The Research Writer
PART I: CONDUCTING AND WRITING UP RESEARCH. 1. Thinking through Research. Introduction. Research Rhetoric: Purpose, Reader, Context. Your Research Purpose. Your Research Audience. The Context of Your Research. Weak vs. Strong Research Writing. Strong Ideas. Logical Organization. Engaging Voice. Clear Words. Smooth Sentences. Correct Copy. Professional Design. Weak Research Writing: An Example. Strong Research Writing: An Example. Following the Research Process. Understanding Assignments and Expectations. Research Expectations. Assignment Keywords. Topic Options and Restrictions. Project Parameters. Assignment Connections. Brainstorming and Refining Topics. Brainstorming Viable Topics. Choosing a Narrow, Manageable Topic. Developing Research Questions. Simple and Substantial Questions. Main and Secondary Questions. Framing a Working Thesis. Drafting a Strong Working Thesis. Focus on Ethics: Preventing Plagiarism. A Principled Beginning. Practices that Prevent Unintentional Plagiarism. Practices that Prevent Internet Plagiarism. Practicing Your Research: Activities and Checklist. 2. Planning Your Research. Introduction. Exploring Your Resource Options. Focus on Your Major: Case Studies in Resource Choices. Considering Information Sites. Focus on Ethics: Identifying Challenges for Your Project. Distinguishing Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources. Primary Sources. Secondary Sources. Tertiary Sources. The Primary-Secondary Symbiosis. Focus on Your Major: Following Methods of Inquiry. Locating Your Major within the Division of Disciplines. Inquiry in the Humanities. Inquiry within the Social Sciences. Inquiry within the Natural and Applied Sciences. Getting Organized to Do Your Research. Establish Priorities. Establish Best Practices. Establish a Schedule. Focus on Your Project: Research for Different Forms of Writing. Writing a Research Proposal. Parts of a Research Proposal. Sample Research Proposal. Making Effective Keyword Searches. Keywords/Search Strategies. Practicing Your Research: Activities and Checklist. 3. Doing Research in the Wired Library. Introduction. Getting into Your Library. How to Get Familiar with Your Library. An Overview of Library Resources and Services. Employing the Library. Searching the Online Catalog. Starting Your Search. Searching the Catalog Using Distinct Methods. Building on Your Initial Search Results. Employing Full Citations. Locate Resources Using Call Numbers. Focus on Your Major: Finding Your LOC Classification Home. Connecting with Other Online Catalogs. NetLibrary. State Libraries. Library of Congress. Global Libraries: WorldCat. Search Subscription Databases for Periodical Articles. Understand Periodicals. Identify Your Library's Subscription Databases. Select and Search Databases. Generate a Citation List. Study Citations and Capture Identifying Information. Retrieve the Article's Full Text. Focus on Your Major: Databases for Disciplines. Using Print and Electronic Reference Works. How to Find and Use Reference Works. Types of Reference Works. Using Books: Trade, Scholarly, and E-Books. Identify Types of Books. Working with Print Books. How to Work with E-Books. Practicing Your Research: Activities and Checklist. 4. Doing Research on the Free Web. Introduction. Understanding the Web: A Primer for Research. What Is the Internet? What Is the World Wide Web? What Does an Internet Address Mean? What Is the Free Web vs. the Deep Web? Using the Free Web for College Research. Benefits of Free-Web Research. Drawbacks of Free-Web Research. Guidelines for Researching the Free Web. Focus on Your Project: Saving Web Information. Recommended Web Resources for College Research. Using Wikis in Your Research. Understanding Wikis. Wikipedia as a Resource: Strengths. Wikipedia as a Resource: Weaknesses. Guidelines for Using Wikipedia. Finding Other Wikis. Evaluating Free-Web Resources. Signs of a Quality Website. Testing a Web Site's Quality and Reliability. Locating Information: URLs, Menus, Links, and Site Searches. Work with URLs. Follow Helpful Links. Explore Menus. Try the Site's Search Feature. Locating Information: Subject Trees or Directories. The Structure of a Subject Tree. Subject Trees: A Sample Search. Locating Information: Search Engines and Metasearch Tools. Understanding Search Engines as Research Tools. Guidelines for Using Search Engines. Choosing Search Engines for College Research. Conducting Advanced Searches with Search Engines. Practicing Your Research: Activities and Checklist. 