The Dreaded Research Paper

1. The Dreaded Research Paper

2. Types of Research • Primary- generating new ideas and information on your own. • Secondary- gathering and analyzing the results of other people’s research

3. Research is….. • “about satisfying curiosity, about finding something you are interested in, exploring it, and making discoveries.” • “Whatever you plan to do with your future, knowing how to do research will be of great value to you.”

4. What is the Research Process? • Choosing your topic • Doing preliminary research • Limiting your subject to a specific topic • Finding an angle and writing a statement of controlling purpose • Preparing a list of possible resources • Taking notes and developing a rough, working outline • Organizing your notes and making a final outline

5. Research Process continued…. • Writing your first draft • Revising your draft • Writing the final draft, with a complete list of works cited.

6. The first step… • Choose your topic • Choose something that you have a REAL reason for wanting to explore. • “Often the best subjects for research reports are ones that relate to your own life or to the lives of people you know.”

7. Interest Inventory • Respond in writing to the questions your teacher gives you…..

8. Limiting your Subject / Choosing a Topic • Should be interesting • Readily available resources • Significant topic • Objective • Allows you to come up with own ideas • Narrow enough to be covered fully

9. Statement of Controlling Purpose • Support • Prove • Determine values • Analyze • Define • Explain cause and effect • Establish cause and effect • Describe development • Identify/ describe trend • Classify • Relate part to whole • Compare/ contrast • Examine • Explain- concept or idea

10. What to do when I go to the library… • Set up Research folder in “My docs” • Research periodicals to find general articles on your topic. • Brainstorm with peers or teacher to come up with ideas. • Randomly choose a book on your subject from the shelf. Look through it to find specific ideas. • Search the internet.

11. Working Bibliography • A list of sources that might be useful in writing your paper. • Place to start looking for resources include: • Other people • Institutions or organizations • Government • Library or Media Center • On line • References

12. Websites to use… • www.cactisearch.com • www.vivisimo.com • www.brainboost.com • www.kartoo.com • www.google.com • www.yahoo.com • Other helpful sites… • www.britannica.com • www.encarta.msn.com • Boston Public Library http://search3.webfeat.org/bostonsearch.asp?cat=dbchildren • New York Public Library http://kids.nypl.org/internet/reference.cfm

13. Evaluating Sources • Is the source authoritative? Is it reliable and accurate? • Is the source unbiased? Does it lack prejudices? • Is the source up to date? • Is the work written on an appropriate level? • Is the source highly recommended?

14. Which is the bogus website? • http://www.molossia.org/countryeng.html • http://www.enjoyengland.com/

15. Making Bibliography Cards • Essential information- author, title, publication place and date, pages used. • Source note- where you found the source. • Source number- different for each source you find. • Card catalog number- if appropriate. • We will discuss your Works Cited page at a later time.

16. How do I make source cards? • “Do not read, view, or listen to every part of a source. Concentrate on the parts that relate to your topic and your purpose.” • Direct Quotation • Paraphrase • Summarize • Make sure the source is indicated on the notes.

17. How do I make an outline? • This outline will be the basis for your research paper. • Determine order of information- chronological, cause-effect, etc. • Long phrases or sentences should be used to allow for clear understanding of paper.

18. Here is an example of an outline…… • I. Causes of the War of 1812 • A. Trade conflicts with Great Britain and France • B. Impressment of US sailors by Britain • C. Responses by the US government • 1. Embargo Act • 2. Failure of the act

19. Outline Helper

20. Now let’s make it a sentence outline… • I. Several international and domestic events combined to cause the War of 1812. • A. As a result of trade conflicts between Great Britain and France, each country began attacking US ships that tried to trade with the other. • B. Great Britain angered the United States by impressing its sailors, or seizing them and making them serve its navy.

21. Continued…. • C. The US government responded to these actions by trying to make Great Britain and France suffer economically. • 1. Congress passed the Embargo Act, which prohibited US trade with Britain, France, and any nation that traded with them. • 2. The act was not effective because instead of harming Britain’s trade and economy, it actually improved them.

22. The draft is a work in progress… • Introduction- grab your readers attention, include your thesis statement • Report on your research • Conclusion- restate your main idea and reasons

23. Revisions • Use the revision checklist to revise and edit your paper. Utilize your teacher’s and peer’s knowledge to make your paper better. • Revision Checklist

24. MLA Format