6. Doing the research

Group6Emily 9310004A Carl 9310018A Nancy 9310019A Paula 9310025A Lydia 9310038A

6a. What information to look for

Source: essays, book chapters, newspaper, or journal articles, treatises, pamphlets, and tape or disk transcriptions

Form: in printed, electronic, or photographic

6a-1 single-fact information

single-fact information: answers specific factual questions.

Answers of specific factual questions can be found in dictionaries, almanacs, encyclopedias, magazines, even telephone book.

6a-2 General information

General information: provide an overview of a subject or a particular topic.

Encyclopedias and other general sources: they are good sources to answer broad questions

6a-3 in-depth information

In-depth information: include a specific topic in detail

Forms of in-depth information: books, essays, and articles

6b. where to look for information

Ask librarian about online databases

Encyclopedia articles

Check the library of congress’s online catalog

http://catalog.loc.gov

The appendix of this book

Search engine

Bibliography

Card catalog

Book review digest

standard dictionary or go to dictionary.com

Who’s who online database

Gazetteers and atlases

6b-1 General indexes

A general index information published in magazines, newspapers, and journals.

Magazines: Time, Psychology Today, and Ebony

Newspapers: the New York Times, the Washington post, and the Atlanta Constitution

Journals: the Kenyon Review, Scientific American, and the Quarterly Review of Biology

Magazines and newspapers: topical subjects

Journals: more narrow and specific

The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature is a general index collections: more than 180 popular periodicals

A page of readers’ guide abstracts includes an abstract of the article, and whether your library subscribes to the periodical of the article or not

Newspapers index: provide the exact location

of each article, an indication of its length, and a brief summary of the content

6b-2 specialized indexes

Specialized indexes: catalog information on specific subjects.

Different specific subjects have their own indexes

Choose the right index on your subject

6b-3 using interviews and surveys

Interview is another important source of information.

Expert is recognized as an authority in a particular subject.

In addition, experts can be someone who has had a unique experience.

You have to establish expert’s credentials

to evidence he or she is an expert

Judge whether he or she is an expert on your topic or not

Do not use the interview of experts and eyewitness only

Some research projects require surveys, especially in psychology and social sciences

6c Assembling a workingbibliography

Q: What is Bibliography?

A: The bibliography is a list of sources on

the research topic.

Q: What is the Working Bibliography?

A: The Working Bibliography is made up of

those sources that you consult for

information.

Q: What is the Final Bibliography?

A: The Final Bibliography is an alphabetical list of the sources you actually use in the paper.

Q: What is Bibliography Card?

A:

* Scan the reference material for information

on the subject.

* Assemble the Working bibliography

* Jot down promising sources on 3X5 cards.

The advantages of Bibliography Cards

Portable

Can be arranged easily in alphabetical order.

More useful than a notebook, scraps of paper, or even documents stored in a computer.

Each sources actually used will be recorded on two kinds of cards:

The title on the smaller bibliography card.

Notes from the sources on the larger note card.

Q: How to make the bibliography card? Record each source in ink on a separate 3X5 card. Use the same format on the bibliography cards List the following basic information on each card:

Name of author(s)

Title of work

Facts of publication

Page(s) of information

Upper right-hand of the card— the name of the library or place where you found the source.

Upper left-hand corner of the card— cite the library call number of the source.

6d. Selecting your sources

Skim a source

to determine its usefulness

Looking for major ideas

to confirm the appropriateness of the source

Don’t destroy the bibliography card

Hints on how to skim writing for major ideas:

Glance at the preface

Look up the subject in the index

Read the chapter headings

Read the first and last two sentences in a paragraph

Glance at the opening paragraph

Glance at the concluding paragraph

Read every fourth or fifth sentence

6d-1 Primary and secondary sources

The judgment and conclusions must be based on evidence.

Primary sources are original writings by

an author

documents

artifacts

laboratory experiments

other data that provide firsthand info.

Secondary sources are

writings

speeches

other document about a primary sources.

Papers should consist of primary and secondary

sources of evidence.

6d-2 Evaluating sources

Choose sources that cover your particular subject in depth

Recognize the point of view in sources

Verify one opinion against another

Note the date of the evidence

Use common sense

Check your evaluations against those of professionals

Beware of statistics

Choose sources that cover your particular subject in depth

That means

choose only material that deals with the specific subject of

your paper.

