The Research Process Introduction Although plants in the

The Research Process

Introduction Although plants in the wild grow without a plan or guidance, a gardener plans the placement of each plant in a garden and helps it grow to its potential.

Introduction Like a gardener, you can plan your research project and get the best results by using the research process. You also can use a variety of technology tools to help your research project reach its potential. (Check the library web page for helpful online research tools. )

The research process The first step in the research process is finding a topic. If you choose a broad topic, you will need to narrow it to a size appropriate for a research project. teen health issues teen emotional health issues how stress affects teens’ health

The research process When you begin a research project, think about your purpose and your audience. The purpose of a research project is to inform an audience about a topic. You shouldn’t present just a collection of facts, though; you need to synthesize information drawn from sources with information from your own experiences and knowledge. The audience for your research project will be any person or group to which you make your research available. If you can identify characteristics of your audience, you can tailor your approach successfully.

The research process An appropriate tone is also important to a research project. Tone is the attitude that you convey to your audience through your writing. Typically, academic reports are formal in tone. • Use a third-person point of view. (Avoid the pronoun I. ) • Use more formal language. (Avoid slang, colloquial expressions, and contractions. )

The research process An important initial step in a research project is formulating research questions. Quality research questions help you decide what kind of information you are seeking. A good way to consider all the directions your research could take is to use the 5 W-How? questions. What? Where? Who? When? Why? How?

The research process Good research questions help you focus and clarify the goal of your research. Here are some questions on the topic of stress and teen health. What are some sources of stress for teens? How does stress affect a teen’s body? How do poor coping skills aggravate stress in teens? What dangerous behaviors can teen stress lead to? How can parents help their children identify and deal with stress? What strategies can teens use to deal with their own stress?

The research process Once you’ve written your research questions, search for sources of information that can answer those questions. There are two main categories of sources. A primary source is firsthand, original information such as a letter, journal, historical document, work of literature or art, autobiography, or an interview with someone who has personal experience with the research topic. A secondary source is information based on or about primary sources or even other secondary sources. Examples include newspaper and magazine articles, encyclopedia entries, documentaries, and biographies.

Research Tip Reliable sources Sound historical research is based on accurate, authoritative information. To make sure your sources are sound, use the 4 Rs. Relevant Make sure the source’s information relates directly to your topic. Reliable Explore authors who are quoted frequently or who appear in most bibliographies on your topic. Recent Look for the most recent work on your topic. The exception is, of course, primary sources. Representative If you are discussing a controversial topic, make sure you are including all points of view.

The research process Search a variety of sources for information, including print sources such as books, scholarly journals, and newspapers and digital sources such as online databases, online museums, and Web sites.

Tech Tip Online databases Check with your school librarian to find out if your school or district provides students with access to online databases. These can be helpful when you are looking for research-based publications. Pro. Quest is one such online database. It provides access to research in numerous fields.

The research process Keep track of your sources with a source list. Record the full bibliographic information for each source and assign the source a number. When you take notes from a source, include the source number. 3 Seaward, Brian, and Linda Bartlett. Hot Stones and Funny Bones: Teens Helping Teens Cope with Stress and Anger. Health Communications, 2002, pp. 20 -35. Causes of stress 3 One of the biggest causes of stress to teenagers is that they have many of the responsibilities of adults, but they don’t have many adult freedoms. (Seaward and Bartlett 22) p. 22

The research process Taking notes from your sources is the most essential part of research. Read each source and find information that answers your research questions. Summarize or paraphrase to put an author’s ideas and facts into your own words. Use direct quotations when you need to keep the exact words used in a source.

The research process Once you’ve completed your research, re-read your notes and think critically about the information they contain. Decide how your sources fit together and what larger point they all support. Then write a working thesis statement to express both your topic and the conclusions you have drawn about it. Stress can damage teens’ health in many ways, but teens can learn to manage their stress and decrease its effects on their health.

