Literature Review and Introduction

Literature Review and Introduction

 Research begins in the library. The first stage of any experiment is to conduct an extensive literature review into the topic to be studied. This is generally completed by searching popular scientific databases to locate and review other studies completed on similar topics. The purpose of an extensive literature review is to become more familiar with the current findings available, influence the methodology that you will use to complete your experiment, and educate yourself further on the topic at hand. Additionally, the literature review is then utilized to produce the introduction to your study, which serves the purpose of educating the reader as to the current knowledge within the field of study.

 Begin this assignment by reading the “Introduction to Scientific Writing, A Strategy for Writing the Paper” and “How Do I Write the…Introduction” as listed in your required readings. Then, read the scientific journal article from Selhorst and Lal (2011) paying particular attention to how the introduction is written.  

 Now assume that you want to study the effects of farming on water quality. As explained, the first step is to conduct a literature review on the topic. In order to complete this assignment you are to use ProQuest, located within the Ashford University Library, to locate at least seven scholarly sources on the topic of farming and water quality. You are to list the sources and then provide a two- to three-sentence summary of each source and explain how each will help your understanding of the topic.

 Secondly, you are to write a two- to three-page introduction section for your proposed research on the effects of farming on water quality that uses all of the sources from your literature review. You should use the knowledge learned through this week- readings to formulate an accurate and concise picture of the current knowledge surrounding the effects of farming on water quality. Reading through the introduction sections of your seven sources and the paper by Selhorst and Lal (2011) should provide you with numerous strong examples of how an introduction should be written. Your paper must be formatted according to APA (6th ed.) style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.