All You Need To Know About Writing A Research Paper

1. All You Need To Know About Writing A Research Paper By Kaitlyn Froelich Next

2. Welcome As you make your way through this PowerPoint presentation, you will learn how to effectively write a well-written research paper. Click here to begin!

3. Self-Test Menu: • Why do we research? • Taking Control • Types of Sources • Plagiarism and How to Avoid it • Making Your Voice Present • Writing Formats Next

4. Why Research? We research because intuition can be completely wrong. As we grow older, we assume ideas and thoughts and believe them to be true. However, once a person researches a specific topic, we open up our minds to learning more about the subject. Next Menu

5. Why Research? (cont.) Want an Example? An article was published in 2013, around late February, that discussed which was more dangerous: motorcycles or horseback riding. Naturally, many people assume the motorcycles are more dangerous. However, the articles main point was that horseback riding is more dangerous because the horse is alive and the motorcycle is not. Previous Next Menu

6. Taking Control of the Essay What’s your goal? Present the information? Or argue an opinion? Whose your audience? Are they an expert on the topic? Or, are they going to be new to the topic? Will your paper be friendly? Or hostile? Who are you? Expert? Novice? Amateur? Previous Next Menu

7. Remember! You can always sharpen your research paper, but not broaden your research paper once it has been started! Previous Next Menu

8. Types of Sources: Previous Next Menu

9. Primary Sources A Primary source is original information .For example: a survey I conducted myself on campus. Previous Next Menu

10. Secondary Sources A secondary source is about primary sources.For example: a book on the life of Martin Luther King. Previous Next Menu

11. Where to find sources? Typically, the first place many people go to find sources for their research is the library. This is an excellent place to go because you can find printed sources, whether they are books, magazines, or brochures, to find information on the topic you have chosen. Previous Next Menu

12. Other Types of Sources: • interviews with people who have specialized knowledge on the topic • Radio • Television • conducting your own survey • Conducting your own experiment • a letter to a person who knows about the topic. Previous Next Menu

13. Remember! There are many sources out there to choose from, just make sure the information you decide to put into your paper is actually credible knowledge. Previous Next Menu

14. So what are “Credible Sources?” Previous Next Menu

15. Scholarly Information • When writing your research paper you want to mainly obtain scholarly information. • Can be from places such as Universities, Government foundations (like The National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and doctors or organizations that specialize in the area. Previous Next Menu

16. Popular Information • Anything with authority and does not look boring. • Note: Sometimes a source can be scholarly and popular, like a photography magazine. Previous Next Menu

17. Plagiarism Previous Next Menu

18. Plagiarism A common mistake that many students make when writing research papers is plagiarism-- notice I said, “mistake.” This is because many students do not intentionally mean to not give credit, they just forget that the information they wrote in that word document was from a website they read two weeks ago. Previous Next Menu

19. Avoiding Plagiarism The best way to avoid plagiarism is to bold sentences that were taken from sources; then immediately cite that source. You can unbold once you are ready to turn in your final draft. It is important to keep in mind however, that if you are directly quoting information, that you put quotation marks around it. If you paraphrased the information you found from your source, quotation marks are not necessary-- but an in-text citation is required to give credit to the author. Previous Next Menu

20. Making Your Voice Present What does this mean? Never open with a source, especially in your introduction and conclusions. Previous Next Menu

21. Making Your Voice Present: Previous Next Menu

22. Types of Writing Formats • MLA • APA • Chicago Style • CSE Previous Next Menu

23. MLA • Modern Language Association • Page numbers for in-text citation • Works Cited page for sources • Mainly writers use this format. Previous Next Menu

24. APA • American Psychological Administration • Instead of page numbers for the in-text citations, writers will put the year. • Mainly Nurses and Social Sciences use this format. • “Reference” page, instead of a “Works Cited” page, and in the Reference page, there will not be capitals except at the beginning of the citation. Previous Next Menu

