5.7 Assessing your research project

Blog 28:  Using the criteria below, write an evaluation of your research project.  You can earn 25 points extra credit if your assessment of your work matches mine.

Essay: 150 points
Data + analysis: 200 points (with check point grades for data + analysis)
Writing process: 150 points

I. Evaluating your final draft:  Use the rubric below (150)

Focus (45): clear statement of the research question(s) + the importance of the research and what it shows
direct statements of what the data shows
set up any background information necessary for the reader to understand the focus
appropriate choice of research essays
data is connected to the focus/makes points with respect to the focus

Audience/genre (40)
uses the correct forms for research essays
uses language the ways it is used in the sample research essays
draws authority from other research and the logic of the argument

Organization (30)
data is presented in the right place
one idea leads logically to the next
definitions/data/categories  are presented and explained before they are "used" or referred to
uses headings + paragrphing in ways suitable for the material
each section develops the focus in a different way

Development (30)
detailed examples from the data to support the points
says what the examples show
connects to the discussion of the research
develops an in-depth (not obvious) discussion of what the data show

Correctness (5)
writing sufficiently clear so as not to confuse the meaning
not so many errors as to distract from the meaning of the text

II. Criteria: Data + analysis were listed on the assignment sheet as follows (200 points):
1. Data will be collected in a written form and posted on the blog or submitted as an attachment to an email, no less than 2 weeks prior to the final due data (eg. Notes from observations, transcripts, documentation of chats/online posts, etc)

2. Notes with a preliminary analysis (categories=names of important features relevant to the research question, etc along with several sections from the data that are examples of those categories) will be submitted no later than one week before the final due data). 

To evaluate your data+ Analysis:List the blog posts which included data + analysis

Discuss the completeness + quality of your data= did you have enough data to provide a broad basis for your project?  Did you have the RIGHT data to develop an exploration of your research question?

Discuss the completeness + quality of your anlaysis= did you identify useful categories?  Did you discover new ideas in your data?  Did your analysis connect to your research question /or generate a new question?

List how many points you think you earned out of 200 and explain why.

III.  Criteria for the Writing process were listed on the assignment sheet as follows (150 points):

The essay will be developed through a series of drafts that demonstrate:

1. a variety of techniques for invention and revision (blog posts for research plan + brainstorming for topic)

2. increased quality of writing and ideas throughout the revision process (posts of successive drafts or sections of drafts)

3. thoughtful analysis of how and what to revise in successive drafts (evidence in blog posts about what you will revise, how you chose your topic, what you need to work on for your project) 

To evaluate your writing process:

List the blog posts that demonstrate your writing process:
Discuss the quality of your writing process in terms of its variety + effectiveness (point 1 above)
Evaluate the quality of your revising process (point 2 above)
Evaluate the "writing about writing" posts where you plan what you need to do, reflect on the effectiveness of what you have done so far & write about what you will work on (point 3 above)

State how many points out of 150 you earned and why,