CAUTION! This guide is under construction in preparation for the new term
Capstone (LIBS 440) is a senior-level Liberal Arts and Sciences course. It is typically taken at the end of a student's undergraduate program.
The topic of your project should relate to your art and/or design education or practice. You might consider a specific issue or subject matter---remember, you will spend the entire semester researching and writing about this topic, so you should find it deeply engaging. Further, your topic must be approved by your instructor. If you need help deciding on or refining your topic, please reach out to your instructor!
Be sure to refer to your instructor's course page in the Nest for any additional requirements.
Research means finding the best information for the problem that you need to solve.
At the senior level (or in any field where time and money matter) you need to find specific information and that usually means going beyond the first things you find on Google.
Be realistic... the more complex your questions and issues, the more time you need to read and think and evaluate.
Facts are fairly easy to find but you can't make a strong argument on facts alone. You need to go beyond facts for your Capstone paper.
You are going to be asked to explain and interpret and for that you will be using other people's ideas. You may find your position changing as you research; that is the nature of learning.
Mind mapping may be a useful tool for organizing your concepts and keywords.
Do not rely upon one source for most your facts and citations. Get other points of view. Address them in your paper; it will make your argument stronger.
Use a mix of books, articles, statistics, images, and other types of sources.
Seek out the same information intended for different audiences. How is the same bit of information presented for different audiences, from advertising to consumers to news articles to academic essays.
You can also get good information from experts in the field so don't overlook interviewing but remember that material from interviews usually has to be put into context or supports and that means you will need to research in advance.
Unsure how to write an annotation? This form will guide you through the process to draft an evaluative annotation. You will receive an email with the data.
NOTE: Some faculty may require you to use this form. Enter their email address on the first page and they will receive a copy of the email.
Found too many sources? or too few? Get unstuck at the Library.
Finally, don't forget that you can always ask your instructor or a librarian about sources.
You may not use any AI-generated writing or imagery in your paper (unless given explicit approval by your instructor). This qualifies as plagiarism, which is a very serious infraction. Further, relying on AI-generated means you are missing the point of doing creative and critical work.
However, it's okay to use AI as a research tool. It may be used to explore your topic and the work of others. For example, you could enter your research question into an AI engine to see how it interprets it, which might offer direction for you to continue your own original research.
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