Writing The Research Paper A Handbook (7th ed) - Ch 6 doing the research

6

Doing the Research

What Information to Look For

• The kind of material you need to look for depends on your topic, thesis, and point of view• Can be: essays, book chapters, magazines, newspapers,

journal articles, pamphlets

• At the beginning of the search: aim is to find sources• By the end: agree with some sources, not others, evaluating

their relevance and scholarly worth

• 3 Broad categories of research:• Single-fact information• General information

• In-depth information


• Single-fact information:• Answers specific factual questions

• What year was Barack Obama born?

• Who assassinated Julius Caesar?

• How many cantons does Switzerland have?

• Answers can be found in dictionaries, almanacs, encyclopedias, magazines, or ask the reference librarian


• General information:• Provides an overview of a subject or a particular topic

• Example: Zionism – movement to create a Jewish national state in Palestine - Columbia Encyclopedia a good source

• When did the movement start?

• What brought it about?

• Who were the leaders?

• Encyclopedias and other general-information reference sources are found in a library reference room/section/online databases


• In-depth Information:• Found in several sources that cover the topic in detail

• Mainly found in books, but articles and essays can also be useful

• Research Papers generally blend all three kinds of information• Single-fact information• General information

• In-depth information

Where to Look for Information

• Today, most libraries are electronic• Various databases (ask librarian)• Look up your topic in an online encyclopedia• Check Library of Congress online catalogue for books on

your subject (catalog.loc.gov)• Appendix B of text book has useful reference sources

• Search topic in internet search engine (Google)• Check bibliography at the end of the encyclopedia articles• Computerized library catalogue• Check Book Review Digest• Check Who’s Who for information on noteworthy people


• General Indexes• General index catalogue information published in

magazines, newspapers, and journals• Up to date information can be found in recently published

magazines like:• Time U.S. News and World Report

• National Geographic Harper’s

• Psychology Today Newsweek

• Or found in recently published newspapers like:• New York Times Washington Post

• Wall Street Journal Atlanta Constitution

• Scientific American


• General Indexes• Stored and presented electronically in a database• Typical electronic entry:

• Readers Guide to Periodical Literature (See Text pg. 72)• http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/readers-guide-to-periodical-literature

• Many online databases index only recently published materials

• New York Times Index (Archives) http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/nytarchive.html

• 1851–present


• Specialized Indexes• Catalogues information on specific subject• Social Sciences Index http://ip-science.thomsonreuters.com/

• Humanities Index http://www.ebscohost.com/public/humanities-international-index

• Education Index

• Art Index• Art Abstracts http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/art-abstracts

• Psychological Abstracts


• Using Interviews and Surveys• Interviews with experts found on campus can be an

important source of information on every topic• Often overlooked as a source

• An expert is someone who is acknowledged as an authority in a particular subject or has unique experience (ex. Air crash survivor)

• Ask for their CV (curriculum vitae) to establish their credentials/legitimacy

• Surveys – can also add another dimension to your paper (not all papers need a survey)


• Corresponding by Email• Can email an expert to ask questions

• Identify yourself, and the research project and ask specific questions

• Read Example email, pg. 76


• Attending lectures, concerts, art exhibits• Famous lecturer, artist, musician may pass through

your city/campus• Attend performance of musician – take notes on themes

and stories

• Lecturer – try to obtain copy of lecture beforehand• Art Exhibit – take notes, obtain brochure about artist

• Make a bibliographic card for accurate citation

Assembling a Working Bibliography

• Bibliography - a list of sources on the research topic

• Working Bibliography – sources you consulted for information

• Final Bibliography – is an alphabetical list of the sources you actually used in the paper

• Bibliography Card – write down promising sources on 3” X 5” card Review example text Pg. 77• Contains information about source and notes on why they may be useful

• Not necessary to used card format


• Bibliography Card – reasons to use:• Know where bibliographic references are located

• Can shuffle the cards to put citations in order you like

• Less likely to lose

• Easy to use and convenient

• Two Kinds of Cards:• Title on smaller bibliography card

• Notes from the sources on the larger card


• Bibliography Card Process• Record each source in ink on a separate 3” X 5” card• Use same format as you will later use in Final Bibliography• List the following basic information on each card:

• Name of Author

• Title of Work• Facts of Publication• Page(s) of Information

• Upper right-hand corner: write name of library, or where source found

• Upper left-hand corner: cite library call number of source or full URL

• Will have more sources in working bibliography than in final bibliography (as expected)

Selecting Your Sources: Skimming

• Seldom have time to read every book or article written about subject

• Skim the source to determine usefulness• Check if source appears to be dated, irrelevent or otherwise useless

• Keep bibliography card for future reference


• Skimming:• Glance at the preface (author states what book is about)

• Look at the subject in the index of book regarding how much information there is on your topic

• Read the chapter headings – subject headings also useful• Read the first and last two sentences in a paragraph to find

information contained – main idea

• Glance at opening paragraph of an article, essay or book chapter – thesis is often stated in first paragraph or two

• Glance at concluding paragraphs in an article, essay or book chapter – sums up discussion and restates major ideas.

• Run eye down page, reading every fourth or fifth sentence to get idea of material content


• Primary and secondary sources (should use both)

• Primary Sources – original writing by an author, documents, artifacts, laboratory experiments, or other data that provide firsthand information

• Secondary Sources – writings, speeches, and other documents about a primary source

• Examples:• Opinions of critics are important secondary source

• Experiment is a primary source

• Commentary on experiment is secondary source


• Evaluating sources• All sources are not created equal

• Quality of scholarship, useful, accurate? Silly? Misleading? Hoax?

