So, where do I start with this research paper?•Start with an essential guiding question or theme•Come up with 8-10 guiding questions that will help you to refine the questions that must be asked to find the answers to the guiding question

Step 1 - Getting Started Goal: Preparing for the

assignment and getting ready to choose a topic

HOW DO I FIND MY INFORMATION. WHERE SHOULD I LOOK?

WE ARE GOING TO USE RESOURCES FROM ICONN.ORG, THE CONNECTICUT SEARCH ENGINE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.

Learning how to write a research page helps you to become Information Literate for finding everything!

Information Literacy is the ability to identify what information is needed, understand how the information is organized, identify the best sources of information for a given need, locate those sources, evaluate the sources critically, and share that information. It is the knowledge of commonly used research techniques."

HOW DO I REFINE MY TOPIC?

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/bedfordresearcher/activities/docs/DevResearchQuestion.pdf

WHY ARE DATABASES BETTER THAN THE INTERNET?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VUp1P-ubOIc#t=22

QUESTIONS FOR NOTE-TAKING

Content What kind of information is being presented? Facts? Opinion? Ideas? Arguments?

Usefulness Relevance to the task Is the information useful for this assignment? Does it answer a question I

have? Currency Is the date of publication recent or relevant? Audience Who was this written for?

ex. the general public? a scholar? a child? Readability Is it too easy? Too difficult? Just right?

Author's background What makes this person an authority?Look for the 2 “e”s – education and experience Source Format How easy was it to access and use?

WHAT DID I LEARN? In 3 sentences, what have I learned from this reading that will answer my questions.

Where did I find this source? (ICONN, UHSSE library, public library, etc.)How did I find this source? (search strategy – key words or phrases used)

Do I have a citation for this article to use later?

CREATING A NOTE-CARD

Sample note card "Steam Turbine." DisCovering Science. Online ed. Gale, 2003.

Discovering Collection.      Web. 28 Oct. 2009.

I found this article by going into the ICONN database Discovering Collection. I used the keyword steam turbine to get this article. There was no author listed, but the article came from the Discovering Science database, so it should be reliable information. The article gave facts about the steam engine as far back as the 1600s as well as information about how it works. It included an illustration of the first steam engine. The information about how it worked was a bit technical and hard to understand, but the main facts were helpful. I will use this information in the background section of my project.

GO TO BACK SIDE OF THIS CARD

NOTE-TAKING ON STEAM ENGINES

Back-side of card Question 1: Why was the steam engine developed?

To develop a machine that could move large amounts of coal.

English engineer George Stephenson builds the first steam locomotive to run on rails. The locomotive carries 30 tons of coal 450 feet uphill at 4 mph. He later constructs the world's first public railways.

CITATION: A BRIEF HISTORY OF ... Steam Engines. By: GREEN, AMANDA, Popular Mechanics, 00324558, Nov2012, Vol. 189, Issue 11Database: Middle Search Plus

CITATION- TO CITE OR TAKE THE INFORMATION AND WRITE IT DOWN, LIKE A RECITAL HTTP://NOODLETOOLS.COM

USING ICONN.ORG AND NOODLEBIB EXPRESS ANNOTATIONS

MIDDLE SEARCH PLUS – IF YOU USE FROM HOME, THE ICONN MAY APPEAR THIS WAY

BIOGRAPHY REFERENCE BANK (H.W. WILSON)

Wilson’s largest biography database has combined the in-depth, original profiles of Wilson Biographies Plus Illustrated, plus the thorough periodicals coverage of Biography Index, full-text articles, page images, and abstracts from the complete range of Wilson databases (including biographical profiles, feature articles, interviews, essays, book reviews, performance reviews, speeches, or obituaries). With links to every article focused on any individual in nearly every WilsonWeb database, Biography Reference Bank offers a breadth and depth of information you’ll find in no other biography database. It covers over 500,000 people and includes over 36,000 images!

A SHORT TUTORIAL VIDEO FOR SCIENCE REFERENCE CENTER

http://support.ebsco.com/training/flash_videos/scirc/scirc.html

HEALTH TOPICS

http://www.cdc.gov/ - Covers topics on disease and prevention

http://www.webmd.com/ - The leading source for trustworthy and timely health and medical news and information.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ - NIH-National Institute of Health. An agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH is the Federal focal point for health research.

