The Research Process
Gathering Information
You are now ready to begin gathering information about your topic. This is the place where you will spend most of your research time reading and taking notes. Taking notes is NOT opening a book and writing exactly what you find there. Normally, you will read a short section and then summarize or paraphrase what you want to remember: in other words, you will put the information into your own words. If you do find information that is vital to your paper, and you believe you should include it exactly the way it is written in the source, you must cite it as a direct quotation enclosing it in quotation marks. Be sure that you are taking notes that pertain only to your topic and do not include any extraneous information that does not relate directly to your topic.
Instructors sometimes allow students leeway in the manner of notetaking. Some teachers require the researcher to write the notes on index cards, others allow the researcher to write in notebooks, or to use loose-leaf paper that can be rearranged easily. While you will be utilizing the source sheets I have provided, be certain to include enough information at the very beginning of each sheet to indicate the source of the information, usually the author’s name, the title of the book or article, and the page number referenced are enough. Your sources should be in proper MLA documentation, and by correctly using your source sheets, your sources can easily be converted to correct MLA format in both your parenthetical documentation and Works Cited page. You will be using the source sheets. Please follow the instructions found there.
As you are taking notes, keep in mind that you will be categorizing your information at the conclusion of your note taking process. These categories, also known as slugs, are created by the researcher in order to sort information. Lets’ say for instance you are researching Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and you are taking notes on symptoms. You may categorize that section of notes as symptoms. For example, disease categories might include causes, care and treatment, symptoms, and current research. When you finish your note taking, you can then use your source sheets to divide your notes into these categories, thus forming the divisions of your outline. If this process confuses you, don’t worry. We will be working on this categorizing together!
The Research Process
Taking Notes
· Keep all of your notes organized on the source sheet they correspond to. If you need additional space for your notes, attach a separate sheet of paper.
· Exhaust all of the data from one source before going on to another source
· When you move to a different source, only take notes over information you have not already gathered from a previous source. To do this would be redundant and unnecessary!
· When you have made notes from all of your sources, sort your notes into the categories you have defined. We will do this step together in class by creating a color key.
· Some notes may not fit into a category, or you may not have enough notes in a category to form a substantial amount. Put these aside. You may find a use for these in your introduction or conclusion.
· Sort the notes in each category into a logical sequence. You can do this by using numbers if you so choose. Or any other method you deem best. Decide which one should come first, second, and so forth. If holes in your research appear, go back to the library for additional information. Each section of notes should be about equal in number. You should have enough notes to cover your topic thoroughly.
· The notes you have placed in the categories will become the body of your research paper. You can now formulate your thesis sentence and develop your outline, using the categories you have defined as main topics.
Note taking
There are three types of notes. Each has a distinct purpose and its own rules of documentation. Be certain that you understand the difference between them and follow the rules. Because your paper must not be plagiarized which happens when another’s ideas are used incorrectly, you must be sure you take notes correctly.
Direct Quotes: using the author’s exact words and enclosing them in quotation marks.
Direct quotes are used only when the impact of the exact words will be very important in the completed paper. If for some reason (i.e. technical wording, statistics, or concrete facts), the writer cannot paraphrase the material in any way, then the material must be quoted directly on the cards. Direct quote means exactly that… the words in the source are written in your notes EXACTLY as they appear in the source. All punctuation and spelling must be written as in the source. The words are enclosed in quotation marks on the cards and in the paper.
Example:“He [Wilder] felt that through theater he could make his greatest contributions to the literature of his own time. His aesthetic notions about playwriting were greatly different from those of his contemporaries, and he wanted to translate those theories into actual plays.”
Direct quotes should be used sparingly. Avoid the ease of quoting material in your notes because it will then be difficult to paraphrase the material in the final paper.
Paraphrasing: restating the author’s ideas in one’s own words.
This technique is used to convey the author’s meaning on specific points. The writer must read from the source, decide what the meaning is, and then write the meaning in his/her own words not using more than three consecutive words from the source nor using the source’s sentence pattern. If the writer cannot understand the source, then another source should be found.
Example:
Wilder believed that his strongest impact on contemporary literature would be made through playwriting. His artistic views about drama were quite unlike those of other playwrights of his ear, and he wished to put his ideas into practice.
Summarizing: restating only the main points and important supporting details.
Summarize when there is general information in the source which seems important. The material is not so specific that exact author’s ideas are needed.
Example:
Wilder believed that his most innovative and influential contributions to contemporary literature would be made in drama.
*Remember, anytime another’s ideas are used, documentation must be included.
How to develop your thesis statement
This is just one way to create an effective thesis statement. This technique is good for students who struggle writing strong thesis statements.
Sample writing topic: Many youth rights advocates argue that American teenage girls are at great risk of developing body image issues or eating disorders due to a body obsessed media and society. Your essay should either support or refute this statement. Support your essay with factual evidence and research.
