Do electronic media influence the way children learn, and if so, how? (For instance, is there any research suggesting that children accept internet information less critically than information in print? Do they remember it better, or longer? Do they process it differently?)
	How are websites designed for children and teens? Do the designs respond to the developmental needs of young users? How do the best sites for children differ from the best ones for adults?
	How do books, CD-ROMs, web sites, and other resources in one narrow subject area compare? (For instance, if you like sailing and know a lot about it, you might begin by specifying your criteria for good sailing resources – what information needs to be covered, how illustrations should contribute to understanding, etc. – and then locate and evaluate materials in the different media. Do digital resources necessarily offer better visuals and more interactivity? Do print resources necessarily offer greater depth and accuracy?)

	Content (40%) Central question relevant to course; topic clearly defined Well-developed, meaningful rationale for exploring topic Sources used (e.g., children’s resources, journal articles) relevant Conclusions interesting, useful, and logically based on evidence and argument
	Organization (35%) Coherent; includes information needed for intelligent layperson to follow argument Balanced; emphasizes main points, subordinates details Logical; arguments hang together; full sentences and well-developed paragraphs predominate Individual; own text predominates over quotes and bulleted lists
	Mechanics (25%) Sources are cited appropriately (for figures, details, and unique ideas as well as direct quotes) Style manual followed consistently (recommend Chicago or APA; please note manual you use) Grammar and spelling correct (note spelling of proper names: Katherine Paterson, Cynthia Voigt, Gale Eaton)

Web format: Communicate your work in the form of a web site rather than a term paper – but only if you have content that lends itself to that form of presentation. The grading criteria are essentially the same, and it takes real creativity to infuse serious content into a format that seems to cry out for catchy titles, nifty graphics, bulleted lists, and not too much text. One possibility: Develop a content site (not an unadulterated gateway site, or web-ography) for use by children or teens; express your rationale and conclusions in a brief accompanying essay. Another possibility: Use a web format to analyze the visual features of library home pages for children, linking to the pages you analyze.

Research project: Individually or as a team, design (or design and execute) systematic research on a topic central to this course. Definitions of research: "Research is an inquiry which is carried out, at least to some degree, by a systematic method with the purpose of eliciting some new facts, concepts, or ideas." Peritz, Bluma C. (1980). The methods of library science research: Some results from a bibliometric survey. Library Research 2: 251-268. Research is "an answering of questions by the accumulation and assimilation of facts which lead to the formulation of generalizations that extend, correct, or verify knowledge.... Described in terms of its sequential acts, research is an intellectual process whereby a problem is perceived, divided into its constituent elements, and analyzed in the light of certain basic assumptions; valid and relevant data are collected; hypotheses (if any) are through objective testing rejected, amended, or proved. Shera, Jesse H. (1964). Darwin, Bacon, and research in librarianship. Library Trends 13: 141-149.

Possible research topics include:

Questions that can be answered without the use of human subjects: e.g., by content analysis of library web sites for children and/or teens. For instance, you might do a systematic comparison of a significant number of library web sites and other youth-oriented sites to see which were easier to navigate, more appealing, more informative, etc.

Questions that can be answered only with the use of human subjects: e.g., by survey of children's librarians, or focus groups with kids. For instance, you might recruit twenty fifth graders and have ten of them answer a set of typical homework questions using books while the other ten answered the same questions using the Internet, and find out what information literacy skills and deficits they exhibited in each mode. BUT -- any research involving human subjects MUST be approved by the URI Internal Review Board, which takes time -- and it takes longer if the subjects are minors. (See "URI Requirements" at the GSLIS Research Ethics page, http://www.uri.edu/artsci/lsc/geaton/Ethics/researchethics.htm.)

In the spring of 2004, your instructor will unfortunately not have time to be part of a research team.