ResearchModern Language Association. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Seventh Ed. New York: MLA of America, 2009. Print.

The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008. Web. 31 Oct. 2012.

Research

What is research?Research: to study materials and information already in existence to find facts and come to new conclusions.

What are the purposes of research?Research should be combined with your own ideas and opinions.

An important purpose of researching and writing is to strengthen your own understanding of a topic.

Sources

What is a source?Sources: different places where you can gather information.

Why do we need to research multiple sources?

What are the two main types of sources?primary source: original, first-hand materials from the time period involved

secondary sources: published materials that use or talk about primary sources

Primary Sources

What are some examples of primary sources?

Observations

Surveys

Interviews

Presentations

Diaries, Journals, Letters

Journal article with NEW findings

Secondary Sources

What are some examples of secondary sources?

Textbooks

Magazine articles

Biographies

Encyclopedias

Dictionaries

Research Questions

Why do we need research questions?

To help guide our learning

Successful research questions:A successful research question directly relates to the paper topic.

A successful research question generates ideas for where to find the answers.

A successful research question is not too broad or too narrow so that it can actually be answered by research.

Research Question Activity

Decide whether the following research questions would be appropriate for a research paper on life during the Holocaust.

What was life like during the Holocaust?

What was the diet for soldiers fighting in World War II?

What was life like for women in North Dakota during the early years of the Holocaust?

Why did the United States enter World War II?

What was daily life like for Jews in Denmark during the later years of the Holocaust?

For the successful research questions, what types of sources would be most useful for research?

Research Question Activity

Develop two successful research questions for your current research paper.

List sources that might help answer your research questions.

Gathering Research: Paraphrase and

Summarize

How do you collect your information while you’re researching?

Use regular paper, graphic organizers, or notecards

Paraphrase the information you find:Read until you understand the info, looking up unknown words and terms.

Look away from the source and restate the information in your own words.

Summarize your findings, again in your own words:State the main point in once sentence.

Include the most important details that support the main idea.

Plagiarism What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism: passing off someone else’s ideas or words as your own.

Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:Deliberately borrowing, stealing or buying a paper from someone else

Quoting a source without citing

Building on someone else’s ideas or arguments without citing

Relying on a source too heavily when taking notes or summarizing

Plagiarism

In middle school, plagiarism results in a failure for that assignment and parent contact.

In college, plagiarism may result in failure on the assignment, the course, or expulsion.

In the job market, plagiarism results in losing your job and public embarrassment.

Shattered Glass

Shattered Glass trailer

The reporter Stephen Glass once wrote articles for many prestigious magazines, such as The New Republic and Rolling Stone. He lost his job and his reputation when it was discovered that he was making up many of his stories, quotations, sources, and events.

Citing and Citations

What does it mean to cite your sources?Cite (verb): to directly reference a text or written work

Cite sources when you…

Use OR build on someone else’s words or ideas.

Gain information through interviewing another person.

Quote or copy the exact words or a “unique phrase”.

Reprint diagrams, illustrations, charts, pictures, videos, music.

Don’t cite sources when you…

Write from your own experiences, observations, insights, thoughts, conclusions about a subject.

Use “common knowledge” or generally accepted facts, things that everyone should already know.

Citations in MLA Format

What is a format?Format: the specific way something is put together

What are some formats you are familiar with?Formats of music: MP3, CD

Formats of movies: DVD, Blu-Ray, Instant Download

Professional writers (and students) cite sources in specific formats; this shows that you understand the “code” of academics and should be taken seriously.

The format used by students of the arts (like the language arts) is from the MLA: Modern Language Association.

Citing a Book

Find info on the title and copyright pages.

Copyright: the fine print containing the legal rights of the creator.

The medium of publication for all “hard copy” sources is Print.

Medium of publication: the way a text is published, usually either Print or Web.

Citing a Reference Book (Encyclopedia,

Dictionary, Biographies)

Find info on the title and copyright pages.

If there is not an author, edition, editor, or volume, skip those parts.

