1. Analytical Research Projects
Basic Elements of Analytical Research and Writing
Adapted from Dr. Allen Briese
Rationale: Welcome to “Analytical Research Projects: Basic Elements of Analytical Research and Writing.” This presentation is designed to introduce students and inquiring professionals to the differences between analytical and argumentative approaches, while expanding on basics of analytical research projects. The 10 slides presented here are designed to aid the facilitator in an interactive presentation of the elements of “Analytical Research Projects.” This presentation is ideal for students and professionals who would like to learn more about the fundamentals of writing and/or presenting an analytical research project.
****This presentation may be supplemented with the following OWL resources: For help with evaluating the credibility of sources check out
Directions: Each slide is activated by a single mouse click, unless otherwise noted in bold at the bottom of each notes page
Writer and Designer: Allen Brizee and Aubrie Harland (2009)
Developed with resources courtesy of the Purdue University Writing Lab
© Copyright Purdue University, 2009

2. Overview Project types Choosing a topic Identifying audience
Argumentative
Analytical
Choosing a topic
Identifying audience
Conducting research
Organization and format
This presentation will discuss the differences between argumentative research projects and analytical research projects. Then, it will take a more in-depth look at constructing analytical projects. This presentation will outline how to choose an appropriate topic, identify the intended audience, and conduct thorough research for an analytical research project. And finally, it will explain how to effectively organize and format an analytical research project.
The facilitator might want to open up discussion by asking the audience about the differences between an analytical approach and an argumentative approach.

3. Types of Research Projects
Argumentative
Clearly defined topic
Clearly defined thesis statement (stance)
Goal: Persuade audience
Example: Martha Schwartz is the most influential contemporary American landscape architect.
Must support thesis with proof (data) and sound reasoning
When constructing an argumentative project or paper, the ultimate goal is to persuade the audience. In order to achieve this, an argumentative research project needs to have a clearly defined topic or idea that is identified in the thesis statement. Once the thesis is defined, facts, proof (data), and sound reasoning are used to support and “prove” the thesis. The facts should be organized and presented with the intention of convincing (or proving to) the audience that the argument (thesis) is valid.
Note the example. Suppose this is the thesis statement, “Martha Schwartz is the most influential contemporary American landscape architect.” This clear, direct statement is what the author has defined as the topic for the paper. Once defined, the author will continue constructing the project by explaining various reasons WHY Martha Schwartz should be considered the most influential contemporary American landscape architect.
The facilitator might want to open discussion by asking the audience for other thesis statements that follow the argumentative approach.

4. Types of Research Projects
Analytical
Clearly defined topic
Research question rather than thesis
Goal: Explore and evaluate topic
Example: Given Martha Schwartz’s influence on contemporary American landscape architecture, what are her major design inspirations and precedents?
Must conduct thorough research and explore various sources to try to answer question
While the ultimate goal of argumentative project is to defend a stance, the ultimate goal of analytical research project is to explore and evaluate an idea, topic, or stance. Analytical research projects also need to have a clearly defined topic, however, analytical research projects tend to ANSWER a research question rather than DEFEND a stance. Thorough research and various, credible sources are both incredibly important aspects of constructing analytical research project. The audience needs to be well-informed on all aspects of the research question.
The facilitator might also want to note that students might benefit from anticipating some questions that the intended audience might have and address those questions in the project.
Note the example. Suppose this is the research question, “Given Martha Schwartz’s influence on contemporary American landscape architecture, what are her major design inspirations and precedents?” This question outlines and explains what the project is going to explore and discuss. Once the question is posed, the author will continue constructing the project by exploring the various sources of inspiration for Martha Schwartz’s landscape architecture.
The facilitator might want to open discussion again by asking the audience for analytical research questions pertaining to the assigned project, or by asking the about the differences between an analytical approach and an argumentative approach.

