SCS 200 Week 3 Short Response Guidelines and Rubric
Overview: The short response activities in the webtext throughout this course are designed to show your understanding of key concepts as you engage with
course content.
Prompt: During the third week of the course, you will respond to several questions in the webtext as you complete each assigned learning block. At the end of
Week 3, you will review your answers to these questions and ensure that you have responded to each question. It is important that you answer each question.
Otherwise, the words no response will appear in brackets when you submit the assignment. The questions and their original locations in the webtext are listed in
the table below in case you want to refer back to the reading as you edit, but you can edit your responses to all the questions directly in Theme: Performing the
Research Investigation, learning block 3-4 (page 2), before exporting to Word for submission to your instructor in the learning environment.
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Question 4
Question 5
Question 6
Question 7
In the textbox provided, brainstorm a list of keywords related to your topic.
Now type those keywords into an Internet search engine, such as Google. Spend some time looking
through the results. In the textbox below, jot down the titles and hyperlinks of a few of the most
interesting articles and websites that come up in your search. Write down at least one article and the
corresponding hyperlink for each keyword or group of keywords.
What are you finding? What new information have you learned about this issue? What new questions or
thoughts do you have now that you have done some preliminary research?
Can you narrow your focus at all? If so, what do you wish to focus on? If you have a few options, what are
they? (You don’t necessarily need to narrow your focus. Mark found this helpful to do because his topic is very
broad.)
Based on the broad search, refine the list of keywords that you created on the previous page. List here
any keywords or keyword combinations that returned results that are relevant to your social science
issue. Then, note which keywords or combinations you will no longer use, as they returned off-topic or
overly broad results.
What professional organizations (other than social science organizations) might have relevant
information about your issue? For example, someone researching war might utilize information provided
by the United States Department of Defense. Find 1–2 organizations, and note them here.
Now select one of the digital libraries or organizations mentioned in this learning block (Shapiro Library,
Google Scholar, etc.), and plug your keywords into that site. What credible sources come up in your
search? Repeat this step with at least one more digital library/organization. In the textbox, type the titles
of 6–8 of the most relevant results along with the corresponding hyperlinks so you can locate these
resources later. Note which digital library/organization you used to find each study.
Theme: Performing the Research
Investigation, learning block 3-1
(page 3)
Theme: Performing the Research
Investigation, learning block 3-1
(page 4)
Theme: Performing the Research
Investigation, learning block 3-2
(page 2)
Theme: Performing the Research
Investigation, learning block 3-2
(page 4)
Question 8
Question 9
Question 10
Question 11
Question 12
Question 13
Look for information on the websites of professional organizations that are related to your social science
issue. Collect any information, links, articles, reports, or other resources that are relevant to your issue;
capture this additional information in the textbox. Again, be sure to include links to your resources so you
can easily locate them later.
Begin by noting the title of the resource and including a link to it. Is this source current? Note the
publication date or a date indicating when the content was last updated.
Is this source relevant? Note the portion of the text that you believe clearly relates to your research
question. Consider whether this source provides an overview of the issue you are interested in, or
whether it makes some specific important point.
Is this source accurate? Note whether the source has been published in a peer-reviewed journal or
credible organization, and the organization’s name. Note whether the source includes a list of references
and citations. Give your opinion on the source’s presentation—is it clear, organized, professional, and
free of errors?
Is this source authoritative? Note the author’s credentials. If no author is given, note whether the
publishing organization is credible, and the organization’s name again.
Are there any red flags that make you concerned that this source may not be scholarly? For example, are
there any clearly biased passages? Are the references all very old? Are there many spelling and
grammatical errors? Note any and all concerns you may have.
Theme: Performing the Research
Investigation, learning block 3-3
(page 3)
Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Each short response should be about 2 to 3 sentences in length unless specifically noted otherwise in the instructions. Follow the
instructions at the bottom of Theme: Performing the Research Investigation, learning block 3-4 (page 2), to download your work and submit it to your
instructor as a single Microsoft Word document uploaded in the learning environment. Refer to the Submitting Webtext Assignments Guide for assistance on
downloading, saving, and submitting this assignment.
Critical Elements
Engagement and Relevance
Proficient (100%)
Written responses directly and
comprehensively address short answer
prompts, drawing from presented
course concepts and terminology
Critical Thinking
Written responses demonstrate
understanding of course content
through inclusion of original ideas and
examples
Needs Improvement (75%)
Written responses are topically related
to short answer prompts, but
responses do not consistently draw
from presented course concepts and
terminology
Written responses demonstrate
understanding of course content
through reiteration of provided
materials but do not consistently
include original ideas and examples
Not Evident (0%)
Written responses do not address
topics identified in short answer
prompts
Value
60
Written responses do not reflect
original ideas and examples
30
Critical Elements
Articulation of Response
Proficient (100%)
Written responses are captured in
complete sentences without errors
impacting legibility and the clarity of
response
Needs Improvement (75%)
Written responses are captured in
incomplete sentences or include
numerous errors that negatively impact
legibility and the clarity of response
Not Evident (0%)
No written responses are captured in
complete sentences
Total
Value
10
100%