Homework: Legal Forms of Business
Overview
The purpose of this homework is to explore the extent to which the Internet can provide useful information.
The question you are trying to answer is, What are the different legal forms of business, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each, including liability issues?
Complete the four parts in order.
Part I: What's Out There?
Search the Internet.
i. Formulate questions or phrases designed to generate keywords that might inform this issue. For example, if you are trying to determine how using a corporate form of business affects personal liability your keywords might be personal liability and corporations.
ii. Use any search engine (Google Scholar or other), and as many different key words, phrases, or questions as you like, to come up with at least 10 possible sources that specifically address the topic statement listed above. This homework asks you to do the "legwork" necessary to come up with an answer for this topic statement, by developing your own list of top three sources that could help you answer this question.
Part II: What's Useful?
i. Evaluate each source that you find to determine whether that source helps you answer the question. Ask yourself if it really attempts to answer the question, and if it does, what answer it provides.
Part III: What's Credible?
i. Evaluate each source to determine whether you trust it. Use the guidelines in the Internet Research tab of the Undergraduate First Course Research Guide to help you decide how credible each resource is.
ii. List all of the resources you found in order of their credibility, starting with the most credible sources. You will need to end up with at least three that you trust. If you have fewer than three, go back to Part 1, and work through the process again until your list of credible sources totals at least three.
Part IV: What to Turn In
i. Prepare a three-column chart with the headings Sources, Relevant (yes or no) , and Credibility Rating (1-10) , with 1 being most credible. Include all of the sources you found. (See the Evaluating Sources Chart Example linked in the Resources.)
ii. Provide a short explanation (one page or less) that describes what you learned from this homework, including:
• How and/or where you can find potential answers to the question listed above.
• Ideas about what you might do differently if you had a similar homework in the future.
Your homework will be scored on the following criteria:
i. Evaluate credibility of Internet sources.
ii. Evaluate the usefulness of resources for a specific topic.
iii. Explain lessons learned through the practice of critical evaluation.
iv. Communicate using appropriate spelling, grammar, usage, and mechanics.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
i) The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
ii) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
iii) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.