Background for Issues
During these tough economic times, many businesses are struggling.  Outsourcing is one of the main issues that comes up nowadays.  Some say outsourcing overseas eliminates jobs in the U.S., while others beg to differ.

Summary of Project’s Purpose and How Will Accomplish It
The purpose of my project is to determine whether or not international outsourcing is beneficial for the U.S. to engage in.  I will accomplish this by researching the pros and cons of outsourcing.  

Working Title:  Outsourcing: Good or Bad for the U.S.?

Questions to be Answered
Key Question:  Is international outsourcing a beneficial economic activity for the U.S. to engage in?
Sub-Questions:  How many jobs are lost due to outsourcing overseas?  How many jobs are gained due to outsourcing?  What are the dangers of outsourcing overseas?  What are the benefits of outsourcing?  What services do U.S. businesses outsource?  What do foreign companies outsource to the U.S.?

Locate Website that Provides response to at least 1 question (APA Annotated Bibliography)

Lamb-Hale, N. (2012, January 20). The manufacturing council: A public/private sector partnership for progress. Retrieved from http://blog.trade.gov/2012/01/20/the-manufacturing-council-a-publicprivate-sector-partnership-for-progress/

Summary
This trade.gov website points out the cons of outsourcing.  In the blog article contained on this website, the U.S. Department of Commerce says they are striving to help U.S. manufacturers.  So they are against outsourcing manufacturing jobs overseas.  This website also contains the Free Trade Agreement, which helps decrease trade barriers between countries and makes it easier and cheaper for the U.S. to export to those in the trade agreement.  There are graphs which show the amount of exports to imports as well.    

Assessment
I think this source will be very useful in my research.  From what I gather, this website really promotes U.S. manufacturing and strives to increase the amount of U.S. exports, because the U.S. is importing a lot more than exporting.  I definitely think this website is reliable, because it’s a government website for the International Trade Association and U.S. Department of Commerce.  I don’t think this source is biased because again, it’s a government website.

Reflection
I will probably use this website in my project because it brings out the cons of outsourcing overseas and stresses the importance of U.S. manufacturing.  Before I was pretty set on explaining on how outsourcing overseas is overall beneficial for the U.S., but now this makes me question that a little bit just because of all the U.S. manufacturing jobs going overseas.  Because a lot of our manufacturing has gone overseas, we don’t have near as many U.S. exports.

Is this website valuable for my project?  Explain.

I think this website is valuable for my project because like I said, it points out the major cons of outsourcing, which is what I will need in my project.