25. Chicago Style • Oldest writing style there is. • Mostly historians use Chicago Style, however theology, humanities, and people studying the arts will also use this format as well • Footnotes are either at the bottom of the page, or on a separate page attached to the back of the reading material. • “Ibid” which means, “Same as above.” • Works Cited page is referred to as “Bibliography” Previous Next Menu

26. CSE • Counsel of Science Editors • Used by people in the math and science departments. • Authors will put a number at the end of the sentence in the paper; and then, in the Reference page, there will be information about the source listed by number. Previous Next Menu

27. Self-Test Instructions: • There will be a set of 12 questions to answer– all of which are either True/False or Multiple Choice. • Simply click on the answer in which you believe to be right. If right, move on to the next question. If inncorrect, go ahead and try again until you know the correct answer. • Have fun!  Previous Next Menu

28. Good Luck! Begin Test

29. Question 1 Why do we research? A) The teacher has given us a paper to write. B) Because we may have thoughts and ideas that could be completely wrong. C) To impress the ladies.

30. Correct! We research because intuition can be completely wrong. As we grow older, we assume ideas and thoughts and believe them to be true. However, once a person researches a specific topic, we open up our minds to learning more about the subject. Next Question

31. Incorrect Good guess! But maybe you should try again. Back to Question

32. Question 2 What’s the very first thing you should do before you even write your name in a Microsoft Word document? Understand the guidelines your teacher wants you to write about. Pick out what font and color you want to type in. Find books on the topic. D) Take control of the essay.

33. Correct! The very first thing you must do before you even write your name in a Microsoft Word document is take control of the essay. Next Question

34. Incorrect Good guess! But maybe you should try again. Back to Question

35. Question 3 True or False: You can always sharpen your research paper, but not broaden your research paper once it has been started True False

36. Correct! You must get focused quickly when writing a research paper, but one thing to keep in mind before you start writing is that you can always sharpen your research paper, but not broaden your research paper once it has been started. Next Question

37. Incorrect Good guess! But maybe you should try again. Back to Question

38. Question 4 What are the two types of sources? A) Popular and Scholarly B) Primary and Secondary C) Alpha and Omega D) Good and Bad

39. Correct! There are two types of sources: Primary and Secondary. A Primary source is original information; for example, a survey I conducted myself on campus. A Secondary source is about primary sources; for example, a book on the life of Martin Luther King. Next Question

40. Incorrect Good guess! But maybe you should try again. Back to Question

41. Question 5 What are the two types of credible sources? A) Popular and Scholarly B) Primary and Secondary C) Alpha and Omega D) Good and Bad

42. Correct! Credible sources can be sorted in two categories: popular and scholarly. If it looks boring, it is most likely scholarly. However, sometimes a source can be scholarly and popular, like a photography magazine. When writing your research paper however, you want to mainly obtain scholarly information. Scholarly information can be from places such as Universities, Government foundations (like The National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and doctors or organizations that specialize in the area. For example, you may not want to ask Billy-Joe walking down the promenade how many acres of pizza American’s eat per year. This is because unless Billy-Joe has a Ph.D. in Italian Cuisine Intake, he will not be very credible and will not be the best source to use for your research paper. Next Question

43. Incorrect Good guess! But maybe you should try again. Back to Question

44. Question 6 Often, plagiarism by students is… A) A smart move. B) Due to staying up too late at night. C) A mistake.

45. Correct! A common mistake that many students make when writing research papers is plagiarism-- notice I said, “mistake.” This is because many students do not intentionally mean to not-give-credit, they just forget that the information they wrote in that word document was from a website they read two weeks ago. Next Question

46. Incorrect Good guess! But maybe you should try again. Back to Question

47. Question 7 How can one avoid plagiarism? A) Bold the copied sentences once you write them in your paper. B) Never copy and paste from a website directly. C) Get plenty of sleep at night.

48. Correct! The best way to avoid plagiarism is to bold sentences that were taken from sources; then immediately cite that source. You can unbold once you are ready to turn in your final draft. Next Question

49. Incorrect Good guess! But maybe you should try again. Back to Question

50. Question 8 True or False: If you are directly quoting something, you do not need quotation marks as long as you use in-text citations. True False