5. Choosing a Topic Consider assignment requirements
Consider due dates, your schedule, priorities
Conduct preliminary research; ask preliminary research questions
Determine interest - choose a topic that fulfills assignment requirements and that interests you
When choosing a topic, considering the assignment requirements as stated by the instructor is critical. Typically, the instructor will give some direction and perhaps some ideas to help students brainstorm a topic. Depending on how extensive the project is, considering due dates and other obligations will help when planning work time for a project. Often times, instructors will have due dates for certain sections or portions of a project to make sure students have started working—keep this in mind.
Once a topic is chosen, conduct preliminary research by asking preliminary research questions and searching for the answers. Sometimes, a topic might seem interesting, but after conducting preliminary research, students might find that not much information is available. In this case, the student should brainstorm and choose another topic. The final, chosen topic should both fulfill the assignment requirements and be interesting to the student. If the topic is not interesting, the student might lose motivation to complete the project.

6. Identifying Audience Important questions: Who are they?
What do they need, expect?
Where will they be reading?
When will they be reading?
Why will they be reading?
How will they be reading?
Identifying the audience for an analytical research project is important because it will determine how to write, organize, and speak about the research question. Here is a listing of some of the common questions students can ask to determine the intended audience.
Again using Martha Schwartz as an example, if speaking to a kindergarten class, the author/presenter would want to use vocabulary that a kindergartener could understand, rather than using terms used by the professionals in the landscape architecture field.

7. Identifying Audience Primary audience Secondary audience
Gatekeepers, instructor, faculty, etc.
Secondary audience
Peers, colleagues, coworkers, etc.
Shadow audience
Others who may read communication - Internet!
The primary audience consists of the “gatekeepers,” or instructors and faculty members. In loose terms, the primary audience is in charge of evaluating the project and assigning a grade. The secondary audience consists of peers, colleagues, and coworkers. In other words, those who are simply present to observe the project, but who are not assessing it. The shadow audience is absolutely anyone and everyone else. Once a project is published or presented, it could end up anywhere—like on the Internet.
The facilitator might want to open discussion by asking about who the primary audience will include and who the secondary audience will include.
Using Schwartz, perhaps the instructor has requested that students especially consider a secondary audience that also consists of Schwartz’s peers.

8. Beginning Research Where do I get my information? Secondary sources:
Library databases
Professional publications
Credible Websites
Primary sources:
Interviews
Observations
Experimentation
Secondary sources are probably the most commonly cited sources in analytical research projects. Secondary sources consist of library databases (including online databases), professional publications, and credible websites. Other sources include primary sources, such as interviews, observations, and experimentation. In other words, primary sources are sources of information with which the author has direct contact.
The facilitator might want to open discussion about available secondary sources and what the students think qualify as credible sources: Wikipedia, Ask Jeeves, etc.

9. Paper Organization Introduction: overview entire document
Purpose/goals
What is the point of the paper? Argumentative? Analytical?
Audience (optional)
Is the audience familiar with topic, terms?
For argumentative
What is your thesis?
For analytical
What are your research questions?
Research methods
How did you find your information?
Findings and conclusions
Forecast organization of document
Remember: one of the best ways to learn how to write is to read a lot of material from your discipline
This slide explains the general format for the introductory section (not necessarily introductory paragraph!) of a research project. The purpose or goal should be clearly stated, the audience should be able to tell if the project is an argumentative paper or analytical paper. The audience may or may not be mentioned in the introductory paragraph. However, if the instructor is looking for audience consideration when grading, then it might beneficial to mention the intended audience. If the project takes an argumentative approach, the thesis needs to be clearly defined. If the project takes and analytical approach, the research questions need to be clearly posed. The research methods need to be mentioned so that the audience is aware of how information was obtained and how much information was obtained– (If familiar with ethos, pathos, and logos, this could be considered part of ethos as credibility or logos as data). For more information on Aristotle’s proofs (ethos, pathos, logos), reference the OWL here: Lastly, the introductory section needs to briefly mention the findings or conclusion in order to forecast the organization of the entire document.

10. Paper Organization Section 1: Section 2: Section 3: Section 4:
Introduce, explain topic
Section 2:
Discuss history, background; set the context
Section 3:
Discuss research methods
Section 4:
Discuss research findings
Section 5:
Conclusions
Works Cited/References
Appendix
If you’re short on page/word count, do more research
A basic organizational format for analytical research projects is provided here. Of course, this format can be changed or altered depending on the specific topic.
Continuing to use the Martha Schwartz example, section 4 could be about specific influences and how these affected Schwartz’s work. For instance, discuss an influence in a paragraph and how it affected Schwartz, and then discuss other influences in subsequent paragraphs. Remember, although having mentioned research methods in section 3, citing the information is still necessary in previous and subsequent sections.

