Research Paper Help for ESL 151

Types of Sources

Before getting started it's important to understand the different types of resources there are out there, and how/when this information is produced.  Watch the "Life in the Information Age" video below from IC@GCC. Purdue OWL has a great page on "Online vs. Print" sources. 

Timing your Research

Plan your time so that you don't leave thing to last minute.  A research paper requires time to gather background information; brainstorm; create a preliminary outline; search and evaluate sources; read and analyze sources, and incorporate what you're learning into your working knowledge; revise your outline based on what you've learned; write first draft; do more research to fill in the missing gaps (if any) in your draft; and finally rewrite draft as many times as is required to meet the parameters of the assignment.  Use the Assignment Calculator from Minnesota Libraries to plan your time effective.

Selecting the Right Sources

Let's face it, most of us start our research on the Internet rather than library resources, so it is important for you to understand that "[t]he World Wide Web offers information and data from all over the world. Because so much information is available, and because that information can appear to be fairly 'anonymous,' it is necessary to develop skills to evaluate what you find. When you use a research or academic library, the books, journals, and other resources have already been evaluated by scholars, publishers and librarians. Every resource you find has been evaluated in one way or another before you ever see it. When you are using the World Wide Web, none of this applies. There are no filters. Because anyone can write a Web page, documents of the widest range of quality, written by authors of the widest range of authority, are available on an even playing field. Excellent resources reside along side the most dubious. The Internet epitomizes the concept of "Caveat lector: Let the reader beware." from John Hopkins University. 

There are various methods to evaluate information you find on the internet. While all of these are important criteria for evaluating websites, you MUST establish authority if you plan on using a source for an academic purpose.  See the Evaluating Internet Sources box on this page and the "Evaluating Information" page on our IC@GCC guide for guidance.

Using Sources: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

Understanding how to properly quote, paraphrase and summarize can help you avoid plagiarism. To learn more, watch the Plagiarism video below from IC@GCC. Some useful sites include: Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing (from Purdue OWL). Also, check out these videos on the and "Avoiding Plagiarism" page (from GCC Library). A great site on notetaking skills is Taking  Lecture Notes and Class Notes (from Darmouth); learning and applying these skills in your research process will save you time and frustration later.

 Choosing a Topic

If you do not have a pre-assigned topic, select a topic of interest to you.  Try to pick something you want to learn more about.  For a list of research topics, visit the "Browse Issues" page in the library database Opposing Viewpoints in Context, which you can access through the Library Databases page under the box "Recommended Databases." Read more at Purdue OWL's Choosing a Topic.

Background Research

Before getting started with your research, it’s important to have a clear idea about what you are seeking. This means you need to be able to accurately and comprehensively describe your topic. Do a quick web search to learn more about your topic and note different keywords used to describe your topic.  Reference sources are a great tool for finding concise, authoritative information.  Try the Credo Reference Library Database, which includes over 450 electronic reference books such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, quotations, and atlases, plus a wide range of subject-specific reference titles.

Brainstorming

As you are doing background research, document related keywords and topics. Keywords are important concepts or descriptive words that can be used to describe what you are seeking when searching for information in databases, the online catalog, or on the web. Keywords are also referred to as subject terms, subject headings, descriptors, or index terms. All of these words mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably. When searching online, the results you end up with will only be as strong as the keywords used. If incorrect or obscure keywords are being used to describe your subject, chances are your search results will reflect this. Try some of the techniques on the "Brainstorm" page from the Purdue OWL.

Outlining

Creating an outline helps organize your ideas into categories and facilitates the writing process.  Purdue OWL's Outline Components and How to Outline can help you get started. Your preliminary outline will likely change as you start your research and find out more about your topic.

Finally! It's Time to Look for Sources: Searching and Researching

Make note of which databases you use, your search terms (keywords vs. subjects, topics, or descriptors), search results and relevance of results retrieved.  This will save time in case you need to redo your search later.

Here's a simple table useful for keeping track of your research so that you don't repeat unproductive searches later:

"MLA 8th Edition" from the GCC Library offers instructions on how to cite in MLA.