Writing a Research Paper

Notes

Types of Research• Primary: generating new ideas and

information on your own.– Ex: experiments, interviews, personal

responses• Secondary: gathering and analyzing

the results of other people’s research– Most of your research will be secondary

research

Research Process• Choosing your subject• Doing preliminary research• Limiting your subject to a specific

topic• Finding an angle and writing a

statement of controlling purpose• Preparing a list of possible sources

(working bibliography)• Taking notes and developing a

working outline

• Organizing your notes & making a final outline

• Writing your first draft• Revising your first draft• Writing a final draft, with a complete

list of Works Cited

Preparing Bibliography Cards

• For each source you may use or not, you need to prepare a bibliography card– 3 purposes

• Helps you find the source again• Helps you prepare documentation• Helps you make your Works Cited page

Bibliographic Entry-Author, title, place & date of publication, page numbers

Source Note-Location of the resource

Source Number-upper right hand corner-new number for each source

Card catalog #-helps with relocating the source

Gathering Information

• Look through the resources for information relevant to the thesis or statement of controlling purpose.

Taking Notes• Direct quotation: repeats the words

of the source exactly. This requires quotation marks around the words.

• Paraphrase: States an idea expressed in a source, but not in the same words.

• Summary: A shortened statement of an idea in a source. Says the same thing in fewer and different words.

• When you quote, it is EXTREMELY important that you copy each letter and punctuation mark EXACTLY as it appears in the text.

• For paraphrasing/summarizing, put the material in your OWN words. Do not change the source’s meaning.

• Give a reference page for any and all information taken from a source, except from an encyclopedia or a dictionary.– Single page: write the page # after the

note.– 2 or more consecutive pages: write the

1st and the last pgs. Ex: 18-21– Non-consecutive pgs in a periodical:

write the 1st page followed by a plus sign. Ex: 76+

When to use a…• Direct quotation: when the idea is

especially well-stated, and when the exact wording is historically or legally significant, or if it is a definition

• Paraphrase: this is your basic note form

• Summary: when a passage or a source is too long to be quoted or paraphrased

Preparing Bibliographic Entries

BooksRuiz, Ramon Eduardo. Triumphs and

Tragedy: A History of The Mexican People. New York: Norton, 1992.

Last, First. Title. Place: Publisher, date.Last, First, and First Last. (Two authors)Last, First, First Last, and First Last.

(Three authors)Last, First, et al. (Four + authors)

No author:Title. Place: Publisher, date.

Editor:Last, First, ed. Title. Place: Publisher,

date.2-3 Editors:

Last, First, and First Last, eds. Title. Place: Publisher, date.

4+ editors:Last, First, et al., eds. Title. Place: Pub, date.

Periodicals and EncyclopediasSmith, Shelly. “Baseball’s Forgotten

Pioneers.” Sports Illustrated. 30 Mar. 1992: 72.

Last, First. “Article Name.” Title. date: pgs.

No author:“Article name.” Title. date: pgs.

Encyclopedia:“Zuni.” Encyclopaedia Britannica:

Micropaedia. 1992 ed.“Article name.” Encyclopedia name.

year ed.

Electronic SourcesStephan, Ed. John Steinbeck: The

California Novels. 30 Sept. 1999 <http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Steinbeck/index.html>.

Last, First. Title. Date referenced <Address>.

No Author:“Name of Webpage.” Main site. Date

<Address>.

In-Text Citation• A citation contains just enough info

to help the reader locate the info from the source

• After the info (quote, paraphrase, summary), in parentheses, include the author’s last name and the page #. (Morris 14). Punctuation goes after the citation.

Types of Citation• Basic: (author #).• Basic with author name in text: (#).• One author, multiple works: (Author, Title

#).• No author (“First alphabetized word” #).• More than one page (Nardo 104-106). • Long quotation: After the end punctuation,

indent the entire quote (4+ lines)

Drafting your Report• Do not use informal language.• Do not use I, me, my, mine, and our. • Do not state opinions without

supporting them with facts.• Do not use slang or contractions.