How to Write A Research Paper
Table of Contents
RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH
Introduction
Oh No, You have been given the dreaded assignment of a research paper. Your heart starts beating faster; your palms get sweaty, but don’t worry. Writing a great research paper is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. You put it together piece by piece, and then you have a completed project. The key to a great research paper is staying organized and focused. It is important to follow these steps, as each step builds on the previous steps. Now let’s get started!
Choosing A Topic
In my opinion, this is the most difficult step of the whole process. Give yourself plenty of time to figure out exactly what you want to research.
Too broad: More specific:
Animals Crocodiles
Brainstorming techniques
1. Start with a pencil and paper, and write everything that comes into your head.
2. Keep writing for 3-5 minutes. Don’t concern yourself about spelling or grammar.
3. Now, read what you’ve written. Most will be thrown out, but some of what is written may give you an idea.
Thesis Statement
This is what makes the research paper a research paper. This component is key in the success or failure of your project. This serves as a preview for the paper and also tells the reader what will be proved or disproved.
Gather Resources
This is where your research will begin. You will want to allow yourself plenty of time to gather resources. Think of this process as a staircase, with each resource as a step. You will probably use both print and online resources. You will probably not find everything in one trip to the library, nor will you find everything on the Internet. As you uncover your research, you will discover more about your topic and will be directed to even more resources.
Library
Take a trip to the library. Use the online catalog known as OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog.) If you find a book that is helpful in your research, check the bibliography at the back of the book. This may lead you to more helpful resources. Try to use as many resources as you can. Don’t rely on just one source for all of your information.
Check out other print materials available in the Library:
If an item from the catalog is not on the shelf, take note of the call number and look at items in this call number range. Look in their indexes and bibliographies for other titles, which may be useful in your search. Make note of any new call numbers, for use in another library. Think of this as a scavenger hunt, each finding is a clue that leads you to another resource.
Internet Resources
To research your topic using the internet, you might want to start with a search engine. Below are several different categories of search engines you may wish to use.
General Search Engines
My personal favorite search engine for its ease of use. This site claims to provide access to over 8 billion web pages. In addition, they provide many added features such as: stock quotes, maps and even package tracking. Through Froogle, a shopping site, seekers can find items on the internet for sale. This site uses combination of factors in returning hits. These are popularity, importance (traffic and quality of links) and occurrence in results and word proximity. http://www.google.com
This site was started in 1995 in Palo Alto, CA. Their goal was for people to have an easy way to search the ever expanding web. This site enables you to search for web pages, images and even MP3 files. This site offers the Web's first Internet machine translation service that can translate words, phrases or entire Web sites to and from English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian and Russian. http://www.altavista.com
This site offers a nice layout, which resembles a web page rather than a plain search page. This site allows users to block offensive content with the click of a button. Lists different top 10 lists based on recent searches. http://www.lycos.com
This is rated one of the best search engines on the net. Unique feature of SearchSpy allows you to view in real time what other people are searching for in a filtered or unfiltered capacity. http://www.excite.com
Yahoo is more a directory, rather than a search engine. This ranks very high due to its relevance of results. This is because every site listed has been filtered by humans. http://www.yahoo.com
Meta Search Engines
Imagine being able to search several search engines at once. Well, that is exactly what Meta Search Engines provide. You type in a keyword and the Meta search engine will send your information out to several databases. Within seconds you are given the best of the best from these search engines.
Metacrawler – Excellent search engine. If you want the best results from search engines, then this is the place to come. This site pulls from 8 of the leading search engines, such as: Google, AskJeeves and Yahoo! This site was developed at the University of Washington.
Dogpile – With Arfie the netpet, Dogpile pulls from 13 search engines to return the most popular combined results. Dogpile allows you to “refine you search”, where it will organize and group your results, so you can hone in on the best possible match. This site bills itself as the “Top Dog” in the mega search world.
But before you get started, let’s discuss some search strategies.
Search Strategies
Learning basic search strategies is the key to effectively and efficiently search online databases and the Web. First you must identify keywords; these are what will help define your topic. One of the basic techniques in searching is to use Boolean Operators. This is a system that creates relationships between concepts and words. Some of these are AND, OR and NOT.
Using the AND Operator
Using AND in your search strategy is asking to look for two or more terms in the search.
For example: Maryland and Tourism
Using the OR Operator
Using OR in your search strategy will broaden your search, to find either or both topics.
For example: Maryland OR Mid Atlantic States
Using the NOT Operator
Use NOT before a term to exclude it from your result.
For example: Martin Luther NOT King
Evaluating Websites
Here are eight ways of checking information on web sites. Keep these in mind when reviewing internet sources
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The Quiz
The Checklist Summary
QUICK – The Quality Information Checklist. 15 May 2000. Center for Health Information Quality 22 July 2005. <www.quick.org.uk>
Note Taking
Now that you have started your research, you should organize your information on note cards. This will help you organize your thoughts, and will make writing your final report much easier. It’s recommended that you use 3”x5” index cards. It’s a good idea to assign your note cards numbers that correspond to the resource being used. So, when creating a note card for the first time, you will also need to also create a bibliography card for that source.