The research process Next, create an organizational plan for your notes. You might create a mind map to show the information and ideas relate to each other. can make you more likely to have an eating disorder can weaken your immune system can lead to poor nutrition How stress affects teens’ health can cause you to choose unhealthy behaviors

The research process Another way to organize the concepts you will write about is in an outline. You can start with a working outline and revise and refine it into a formal outline. Thesis: Stress can damage teens’ health in many ways, but teens can learn to manage their stress and decrease its effect on their health. I. The effects of stress on teen health A. Eating disorders B. Weakened immune system C. Poor nutrition D. Unhealthy behaviors

The research process Now it is time to write a draft of your research project. You will use your mind map or outline to write the draft. In the drafting stage, you will • weave together the information from your formal outline • create a coherent argument that supports the conclusion stated in your thesis statement

The research process Drafts require revision and editing to make the work suitable for an audience. When you revise, you should: • Read your draft twice. On the first read-through, focus on content and organization. On the second read-through, focus on style. • Evaluate your draft and then revise it accordingly. • Seek feedback from your teacher, classmates, or others.

The research process Once you have written the final draft of your research project, publish your work in a format that fits your intended audience and purpose. Options include • a traditional research paper • a multimodal text • a Web site • a podcast • a wiki

The research process Once you have finished your research project and have published it, get feedback on it. Receiving feedback on your work is an important part of your development as a researcher and writer. You can seek feedback in various ways. For instance, you can ask questions of those who have read your research project or who have heard your presentation of it.

Conclusion Just as a gardener plans the placement of plants in a garden and helps them grow, you can plan a successful research project by following the steps of the research process.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Introduction Have you ever played a game during which someone cheated? How did that make you feel? Plagiarism is a kind of cheating. It involves taking someone else’s work or ideas and using them as your own.

What is plagiarism? Plagiarism carries real consequences—receiving a low grade, failing a class, being expelled from school, even losing a job! Learning how to use other writers’ words and ideas correctly will help you avoid plagiarism.

Identifying plagiarism For a class project, Sean wrote about Habitat for Humanity, an organization dedicated to helping people obtain affordable housing. Here is an excerpt from one of the articles Sean used as a source. ATLANTA — Habitat for Humanity International had barely hung out its shingle in 1976 when Faith Lytle, the wife of a Presbyterian minister, started its first affiliate in her basement in San Antonio. Since then, more than 1, 600 affiliates have sprung up around the country and built or rehabilitated more than 226, 000 houses worldwide, demonstrating the power of a grassroots movement. nytimes. com

Identifying plagiarism Avoid plagiarism by putting the essence of the original text into your own distinctive language, as Sean has done. ATLANTA — Habitat for Humanity International had barely hung out its shingle in 1976 when Faith Lytle, the wife of a Presbyterian minister, started its first affiliate in her basement in San Antonio. Since then, more than 1, 600 affiliates have sprung up around the country and built or rehabilitated more than 226, 000 houses worldwide, demonstrating the power of a grassroots movement. nytimes. com Habitat for Humanity International was created in 1976. Since then, Habitat has built more than 226, 000 houses around the world for those unable to own their own home through traditional means.

Identifying plagiarism Plagiarism occurs when you copy information from a source word for word. ATLANTA — Habitat for Humanity International had barely hung out its shingle in 1976 when Faith Lytle, the wife of a Presbyterian minister, started its first affiliate in her basement in San Antonio. Since then, more than 1, 600 affiliates have sprung up around the country and built or rehabilitated more than 226, 000 houses worldwide, demonstrating the power of a grassroots movement. nytimes. com Habitat for Humanity has grown into a successful international organization since it was founded in 1976. Habitat effectively demonstrates the power of a grassroots movement.

Identifying plagiarism If you use an author’s original ideas, credit that author. Otherwise, it’s like claiming you came up with those ideas on your own. President Carter Lends a Hand In 1984 Fuller traveled. . . to nearby Plains to pay a visit to former U. S. president Jimmy Carter had earlier made donations to Habitat. . . but Fuller solicited Carter to do more. Carter agreed to serve on the organization’s board, lend his celebrity to fundraising efforts, and work on a construction crew. As Fuller had hoped, the event received national media attention. According to Edward A. Hatfield, in 1984 Fuller enlisted former president Jimmy Carter to serve on the organization’s board. His celebrity helped raise Habitat’s profile. Sean’s summary acknowledges the author whose ideas he used.

