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Researching And Writing An Academic Paper

Coral Payne www.coralpaynecounselling.com 604-809-9693. Researching And Writing An Academic Paper. Agenda. Steps to writing an academic paper APA Style and Formatting Writing tips. What Is Academic Writing?. Academic writing is writing done by scholars for other scholars.

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Researching And Writing An Academic Paper

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  1. Coral Payne www.coralpaynecounselling.com 604-809-9693 Researching And Writing An Academic Paper

  2. Agenda • Steps to writing an academic paper • APA Style and Formatting • Writing tips

  3. What Is Academic Writing? • Academic writing is writing done by scholars for other scholars. • Academic writing should present the reader with an informed argument.

  4. Steps To Writing An Academic Paper • Choosing a topic • Make an outline • Find information • Organize your notes and references • Write your first draft • Revisions to final document

  5. Choosing A Topic • Read the assignment! Make sure you know what is being asked of you. • Choose a topic that you are interested in, something that excites you. • Narrow your topic, focus on a limited aspect of your topic. • Acknowledge other points of view.

  6. Make An Outline • Most important step • Organize your thoughts in a logical manner • Use headings and sub-headings • One page in length • Stick to your outline!!!

  7. Paper Format • Title page • Abstract • Introduction • Thesis statement (comes at the end of the introduction) • Discussion (Other viewpoints, support your argument) • Conclusion (wrap it up) • References

  8. What is an Abstract? Concise summary of the key points of your research • Research topic • Research questions • Conclusions Write the abstract after you have written your paper.

  9. Style of Writing • Be analytical, critical, clear and concise • Create an informed argument • Write clearly and intelligently • Invite the reader in, build your case • Make it easy for the reader • Pay attention to grammar and style

  10. Finding Scholarly Information • Use both print and electronic sources • Librarians at City U Seattle • Online databases available through City University Website PsycARTICLES is a database of full-text articles PsycBOOKS is a full-text database of books and chapters PsycINFO is an abstract database of psychological literature from the 1800s to the present • Search Engines on the internet

  11. Evaluating Sources of Information • Look at the citation first (author, date, title, source) • Read the abstract • Is the content fact or opinion? • Are the sources of facts clearly indicated? • Be wary of broad generalizations • How timely is the source? • Arguments one sided with little acknowledgement of other viewpoints?

  12. Common References For Scholarly Articles • Journal articles • Chapters in edited books • Entire books • Conference proceedings • Personal Communication with scholar

  13. Why Are Print Sources So Important? • Extensive publication process including editing and article review • Qualified authors • Publication information clearly indicated • Peer reviewed

  14. Unacceptable Sources • What are some unacceptable sources of information?

  15. Unacceptable Sources • Secondary Sources - citing a source youfound in another source - (use only if the original work is out of print, unavailable, or not in English) • Facebook, twitter, magazines, newspapers

  16. Web Or Electronic Databases • Use most recent version • Journal volume and page numbers • Digital Object Identifier (DOI) at end of reference • If no DOI, cite URL

  17. References In The Text • Cite everything that is not an original idea (findings, ideas, theories, personal conversations, e-mails, class notes, etc.)

  18. Keeping Track of References • Reference list is to help readers find the sources you used • Avoid plagiarism (define) – take careful notes • Make a master reference list • Copy and paste references to avoid errors • Add each new article to the reference list • Highlight portions of the article you wish to use, and write the topic heading at the top of the page • Keep articles organized in files by subject category

  19. Eat your Timbit

  20. What Is APA Style? Establishes standards of written communication concerning: • The organization of content • Writing style • Citing references

  21. Makes it easier for readers to understand a text by providing a familiar structure they can follow. Accounts for up to 30% of your grade. Why Use APA Style?

  22. APA Formatting • Typeface (Times New Roman) • Line spacing (double) • Margins • indent first line of every paragraph by ½ inch • Align next to left-hand margin – “ragged” right margin • Page headers • Pagination (Page 1: Title page)

  23. Examples Using APA • Title page • Abstract • Main Body • References

  24. Title Page

  25. Abstract

  26. Main Body

  27. References

  28. APA Style Headings

  29. Headings Introduction (level 1) Major Doughnut Players (level 2) Tim Hortons (level 3) Timbits bite-sized treats. (level 4) Krispy Kream doughnuts (level 3) Original glazed doughnuts. (level 4) Dunkin Donuts (level 3) Old fashioned cake donut. (level 4)

  30. In Text Citations: Authors A work by one or two authors: Research by Wegener and Petty (1994) supports... (Wegener & Petty, 1994) A work by three to five authors: First citation: (Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry, & Harlow, 1993) Subsequent citations: (Kernis et al., 1993)

  31. In Text Citations: Quotations SHORT QUOTATIONS According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199). LONG QUOTATIONS (more than 40 words) Jones's (1998) study found the following: Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

  32. Reference List: Author/Authors Single author: Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 7-10. Two authors: Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994). Mood management across affective states: The hedonic contingency hypothesis. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 66, 1034-1048.

  33. Reference List: Articles In Periodicals Paginated by volume: Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing psychology journal articles. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55, 893-896. Paginated by issue: Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(30), 5-13.

  34. Reference List: Books Basic format: Calfee, R.C., & Valencia, R.R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Edited book, no author: Duncan, G. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (Eds.). (1997). Consequences of growing up poor. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation. Chapter in an edited book: O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's gender role journeys: Metaphor for healing, transition, and transformation. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.), Gender issues across the life cycle (pp. 107-123). New York, NY: Springer.

  35. Reference List: Electronic Sources Article from online periodical Bernstein, M. (2002). 10 tips on writing the living Web. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 149. Retrieved from http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving Article form online periodical with DOI assigned Brownlie, D. (2007). Toward effective poster presentations: An annotated bibliography. European Journal of Marketing, 41(11/12), 1245-1283. doi:10.1108/03090560710821161

  36. Writing Tips • Plagiarism - reminder • Punctuation – use short sentences • Tenses Jones (1998) found or Jones (1998) has found... • Wordiness (shorter is better) • Abbr. (18 pages in APA Publication Manual) – use sparingly • Contractions (don’t= do not; I’m= I am; could’ve= could have; shouldn’t= should not) • Possessive ('s; s’; s) • Spell check and grammar check

  37. Resource List • APA style webpage http://www.apastyle.org/learn/index.aspx • Owl – Purdue Online Writing Lab http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01

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