Why research? Where do I find reliable sources? Where do I go on the Web? What about plagiarism? What are APA and MLA styles? These questions can easily take books to answer, in fact two books are suggested below. However, this web page attempts to answer or point to the answers to these questions.
If you would like to link to this page from your own website, please do so; but please also send me an e-mail letting me know about your link – it will make me feel good and, if I do need to move the page, I can let you know.
I’d like to extend a big thank you to Jennifer Saxton, Laurie Hime, and Vernon Hooks, Kendall Campus Librarians who took to the time to review a draft and make several suggestions for improvement. Please note they did not review the final draft and all errors are my own.
Research is used to identify interesting topics, to find arguments, and to find evidence.
Not all information is equal. Facts can be verified or proved. Opinions may use facts to support them but are open to interpretation and discussion. You need to distinguish between fact and opinion and you need to guide your reader to form their own opinion. Readers will be more likely to agree with you if you use high quality information in your arguments.
Primary Sources: Examples are original documents (treaties, laws, plays), original data, and official records. These are the most reliable sources.
Secondary sources: These are usually articles written by people based on primary sources. Most are found in refereed, scholarly journals. While not as good as primary sources, these are the most commonly cited in student papers.
Tertiary Sources: These are second (or third or more) hand information, based on secondary sources. Typically these are newspapers and magazine articles written by people who don't know the subject and edited by people that didn't even talk to the source. Books which summarize or review a topic are usually considered tertiary sources. These sources may be interesting to read for background but are unreliable and are mistrusted by informed readers.
Trust: Peer reviewed articles, reputable authors, up-to-date articles, academic press, and non-emotional writing style.
Don't trust: Popular press, anonymous articles, authors with fixed point of view, out-of-date or dateless articles, sarcastic, angry or insulting writing styles, and web sites.
An excellent website that can help you decide what is trustworthy is Critically Analyzing Information Sources (http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill26.htm ). Another helpful website that provides a quick list to distinguish between Scholarly and Popular articles is http://www.accd.edu/sac/lrc/librns/celita/scholarly.htm.
The WWW is a powerful tool but very unreliable. If you examine www.whitehouse.gov, www.whitehouse.org and www.whitehouse.com you will find that one is the official government site, one is a satirical site and one is a pornographic site. On a more serious note www.globalwarming.org and www.globalwarming.net both appear to be good serious sites about the global warming issue. However; if you examine them closely you will find that they support opposite opinions. Good information is out there but you must use your judgment and evaluate each website.
How do you evaluate a website? The following questions from Baker (2004, http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLibGuides//Internet/Evaluate.html) provide an excellent beginning:
Another useful web page is Evaluating Information Found on the Internet at http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/index.html .
A big issue with the WWW is the sheer quantity of information. Search engines such as Google are a good, quick way to see if information is out there but they are not a good way of finding reliable information.
An alternative approach is to use subject guides and directories. These directories provide annotated links to reputable sites and can greatly speed your research time. The page at http://www.mdc.edu/libraries/links.asp is an annotated list of recommended links organized by subject. The MDC Kendall campus library website, http://www.mdc.edu/kendall/library/internet_r_search_eng.asp , lists several good search engines and subject directories. The page http://www.ithaca.edu/library/training/find.html currently lists five good starting directories (Henderson, 2004) along with suggestions on how to use them effectively.
1) Use the web as a tool to reach primary and secondary sources. Instead of surfing the web, use your web browser to reach online bibliographic databases. These databases give you access to information that is not available via normal web “surfing.” Not only is do they provide more information, most of the time it is from more reliable sources. These databases are powerful tools and it is worth your time to learn how to use them.
In many cases a database will provide the full text of a printed article. You should note that "full text" is not necessarily the full article. If illustrations, charts and diagrams are an important part of the article, you may still need to find a copy of the printed version. Start with LINCCWeb Databases on the college's website (http://www.mdc.edu/libraries/). Librarian Laurie Hime has graciously allowed me to post her handout on using these databases here.
2) When using search engines, often it is a good idea to use more than one engine. Abilock (2004) provides a page http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html that helps you choose the best search engine for your particular needs. Many people currently like Google (http://www.google.com/ ) and Dogpile (http://www.dogpile.com/ ).
Government agencies provide all three types of information (primary, secondary, tertiary) and are increasingly going online; see http://miamidade.gov/ (county), http://www.myflorida.com/ (state) or http://www.firstgov.gov/ (federal). For many topics, especially localized topics, it can be worthwhile visiting agency sites. However, you still need to evaluate each source carefully.
Citeseer (http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/) good for full-print articles on Science and Technology
Congressional Research Service. Part of the Library of Congress that produces background reports for legislators. These are usually well-researched, high-quality reports with good leads to additional information. Although the CRS does not publish the reports online, some agencies and organizations republish them online. An online search will help you find them.
MDC through LINCCWeb also provides access to books that have been converted to electronic format (e-Books). A directory of e-book resources may be found at http://www.fiu.edu/~library/internet/subjects/e-books/e-texts.html .
Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.net/) can also provide free online access to many books, especially clasics that you may need to use as a primary source for humanities papers.
First and foremost be sure you can find it again – keep a trail of your research. When using the web, bookmark the sites you visit. When using print materials use note cards. If you are using public computers, web bookmarks can be copied to a floppy disk for later use.
Skim each source first before spending a lot of time with it. Read its abstract if available. Once you decide that a source is good, take BRIEF notes. DO NOT WASTE TIME copying paragraphs!