Edition: different versions of a textEditor: the person who determines the content of a textVolume: one part of a series or collection of texts

Citing a Periodical: Magazine, Newspaper,

Scholarly JournalPeriodical: a text published on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly)

Scholarly journal: a text that is for a certain group of professionals, such as teachers, athletes, or scientists.

Find info on the pages of the specific article, the cover, and the copyright page.

Periodicals come out more often than books, so their citations require more info about the date they were published.

When a periodical is used, you are only researching one article or section, so page numbers are included.

Citing Web Sources

Find info at the tops and bottom of web pages and articles.

Citations for web sources are nearly the same as print, with two major exceptions:

The publication is Web instead of Print.Include the date you accessed, or looked at, the website since they change often: Day Month Year.

If there is no publisher, write n.p.

If there is not publishing date, write n.d.

If you cannot find other information, skip those parts.

Citing an Image

Include media type such as “photograph” or “online video clip”.

Citation Activity

Each group will receive one of the following questions. As a table, research your question and prepare to present to the class:

What are the major components of every citation?

What are the major differences between a print citation and a web citation?

What are the differences between a book citation and a magazine/newspaper article citation?

What are the differences between a citation for a reference book and a citation for a regular book?

Citation Activity

Review the Works Cited page on the model research paper.

Label the type of source for each entry based on the citation.

Citing Other Sources

Access the Purdue MLA Citation Guide:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Citations are available for every resource possible:

E-mails

Interviews

Works of art

PowerPoints

Tweets

Movies

Music

Word SearchesWhat is a keyword?

Keyword: the most important word relating to a topic

What is the difference between an online database and a search engine?

Online database: searches an organized and often reliable collection of journal, newspaper, and magazine articles (Kentucky Virtual Library)

Search Engine: searches the entire Internet, regardless of whether they are trustworthy sources

When doing research on search engines or databases, use keywords.If you type one or two words, the search results will include sites/documents that include ANY of those words.

If you type a phrase in quotation marks, the search results will include sites/documents with that EXACT phrase.

If you have too many results, use a more precise keyword or phrase or try a synonym.

Evaluating Sources

What does it mean to evaluate?Evaluate: To judge whether something has value

Think/Pair/Share: Why should we evaluate our sources of research?

Michael Scott on Wikipedia, State Farm Commercial

Quickly create a T- Chart and divide the following sources into “good” or bad”:

newspaper tabloid encyclopediablog

online database movies documentarieswikis

Evaluating SourcesThree questions for evaluating resources:

Authority: Does the source have a clear author or organization that takes credit for the source?

Does the source look official or homemade?Choose websites with .org, .gov, or .edu instead of .com

Accuracy: Does the source appear truthful?Are sources cited so information can be checked?Does the info agree with other sources?

Relevancy: Does the source answer your research questions?

Even if a source is “good”, you also have to make sure it’s good for you and your research.

Evaluating Sources Activity

Evaluate the following websites to see if they are good resources for the following research question: “How did Anne Sullivan demonstrate perseverance?”

Using the graphic organizer, decide whether or not each site it is a good source. Then do the same for a site you find on your own topic:

http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/sull-ann.htm

http://www.graceproducts.com/keller/anne.html

http://www.perkinsarchives.org/condolence-messages-sent-to-helen-keller-upon-the-death-of-anne-sullivan-macy.html

Formatting a Research Paper

Set the margins of the paper to 1 inch on all sides

Double space the text of the paper

Type in a font that is easily read, such as Times New Roman

Indent the first line of each paragraph (using the tab key or spacing five times

Create a header with your last name and page numbers in the upper right-hand corner, one half-inch from the top

In the upper left-hand corner, list your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and the date, each on a new line

Center the title; use a different format for headings (for instance, capitalize all the letters)

Formatting a Works Cited Page

Begin the Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of the research paper

Label the page Works Cited in the center

Create a hanging indent of five spaces of one half-inch for the second line of citations

Put the entries in alphabetical order

Italicize the title of larger works (books, magazines) and use “quotation marks” for the name of shorter works (poems, articles)