W233
Instructor Name
Assignment #3: Primary Research
In The Subject Is Research, a primary researcher is described as someone who “looks at
sources and makes sense of them rather than relying on what others in texts have
concluded . . . . The kind of knowledge the primary researcher gathers—through
observation, survey, and interview—depends on the analytical skills of the
researcher/writer. Primary research allows the student . . . to become a real authority,
presenting research and results to readers who cannot know the subject as well (Bishop &
Zemliansky, 2001, pp. 69-70).
This assignment will provide you, as both researchers and writers, to explore firsthand
information that you have gathered and analyzed, and to present it to your audience as
proof that you have both researched the topic and will be able to implement that
information later in the semester.
Assignment
Based on the same topic and issue you have already written about in your first 2
assignments, gather, summarize and analyze 2 forms of primary research.
1. Everyone must EITHER conduct a one-on-one personal interview with someone
considered an expert or authority on the subject OR do an original survey.
2. If conducting an interview, be sure to get the handout on REX, “Interview as
Research.”
a) Read the handout carefully, both before and after you’ve done the
interview
b) The interview should be fact-to-face and last at least 15 to 20 minutes
c) Type out your questions beforehand (using the handout mentioned above
and your textbook readings as guidelines).
d) Record the interviewee’s responses on that same sheet, allowing lots of
room for their answers
e) Ask both the kinds of questions you need answered (that haven’t been
covered in your print sources, for example) AND similar ones that will
show any parallels between your primary and secondary sources.
3. If doing a survey or questionnaire, be sure to get the handout on REX,
“Questionnaires,” and follow the guidelines listed.
a) You need to have at least 30 respondents for the survey (and might want to
have a few more; you may not get 30 back)
b) All 30 of the respondents’ surveys will need to be included in your final
folder, as evidence of your research
c) Type out the survey and use a simple explanation at the top of the survey
to explain to the respondents the reason for it
d) Keep the survey anonymous
e) Include brief demographic information at the top (such as age, sex,
education, etc.)
4. The 2nd primary research source could include any of the following:
 Recent classroom notes you’ve taken (within the past year)
 Another interview (this one could be via telephone or email)
 Someone else’s printed interview or survey
 Notes from a lecture or speech you’ve attended
 Written transcripts of speeches, legal proceedings, court decisions
 Legislative texts (bills and laws)
 Government agencies’ reports and statistical records
 Congressional hearings
 Business memos or company policy statements (or school
corporations/building handbooks for both students and parents)
 Employee handbooks
 Notes from a videotape or televised program you watched
 A written record of another’s firsthand primary research (which has not
been reviewed by others; possibly one of your previous scholarly journal
articles)
 Original documents like diaries or journals
 Autobiographies
 Case studies
 Chat room discussions or list servs
 An observation you’ve done, over time
Purpose and Audience
Your overall purpose will be to summarize and then interpret these two primary sources,
including both the content of the information and your research process (the methods or
methodology). You may use first person when summarizing this information and
describing the process of how you gathered the information, including when it took
place, where, and the means of the research (such as face-to-face interview, survey, etc.).
Your audience this time will be me, your instructor. You may assume I will have some
knowledge of your topic, but not necessarily a great deal.
Length and Format
1. Your first draft will need to include at least 1 of your 2 sources and be
approximately 2 typed pages. No formal introduction is required, but you will
need to include your methodology and summary for that source.
2. Your second draft will need to include both primary sources, be approximately 3
typed pages or more, and include the methodologies for both sources, as well as a
tentative introduction and References page.
3. Your final draft will be 4 to 5 typed pages, with a polished intro and References
4. Submit all work in a labeled folder, with the following items:
Left Pocket
Writer’s Memo
3rd, final draft
2nd draft
1st draft
Peer response sheet
Prewriting
Right Pocket
Both sources (including the
original interview Q’s & A’s
and/or all 30 surveys)
Specific cited passages
need to be highlighted with
page numbers listed on source
Your Primary Research Paper Should Meet the Following Criteria:
1. The paper should be organized in a logical fashion, with an engaging lead-in
appropriate to your audience.
2. The methodology for each source should clearly explain the procedure involved
in gathering that materials, along with a summary of the main points of that
primary research.
3. Your informative (not argumentative) thesis will be similar to your first two
papers in that it will connect your research issue to your sources in some way.
4. Your sources and the concluding remarks you make about your sources should
echo the information listed in that thesis.
5. Both summary comments and direct references to the material, in the form of
either direct quotes or paraphrases, will follow APA guidelines (Note that there
are few direct quotes used in APA).
6. The paper illustrates the concepts of summarization, analysis, and synthesis.
7. When moving from one source to the next, appropriate transitions will illustrate
the connections between them AND the ideas presented within your individual
paragraphs.
8. Your conclusion will be directly related to the information gathered from your
two primary sources (and should not be a personal opinion of the topic and issue
in question).
9. The final writing project and folder contains all of the appropriate materials and
the requirements of the assignment, including the kind and number of sources and
correct use of APA.
10. The first draft will be peer reviewed; the second, teacher reviewed. Significant
revisions will be expected during the writing of this paper and will be reflected in
your Writer’s Memo.