This assessment also supports your achievement of Course Learning Outcome 1. In this assignment, you will be critically evaluating the quality and credibility of various sources of information. More specifically, you will continue exploring the Ashford University Library to locate both primary and secondary sources of information appropriate for academic research that relate to the topic you identified in this week’s discussion posting. Instructions First, you will conduct a scholarly search using the key words “action research”andyour chosen topic from Week One Discussion: Topic Selection (such as testing and assessment, educational standards, educational technology, literacy strategies, culturally and linguistically diverse students, safe classroom environments, disability research in general, AD/HD, autism, emotional/behavioral disturbance, intellectual disabilities or learning disabilities, etc.) and the grade level of your current or future professional goal. Your search should be conducted using a scholarly search option, such as  Google (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. , Bing (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. ,  Yahoo (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. , or any other major search engine. For example, “action research and AD/HD and first grade.” Be sure to take the time to inform yourself on sound research sources including use of peer reviews as listed in the recommended and required resources for the week. To get you started, view  What is a Scholarly Journal Article?  (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.  Next, you will analyze the first five results that appear from your search in a table format using Microsoft Word. Then, using the same keywords you used to search the Web, you will conduct a search in the Ashford University Library using one of the academic databases (ERIC, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, and so forth) and create a table such as the one below using Microsoft Word. Finally, you will select two sources from either table that you feel are the best overall based on currency, credibility, authority, and academic integrity and construct a summary. For each article in your tables, use the following format: APA Reference Entry Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article.  Title of Periodical, volume number (issue number), pages. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy  Source Type (e.g., journal article, magazine article, book, and so forth) Annotation (e.g., two to three sentences summarizing the contents of the source) Written Communication: Using support from your assigned reading, the Instructor Guidance, and the discussions, submit the following for evaluation. Use the following guidelines for creating your written .

1. This assignment measures your ability on how to assess the
quality of various sources of information, distinguish peer-
reviewed sources, and how to evaluate their credibility for use
in academic research. This assessment also supports your
achievement of Course Learning Outcome 1.
In this assignment, you will be critically evaluating the quality
and credibility of various sources of information. More
specifically, you will continue exploring the Ashford University
Library to locate both primary and secondary sources of
information appropriate for academic research that relate to the
topic you identified in this week’s discussion posting.
Instructions
First, you will conduct a scholarly search using the key words
“action research”andyour chosen topic from Week One
Discussion: Topic Selection (such as testing and assessment,
educational standards, educational technology, literacy
strategies, culturally and linguistically diverse students, safe
classroom environments, disability research in general, AD/HD,
autism, emotional/behavioral disturbance, intellectual
disabilities or learning disabilities, etc.) and the grade level of
your current or future professional goal. Your search should be
conducted using a scholarly search option, such as
Google (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
,
Bing (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
,
Yahoo (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
, or any other major search engine. For example, “action
research and AD/HD and first grade.” Be sure to take the time
to inform yourself on sound research sources including use of
peer reviews as listed in the recommended and required
resources for the week.

2. To get you started, view
What is a Scholarly Journal Article?
(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Next, you will analyze the first five results that appear from
your search in a table format using Microsoft Word.
Then, using the same keywords you used to search the Web, you
will conduct a search in the Ashford University Library using
one of the academic databases (ERIC, ProQuest, EBSCOhost,
and so forth) and create a table such as the one below using
Microsoft Word. Finally, you will select two sources from
either table that you feel are the best overall based on currency,
credibility, authority, and academic integrity and construct a
summary. For each article in your tables, use the following
format:
APA Reference Entry
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of
article.
Title of Periodical, volume number
(issue number), pages. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy
Source Type
(e.g., journal article, magazine article, book, and so forth)
Annotation
(e.g., two to three sentences summarizing the contents of the
source)
Written Communication:

3. Using support from your assigned reading, the Instructor
Guidance, and the discussions, submit the following for
evaluation. Use the following guidelines for creating your
written assignment. If you have questions about the assignment
or the rubric, please contact your instructor using the Ask Your
Instructor discussion before the due date.
In your paper,
Web Search (3 points): Construct a table that includes a 6th
edition APA-formatted citation, source type, and a two- to
three-sentence annotation for five scholarly sources gathered
from an open web search.
Library Search (3 points): Construct a table that includes a 6th
edition APA-formatted reference entry, source type, and a two-
to three-sentence annotation for five scholarly sources gathered
from a library search.
Learning (2.5 points): In a paragraph, explain what you learned
through this process of selecting articles and what was most
informative for you about this experience.
The Finding Nemo? No, Finding Research Assignment
Must be three to four double-spaced pages in length (not
including title and references pages) and formatted according to
APA style as outlined in the
Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an
external site.
.

4. Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of Finding Nemo? No, Finding Research
Student’s name
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Date submitted
Must use at least five scholarly sources in addition to the course
text.
The
Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to
an external site.)Links to an external site.
table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If
you have questions about whether a specific source is
appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor.
Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a
specific source for a particular assignment.
Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the
Ashford Writing Center.
Must include a separate references page that is formatted
according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing
Center.

5. Next Steps: Review and Submit the Assignment
Review your assignment with the Grading Rubric to ensure you
have achieved the distinguished levels of performance for each
criterion. Next, submit your document no later than Day 7.
Recommendation:
The MAED and MASE programs provide the opportunity for
you to create an online portfolio that can be used in your career
development and professional practice. Throughout your
respective programs, you will have various assessments that can
be included in this e-portfolio, and these will be finalized in the
final capstone course, Capstone 2: Culminating Project,
EDU696. You may select this assignment and subsequent
coursework to include as work samples. Therefore, it is strongly
encouraged you save your coursework on a flash-drive (e.g., a
USB removable drive) or store in a cloud-based option such as
Dropbox, Google Drive, or other similar applications.
Success Tip: Be mindful of the Week Six Final Project. The
Week Six project involves conducting a peer review of an action
research proposal. Preparation for this assignment must begin
early to make certain you are planning ahead and saving your
work. Review the full instructions for the Week Six assignment
for specific information.