SEARCHING MIDDLE SEARCH PLUS FOR A TOPIC ON HOMELESSNESS IN AMERICAN

WOULD IF YOU REFINED SEARCH TO JUST SINGLE MOTHERS AND HOMELESSNESS IN U.S.

OR // SINGLE MOTHERS AND HOMELESS SERVICES IN CONNECTICUT

NEWSPAPER SOURCE PLUS COVER-TO-COVER FULL TEXT COVERAGE FOR MORE THAN 40 NATIONAL (U.S.) AND INTERNATIONAL NEWSPAPERS, AND SELECTIVE FULL TEXT FOR MORE THAN 330 REGIONAL (U.S.) NEWSPAPERS. ALSO, FULL-TEXT TELEVISION AND RADIO NEWS TRANSCRIPTS FROM CBS NEWS, CNN, CNN INTERNATIONAL, FOX NEWS, NPR, ETC.MORE INFO

YOU MAY NEED TO BROADEN YOUR TOPIC TO “HOW ARE HOMELESS MOMS CARED FOR IN THE U.S.?

https://www.google.com/

Remember to include where you got the picture from. If link is too long, shorten it to URL site and link it with your typing.

SO, YOU STILL NEED TO FIND A TOPIC…

Easy Topics

There are a few argumentative research paper topics that are the first pick of students, simply because they are so common. As they are tried and tested, making the audience agree with you may not be very difficult.

☑ Are Hollywood movies responsible for the behavioral problems in today's youth?☑ Is patriotism a lost cause?☑ Do personality and beauty pageants have any social relevance?☑ Are computers making us excessively dependent on technology?☑ Should military schools and training be made compulsory for everyone at the age of 18?☑ Should smoking be banned or taxed?☑ Is the freedom of expression confined to speaking?☑ What is the appropriate punitive action to be taken against disgraced sportsmen?☑ Should fathers get paternity leave from work?☑ Should global walls be broken to have "one world"?☑ How can we establish nuclear power as a clean source of energy?☑ Is incessant media intrusion into celebrity lives justified?☑ Should creationism be taught in public schools?☑ Advertising - Selling/promotion of a product or manipulation?☑ Should the right to euthanasia be given to each citizen and his family members (in special cases)?☑ Should voting be made mandatory to every citizen?☑ Homeschooling vs. public schools. Which is the better option?☑ Co-ed schools vs. single sex schools. Which one would make the smarter choice for a paranoid parent?☑ Does society have an obligation to protect privacy as a basic individual right?☑ Is the notion of 'men being physically stronger and women being mentally stronger' a way of establishing gender harmony?Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/argumentative-research-paper-topics.html

OR, TRY AN INTERESTING TOPIC SELECTION

Interesting Topics

Argumentative research topics are more fun to prepare for, when they are interesting. This is because, a person cannot have one definite opinion about it.

☑ Marketing vs. eMarketing. Which is more effective and efficient?☑ Are test scores a good judge of a student's competency?☑ Do violent video games cause behavioral problems in children?☑ Is the water crisis greater than the fuel crisis?☑ Is the size zero fad as serious as the media is making it?☑ Is the media being responsible or commercial?☑ Efficiency vs. effectiveness. Which is more important for performance?☑ Is global warming as serious an issue as it is made out to be?☑ Should abortion be made illegal except for certain health-related issues?☑ Research-wise, should human health be given priority over animal conservation?☑ Should international courts be set up for terrorism trials?☑ Should the faculty evaluation form be put up on notice boards and on the net like report cards?☑ Should condom vending machines be restricted to minors to avoid teenage pregnancy?☑ Should marijuana be legalized for recreational purposes?☑ Is the global climate change man-made?☑ Should the production and sale of cigarettes be made illegal?☑ Is the US too keen on global issues and ignorant about domestic issues?☑ Does the UN actually have any influence over dictatorial nations?☑ Is human cloning unethical?☑ Is cohabitation outside marriage a better option as compared to marriage?☑ Is gender equality non-existent?Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/argumentative-research-paper-topics.html

OTHER SENIOR RESEARCH PAPER TOPICS http://www.buzzle.com/articles/senior-r

esearch-paper-topics.html

http://www.buzzle.com/img/articleImages/545919-3984-1.jpg