How to Research a

Paper or Project

The research process follows a step by step

pattern

1. Plan the project

2. Select and refine your topic

3. Find sources/locationsa) Evaluate your sources

4. Organize your findings

5. Present your findings

“Getting Started” skills

1. Plan the project

2. Select and refine your topic

3. Find sources/locations

Time ManagementTime Management

Planning5%

Topic Selection5%

Topic focus15%

Gathering information

30%

Organizing your information

5%

Writing & revising40%

http:core.lib.purdue.edu/plan4.htm

Understanding Your Understanding Your AssignmentAssignment

Format of the project (research paper, oral presentation, design . . .)

Length Audience Assessment criteria Citation style (APA, MLA . . .)

Coming up with a topic

Your interests Talk to instructor and classmates about your

topic Pose your topic as a question to be answered

or a problem to be solved • Brainstorm ideas for a topic• Come up with keywords• Consider using broader & narrower terms

Search Strategy 101

Play with your topic Sub-divisions of your topic? Ideas to cluster? Questions to answer? Problems to solve? Creative stuff to include?

Search StrategySearch Strategy

Penn State University Libraries. (2005). Retrieved August 22, 2005, from http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/infolit/andyou/mod1/idea3.htm

Looking for InformationLooking for Information

Check the library for: Books, magazines, a/v chosen especially f

or you Websites Databases Other libraries Human expertise

Looking for InformationLooking for Information

Check the world wide web for:The Invisible Web (beyond google)Online databasesCurrent information (online newspapers,

articles, studies. . .)The Library’s Best of the Web pages

Going Beyond GoogleGoing Beyond Google

Holland College Library has licensed several databases that provide access to full text articles and current information:

•CINAHLPlus with Full-text•Pubmed•MedlinePlus•Academic Search Elite•ScienceDirect Health & Life Sciences •Cochrane Library

Use subject-based dictionaries for definitions of

concepts and terms within the context of a specialized

field.

Use statistics to substantiate your position, and to support your claims.

Use subject-based encyclopedias to provide

overviews before you search for specific journal

articles.

Use periodicals and journals for articles on current issues or

past research, literature reviews, and professional practices and

developments.

Use newspaper articles for current perspectives on

issues.

Use government publications for information produced by

the Canadian government and government agencies.

Taking NotesTaking Notes

Avoid plagiarismRead the information, think, then put what

you’ve read in your own wordsAvoid cutting and pastingIdentify direct quotesDocument your sources as you take notes

Create descriptive headings / subtopics

Use index cards or paper that can easily be reorganized

Keep the notes shortAdd personal

comments

Taking NotesTaking Notes

http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/notes.shtml

Begin WritingBegin Writing

defined your topic kept your research focused read critically absorbed the useful information

Cite Sources Appropriately

Use the APA style of citing sources in the text.

Use the APA style of listing sources at the end of your paper

Why Use APA Format? Allows readers to

cross-reference your sources easily

Provides consistent format within a discipline

Gives you credibility as a writer

Protects yourself from plagiarism

APA Reference Style: Three Main APA Reference Style: Three Main ConcernsConcerns

Parenthetical Citations

In-Text Citations Reference Page

When Should You Use Parenthetical When Should You Use Parenthetical Citations?Citations?

When summarizing facts and ideas from a sourceSummarizing means to take ideas from

a large passage of another source and condense them, using your own words

When paraphrasing a sourceParaphrasing means to use the ideas

from another source but change the phrasing into your own words

When Should You Use Parenthetical When Should You Use Parenthetical Citations?Citations?

When quoting any words that are not your ownQuoting means to repeat

another source word for word, using quotation marks

Reference ListReference List

A list of every source that you make reference to in your essay.

Provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any sources cited in your essay.

Each retrievable source cited in the essay must appear on the reference page, and vice versa.

ReferencesReferences

Anderson, D. (2001, August 3). Statement by Environment Minister David Anderson on Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Retrieved July 24, 2004, from http://www.ec.gc.ca/Press/2001/010803_s_e.htm

Blicq, R. (2001). Guidelines for report writing. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada.

Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (1995). The craft of research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Harris, R. (2001). The plagiarism handbook. Los Angeles: Pyrczak.

Health Canada. (2004). West Nile virus. Retrieved July 19, 2004, from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/westnile/index.html

Jollimore, M. (2004, June 21). Fuel’s gold: Why Canada’s athletes pay so much attention to what they eat. Time, 163(25), 52-61.

Reitman, J. (2004). The Baghdad follies. Rolling Stone, 952/953, 110-117.

ReferencesReferences

Anderson, D. (2001, August 3). Statement by Environment Minister David Anderson on Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Retrieved July 24, 2004, from http://www.ec.gc.ca/Press/2001/010803_s_e.htm

Blicq, R. (2001). Guidelines for report writing. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada.

Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (1995). The craft of research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Harris, R. (2001). The plagiarism handbook. Los Angeles: Pyrczak.

Health Canada. (2004). West Nile virus. Retrieved July 19, 2004, from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/westnile/index.html

Jollimore, M. (2004, June 21). Fuel’s gold: Why Canada’s athletes pay so much attention to what they eat. Time, 163(25), 52-61.

Reitman, J. (2004). The Baghdad follies. Rolling Stone, 952/953, 110-117.

BookShay, J. (1994). Achilles in Vietnam:

Combat trauma and the undoing of character. New York: Touchstone.

Article in a MagazineKlein, J. (1998, October 5). Dizzy days.

The New Yorker, 40-45.

References: Some ExamplesReferences: Some Examples

Web pagePoland, D. (1998, October 26). The hot button. Roughcut. Retrieved October 28, 1998 from http://www.roughcut.com

Online Database

Edwards, C., & Crockett, R. (2007, April 16). New Music Phones—Without the i. Business Week, Retrieved August 10, 2007, from Academic Search Elite database.

References: Some ExamplesReferences: Some Examples

A newspaper articleTommasini, A. (1998, October 27). Master

teachers whose artistry glows in private. New York Times, p. B2.

A source with no known authorCigarette sales fall 30% as California tax

rises. (1999, September 14). New York Times, p. A17.

References: Some ExamplesReferences: Some Examples

Where Do I Find APA Format?

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed.

www.apastyle.org Composition textbooks Landmark Citations

http://citationmachine.net/

Automatic Citation GeneratorsAutomatic Citation Generators

Landmarks Citation Machine

KnightCite Citation Maker

Citation Wizard

Landmarks Citation Machine Landmarks Citation Machine