Research:
The ability to research is an important skill. Research helps you learn more about a subject, and allows you to form conclusions and opinions based upon facts. This guide will help you understand the steps to conducting more formal research and writing a research paper.
Know what type of paper you are writing:
There are two types of research papers that you may encounter. Both of them require critical thinking, which means that when you look through your sources you try to remain unbiased and think hard about the information provided to you.
- Argumentative: With an argumentative paper, the information that you find will be used to form an opinion about the subject. In your paper, you will try to use the information to
- Analytical: Analytical papers are used to break a topic down in order to better understand it. Unlike an argumentative paper, you will not pick a side, but remain neutral and simply state the facts and explain multiple opinions of the topic.
Pick your topic:
When picking a topic, try to pick something that you find interesting. If you have a genuine interest in the topic, conducting research and writing the paper will come more naturally. Consider the scope of your topic. If your topic is too broad, you might have to narrow it, and if your topic does not have enough information surrounding it, you might have to broaden it.
Create a research question:
Writing a research question will help guide your research. It also will help you find just the right amount of information.
Finding sources:
When finding sources to use for your research paper, it is important to make sure that the information is coming from somewhere reliable. For example, sources like textbooks and academic reports are much more reliable than web forums or yes, even Wikipedia. When evaluating whether or not a source is reliable, there are a few things to consider.
Create a research question:
Writing a research question will help guide your research. It also will help you find just the right amount of information.
Finding sources:
When finding sources to use for your research paper, it is important to make sure that the information is coming from somewhere reliable. For example, sources like textbooks and academic reports are much more reliable than web forums or yes, even Wikipedia. When evaluating whether or not a source is reliable, there are a few things to consider.
- Structure: Read certain parts of the article, like the introduction or abstract if the article has one. This will help you determine the author's stance on the topic, as well as help you decide if the text will help you answer your research question.
- Audience: Determining the audience of a text will help you figure out the writing level of the paper. If the paper was written for a group of doctors, the information may be too technical for you to understand, however, the information is most likely reliable. If the article was written as an opinion article for the general public, the information may be too biased to be considered reliable.
- Author: The author's background can also help you figure out if the information is reliable. Check to see if the author has plenty of experience in the area of your topic.
Primary and secondary sources:
When researching your paper, it is important to utilize both primary and secondary sources.
- Primary sources: Primary sources are original documents. They can be first-hand accounts, diaries, film or pictures, and more. Primary sources are good because they have not already been interpreted.
- Secondary sources: Secondary sources are documents that interpret primary sources. Examples can be textbooks, reviews, or articles. Secondary sources can help you better understand primary sources.
Create an outline:
Start with a basic outline of how you want your paper to be organized. List out your main points, and find sources that you found earlier that can be used to support those points. Once you have created an outline that organized your paper and details what information and sources you will use, the paper will almost write itself.
Integrating sources:
When writing your paper, it will be necessary to implement information from your sources to support the claims you make in your paper. Try to summarize and paraphrase information from your sources rather than using direct quotes every time. You should have more paraphrases than quotes. If you do use a quote, make sure to thoroughly explain it. And, of course, make sure to correctly cite the sources that you use.
Writing and revising your first draft:
Now that you have good knowledge of your topic and a stellar outline, writing the paper should be a breeze. However, your first draft will not be perfect. Make sure to go through yourself and make sure there are no grammatical or spelling errors. Then, if possible, try to have one of your peers read your paper. What may have made sense to you, may not make sense to someone else. They can tell you where you need to offer more explanation or reorganize your paper.
DrPPrice. "Researching Online for College Students: Five Easy Steps." Video blog post. YouTube. YouTube, 4 Apr. 2008. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.
