Research Process and Project Report Evaluation Criteria

1)  Was your research process designed to answer a well-focused question, avoiding the traps of generalization too broad to be covered ("all about China") and specification so narrow as to be obvious to scholars ("1492")?  Is its purpose clearly related to the case and paper in question?

2)  Do you clearly describe a research process that uses expert resources such as the library online catalogue, and databases available through the library's online resources?  Does that process use search vocabulary of sufficient accuracy and inventiveness to discover what information there is to be found to answer your search question?

3)  Are the sources you select of sufficient scholarly quality (author's credentials and journal or press), currency (date), and number to support any conclusions asserted in the report?  Does the report avoid exaggerating the certainty of its conclusions?

4)  Is the report of your results clearly and concisely written so that a scholarly audience would understand it?  Does it follow the conventions of MLA style, including title, page numbering, and in-text source citations?