JIM THORPE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT Research Paper Guide: MLA and APA 2/2012 1 2 3 The Research Paper Defined The Research Paper is an organized document prepared by the student after careful research, observation, investigation and discovery. The student goes beyond personal knowledge or experience, through a specific sequence of activities-identifying his or her thesis, locating source material, judging and assessing the data, and then incorporating the research into a cohesive example of scholarship. The student increases his or her understanding, knowledge and opinions of the research topic through this process. This is a learning and doing process. While research projects differ, all student researchers must select an appropriate topic, develop a working thesis or hypothesis, use the library and its various sources, prepare a working bibliography, take notes, outline your paper or project and then do the actual writing of the paper. The Task The student will prepare his/her research paper through the following sequence of activities: • Identifying your thesis • Locating source material • Judging and assessing the data, • Incorporating the research into a cohesive example of scholarship: the Research Paper. The Process of Writing a Research Paper While research projects differ, all student researchers must select an appropriate topic, develop a working thesis or hypothesis, use the library and its various sources, both in print and online, prepare a working bibliography, take notes, outline your paper or project and then do the actual writing. Writing A Research Paper: A Step by Step Procedure A. Select an appropriate topic. Decide what you will write about. 1. Your topic can be: a. Teacher directed or selected b. Selected from a list of approved topics c. Student selected 2. Restrict your subject based on the required length of the paper and the amount of resource material you found. B. Develop a working thesis or hypothesis. Establish the focus of your paper. 1. Decide what you are trying to prove and develop a preliminary thesis sentence to guide your research. The working or preliminary thesis is the purpose or focus of the research. Start your research with several key questions/research questions. 2. Preliminary reading of research materials should be done to develop a research question (thesis) that states the intent of your research. 3. Recognize whether your topic is too broad or too narrow to write a good paper. How long should 4 your paper be? 4. Prepare a preliminary outline using your key questions to help you decide what data you need for your paper. Your outline will change as you gather your information. C. Gathering Data: 1. Compile the working bibliography (a list of all possible sources), using MLA or APA (author- date) style. (Refer to “Working Bibliography Sheet”) 2. Prepare the bibliography on cards in correct form (3" x 5" cards) 3. Begin extensive work in the library; be sure to check: (Refer to “Search Strategy”) a. Reference section b. Non-fiction section c. Indexes (books and collections, literature in periodicals, newspaper d. Card catalog/electronic card catalog e. Vertical File-clippings, maps, etc. 4. Use on-line resources (Refer to “Questions to Ask When Evaluating Material on the WWW” and “Research Materials, Tutorials, and Search Engines for Online and Web Based Sites”) a. Access Pennsylvania Power Library b. Net Trekker c. World Wide Web d. Online Databases 5. Sources outside the Library a. Country, state, and federal agencies b. Experts in the field D. Note Taking and Finding the Main Idea 1. Refine your preliminary outline (Refer to “Sample Outline”) 2. Evaluate your source material on the basis of what is primary material and what is secondary material. What sources should you use? Do you have enough material to write your paper? 3. Begin taking notes on 3” x 5” index cards based on finding the main idea. Avoid plagiarism by taking notes very carefully (Refer to page on plagiarism.) Finding the Main Idea In order for you to take good and useful notes you must develop the skill of finding the main idea. The skill of finding the main idea includes the ability to recognize a group of sentences about the same topic. This grouping is called a paragraph. A paragraph may include any number of sentences, generally from four to six, that belong together. These sentences belong together because they are about the same topic. These sentences will include a topic sentence that presents the main idea, supporting sentences that give details about the topic (main idea) of the paragraph, and a concluding sentence that leads the reader back to the topic of the paragraph. The topic sentence or main idea does not have to be the first sentence of the paragraph, and as you progress in your education the paragraphs will become more complicated and detailed. Some paragraphs, especially those that are either descriptive or narrative, may not have a topic sentence. This type of paragraph is focused on a group of related events or a single scene or character. The main idea or topic is suggested rather than stated outright. You need to read the entire paragraph to discover if the topic sentence comes first to tell you right away what the paragraph is about, or comes in the middle with supporting details around it, or comes last for 5 impact. Once you can identify the topic sentence or main idea of each paragraph, you can find the focus or main idea of an entire reading selection or piece of literature by using the same skill. Finding the focus of your source, and putting it into useable notes makes writing your paper easier. The secret of a well researched and well written research paper is quality note taking. You should use this sample note card as you set up your cards: How to Take Careful Notes for Your Research Paper The key to an excellent research paper or project is meticulous note taking. When you have read, compared, evaluated and scrutinized your sources and deleted the sources you will not be using, it is time to take detailed and reliable notes. The following are acceptable methods: 1. Quotation-Quote verbatim by using quotation marks around the material you want to appear exactly as the source states it. Be sure to note if the quotation continues onto another page. Only quote that material you think must be in the original wording. Transcribe exactly as it appears, word for word, and comma for comma. 2. Paraphrase-Paraphrase sentences and passages that you need detailed notes from but you do not want to quote or use exact wording. By paraphrasing into your own words you include more of yourself but be extremely careful not to distort the meaning of the original work. 3. Summary-Summarize the material if you need only the general idea. Again, be extremely careful not to change or distort the meaning of the original work. It is strongly suggested to write out your notes using your word processor or computer for the actual writing of your paper. When writing the rough draft and revisions make sure you keep a back up copy of your work. The adage better safe than sorry applies here SAMPLE NOTE CARD Source and Page number (Shorthand way of listing where this information came from) Heading (What the note is about) Note (One thought or idea to a note card) (Use quotation marks if you quote directly from your source) Student’s Name E. Writing the Paper: 1. Develop the final outline (“Refer to Sample Outline”) 2. Prepare to write by putting your note cards in the order of your outline. 6 3. Write your rough draft, remembering to tie everything back to the thesis statement. Cite the sources you have used by making parenthetical notation throughout your paper. Parenthetical notations have replaced the use of footnotes. Remember that parenthetical notations are written in either APA Style or MLA Style. (Refer to sections in this manual on parenthetical notation.) 4. Proofread your rough draft thoroughly and carefully check documentation. (Refer to section “How to Write Better” and “Advice”) 5. Revise and rewrite your rough draft into your final copy until it is as perfect as you can make it. Take the time to proofread very thoroughly. 6. Type your final copy according to your instructor’s format. (Refer to “Research Paper Guidelines and Instruction”) 7. Prepare your final bibliography/Reference page. (Refer to sections on preparing a bibliography.) 8. Submit your completed research paper to your teacher. 7 Questions to Ask When Evaluating Information Found on the World Wide Web Questions to ask about each web site you use: • Are the facts and information presented on the web site accurate? • Are they documented? • Do they seem to be well researched? • Is the information current? • Is the information one sided or biased? • Can you tell who the author(s) is (are)? • Do they list the credentials of the author or web master? • What are their educational backgrounds? • Are they experienced in their field? • Is the web site affiliated with a college, university or institution? • Are links provided to other sites? • How does the information on this site compare with other sources that are also available on the topic? • When was the information updated? 8 Online Books and Journals The On-line Books Page—The University of Pennsylvania http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/ A database of links to over 16,000 books available in their entirety online, searchable by author and title, browsable by author, title and subject. Also links to other databases of online books in English and specialty or foreign-language books. EServer - The University of Washington http://eserver.org/ Over 31,000 humanities texts, divided into various disciplines.