Research Tip Parenthetical citations Use parenthetical citations to give credit when you use an author’s words or ideas. After a direct quotation, put the author’s name in parentheses. Add a page number if there is one. Former president Carter’s involvement with Habitat has “helped raise Habitat’s profile as an international philanthropic organization. ” (Hatfield) You can also use the author’s name in your sentence. According to Hatfield, Carter’s celebrity helped raise Habitat’s profile.

Identifying plagiarism Another problem is paraphrasing a source too closely. Changing a few words does not make the work your own. ATLANTA — Habitat for Humanity International had barely hung out its shingle in 1976 when Faith Lytle, the wife of a Presbyterian minister, started its first affiliate in her basement in San Antonio. Since then, more than 1, 600 affiliates have sprung up around the country and built or rehabilitated more than 226, 000 houses worldwide, demonstrating the power of a grassroots movement. Habitat for Humanity started in 1976. Faith Lytle, a Presbyterian minister’s wife, started the first affiliate in San Antonio. Now 1, 600 affiliates have arisen all over the country, and Habitat has built more than 226, 000 houses all over the world. This note changes a few words, but it is essentially the same as the original.

Identifying plagiarism Is the note on the right an acceptable paraphrase of the information on the left, or is it plagiarism? What does a Habitat house cost? Throughout the world, the cost of houses varies from as little as $800 in some developing countries to an average of nearly $60, 000 in the United States. Habitat houses are affordable for low-income families because there is no profit included in the sale price. Mortgage length varies from seven to 30 years. Depending on where Habitat builds, the prices of houses range from $800 to $60, 000. Because they are sold without profit, lowincome families can afford to buy them. This is a PARAPHRASE. The meaning is the same, but the wording is distinctly different from the source. nytimes. com

Identifying plagiarism Is the note on the right an acceptable paraphrase of the excerpt on the left, or is it plagiarism? …fraying under new leadership that is trying to centralize the organization. Habitat for Humanity International is asking affiliates to sign an agreement that would establish a quality-control checklist, and a new policy gives headquarters a cut of each donation it receives that is earmarked for an affiliate. And the changes are meeting with opposition. New leadership, trying to centralize, is asking affiliates to sign a pact to establish a qualitycontrol list. This is tantamount to a takeover because they have to send headquarters part of each donation earmarked for its own organization. This is PLAGIARISM. Although not exact, the original text is obviously copied. nytimes. com

What is “common knowledge”? Not all information needs to be cited. Ideas that are considered common knowledge are free from this rule. Habitat for Humanity creates homes for those who cannot afford homes by traditional means. Jimmy Carter is the best known advocate. A piece of information found in three separate, independent sources is considered to be common knowledge.

What is “common knowledge”? Which of the following ideas do you think would be common knowledge and which would you have to cite? Common knowledge Lesser-known facts or ideas Sweat equity is the work By 1964, Millard Fuller families put into their was a discontented homes. millionaire. By 1964, After Jimmy Sweat a equity Carter stay Millard atis was Koinonia the Fuller the work was Farm 39 th a. President families in discontented rural put into Sumter, of. After their the a stay at Koinonia Jimmy Carter was the millionaire. Fuller Unitedestablished homes. States. Farm the in rural Sumter, 39 th President of the Fund for Humanity withestablished the Fuller United States. Koinonia’s founder, Fund for Humanity with Clarence Jordan. Koinonia’s founder, Clarence Jordan.

Research Tip To cite or not to cite? Should you cite that source or not? It’s better to err on the side of caution. When in doubt, cite. No one will complain if you give them too much credit.

Note-taking Methods Paraphrase, summarize, or quote?

Summarizing information Summarizing is a critical note-taking skill. When summarizing information use only the author’s most important ideas put ideas in your own words and use your own sentence structure make your summary only about one-fourth to one-third as long as the original Summarize when you have to remember only the main idea of what you read or heard.

Summarizing information Below is an article on the efforts of the University of California to stop music piracy. On the next slide, you will see this article summarized.

