Summary of Class 01: We had an orientation for the autumn course, explaining the documents below, including what is expected of you and how you can excel in the new research. You learned about the course introduction and requirements, goal-setting, an introduction to social, political, and business issues, web-based research and websites, and the option to choose a research topic of your interest.

Finding-Research-Successful-Paper_GravesVye-5-1

How will your grade be calculated? 

Homework (40%)

MLA Academic Presentation (20%)

IELTS Practice Final (20%) -The goal is a 6.5 score, not a 9.0!

Class Participation, including 4,000 points on Free Rice (20%)

Total = 100% 

Finally, we discussed the homework below. You will choose one issue and conduct research and upload it to your Google Doc.

Please upload your homework to the shared Google Drive file by 1 p.m. on Tuesday, the day before Class 02.

Note: Please do not rely solely on Japanese language research and translation, as this does not support your English reading skills. While some research on law and Japan is acceptable, a more comprehensive approach would involve exploring English-language studies across a variety of publications, rather than relying on a single source.

1. Your homework is due and has been uploaded to your Google Doc on Sunday at Midnight before Class 02. Please research the SAME research issue using 2 Internet, book, newspaper, or journal articles about a topic you are passionate about discussing. The theme should be Basic Information about an environmental, global, legal, political, or social issue you are very interested in. Then take two pages of notes for each reading or viewing using the keywords on the pages. Remember to include the author’s name(s), date, and page or paragraph numbers in your notes. This will help you find and document your work later. These actions will help you avoid copying and pasting when taking notes, and instead summarize in your own words or use “quotation marks” to highlight the authors’ exciting thoughts, data, and vocabulary. 
2. We will do this part in Communication Session 02: Typing the APA reference for your research. As best you can, please try to type the American Psychological Association (APA) formatted references in the document above your notes for Research Articles #1. You can download an APA quick guide below for your reference. This means when you put the reference and the URL link in your doc. You will never lose your readings, and they are all in one place.

Homework to Upload According to Chappy’s Easy Instructions:

1. Choose Your Research Topic

• Choose two articles about the same or closely connected research issues.
• Go back to the articles and any other readings or viewings you chose and find basic information about your issue.
• Save the URLs/links so you can find the sources again later and copy/paste them under: Communication Session 02 Research Notes: Articles #1 and #2,

2. Take Notes

• Take 3–4 pages of notes by hand.
• Use keywords and phrases rather than copying complete sentences whenever possible.
• Summarize the information in your own words as much as possible.
• You may use charts, diagrams, colors, or other formats to organize your notes.

When taking notes, record the following information whenever possible:

• Author or organization
• Date published
• Title
• Publisher or website
• URL
• Important information related to your research issue

Whenever possible, especially when you use a “direct quotation,” also record the page number and paragraph number. This will help you locate the original information later and avoid plagiarism.

3. Upload Your Notes to the Google Doc I send an invitation to you by email:

• Take clear pictures of your handwritten notes.
• Upload the pictures to the Google Drive file shared with me.
• Please make sure that your name is included in the file.
• Also paste the URL(s) of your sources into the Google Doc.

4. Prepare for Class 02

For Class 02, please do your best to organize and edit the information about your articles using the example/template below.

I will teach you how to do this in Communication Session 02, and I can help you edit your APA-formatted references.

The URL is the most important information to include at this stage.

The more carefully you do this work now, the easier your presentation will be later.

Article Information Template

Author/Organization:
Date Published:
Title:
Publisher/Website:
URL:

Research Issue:
Briefly explain the issue you are researching and how this article is connected to it.

Write APA in-text citations like this:

With pages: (p. 8, ______ section, para. 2)

Without pages: (______ section, para. 1)

The details needed are:

Last name, initial. (20??). Title of the article. Publisher. https//:…..

Note-taking Sample on the Internet and Privacy Issues:

Shahbaz, A., & Funk, A. (2020). Freedom on the net 2020. Freedom House. 

https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/202010/10122020_FOTN2020_Complete_Report_FINAL.pdf 

Note-taking Sample on the Connections Between Child Labor and Poverty:

Congdon Fors, H. (2012). Social globalization and child labor. University of Gothenburg: Working Papers in Economics 533. https://core.ac.uk/reader/16333210

And here are the links and docs for your homework below for your convenience:

A Very Quick Guide to APA 7th

APA 7th Edition Quick Guide

Databases to collect research for your APA research: 

This URL has a list of issues to choose from–> Zenbird Media: Topics & Issues: This website is suitable for researching issues related to your local community or Japan in general, in English.

Carrot 2: Carrot helps you find topics related to your search term. After entering the term and clicking ‘search,’ you can view the results as a list, treemap, or pie chart, which helps you visualize your issue and narrow your search at the same time.

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): DOAJ is a community-designed and maintained online journal directory that provides you with access to robust, open-access, peer-reviewed journals. This search engine is independent and free, and it is indexed in DOAJ. Please use this engine to find topical issues and authors, and you might find research that provides evidence for your academic essay. DOAJ is an educational outreach search engine that focuses on high-quality applications and submissions.

Google Scholar: Google Scholar helps you do broad or narrow searches of articles. It also helps you cite your “references” in APA.

CORE Research Engine UK: This research search engine claims to be the largest open-access research database in the world, providing free access to informative, easy-to-understand information.

This URL has a list of issues to choose from–> About Global Issues–Specifically in relation to Chuo University Faculty of Law English courses. The team hopes that this website is helpful to students and others in Japan (and in other countries) in developing their knowledge and critical understanding of different global issues.

The ASC1 Information Sheet