Quotations are used for accuracy, authority, conciseness and vividness (Maricopa English Department, slide 28) and should be used sparingly. When you encounter an especially quotable statement you may wish to copy it into your notes. Don't overuse quotes.
When working at a computer I find it helpful to keep open at least two word processing files. I keep one to hold my bibliographic information and the other for jotting down notes and copying quotes. When using an online database it is often quite simple to copy the citation directly into the bibliographic file -- the database citations usually have the information necessary for the APA reference listing.
It is a good idea to gather a considerable amount of information before you begin writing. How can you know if you have gathered enough information? One measure that you may have found all that you can is that your research is beginning to find repeated information referring to the same primary sources. One measure that you may not have found enough information is that you have not found an opposing view (if it is a controversial subject) or an alternative interpretation of the data (if it is not controversial).
Once you are confident that you know the topic, don't attempt to write the paper in a single pass. If you are using a computer I strongly suggest you use the outlining feature of your word processor to sketch out a rough draft. You can think more clearly and write faster if you are not worried about the final form. Once you have your ideas, arguments and evidence sketched out, begin the final writing process. Each paper I write generally has at least four word processor files associated with it: Notes, Bibliography, Original Outline and Current Draft. The current draft is created by using Save As… on the Original Outline.
Every audience has expectations. For your work to taken seriously in an academic setting you need to meet the expectations of the academic audience. An academic audience not only expects grammatically correct writing, logical arguments and intellectual honesty; the audience expects you to present your paper in a predictable style. A predicable style lets the reader read faster and to focus on the content rather than on the details of the presentation.
There are two major academic styles APA and MLA. This is actually makes writing easier since all formatting decisions have already been made; it lets you focus on the writing rather than the formatting
Although the official APA Guidebook is available for sale from the APA (for about $30) there are many websites that may assist you. I recommend the following sites as starting points:
Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format (Updated to 5th Edition) (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html)
APA Style Essentials (http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.cfm?doc_id=796)
A Guide for Writing Research Papers based on Styles Recommended by The American Psychological Association (http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/index.htm)
APA Research Style Crib Sheet (http://www.docstyles.com/apacrib.htm)
If you use Microsoft Word to write your paper, APA Style templates are available for downloading to make the job even easier. Some are free and may take some work to install; others are available for sale and include an installer program.
"To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use
(Writing Tutorial Services, p. 1)
All students should visit at least one of these sites before starting on their paper:
Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It (http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html)
How Not to Plagiarize (http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/plagsep.html)
MYTHS ABOUT PLAGIARISM (http://www.nv.cc.va.us/home/dashkenas/PLAGIARISM.htm)
One important benefit of using the APA (or MLA) style is that it provides a consistent means of identifying other authors' ideas and a consistent means of leading your readers to the original material.
If you are planning to continue in college, I highly recommend the book The Craft of Research by Booth, Colomb and Williams. This covers every aspect of developing, researching and writing a research paper. It focuses on the process rather than the details of APA style. I wish I had it when I was an undergraduate.
In addition to the book above, there are many websites providing suggestions about the overall process as well. One of the best I've come across is Steps in the Research Process (http://www.andover.edu/library/rprocess/rprocesssteps.htm) by the Phillips Academy Andover.
Abilock, Debbie (2004) Choose the Best Search for Your Information Need. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from: http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html.
Asmus, Edward P. (no date) APA Style Sheet, University of Miami. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from http://www.music.miami.edu/research/APAstyle/
Barker, Joe (2004, January 7) Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask in Finding Information on the Internet: A Tutorial Retrieved June 15, 2004 from http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html
Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2003). The Craft of Research, 2ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Darling, Charles (2004) A Guide for Writing Research Papers based on Styles Recommended by The American Psychological Association, Humanities Department and the Arthur C. Banks Jr. Library, Capital Community College, Hartford, Connecticut. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from: http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/index.htm
DeArmond, Celita (October 3, 2003) Scholarly Journal v. Popular Magazine Articles. San Antonio College Library & Media Services. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from: http://www.accd.edu/sac/lrc/librns/celita/scholarly.htm
Degelman, Douglas, Ph.D., and Harris, Martin Lorenzo, Ph.D. (2004) APA Style Essentials, Vanguard University of Southern California. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from: http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.cfm?doc_id=796
Henderson, John (2004, Febuary 10), How Can You Find Anything on the World Wide Web? Ithaca College Library. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from: http://www.ithaca.edu/library/Training/findgoog.html
Karper, Erin and Neyhart, David (2002) Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format (Updated to 5th Edition), Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html
Kirk, Elizabeth E. (2001) Information and Its Counterfeits: Propaganda, Misinformation and Disinformation. Sheridan Libraries, John Hopkins University. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from http://www.library.jhu.edu/elp/useit/evaluate/counterfeit.html.
Maricopa English Department (no date) Finding, Evaluating, and Recording Material. Glendale Community College. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from http://www.gc.maricopa.edu/English/ppt/research_files/frame.htm
OWHL Web Team (2003) Steps in the Research Process, OWH Library at Phillips Academy Andover. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from: http://www.andover.edu/library/rprocess/rprocesssteps.htm
Procter, Margaret (2004) How Not to Plagiarize, University of Toronto. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from: http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/plagsep.html
Writing Tutorial Services (no date) Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It, Indiana University Bloomington. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html
NOTE: This page does NOT use APA Style. Specifically it is not double spaced and the heading styles are not correct.