Summarizing information Is this an effective summary of the passage? NO Explain why or why not. The University of California, Berkley said it’s it's stepping up anti-piracy efforts. The name of of this campaign is is Learn before you Burn. Previously, students caught downloading music would be warned. Now, new residents caught illegally downloading music will automatically lose their in-room Internet connection for one week or longer. uses author’s words includes unimportant details uses author’s words

Summarizing information Consider this summary. How does it differ from the first? UC Berkeley is trying to prevent music piracy by increasing penalties against it and educating students about the dangers of illegal downloading. uses student’s own words includes only most important ideas is about one-fourth as long as original This is an effective summary.

Paraphrasing information Paraphrasing is another very important note-taking skill. When paraphrasing a source, include both main ideas and details from the original source put the ideas and details in your own words and use your own sentence structure use quotation marks if you use any of the author’s actual words “ ” make your paraphrase about the same length as the original Paraphrase when you need to explain an idea in detail.

Paraphrasing information Here is another article on music piracy. You’ll see this information paraphrased on the next slide. New technology could help squelch digital music piracy A group of technology companies is creating a set of industry standards that could help put digital piracy protections directly into portable disk drives as soon as this summer. The plans are initially likely to affect removable data storage, such as Zip drives or the Flash memory cards used in MP 3 players. But the standards could ultimately serve as a way to keep consumers from copying copyrighted files directly onto their hard drives, a daunting prospect for those who download music or videos from the Net.

Paraphrasing information Is this an effective paraphrase of the music piracy article? Why or why not? New technology could put digital piracy protections directly into portable disk drives. This could affect people who download content. gives main idea but leaves out supporting details uses the author’s exact words without quotation marks is not nearly as long as the original No, this is not an effective paraphrase.

Paraphrasing information Consider this paraphrase. How does it differ from the first? New technology is being created that will place “digital piracy protections” in portable devices such as Zip drives and Flash flash memory cards. Eventually, this built-in copy protection could keep people who use the Internet to download music and videos illegally from putting those files on their hard drives. uses the author’s exact words in quotation marks uses student’s own words includes the main ideas and details from the passage This is an effective paraphrase.

Direct Quotations • Quotations must match the source document word for word, punctuation included. • Quotations are used sparingly; only when the wording is particularly important. • Quote only relevant information • Eliminate examples/unneeded material. • You must give credit to the original source.

Using direct quotations Here is information a student has found through his research. A recent study shows that teenagers are the largest demographic of offenders when it comes to digital music piracy. The results of the study show that 83% of the teens who categorized themselves as music listeners admitted to piracy, compared to 67% of adults from 18– 29, and 32% of adults from 30– 50. And of those teens, just over half of them said they knew it was wrong. So what is going on here? According to the survey, justifications for this behavior ranged from lack of a steady income, to lack of direct consequences for the actions, to an “everyone else is doing it” mentality.

Using direct quotations Is this an effective use of direct quotation? “A recent study shows that teenagers are among the largest offenders when it comes to digital music piracy, ” maybe because they don’t have a steady income to buy new music, or because they feel like everyone else is doing it. “The results of the study show that 83% of the teens who categorized themselves as music listeners admitted to piracy” and that most of them knew it was wrong. So What what is is going on on here? No the quotation is not a powerful point quotations are overused the author’s words are not in quotation marks

Using direct quotations Is this an effective use of a direct quotation? The results of the survey showed that some of the reasons teens involved themselves in digital music piracy “ranged from lack of a steady income, to lack of direct consequences for the actions, to an ‘everyone else is doing it’ mentality. ” This is an effective direct quotation uses important words from author quotations are not overused

Research Tip Using direct quotations As you take notes, carefully keep track of the direct quotations that you use. If you are using note cards or paper, you can highlight direct quotations or write them in a different color. This will remind you when you begin to write your draft that you have used a direct quotation.

