What Is A Research Paper? How To Do Effective Research: English 2

What is a Research Paper?
How to Do Effective Research
English 2
Your new home!
Do you have what it takes?
What’s in a successful
research paper?
 A strong introduction  Has a logical pattern of
with a clear thesis organization with
statement transitions between
 Evidence from sources ideas
to develop and support  Concludes with a
ideas satisfying summary of
 Credit is given to ideas
sources of information  A works cited list
formated according to
MLA
Finding an angle on your topic
 Your topic generally  Scan magazines and
is broad and needs newspapers
to be focused.  Browse the internet
using different key
 Explore a variety of words
sources looking for a  Look at different books
an angle you’re  Look at videos
interested in.
The search has just begun
Getting ready
Choosing research questions
Example: a student chooses to explore the
work of Dr. Freud.
 What studies did Freud conduct and what
conclusions did he draw?
 Have other psychologists found evidence that
supports Dr. Freud?
 Do other psychologists disagree with his
findings? What is their evidence?
 How have his studies influenced today’s
psychologists?
Sources of Information- 2 types
Primary Sources Secondary Sources
 Raw data  Summaries
 Original observations  Reflections
 Direct, first hand  Perspective on
knowledge materials from
 Letters, journals, primary sources
diaries, surveys,  Interpretations,
interviews, explanations
documents  Commentary
Doing Effective Research
 Knowing what kind of information you’re
looking for;
 Knowing where to get that information;
 Knowing how to evaluate that
information
 Knowing how to use that information to
support your claims
What kind of information?
 Statistics?
 Facts?
 Solutions?
 Examples?
 Interviews?
The Library Collection
 Reference materials- encyclopedias,
dictionaries, almanacs
 Stacks- fiction, non fiction, etc
 Periodicals / Newspapers- magazines,
journals, newspapers
 World Wide Web- ProQuest, Groilers, Search
Engines
 Audiovisuals- cds, movies, videos
So I’m in the library, now
what?
Where to Find Information
 Go to the Library to find
 Books
 Magazines
 Atlas
 Newspapers
 Government Documents
 Use the Library’s electronic resources
such as Groilers and Proquest to find:
 Academic , Trade, & Popular Journal
Articles
 Newpapers
Your search may not turn out
as you planned…or it may
 Use Internet Search Engines & Indexes
to find:
 Academic , Trade, & Popular Journal
Articles
 Newspapers
 Websites
Oh No!
What about Wikipedia?
What Should I Do?
 Document Sources as you find them
 Know where you found the information
 Make photocopies of articles from
magazines
 Copy the website address down exactly
Evaluating Sources
 Not all sources are equally valuable
 To evaluate your sources so you can
choose the best one, ask yourself these
questions.
Check it out!
Is the source up to date?
 Know the timeliness of the information:
 How current is the source?
 Is new information important to your
argument?
 Is your argument solid on dated
information
Here’s another one!
Is the source reliable?
 IS the author a recognized authority on
your subject?
 Is the author from a respected
university or other institution?
Who is the author?
 Know the author
 Who wrote the book or article?
 Do they have any bias?
 What are her qualifications?
How Do I Evaluate Sources?
 Know the source:
 Who printed the
book or article?
 What organization or
individual is
responsible for the
information found on
the website?
 Know the nature of
the publication:
 Are there any
advertisements
promoting particular
products, activities,
viewpoints?
 Might these effect
what gets published?
Evaluating Sources
 Know the evidence:
 How adequate is the evidence used?
 Where does the evidence come from?
 Does the writer acknowledge other ways
the evidence might be interpreted?
What are the author’s
viewpoints and biases
 Bias- To have a tendency to lean
towards a particular point of view
 Does the author seem to have a
political, ethnic, gender or other bias
 How might the author’s viewpoints
affect his ability to be neutral about the
subject?
 Know the biases in the argument:
 Can you detect a particular biases
 Is the writer upfront about his or her
biases?
 How do the writer’s biases effect the
interpretation offered?
Get Ready
Checklist for finding
information. Have I
 Clearly identified the  Used keywords to
information I’m search the web?
researching  Evaluated the
 Used the library reliability of the
catalog to find
Websites I used
materials
 Used general
references to help
define and narrow my
topic
Check this out!
How Do I Use Information to
Support My Claims?
 Direct Quotations
 Summaries
 Paraphrases
Listen up
Why Do I Need to Document
Sources?
 To avoid plagiarism
 To participate in the academic tradition
 To acknowledge the work of others

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