GGR305 Biogeography

Research Question Assignment Rubric

Worth 5% of your final grade, this assignment is due Friday, Jan 31 by 11:59pm; Late submissions (after Jan 31) will occur  10% penalty per day (including weekends) for maximum five days. Assignments submitted five calendar days beyond the due date will be assigned a grade of zero.

Basic Requirements:

•   Your assignment should be typed, and use 12pt Times font (or similar), double-spaced, submitted as a PDF file.

•   Make sure your name and student number are on your assignment.

•   You do not need a cover page.

•   Do not use direct quotes. Marks will be deducted if you use direct quotes to answer any of the questions listed under item number 3 below.

Marking Scheme:

Total point possible = 100

1.   Research question (10 pts)

Provide the research question you plan on addressing in your term paper. This research question is the foundation for your paper and must be sufficiently clear to ensure appropriate focus for your research paper.

It can be more than one sentence. It should be phrased as a question. It should be related to biogeography  either  using  one  of  the  three  suggested  question  approaches  (on  assignment guideline) or have a component that considers a taxon’s geographic distribution in some way (over time, in relation to limiting factors or humans, etc.)

10 pt- a clear and creative research question; grammatically correct. Appropriate for course.

9 pts- a clear but not creative question. (i.e. how has the geographic distribution of the X changed over time?). Appropriate for course.

7 pts- appropriate question but grammatically incorrect or not actually phrased as a question (but topic is appropriate in scope).

5 pts- grammatically incorrect and too broad and/or not appropriate for a course.

2 pts- so unclear/vague/poorly written you cannot figure out what the question is.

2. Reference list (10 pts)

After using your key words/phrases to search scholarly article databases, provide the full reference for at least five articles relevant to your research question. Please follow APA style. These must be scholarly journal articles. Not websites/books/magazine articles.

2 pts- for each relevant article given in APA format, up to 5 articles.

1 pt- for each relevant article if not in APA format, up to 5 articles.

3. Choose one of the five articles you identified, answer the following questions. (80 pts)

For one of the five articles you identify, please read it carefully and answer the following questions (make sure it is clear which article you have selected to answer the questions). You cannot use a review paper to answer these questions; make certain that the article is a primary source. In other words, it involves some type of data (e.g. field observations, samples of material, computer simulated data) that is analyzed and does not just provide a review of other scholarly papers.

1)  What is the research question(s) that this paper is trying to answer? (10 pts)

10 pt- a clear statement (one or more sentences) of the research question in their article; grammatically correct.

7 pts- Some uncertainty what the research questions is/grammatical mistakes in writing.

5 pts- direct quoting (with or without quotes) from the article they read.

2 pts- so unclear/vague/poorly written you cannot figure out what the question is.

2)  How is the research question addressed? In three to five sentences, please identify the type of data used (field observations, samples of material, computer simulated data, or something else) and how the data were analyzed.  In other words, what methods were used in the paper. (15 pts)

15 pts- clearly stated description of data and analysis. No grammatical mistakes. Obvious student understands what the methods were.

12 pts- Methods stated. Either some uncertainty what the details could have been give and/ or grammatical errors.

7 pts- direct quotes of data used or methods. Or they used their own words, but did not include both parts (data and methods). Length of answer way off.

2 pts- so unclear/vague/poorly written you cannot figure out what the data/methods are.

3)  In  three  to  five  sentences,  please  explain  why  you  think  this  paper  was  published (addressing a basic gap in knowledge, testing a new hypothesis, applying an existing hypothesis or theory in a new situation, or something else). This information may be stated in the introduction of the paper and/or be your interpretation of the paper’s contribution. (15 pts)

             15 pts- clearly stated explanation that is more than just repeating the  specific research

question. No grammatical mistakes. Obvious  student understands what paper adds to knowledge.

12  pts-  A  reasonable  reason  given.  Either  some  uncertainty  about  the  details/weak argument and/or grammatical errors.

7  pts-   direct  quotes  used.   Or  they  used  their   own  words,  but   do  not  provide   a clear/convincing explanation. Length of answer way off.

2 pts- so unclear/vague/poorly written you cannot figure out what the reason is.

4)  In one paragraph, describe the major findings or conclusions of the paper. (20 pts)

20 pts- clearly provides findings or conclusions that seems reasonable and are very well described. No grammatical mistakes. Obvious student understands.

17 pts- A reasonable set of findings is given. Either some uncertainty about the details (or lack of details) and/or grammatical errors.

10  pts-  direct  quotes  used.  Or  they  used  their  own  words,  but  do  not  provide  a clear/convincing set of findings. Length of answer way off.

5 pts- so unclear/vague/poorly written you cannot figure out what the reason is.

5)  In one paragraph, explain how this paper is relevant to the question you are researching for your term paper.  You must justify your choice/explanation by providing a logical rationale. (20 pts)

20 pts- clearly provides justification that is more than ‘on the same topic’. No grammatical mistakes. Obvious student understands article.

17 pts- A reasonable reason and justification. Either some superficiality to reasons and/or grammatical errors.

10  pts-  direct  quotes  used.  Or  they  used  their  own  words,  but  do  not  provide  a clear/convincing reason or justification. Length of answer way off.

5 pts- so unclear/vague/poorly written you cannot figure out what the reason is.