Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition RESEARCH WRITING

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition SCHEDULING STEPS IN RESEARCH WRITING ___1. Setting a schedule and beginning a research journal ___2. Finding a researchable subject and question ___3. Developing a research strategy ___4. Finding sources, both print and electronic, and making a working bibliography ___5. Evaluating and synthesizing sources ___6. Mining and interacting with sources, often using summary, paraphrase, and direct quotation ___7. Taking steps to avoid plagiarism ___8. Developing a thesis statement ___9. Creating a structure ___10. Drafting the paper, integrating summaries, paraphrases, and direct quotations into your ideas ___11. Revising and editing the paper ___12. Citing sources in your text ___13. Preparing the list of works cited ___14. Preparing and proofreading the final manuscript ___ Final paper due 42.1

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition CHECKLIST FOR A GOOD RESEARCH SUBJECT 1.Published sources are ample: the subject is not so recent that other researchers will still be discovering it. 2.Sources are diverse: the subject is neither wholly personal nor wholly factual. 3.Sources can be assessed objectively: the subject is not solely a matter of belief or prejudice 4.Sources can be examined thoroughly in the assigned time and length: the subject is not too broad. 42.2

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition INFORMATION FOR A WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY (for books)  Library call number  Name(s) of author(s), editor(s), translator(s), or others listed  Title and subtitle  Publication data:  Place of publication  Publisher’s name  Date of publication  Other important data, such as edition or volume number 42.3a

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition INFORMATION FOR A WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY (for periodical articles)  Name(s) of author(s)  Title and subtitle of article  Title of periodical  Publication data:  Volume number and issue number (if any) in which article appears  Date of issue  Page numbers on which article appears 42.3b

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition INFORMATION FOR A WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY (for electronic sources)  Name(s) of author(s)  Title and subtitle  Publication data for books and articles  Date of release, online posting, or latest revision  Medium (online, CD-ROM, etc.)  Format of online source (Web site, Web page, , etc.)  Date you consulted the source  Complete URL  For source obtained through a subscription service  Name of database, service, and electronic address of the service home page or search terms used to reach the source 44.3c

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition INFORMATION FOR A WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY (for other sources)  Name(s) of author(s), creator(s), or others listed, such as a government department, recording artist, or photographer  Title of the work  Format, such as unpublished letter, live performance, or photograph  Publication or production data:  Publication title  Publisher’s or producer’s name  Date of publication, release, or production  Identifying numbers (if any) 42.3d

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition WAYS TO REFINE KEYWORDS Use AND or + to narrow the search.  Includes only sources that use all given words Use NOT or – to narrow the search.  Excludes irrelevant words Use OR to broaden the search.  Giving alternative keywords Use parentheses or quotation marks to form search phrases. Use NEAR to narrow the search.  Requires the keywords to be close to each other Use wild cards to permit difference versions of the same word. Spell keywords correctly. 43.1

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition GUIDE TO RESEARCH SOURCES Reference works: helpful for summaries of topics and information for further research  General encyclopedias  Specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies  Unabridged dictionaries and special dictionaries on language  Biographical reference works  Atlases and gazetteers  Almanacs and yearbooks General books: literary works, nonfiction surveys, in-depth studies, and other materials, available for circulation Periodicals: magazines, journals, and newspapers, containing detailed and current information 43.2a

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition RESEARCH SOURCES (continued) The Web: a network of computers providing access to libraries, publications, organizations, governments, and individuals Other online sources  Electronic mail  Discussion lists  Web forums and newsgroups  Web logs  Synchronous communication Government publications: practical advice, raw data, reports, and other information Images: photographs, paintings, graphs, and other illustrations Your own sources: interviews, surveys, and other primary sources you create 43.2b

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition WEB SEARCH ENGINES Directories that review sites  BUBL link (bubl.ac.uk.link)  Internet Public Library (  Internet Scout Project (scout.wisc.edu./archives)  Librarians’ Index to the Internet (lii.org) The most advanced and efficient engines  AlltheWeb (alltheweb.com)  Google ( Other engines  AltaVista (  Ask Jeeves (  Dogpile (  Excite (excite.com)  Lycos (lycos.com)  MetaCrawler (metacrawler.com)  Yahoo! (yahoo.com) 43.3