• Choose sources that cover your subject in-depth• Recognize the point of view (opinion) in sources• Verify one opinion against another (authors often comment on

the work of their peers) – look for consensus of expert opinion

• Note the date of the evidence – natural and social sciences change rapidly; put greatest importance on most recent data• Journals tend to more accurate/ up-to-date than magazines


• Evaluating sources - continued

• Exercise your editorial judgment • Evaluate logic and authenticity of source – look for contradictions/

errors

• Check your evaluations against those of professionals• Literary critics (ex. Review Digest),

• Check credentials of critics (Who’s who)

• Beware of statistics• Questions the credibility of any source that cites statistics

• Often used carelessly, exaggerated


• Reliable statistics:• General Statistics World Almanac, Current Index to

Statistics

• Statists about the United States Statistics Abstract of the United States

• World Statistics United Nations Demographic Yearbook, UNESCO

• Public Opinion Polls Gallup Poll, Public Opinion Poll Online

• Census Statistics (U.S.) U.S. Census Bureau

• Other National Statistics Agencies

Note-Taking

• Note-Taking:

• Eventually turn the information found into notes• Many students use computers to take/edit notes• Text recommends using 4” x 6” note cards, which can be

added/deleted/reshuffled

• A research paper should contain a variety of material taken from different sources / as well as your conclusions

Note-Taking

• Choosing the number of notes:• How much of paper should consist of original writing vs.

drawn from sources?• No exact rule – ideally should consist of information from

sources blended with your own commentary and interpretation

• Say what you think, what evidence, other opinions exists to support your opinions, why those of a different opinion are probably wrong

Note-Taking

• Formatting the note cards:• Use 4” X 6” cards for note-taking. These are large enough to

accommodate fairly long notes (not like smaller bibliography cards).

• Write in ink rather than pencils, so cards can be shuffled without blurring

• Write one idea or quotation on each cards (staple two together if necessary)

• Identify the source in upper left-hand corner of the card (bibliography card already lists complete source information)

• General heading on upper right-hand corner (pencil so it can be changed)

Note-Taking

• Using the computer to take notes:• Can print out material and highlight passages• Keep electronic sources on computer organizing by

folders/files and copy/paste• Number each note sequentially

• Identify page/bibliography information if not using bibliography cards

Note-Taking

• Using a copy machine/camera to take notes• Can photocopy/scan pages from books or magazines• Now, can just take a picture with phone

1. Always write down/record details about the source on the top of the page immediately after scanning/taking picture• Take picture of pages that include necessary bibliographic information

1. Be neat with organizing copies/photos/scans of pages

Note-Taking

• Kind of Notes - Notes must blend into body of your paper to support thesis

• 4 Kinds of Notes:a. The Summary – condensation of significant facts from an original

piece of writing• Chapter condenses into a page, a page into a paragraph• Read text pg. 85 Figure 6-5

b. The Paraphrase – restates a passage in approximately the same number of words as original, using syntax/vocab of paraphraser

• Read text pg. 85 Fig 6-5

• Achieves two purposes:

1. Shows you have mastered the material well enough to be able to rephrase it

2. Gives your paper an even, consistent style in your own words

Note-Taking

• 4 Kinds of Notes, cont’d:c. The Quotation – reproduces an author’s words exactly as they were

spoken or written• Justified when evoking authority of writer, original material is very well

expressed/splendid

• Rule of Thumb: quoted material should be no more than 10% of paper

• Quotation Rules:• Read text, pg, 86, Fig 6-7• Put Quotation Marks around the quotation• Introduce the quotation or place it in proper context• Copy quotations exactly as they are written

• Sometimes a summary or paraphrase is combined with a quotation • Read text, pg, 87, Fig 6-8

Note-Taking

• 4 Kinds of Notes, cont’d:d. The Personal Comment – are ideas, conjectures, or conclusions that

occur to you during the research

• Notes generally are used to:

• explain fuzzy statement

• stress a particular point

• draw a conclusion

• clarify an issue

• identify an inconsistency

• introduce a new idea

• Read text, pg, 87, Fig 6-9

Plagiarism and How to Avoid It

• Plagiarism - the act of passing off another’s words and ideas as your own• Everyone plagiarizes in daily life, ex. proverbs, language

• Blatant Plagiarism involves deliberately stealing from someone else’s words and ideas, generally with motive of undeserved reward• Ex. Student copying a friend’s paper

• Ex. Student steals an idea from a book, rewords it, and passes off as original thought

• Plagiarism can be grounds for dismissal or expulsion from a class, school or job


• Conventions of writing research paper - must acknowledge the source of any idea or statement not truly your own• Made a note specifying the source, author or material

• All summaries, paraphrases, or quotations must be documented

• Only personal comments can remain undocumented

• Summary:• Provide a note for any idea borrowed from another

• Place quoted material in quotation marks

• Provide a bibliography entry at the end of the paper for every source used in the text or in a note

• Not necessary to document common knowledge


• The following must be accompanied by citation specifying author and source:• Any idea derived from a known source• Any fact or data borrowed from the work of another• Any clever expression that is taken from someone else• Any information that is paraphrased, or summarized,

and used in research paper

• Applies to both printed and electronic sources• Read text examples, pgs. 89-90