Lisa Calhoun Media Coordinator October 2012

Choose a Topic That:  Interests You – Pick a subject that you would like to know more about.  Interests Others – Pick a subject that other people would like to read about.  Is Controversial – Pick a subject that has 2 sides to it. Choose a side and use that as the basis for your paper.  Can be Researched – Pick a subject that has been written about thoroughly enough to research.

Do Not Choose a Topic That Is:  Too Broad – Avoid overwhelming topics such as “abortion”, “drugs”, “censorship”, etc.  Too Narrow - Avoid topics that do not have enough information to back up your argument.  Worn-Out – Avoid over-used subjects like “gun control”, “slavery”, “death penalty”, etc.

10 Examples of Research Topics 1. Should animals be used for research? 2. Should the government have a say in our diets? 3. Are actors and professional athletes paid too much? 4. Are there benefits to attending a single-sex school? 5. Should the alcoholic age be increased or decreased? 6. Are we too dependent on computers? 7. Should drivers of automobiles be prohibited from using cellular phones? 8. Do video games have a negative effect on children's behavior? 9. Plastic surgeries: a way to become more beautiful, or someone’s unhealthy idea? 10. Should school uniforms be required? See more topics at: menttopics.htm menttopics.htm

Information Starts Here Destiny (ACHS online catalog): NC Wise Owl: NC Live: Ashe County Public Library:

Reliable Internet Sources Internet Public Library- Guide to writing an A+ research paper. Pros & Cons of Controversial Issues Both sides of the topics are given without bias. Yippy – ( Clusters main topics and can be helpful in narrowing a research topic.

Using Google as a Reliable Web Source Google Scholar: Google Advanced Search: enhttp:// en Google Search Tips: Use “quotation marks” around words that you wish to appear exactly as you entered them: “animal experimentation” or “animal research” Use the following terms to limit your search to pages published by certain groups site:edu-- site:gov site:org-- site:mil

Watch Those URL’s (the web address that connects you with a website) Look for these trustworthy domain names.edu – educational institution.k12 – elementary & secondary schools.gov – government agency.mil – military.org – organization or association.museum – museum Domain names to be careful of….com – commercial.net – personal or other site

Saving Your Work Always save your work every 3-4 minutes! Save your document more than 1 place -Use School Server -Flash Drive or CD - the document as an attachment to yourself When working at home Make sure that the word processing program you are using at home is compatible with the one at school.

Tips for Writing Your Paper Writing an A+ Research Paper

What to Cite Direct Quotations Ideas that are not your own. Information that is found in only 1 source. Any quotes within a given text. Any numbers or statistics within a text. When in doubt, cite the information. Also remember that common knowledge does not have to be cited.

Examples of MLA Citations  University of Maryland University College –  The Myrin Virtual Library - mla.htm#art_work  Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University –

Citation Assistance MLA Format BibMe EasyBib Citation Maker steps/resources/cm/mlacitationss

Plagiarism plagiarism - n 1: a piece of writing that has been copied from someone else and is presented as being your own work 2: the act of plagiarizing; taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own SourceSource: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University ***Remember: Copying and pasting without giving credit to the author is a form of plagiarism!!!

Cyber-plagiarism “ Cyber-plagiarism is the term used to describe the process by which students either copy ideas found on the Web without giving proper attribution, or the process by which students download research papers from the Web, in whole or in part, and submit the paper as original work." Cyber-plagiarism attribution University of Alberta, 2004

Key Points of Plagiarism ***Plagiarism power-point from Joyce Valenza nt/plagiarism.ppt **Plagiarism Tutorial taken from Vaughan Memorial Library at Acadia. sm/

NC Statute – “Acts of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, are illegal in the state of North Carolina.” m/statute.html Plagiarism from Appalachian State University Brian’s Top 10 Things First-Year Students Should Know about using College Libraries to Do Research - from Kent State Univ. ians_top_10_firstyear_000.pdf

If you need assistance, please do not hesitate to ask anyone in the Media Center. It is our job to help!

Resources You Don’t Want to Miss 1. Duke University’s Guide to Library Research a great tool to review all the steps of the research process 2. How Not to Plagiarize ( - University of Toronto clear explanation of why & how we cite resources. 3. University of Alberta Libraries - gives a good overview of plagiarism and how to avoid it, also has good list of how to evaluate web sites. 4. Berger, Pam. 21 st Century Strategies for Strengthening Your School Library Program. Bellevue, WA : Bureau of Education & Research, a resource guide that was used to create this presentation.