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition QUESTIONS FOR EVALUATING SOURCES Relevance  Does the source devote some attention to your subject?  Is the source appropriately specialized for your needs?  Is the source up to date enough for your subject? Reliability  Where does the source come from?  Is the author an expert in the field?  What is the author’s bias?  Is the source fair and reasonable?  Is the source well written? 44.1

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition QUESTIONS FOR EVALUATING WEB SITES  What type of site are you viewing?  Who is the author or sponsor?  What is the purpose of the site?  What does context tell you?  What does presentation tell you?  How worthwhile is the content? 44.2

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition QUESTIONS FOR EVALUATING WEB LOGS AND ONLINE DISCUSSIONS  Who is the author?  What is the author’s purpose?  What does the context reveal?  How worthwhile is the content?  How does the blog or message compare with other sources? 44.3

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition TESTS FOR DIRECT QUOTATIONS FROM SECONDARY SOURCES The author’s original satisfies one of these requirements:  The language is unusually bold or inventive.  The quotation cannot be paraphrased without distortion or loss of meaning.  The author’s words are at issue in your interpretation.  The quotation represents and emphasizes a body of opinion or the view of an important expert.  The quotation emphatically reinforces your own idea.  The quotation is a graph, diagram, or table. The quotation is as short as possible:  It includes only material relevant to your point.  It is edited to eliminate examples and other unneeded material. 44.4

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition VERBS FOR SIGNAL PHRASES  Use verbs that convey information about source authors’ attitudes or approaches Author is neutral Author infers or suggests Author arguesAuthor is uneasy or disparaging commentsanalyzesclaimsbelittles describesaskscontendsbemoans explainsassessesdefendscomplains illustratesconcludesdisagreescondemns notesfindsholdsdeplores observespredictsinsistsdeprecates points outproposesmaintainsderides recordsrevealslaments relatesshowsAuthor agreeswarns reportsspeculatesadmits sayssuggestsagrees seessupposesconcedes thinksconcurs writesgrants

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition CHECKLIST FOR AVOIDING PLAGIARISM Type of source Are you using  your own independent material,  common knowledge, or  someone else’s independent material? You must acknowledge someone else’s material. Quotations  Do all quotations exactly match their sources?  Have you inserted quotation marks around quotations that are run into your text?  Have you shown omissions with ellipsis marks and additions with brackets?  Does every quotation have a source citation? Paraphrases and summaries  Have you used your own words and sentence structure for every paraphrase and summary? If not, use quotation marks around the original author’s words.  Does every paraphrase and summary have a source citation? 45.1a

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition CHECKLIST FOR AVOIDING PLAGIARISM (continued) The Web  Have you obtained any necessary permission to use someone else’s material on the Web? Source citations  Have you acknowledged every use of someone else’s material in the place where you use it?  Does your list of works cited include all the sources you have used? 45.1b

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition TIPS FOR DRAFTING A RESEARCH PAPER  Reread the assignment to review your instructor’s criteria.  Write a quick two- or three-paragraph summary of what the paper will be about.  Start with the section of the paper you feel most confident about.  Work in chunks, one unit or principal idea at a time.  Center each section on an idea of your own.  Take great care in working with source material.  Insert source citations into the draft as you quote, paraphrase, or summarize. 46.1

Copyright © 1995–2007 by Pearson Education, publishing as Longman Publishers Fowler/Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, Tenth Edition CHECKLIST FOR REVISING A RESEARCH PAPER  Assignment  How does the draft satisfy all of the criteria stated in your instructor’s assignment?  Thesis statement  Does it describe your subject and your perspective?  Structure  Does borrowed material illuminate and support your own idea? Will the arrangement of ideas be clear to readers?  Evidence  Where might readers need more evidence in order to accept your idea? Where might the evidence seem weak or irrelevant?  Reasonableness and clarity  How reasonable will readers find your arguments? Where do you need to define terms or concepts that readers may not know or may dispute? 46.2