11. Online Research Characteristics of the Internet:
large volumes of information
convenient
doesn’t contain all information
potentially frustrating
Online research can be incredibly helpful and convenient. It can bring you large amounts of information in a very short amount of time, and can often be done from the comfort of a personal computer. However, large amounts of information can be frustrating to sift through. Additionally, though doing online research online can result in finding large amounts of content, it is important to recognize that the Internet does not contain all of the information in the world, and online search tools, like search engines, do not search even all of the content on the internet. A wise online researcher realizes that there is potentially helpful information that is not available through search engines. Knowing the potential pitfalls of online research will also help online researchers to develop strategies to avoid these pitfalls and work with the limitations of online research.

12. Web versus Print: Web anyone with web access can publish
author/affiliations and qualifications may be unclear
may not clearly identify external information
may be biased/misleading
publication info may not be listed
A number of differences exist between information published on the Internet and information published using traditional print methods. Although there are exceptions to these observations, in general these guidelines hold true of web and print sources.

13. Web versus Print: Print
extensive publication process
clearly indicates author/affiliations
clearly marks outside sources/quotations
bias exists, but is reviewed
only qualified manuscripts accepted for publication
publication info clearly listed
Continuation of web versus print.

14. Web Search Tools Search Engines Web Directories Metasearch Engines
list results based on entered keywords
Web Directories
offer categories for users to choose from
Metasearch Engines
combine results from multiple search engines
Three of the most common online search tools are search engines, web directories, and metasearch engines. Of these, search engines are the most well-known.
A search engine, such as Google, consists of software that crawls the Internet, storing information about websites based on keywords and other information. A user enters a keyword or search phrase into the search engine interface, and the search engine retrieves relevant results based on the entered keywords.
Web directories are compilations of sites listed by topical categories. They can help a user move from a general area of interest to a more specific topic, and, eventually, website. For example, a user of the Open Directory Project at dmoz.org could click on “Recreation,” then “food,” and then “cheese,” which would lead the user to a page that listed websites about cheese.
A metasearch engine is a search engine that searches multiple other search engines. When a user types a keyword into a metasearch engine, the engine lists results from many different search engines.

15. Search Engine Results Based on: site’s amount of information
number of linking sites
number of people who choose a link
length of time in search engine database
code of the site
Search engines do not necessarily list the “best” result first. In fact, they couldn’t, because different people are looking for different types of things when they enter keywords into search engines. Which pages search engines list, and the order in which they are listed, is based on a number of factors, including the amount of information on the site, the number of other sites that link to it, the number of people who select that link when searching, the length of time that the site has been listed in the search engine database, and the code of the site.

16. Search Engine Results
Different search engines might return different results in a different order
Can include results from paying advertisers:
Because each search engine is coded differently, and told to follow different “rules” for retrieving and listing, different search engines might return different results in a different order. This is why it’s often a good idea to try a search in multiple search engines—you might find something using one search engine that another one missed.
Some search engines also include results that are paid advertising, so it’s wise to look at the results carefully to determine which results are normal and which are paid results.

17. Using Search Terms Do multiple searches Try keyword variations
e.g. try “dining hall,” “cafeteria,” and “campus food service”
Be specific as you learn more
e.g. change “dining hall” to “Midwest university dining hall”
Boolean Operators: words added to a search to make it more specific
There are several strategies for using search terms that will help you find the most useful sources for a project.
One highly helpful strategy is to do multiple searches using different terms, and different combinations of terms. Think about it this way: some writers might use the term “dining hall” when writing about the quality of on-campus food, while other writers might have used the term “campus food service.” If you only did a search using the term “dining hall,” you’d miss all the content that only used the term “campus food service.” As you look through your results, you might come across terms used by writers that would help you in your search. Be alert for terms that might help you find new results.
If you get too many results in a search, it might be helpful to make your search terms more specific. For example, if you’re writing about the quality of dining halls in Indiana, you might want to use “Midwest university dining hall” instead of just “dining hall.” “Midwest university dining hall” is more likely to return content about university dining halls, while just “dining hall” is more likely to include results about elementary dining halls all over the world, which are irrelevant to your project.

