The
Research Process
Topic Selection
Selecting
a topic for a research paper or project can be very challenging. You will want
to select a topic that is of interest to you. This will make the research,
reading and writing less of a chore. But you will also want to choose a topic
that has sufficient source material. If you need to write a 10 page paper and
select an event that just happened last week, there won't be enough material to
learn from. It is a good idea to wait to decide on a topic until you do
some preliminary searching for books, articles, and web-based resources. If you
can't find enough, you will want the flexibility to select a new topic.
REMEMBER
: Librarians can help you
with this preliminary searching!
Thesis Statement
This
is the focus for the research paper or project. You will want to make your
topic manageable in scope. So, rather than selecting rock music as a
topic for your paper, you would develop a thesis [definition] about rock music.
Examples of thesis statements:
·
Rock music had a
profound effect on the relations between parents and teenage children in the
1960s (for a sociology class)
·
Rock music was a
driving force in the expansion of record production companies (for a business
class)
·
Rock music played
loud and long has a negative effect on hearing (for a science class)
A
thesis statement such as those above will help you to whittle down the number
of resources you will need to look at, and will provide a focus. Once you do
the research, you will be in a position to prove or disprove your initial
statement.
Overview
When
you start to look for materials on your topic, as defined by your thesis
statement, you might find you need to know more about the general subject area,
or specific parts of it. If you need assistance in finding overview material,
ask a librarian to steer you in the right direction.
Creating an Outline
Some
students find that organizing their thoughts by using an outline helps them to
structure their paper. You may have used outlines when you were in grade school
or high school. An outline includes headings and sub-headings for each section
of the paper. Here is a short example :
Rock Music's Effect on Hearing
I.
Introduction
II.
Background on
hearing
A.
How hearing works
B.
Decibels
1.
Decibel levels of
various noises
III.
Rock music and
decibels
A.
Concert/home/car
levels
B.
Room size
C.
Speaker size
IV.
Scientific
studies
A.
Those supporting
hearing loss
B.
Those seeing no
connection between rock and hearing loss
V.
Summary and
Conclusions
You
can find more information on outline creation in books or websites.
Writing a Draft
You
can use your outline to write a draft version of your paper. Even if you don't
develop an outline first, you should still write a draft. The first version of
your paper will not be your last! You should consider asking your professor to
read your draft, so that you have time to make changes before you get a grade.
You might also ask friends to read the draft. They can tell you what is and
isn't clear, what needed more information, where your logic might be faulty,
etc. You may still be reading additional sources as you write your draft, and
you will need to incorporate additional information into your paper.
Final Version
It
is a good idea to put your draft paper aside for a day before you start working
on the final version. You will look at it with fresh eyes and catch problems
you might otherwise miss.
Proofread
your paper not only for spelling and grammar mistakes, but also for logic and
flow.
·
Did you develop
your central idea adequately?
·
Is each paragraph
satisfactorily developed?
·
Are the
transitions between paragraphs and sections logical?
·
Are you assuming
knowledge on the part of the reader?
·
Do you need to
explain concepts or theories, or clarify sections of your writing?
Follow your
professor's instructions for formatting a paper
Remember
to use the spell check feature of your word processor, but also double-check by
reading your paper carefully. Spell check doesn't catch everything!
Don't
forget to cite your sources! When you paraphrase an author or quote an author
directly, you MUST credit the source. You must also cite another
person's work if you use his or her ideas, information, data, evidence or style
of presentation. When in doubt, CITE!
IF YOU DO NOT
CITE YOUR SOURCES, YOU ARE PLAGIARIZING THE WORK OF OTHERS - A SERIOUS ACADEMIC
OFFENSE AND A VIOLATION OF MANOR COLLEGE REGULATIONS!
Two good books, available
in the library, to consult for more information on writing research papers are :
·
Turbian, Kate L. A
manual for writers of term papers, theses, and dissertations .
·
Luey, Beth. A handbook for academic authors.
8/2006 MRS