Research Assignments Tips on Completing a Successful Research Paper

Analyzing the Assignment: Things to consider Purpose of the assignment –Is it informational or persuasive? Audience Your stance The scope of your research Length of the project Deadlines

Picking a Topic If you have a choice, pick something that intrigues you. Make sure you can limit your topic to a very specific question or prompt. E.G. “Invasive species” –Invasive species in Michigan Zebra mussels –The economic effect of zebra mussels in Michigan

What do you already know? List these questions and answer them: –What do you know about your topic? –What should you know? –What do you need to research? –Where will you look for that information? Start listing possible sources

Organizing your Plan Using the computer: –Create a new folder for your research paper –Create documents or folders for: Deadlines Hypothesis and research question Working Bibliography Images and visuals Draft 1 Etc.

Steps to Complete Annotated bibliography Note cards Outline Completed bibliography Rough draft of the paper Works cited Final paper

Necessary Materials Research folder 3x5 Note cards The assignment sheet Notebook

Annotated Bibliography **KEEP TRACK OF YOUR SOURCES Write down all the necessary citation information Any information necessary to relocate the source Write down a brief summary of the source Any memorable quote you may use later

Bibliography Include all the necessary citation information List sources in alphabetical order by whatever comes first in the citation. Do not use bulleted lists, numbers, or outline formatting. Single spaced with no extra spaces b/w lines. –You will need to change the default to remove this space. Remember proper indentations

Lessons from Experience DO NOT PROCRASTINATE Know the assignment Know the deadlines Save early, save often Keep track of your sources Research before you write

Beginning Research Preliminary Research Focused Research Understanding Types of Sources Note cards

Preliminary Research Encyclopedias – look in the bibliographies –Bound encyclopedias –Wikipedia Indices Acknowledgements Reviews

Focused Research Search a variety of sources –Books –Internet –Journals –Scholarly articles –Studies –Interviews

Types of Sources Print and internet sources Bound sources = books Primary vs. Secondary Sources –Primary = basic sources of raw material –Secondary = Descriptions of, interpretations of or reactions to primary sources Scholarly vs. Popular Sources

Evaluating Sources Websites can be helpful or hurtful. –.gov vs..com vs..org Look for the sponsor of a website. Look for author’s credentials. In surveys, look for sample sizes. Try to discover the bias of the source. Try to find corroborating evidence.

Note Cards - Bibliography List citation information To keep track of information To organize your sources

Note Cards - Annotations List brief citation information To organize your thoughts You can arrange these to help you build your outline Also to match up information to your outline

Annotated Bibliography What to include: –Citation information –Summary –Important Quote –Reaction or opinion

Writing the Paper

Outlining Make a detailed outline first. The problem will likely be eliminating information not adding more. It is usually best to move from general to specific and then make a general application. You must learn to stay on topic.

Formatting 1” margins Name or title on top of page Title page? In-text citations or footnotes

Persuasive vs. Informational Informational will be a reorganizing of available information. If you find your own information, make sure that is readily available or repeatable. Remember to keep your opinions professional and based in sound research.

Including Sources Signal phrases work well for citations. Anything that is not common knowledge to your peers must be cited. Paraphrases must be cited. Direct quotes must be marked.

Including Sources If you change anything in a quote, use brackets. [changed phrase] To omit from the middle of a quote, use an ellipsis. “Mr. Kleyn is … cool.” If the source made an error, include (sic). Remember that the reader wants to read your paper not a collection of quotes.

Citations Ask your teacher/professor for specific citation requirements. Don’t blindly trust automatic citation websites. Make sure that every piece of information has a source.

Citations General Guidelines MLA APA Chicago

Components Title page – ask for specifications Dates – British format –Day Month Year –No commas Parenthetical references –MLA = (Name page) –APA = (Name, date) Footnotes or Endnotes

Components Bibliography –All the sources that you researched. Works cited –The sources that you use in your paper. Block quotes – 40 words or 4 lines

General Citation Guidelines Remove all hyperlinks. URLs should be black and not underlined No commas in the British format of dates, Double spaced but no extra lines between sources Sources must be in alphabetical order by whatever comes first

MLA Modern Language Association Used primarily in humanities: –English –Philosophy –History Standard book: Kleyn, Andrew. English Rocks. Lansing: MSU Press, 2010.

APA American Psychological Association Used primarily in sciences. Standard book: Kleyn, A. (2010). English rocks. Lansing: MSU Press.

Chicago Used primarily in history or the arts. Uses footnotes or endnotes. Standard book: Footnote: 1.Andrew Kleyn, English Rocks (Lansing: MSU Press, 2010), 184. Bibliography: Kleyn, Andrew. English Rocks. Lansing: MSU Press, 2010