Sample Note Card
Sample Bibliography Card (General Format)
Citing Sources
Remember, using someone’s work without giving them credit is the same thing as stealing. As you gather your resources, make note of full biographical information (author, title, city of publication, publisher, date of publication, and page numbers.)
APA Citation Style
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Wilcox, R. V. (1991). Shifting roles and synthetic women in Star Trek:
Dubeck, L. (1990). Science fiction aids science teaching. Physics
Di Rado, A. (1995, March 15). Trekking through college: Classes Article from an Internet Database Mershon, D. H. (1998, November-December). Star Trek on the brain:
Book Okuda, M., & Okuda, D. (1993). Star Trek chronology: The history
James, N. E. (1988). Two sides of paradise: The Eden myth according
Sturgeon, T. (1995). Science fiction. In The encyclopedia Americana
Fuss-Reineck, M. (1993). Sibling communication in Star Trek: The Next
Lynch, T. (1996). DS9 trials and tribble-ations review. Retrieved
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Notes
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Citation information provided by:
Delaney, Robert. APA Citation Style. 20 Oct 2003. Long Island University. Retrieved 21 July 2005. <http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm>
Outline
Now you’re moving into the home stretch. It’s time to create your outline. An outline is the organizational map for your paper. Your starting point is your introduction and thesis or research question. A conclusion is your final destination. But how are you going to get from one to the other? Now take a deep breath, and we will begin. You're probably intimidated by the research materials and notes collected in front of you --not to worry.
Carefully read the notes you took from the last step. Try to find classifications for your findings that relate to your thesis or research question. Look for common trends. They're going to be separated on the outline, but let’s put them together for now. Organize your categories from strong to weak points. You may need to do more research on your weaker points. At this point, if your research supports a different thesis or research question, you may need to change it. This is the true sign of a good researcher. Without changing your thesis or research question, readers will not understand your research.
Typical Outline Format
Sample Outline
Title "The Benefits of Running"
Excerpted and adapted from Writing Research Papers, by Melissa Walker
Outline Template
Title ______________________________
Avoiding Plagiarism
What constitutes plagiarism?
· Use of another person’s words or ideas without stating where they came from. A form of theft.
Why Be concerned?
· It’s dishonest
· It’s unfair to you and other students
· It’s illegal under the Copyright Act of 1968.
There are two types of plagiarism:
Deliberate and Accidental .
These are self explanatory, but regardless of
intent the act of plagiarism is still wrong and illegal.
+____________________________________________________________
Northwestern University offers the following steps to avoid plagiarism
The St. Martin's Handbook defines plagiarism as "the use of someone else's words or ideas as [the writer's] own without crediting the other person" (Lunsford and Connors 602).
(Notice the use of brackets to mark a change in the wording of the original.)
Writing the Rough Draft
Believe it or not, this is the least time consuming aspect of your research paper. Review your notes and your outline. This is where all of your hard work starts to pay off. Upon your review, just free write and allow yourself the opportunity to express all you have learned. Make certain to keep in mind your thesis statement. Off you go!
Cite Sources and Create a Bibliography
If you have been diligent about citing resources on your note cards, then this step is simple. Gather all of your bibliography cards and create a bibliography. Remember it is important to give credit where credit is due.
Revising Your Rough Draft
How to Revise a Rough Draft
Writing a rough draft helps you clarify your ideas for yourself. Revising a rough draft clarifies your ideas for others.
Steps:
1. Make sure that the paper topic is focused and specific.
2. Review the thesis statement. Is it clear and precise? Does it firmly establish the aim of the paper?
3. Look at the individual paragraphs of the paper. Make sure the topic of each paragraph is clear and the paragraph's goal is accomplished. Give adequate examples, quotations and explanations to reinforce arguments.
4. Ask yourself whether each paragraph is effective. If it is not, figure out why. If the paragraph is too short, perhaps it should be cut from the paper. If it's too long, maybe it needs to be reworked or split it into more than one paragraph.
5. Number the paragraphs in order from weakest to strongest argument. The paper s should build toward its conclusion and end strongly.
6. Ask yourself whether the general purpose of the paper has been accomplished by the time you reach the end.
7. Go back and look at the smaller, basic elements of the paper, such as grammar, style and syntax. Check for run-on sentences, sentence fragments and errors in grammar and spelling.
8. Make sure paragraphs and sentences flow well. The transition from one paragraph to the next should be clear, yet fluid. Combine or shorten sentences when necessary.
9. Find an alternate way of expressing any word or phrase that is overused. Use a thesaurus.
10. Make sure all references to research materials are correctly cited.
Tips: Write your revisions and corrections in a color that stands out, such as red or green. After revising the body of the paper, consider rewriting the opening and closing paragraphs so that they better reflect the content of the paper. Have someone else proofread your paper before you turn it in
How to Revise A Rough Draft . 2005. eHow, Inc. 22 July 2005. < http://www.ehow.com/how_2856_revise-rough-draft.html>
Type Your Final Paper
This is the light at the end of your tunnel. Type your paper reflecting the changes you made to the rough draft. Relax, and pop open a soda…you deserve it. Well done!