18. Defining a Search: Boolean Operators
AND
finds pages with all of the search terms used
e.g. “dining hall” AND “student workers” OR
finds pages with at least one of the search terms
e.g. “dining hall” OR “cafeteria” OR “campus food service”
NOT
excludes pages that include the second term e.g. Henry VII NOT Shakespeare
Boolean operators are useful for tailoring search terms to get the type of results you want. Boolean operators are one-word connectors that are placed between keywords or keyphrases in a search.
Using AND will find pages that include all of the search terms used. For example, “dining hall” AND “student workers” will return pages that include the phrases “dining hall” and “student workers”
OR will find pages that include pages that include at least one of the search terms. For example, “dining hall” OR “cafeteria” OR “campus food service.” OR is useful for expanding search results if there aren’t enough using just one term, and for when there are multiple terms that might be used to describe a subject.
NOT excludes pages that include the second phrase listed. For example, Henry VII NOT Shakespeare would be useful if you wanted to find content about Henry VIII the historical king, but not the Shakespeare play by the same name. NOT is useful for limiting results when there are too many.
Most search engines have more advanced search options in addition to Boolean operators, so keep your eyes option for “advanced” search options in the search engines you use.

19. Evaluating Search Results
Some results won’t be helpful
wrong topic
not enough information
incorrect or outdated information
shallow or untrustworthy source
wrong tone for your project (e.g. an opinionated article when you need a basic overview)
Even if you have used search terms wisely and effectively, there will inevitably be results that are not appropriate for your project. Strategies for evaluating the content you find will help you determine which content is helpful and which isn’t.

20. Evaluating Search Results
No precise formula
Find out:
purpose
who is responsible
when last updated
whether information is corroborated in other places
There is no formula for deciding whether a site is “credible” or not, although answering a set of questions may help you to better understand whether a given site is what you’re looking for. But be wary: a site that has an author, is updated often, that looks professional, and is sponsored by an organization could still be full of information that’s not helpful for your project. Use common sense and don’t rely on static credibility measures.
Some questions you should consider when evaluating the usefulness of a site:
-What is the purpose of the site? (Is it a blog? A product site? The web-page of a non-profit organization?)
-Who is responsible for the site? (Who wrote it? What is the sponsoring organization? Is it the work of an individual, a corporation, or an organization, etc.?)
-When was it last updated?
-Do other sources corroborate the information on the site? Do the other sources you’ve found seem to agree with the site in question?

21. Evaluating Search Results
Domain name extensions
anyone can register .com, .net, .org domain names
not a great way to tell whether a source is “credible”
.edu and .gov can only be used by educational institutions and governmental institutions
still not necessarily reliable
Domain name extensions used to be a fairly reliable strategy for determining the credibility of a website. This is no longer the case. Anyone can register .com, .net, .org domain names, meaning that a .org extension does not mean that the site belongs to a legitimate organization, or that the information presented is guaranteed to be valid. While it’s true that .edu and .gov can only be used by educational institutions and governmental institutions, this doesn’t mean that information found at a .gov or .edu is reliable: for example, many universities offer students and faculty web space, and users may post information that is not correct

22. Wikipedia Articles Often one of the first results listed
“Web versus Print” slides apply
Check for instructors’ policies
Can be useful for:
getting an overview
generating new ideas
pointing to other sources
Wikipedia articles often come up as one of the first results in a search engine for many topics. Instructors differ about whether Wikipedia is a valid source that can be cited, so make sure you know your instructors’ policies.
Although Wikipedia may not be fully accepted as a citable source in academic projects, it can still be a useful online research tool. It can be helpful for getting a general overview of a topic that can then guide later research. It can also be help generate ideas and angles on a topic that you might not have been aware of. Many Wikipedia articles also contain extensive sources and external links at the end of the article. Even if you cannot cite a Wikipedia article, the bibliography and external links at the end of an article might lead you to a source that might be helpful to your project and considered acceptable for academic projects.

23. Evaluating Sources: Using Wikipedia
Example of sources and further reading in the Wikipedia Henry VIII article:

24. The End