Warm Up #2 - Article Analysis

Due Date: Monday, January 29th, in class. [Note change in due date.]
NO assignments accepted after 10:00 a.m.

• Find a secondary source, i.e., an article in a general periodical (see, Source Categories &Distribution Requirements for a definition) that will be a valuable source for your project.

• Analyze the article using the criteria discussed in class, in Chapter 10, "Trust, Truth and Thoughtful Assumptions" in The Search, and on the How to Critically Analyze Information Sources page from Cornell University.

• Write a citation (see, Citation Style Guide ) for the article. The citation should be at the top of the first page of your assignment.

• Answer all of the following questions. Your answers must be typed and double-spaced. Answer the questions in the order listed. Attach a copy of the analyzed article to your answer. This assignment may not be submitted via e-mail.

1. What is the nature of the organization that publishes the periodical in which the article appeared?
What assumptions, if any, can we make about the article based on the publisher?

2. What is the nature of the article (e.g., news, opinion, analysis)?
What assumptions, if any, can we make about the article based on its category?

3. Does the author have special knowledge of the subject?

4. How does the author define the major public policy issue or issues discussed in the article?
What causal relationships are asserted or suggested?

5. Write a good one sentence statement of the public policy issue described in the article.

6. List the most important contributory factors identified in the article (maximum of five).

7. List the experts identified (maximum of five) and briefly (one sentence per expert) explain the value of each expert to your research.

8. List the most valuable facts in the article (maximum of five) and briefly (one sentence per fact) explain the value of each one to your research.

A
No spelling or grammatical errors.
Complete article citation in proper form.
All eight questions answered well.
Good article selection (i.e., an article that will be a good source for your project).