1. Research and Writing ENG215 Researching

2. Topics Understanding research, primary and secondary research Choose a research question Create a research plan Use the library and various sources Databases Using printed and online documents Effective visuals

3. Topics, continued Evaluate a source’s arguments, definition of plagiarism, determining common knowledge Understanding plagiarism, copyright and intellectual property What you do and do not acknowledge Avoid plagiarism Cultural assumptions and misunderstandings about plagiarism Use copyrighted materials fairly

4. Understanding Research, Primary and Secondary Research Library and Internet Resources Primary Research Secondary Research –Facts –Interpretations –Evaluations Design Research Project Rhetorical Situation

5. Choosing a Research Question To choose your research topic: –Question with personal significance –Specific, focused research question –Challenging question –Develop an hypothesis Speculate about answers to questions Consider your assumptions Personal opinions cannot be tested

6. Create a Research Plan Create general plan for your paper –Understand the assignment –What do you already know about topic? –What do you need to know? Create detailed plan for your paper –Three phases –Set priorities and deadlines –Decide how to search for material –Decide where to find your material

7. Use the Library and Various Sources Sources for Research –Computerized book catalog –Periodical databases –Electronic resources –Periodicals –Indexes and databases

9. Databases Use online tutorials to help you search Searchable resources for research include –Print indexes (used to find periodicals) –Printed and online reference works –Online databases Type of resources –Popular sources –Scholarly sources Search using key words/terms; use Boolean operators, wildcards, and search within fields

10. Using Printed and Online Documents Popular search engines –Meta search engines –Mediated search engines Subject directories –List broad categories –Narrow the search through selection Library’s online catalog or card catalog Online research tools Printed and online government documents Other online communications

11. Effective Visuals Quantitative data can be displayed visually –Charts –Graphs –Maps Sources for images include: –Online library and museum image collections –Internet images –Scanned images from printed material

13. Evaluate a Source’s Arguments, Definition of Plagiarism, Determining Common Knowledge Evaluation –Question print and internet sources: Credible? Accurate? Reasonable? Supported? Plagiarism: failure to acknowledge sources of information Common Knowledge: information that the audience could be expected to know Anything that is not common knowledge must be documented

14. Understanding Plagiarism, Copyright and Intellectual Property Copyright and intellectual property –Related to plagiarism –Copyright: legal right to control reproduction of material –Intellectual property: the copyrighted material belonging to copyright holder –Fair use: protects most academic use of copyrighted material

15. What You Do and Do Not Acknowledge You must document the source of : –Any concepts you learned from a source –Quoted material –Paraphrases and summaries –Interviews other than surveys –Abstracts –Visuals –Statistics –Your own work for another assignment

16. Avoid Plagiarism Plagiarism: inadvertent and deliberate To avoid all forms of plagiarism: –Use research plan –Record your thoughts in one color and those of others in another color –Keep accurate records –Put quotation marks around other people’s words –Document source of summaries and paraphrases –Do not rely too much on one source –Cite sources of ideas, opinions, and statistics –Use APA documentation –Print all sources used

17. Cultural Assumptions and Misunderstandings about Plagiarism U.S. – core value of respect for ownership American academic culture requires documentation for all ideas not your own

18. Use Copyrighted Materials Fairly Copyrighted materials belong to copyright holder –Fair use includes: Educational Non-profit Personal –Imaginative and non-published work usually requires permission to use –Academic use of small portion of text Fifty words from an article Three hundred words from a book –Consider effect of your use on the market

20. Summary Understanding research, primary and secondary research Choose a research question Create a research plan Use the library and various sources Databases Using printed and online documents Effective visuals

21. Summary, continued Evaluate a source’s arguments, definition of plagiarism, determining common knowledge Understanding plagiarism, copyright and intellectual property What you do and do not acknowledge Avoid plagiarism Cultural assumptions and misunderstandings about plagiarism Use copyrighted materials fairly