Recognize the point of view in sources

That means

When writing a paper, recognize the title and opening

Paragraphs whether or not coincide with your own paper.

Verify one opinion against another

That means

To check the opinion whether it is agreed with other

experts.

Note the date of the evidence

That means

In researching topics, you should seek the up-to-date data

that is the most important.

Use common sense

That means

Use your common sense and attention to evaluating the

source of evidence.

Check your evaluations against those of professionals.

That means

Researcher should check the author whether he/she is

qualified for giving you evaluation or not.

Beware of statistics

That means

What the statistics we use are specific and concrete

with credibility.

6e-Note-taking

Many students use computers to organize and save notes for later editing and incorporation into a rough draft.

Remember, when you read and take notes, a research paper should contain a variety of material taken from different sources.

Your own ideas should be derived from information uncovered on the subject through research

A reader should be

1. Aware of your conclusion

2. Aware of your evidence and reasoning

6e-1 Choosing the number of notes 6e-2 Formatting the note cards 6e-3 Using the computer to take notes 6e-4 Using a copy machine to take notes 6e-5 Kinds of notes

6e-1 Choosing the number of notes

Consist of information from sources blend with your own commentary and interpretation

In sum, the paper demands not only your opinionated conclusions but also your conclusions supported by other opinions.

6e-2 Formatting the note cards

Use 4×6 cards for note-taking

Write in ink rather than pencil

Write down only one idea or quotation on each card

Identify the source of the note in the upper left-hand corner of the card

Jot down in the upper right-hand corner of the card a general heading for the information the card contains

6e-3Using the computer to take notes

In some ways, having your notes in electronic form is even better than having them scribbled down on cards.

For one, use the cut-and-paste function.

For two, don’t have to put up with cards scattered all over your desk or with the risk of losing one.

Use the computer for note-taking

1. number each note sequentially

2. insert beside the note more or less the

same information

6e-4 Using a copy machine to take notes

The popularity of this latest note-taking fad is easily seen in the long lines at the library copy machines.

Why some students prefer copying to note-taking?

Because it’s easier.

All you have to do =>Insert a coin=>Press a bottom=>Have your copy.

Tips for copying:

1. Always write down details about the source on the top of the page immediately after copying it.

2. Be neat about the pages you copy.

6e-5 Kinds of notes There are four kinds of notes:

a. The summary

b. The paraphrase

c. The quotation

d. The personal comment

a. The summary A summary is a condensation of significant

facts from an original piece of writing.

Common sense should govern your use of the summary.

b. The paraphrase

To paraphrase means to say in your own words what someone else has said.

It is the most common form of note in research papers.

Paraphrasing achieves two purposes:

1. It shows you that you have mastered and absorbed the material well enough to be able to rephrase it.

2. I t gives your paper an even, consistent style.

c. The quotation

A quotation reproduces an author’s words exactly as they were spoken or written, preserving even peculiarities of spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

How to avoid to overusing the quoted material?

1. To limit quoted material to no more than 10 percent of total paper.

2. To quote only when the authority of the writer is needed or when the material simply cannot be paraphrased or summarized.

To place quotation on note cards, follow these rules:

Put quotation marks around the quotation.

Introduce the quotation or place it in proper context.

Copy quotations exactly as they are written.

d. The personal comment

Personal comments are ideas, conjectures, or conclusions that occur to you during the research.

The notes generally are used to:

explain a fuzzy statement. stress a particular point. draw a conclusion. clarify an issue. identify an inconsistency introduce a new idea.

* If the personal comment deals with material on another card, staple the two cards together.

6f Plagiarism and how to avoid it

Plagiarism

It is the act of passing off another’s words and ideas as your own.

To avoid plagiarism you must do the following:

Provide a note for any idea borrowed from another.

Place quoted material in quotation marks. Provide a bibliography entry at the end of the

paper for everysource used in the text or in a note.

The following must be accompanied by a citation specifying author and source:

Any idea derived from a known source

Any fact or data borrowed from the work of another

Any especially clever or apt expression, whether or not it says something new, that is taken form someone else

Any material lifted verbatim from the work of another.

Any information that is paraphrased or summarized and then used in a research paper.

Be careful, don’t think only printed sources is plagiarism. Taking the freely electronic sources are also plagiarism.