5. Doing Primary Research. Introduction. Planning for Primary Research. Considering Primary Research. Choosing a Method of Primary Research. Doing Effective Primary Research. Focus on Ethics: Respecting and Protecting Your Sources. Doing Primary Research with Integrity. Handling People with Care. Conducting Interviews. Choosing and Finding People to Interview. Preparing for an Interview. Doing the Interview. Sample Interview Note-Taking Sheet. Following Up the Interview. Requesting Information in Writing. Finding Contacts. Making Your Request. Focus on Research Essentials: Observing Netiquette. Sample Request Message. Conducting Informal Surveys. Finding and Selecting People to Survey. Developing a Sound Survey. Doing Your Survey. Sample Informal Survey. Analyzing Texts, Documents, Records, and Artifacts. Choosing Primary Texts. Locating Primary Texts. Analyzing Primary Texts. Focus on Your Major: Questions and Documentation. Making Observations. Finding a Site for Your Project. Getting Ready to Observe. Conducting Your Observation. Making Sense of Your Observations. Conducting Experiments. Understanding Experimentation. Following the Experimental Method. Practicing Your Research: Activities and Checklist. 6. Working with Sources and Taking Notes. Maintaining a Working Bibliography. Setting Up Your Bibliography. Sample Working Bibliography Entries. Developing an Annotated Bibliography. Focus on Multimedia: Using Bibliographic Software. Developing a Note-Taking System. Note-Taking Strategies. Note-Taking Systems. Focus on Multimedia: Using Note-Taking Software. Engaging Your Sources through Critical Reading. Testing Each Source for Value. Reading Key Sources Systematically and Critically. Evaluating Your Sources. A Rating Scale for Source Reliability and Depth. Criteria for Assessing Sources. Focus on Multimedia: Interpreting and Evaluating Visuals. Sample Visual and Analysis. Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting Source Material. Summarizing Useful Passages. Paraphrasing Key Passages. Quoting Crucial Phrases, Sentences, and Passages. Practicing Your Research: Activities and Checklist. 7. Building Credibility: Avoiding Plagiarism and Other Source Abuses. Introduction. Recognizing Plagiarism. What Is Plagiarism? What Does Plagiarism Look Like? Avoiding Source Misuse. Why Is Plagiarism So Serious? How Do You Avoid Plagiarizing in Your Writing? What Other Source Abuses Should You Avoid? What Other Academic Violations Should You Avoid? Practicing Your Research: Activities and Checklist. 8 Drafting Papers with Documented Research. Introduction. Shifting from Research to Writing. Revisiting Your Research Rhetoric. Understanding the Writing Process. Reviewing Your Findings. Conducting Q & A. Deepening Your Thinking on the Topic. Imagining Your Paper. Sorting Out Your Notes. Sharpening Your Working Thesis. Deepening Your Thesis. Questioning Your Thesis. Considering Methods of Organization. Organizational Practices to Avoid. Organizational Practices that Consider Sources. Basic Essay or Paper Structure. Patterns of Reasoning. Traditional Organizational Patterns. Developing an Outline. Choosing a Type of Outline. Connecting Your Outline and Your Notes. Considering Drafting Strategies. Choosing a Drafting Method. Respecting Your Sources While Drafting. Drafting the Introduction. Engaging Your Reader. Establishing Your Voice. Establishing Focus and Scope. Introducing Your Line of Thinking. A Strong Opening. Drafting the Body: Reasoning with Evidence. Featuring Research in Your Discussion. The Full-Bodied Paragraph. Choosing and Using Evidence. Drafting the Body: Smoothly Integrating Source Material. A Pattern for Integrating Sources. Practices for Smoothly Integrating Quotations. Guidelines for Correctly Documenting Sources. Drafting the Conclusion. Deepen Your Thesis. Complete and Unify Your Discussion. A Strong Conclusion. Drafting the Title. The Purpose of the Title. Patterns for Academic Titles. Focus on Multimedia: Using and Integrating Graphics. Uses of Visuals in Your Research Writing. Planning Visuals for Your Paper. Parts of a Visual. Types of Visuals. Practicing Your Research: Activities and Checklist. 9. Revising and Refining Your Research Paper. Introduction. Practical Strategies for Improving Your First Draft. Break Down Revising and Refining into Manageable Steps. Review Your Draft from Multiple Points of View. Use Your Software's Editing Tools as an Aid. Revising in Action: Fixing Global Issues. Editing in Action: Fixing Local Issues. Testing Your Ideas and Organization. Improving Your Reasoning. Eliminating Logical Fallacies. Improving Organizational Flow. Improving Paragraphs. Checking the Voice of Your Writing. Testing Your Level of Confidence. Testing for an Academic Style. Editing for Sentence Smoothness. Fixing Primer Style. Fixing Rambling Sentences. Fixing Unparallel Structures. Fixing Sluggish Sentence Structures. Using Active and Passive Voice of Verbs. Editing for Sentence Variety. Editing for Energetic Word Choice. Eliminate Wordiness. Replace Vague Wording with Precise, Concrete Terms. Hit the Right Diction Level. Replace Slanted Terms with Neutral Ones. Cut Cliches. Rework Pretentious and Flowery Language. Eliminate Jargon. Focus on Ethics: Plain and Fair English. Striving for Plain English. Striving for Respectful Language. Proofreading for Correctness. Test Your Draft for Accuracy. Check Quotation Integration and Punctuation. Check Titles of Works. Check Your Use of Historical Present Tense. Check for the Top Ten Grammar Errors. Check for Common Usage Errors. Focus on Your Major: Developing a Summary or Abstract. The Content and Style of a Summary. Writing a Summary. Practicing Your Research: Activities ...