Doesn’t this topic look similar to the prompt for your research paper?
1. Break it down. On one sheet of paper, you should make a list: all of your arguments that either support or refute this statement. Your arguments will more than likely be based on the notes you have already collected regarding your topic.
· Television shows like America’s Next Top Model are aimed at young teen girls and emphasize having a perfect body. Many characters have eating disorders.
· Magazines aimed at teen girls are filled with pages of seemingly perfect women with perfect bodies.
· Clothing marketed towards teenage women is cut smaller than that of their older counterparts.
· Constant inundation of commercials regarding diet pills and diet products all focused on women lead young women to believe they are not good enough.
(These are just a few you could list.)
2. List your arguments. After you’ve listed your arguments, look for common characteristics (join them together).
1. Television aimed at teens focuses on bodies/commercials aimed at women regarding diet.
2. Magazines focus on body image/clothing cut smaller.
Now that you have manufactured common characteristics, you can certainly avoid writing a typical thesis statement that looks like this: Society and the media create eating disorders in teenage girls through the use of body image focused television, commercials regarding diet products, magazine ads focused on body image, and smaller cut clothing. Is this a bad thesis statement? No. Is it appropriate for your level of writing? No. Is time to change your ways of writing? Yes! So here is the third step.
3. Tie it all together! Pick a correlative conjunction and tie your common characteristics together. You can also use a subordinating conjunction for the sentence preceding your thesis statement. You do not need to use a comma between correlative conjunctions!
Correlative Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunction (Not all of these will work)
not only… but also after, although, as, as if, as long as, as though, because,
either… or before, even though, in order that, provided that, once,
neither… nor since, so that, that though, unless, until, when, where, while
both… and
Here is an example:
Eating disorders in young women have become common through not only the media’s perpetuation of body obsessed images in television but also through a focus on bodily perfection in the fashion industry’s marketing and advertising.
And VOILA- you are done!
Can you think of a better thesis? I’m sure that you can. Look at the list above and create your own thesis here.
______
Formulating a Thesis Statement/Outline
The thesis statement is one declarative sentence that expresses a position on a limited topic. The writer’s task is to collect evidence that proves and supports this statement. Work toward the following qualifications for a good final thesis:
· It should establish an investigative, inventive argument
· It should point forward to the conclusion
· It should guide your final note taking.
The following example could serve as thesis statements for research papers:
Literature Research Paper
Topic: The scaffold as a structural and symbolic device in The Scarlet Letter
Thesis: The scaffold is an important symbol that develops the structural and thematic elements in The Scarlet Letter.
Organizing and Outlining Research Papers
You should begin organizing your essay long before you actually have to produce a formal outline.
Organization is the easiest way to improve your essay, and it is imperative that you are organized and categorized as you do your research.
Step # 1> Deciding categories to be discussed in your paper
You should have already begun to think about this step by making a list of categories or traits that interest you about your topic. Now is the time to solidify this list- meaning decide on the exact issues you will be looking at.
As you research, each of your facts should fit into one of your categories. As you “think in categories”, the process of researching will become far less overwhelming.
Step #2> Informal Outlining
After you have gathered some ideas for a paper, it is a good idea to jot down an informal outline. This will help you determine not only if you have enough information to write a paper but what order you would like to use in writing the ideas into your paper.
Begin by writing the tentatitve point, or thesis statement, of your paper. Then, referring to any notes you have made, list the ideas you plan to use in proving your thesis. You may not want to include all your ideas in the paper, so your outline can help you determine which ideas to keep.
Look at the following as an example:
Tentative Thesis: Stricter gun control is a must in our society today.
· Guns too easy to obtain
· Handgun licensing needed
· Kids fear being shot
· Teens kill with guns 97% of the time
· Owning guns decrease safety
· Second Amendment refers to militia
Developing an informal outline takes very little time. Just remember that an informal outline is a way to organize your writing in the earliest stage, but it should be viewed as a work in progress and, therefore, subject to change.
Step #3> Formal Outlining
Formal outlines can help you organize a rough draft, and they are often used in business as well as academic settings. For a formal outline, you will need to meet the following guidelines:
1. Begin with the thesis statement
2. Use parallel grammatical structure for each level (sentences, prepositional phrases, verbals, etc…)
3. Use complete sentences
4. Each level must have 2 entries-if there is an A, there must be a B; if there is a 1, there must be a 2.
See below for an example of a Formal Outline:
Thesis: The call for stricter gun control policies is a must in our society today.
I. Guns are one of the leading causes of violence in the United States today.
A. Guns are too easily for any reason, by any person.
1. The United States is one of the easiest countries in which to purchase firearms.
a. In 24 states, anyone who is 18 or older can walk into a store, fill out a form, and leave with a gun.
b. The Brady Bill has not gone far enough.