Documenting Your Research

From taking

notes to

creating a list

of works cited

Taking Research Notes

0Create a new page of notes for each source of information

0Place bibliographic reference at top of page0Note page number/paragraph number in margin

0 Separate notes from each new page/paragraph by skipping a line

0Record information in your own words0 Do not cut and paste from websites 0 Place quotation marks around any wording that you

choose to copy word for word

Taking Notes from a Print Source

Taking Notes from a Web Source

For More Detailed InformationVisit the Workshop section of the class website if you want more detailed information on:0How to record information in your notes READ

Taking Research Notes0How to record a correct bibliographic reference for a

variety of source materials READ Preparing a List of Works Cited

0How to find useful, reliable information for your research project READ Evaluating Sources AND How to do a Better Google Search

Citing Your Sources0You need to cite:

0 Direction quotations0 Factual information that is not common knowledge0 References to someone else’s opinions, especially if they

are controversial0 Data, images, graphs, etc. that are not your own work0 Data, information and opinions that are contentious or

changeable0Citations should be placed as close to the referenced

material as possible (not necessarily at the end of the sentence)

0Citations always come before any punctuation

Citing A Source with Page Numbers

If you wanted to cite material from these notes: Your citation would need:

0Author’s last name (Cantor)

0Page number of information (e.g. 5)

0 It would look like:(Cantor 5)

Citing A Source with Paragraph Numbers

If you wanted to cite material from these notes: Your citation would need:

0Author’s last name (Maspero)

0Paragraph number of information (e.g. par. 12)

0 It would look like:(Maspero par. 12)

In a paragraph in your final paper your citations would look like this:

Around 6000 BCE, civilization developed in Egypt. At this time, humans had already learned to farm (Cantor 4) and to use fire (Maspero par. 2). The presence of the Nile, as a natural source of fertile soil and irrigation, was key to the development of the Egyptian civilization, which began as a series of independent city states. These states would eventually be united into a single kingdom by Menes though the exact date of union is unclear (Maspero par. 3).

For More Detailed InformationVisit the Workshop section of the class website if you want more detailed information on:0The difference between factual information that must

be cited and factual information that is common knowledge READ Citing Your Sources

0How to format a citation properly READ Citing Your Sources

0How to incorporate a quotation into your writing and properly cite its source READ Incorporating Quotations AND Citing Your Sources

The Basics of a List of Works Cited

0 It comes at the end of your paper on a new page0Give it the title: Works Cited0Double space EVERYTHING using handing

indentations to show that information on multiple lines is connected

0List everything in alphabetical order by author’s last name

0 If the source doesn’t give an author, place it in alphabetical order by title (But ignore starting words like The and A)

Your list of works cited for the sample sources used in this presentation would look like:

For More Detailed InformationVisit the Workshop section of the class website if you want more detailed information on:0How to record a correct bibliographic reference for a

variety of source materials READ Preparing a List of Works Cited

0How to properly format the list of Works Cited at the end of your paper READ Preparing a List of Works Cited

0How to properly format an essay READ Essay Formatting