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, ICE, and Direct Quoting

Incorporating the ideas of others • To weave the information you’ve gathered into your own writing you can: 1. Quote directly 2. Paraphrase 3. Summarize

The Methods • Direct quoting involves adding the exact • • words, inside quotation marks, to your text Paraphrasing, or indirect quoting, involves rewriting a specific part/paragraph/idea in your own words Summarizing involves briefly giving a synopsis of the main ideas in your own words

Why quote? • All of us use others’ ideas to build on, challenge • • or disagree with The writer must make it clear which ideas and words are his/hers and which belong to others References add weight to your argument Strict conventions exist on quoting others’ ideas or words Use quotations to support your points, not make them.

The ICE Method • Use the ICE method: § Introduce (first time you use a sourceauthor name, source name, summary of source; after that, just need signal phrase) § Cite § Explain

I - Introduction • An “introduction” can be simple, but ALWAYS needs three parts & is ALWAYS in one sentence on its own (never separated): 1. The author’s full name 2. The full name of the source (either in italics or quotation marks) 3. What the source is about John Barton, in his book, Writing in College, explains how to write a successful essay.

C - Citation • Then the citation. This also has three parts: 1. Signal phrase (who is saying it & how are they 2. 3. saying it) The direct quotation The citation He explains, “The ICE method is easy to remember” (Barton 5).

Sample signal phrases • • • Smith Smith points out… reports… notes… observes… concludes… • • • Smith recognizes… According to Smith… To quote Smith… As Smith has indicated… Smith defines … as… Be sure the direct quote does not interrupt the flow of your sentence

Dropped (or stand alone) quotations • Do not include a quotation in your document • that “stands alone. ” This means it doesn’t have a signal phrase.

E -Explanation • And the explanation, or justification for the quotation (usually 1 -3 sentences long): Most students can remember what the letters in ICE stand for even years afterwards.

Words of Advice • Essays that use extensive direct quotations tend • • to lack voice, continuity, or authority. If you offer quotations every few lines, your ideas become subordinate to other people’s ideas and voices. Your ideas are lost and the piece will not indicate that YOU have done any thinking or synthesizing. Therefore, you are generally better off paraphrasing and summarizing material and using direct quotations sparingly.

Acknowledging your sources • There are conventions for indicating the source • • • of the quotations and ideas you’ve used in your writing 1. The bibliography (i. e. , References [APA] or Works Cited [MLA]) at the end of the paper 2. Parenthetical citations that follow an individual quotation or reference in your text Your essays will require BOTH

A Paraphrase is… • Your own version of the meaning of the ideas and/or • • information of someone else; a very few essential words of the source's may be included. A proper way of using information from a source who you cite. Different from a summary in that it consists of approximately the same number of words as the original; whereas a summary focuses on the main idea and condenses information.

Paraphrasing Guidelines • Do not alter the author’s original message • Do not eliminate any significant background • • information Do not misrepresent the author’s intentions Do not copy the original wording too closely § Don’t just change a few words or shuffle things around; read the passage several times and completely rewrite it.

Paraphrasing Tips 1. Reread the original passage to grasp its full meaning. 2. Think about the sense, the purpose, the reasoning of the original; then write out your paraphrase. 3. Check your version with the original to make sure that yours accurately expresses all the essential information without relying on the same phrasing or form of expression. 4. Use quotation marks to identify any unique terms you have borrowed exactly from the source. 5. Jot down a few words to remind yourself later about how you plan on using your paraphrase. Write a keyword or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase. 6. Record the source (including the page) so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

Example of a Paraphrase In a far away, long ago kingdom, Cinderella is living happily with her mother and father until her mother dies. Cinderella's father remarries a cold, cruel woman who has two daughters, Drizella and Anastasia. When the father dies, Cinderella's wicked stepmother turns her into a virtual servant in her own house. Meanwhile, across town in the castle, the King determines that his son the Prince should find a suitable bride and provide him with a required number of grandchildren. So the King invites every eligible maiden in the kingdom to a fancy dress ball, where his son will be able to choose his bride. Cinderella has no suitable party dress for a ball, but her friends the mice, lead by Jaques and Gus, and the birds lend a hand in making her one, a dress the evil stepsisters immediately tear apart on the evening of the ball. At this point, enter the Fairy Godmother, who creates a pumpkin carriage and dress for her to arrive at the royal ball under the understanding that it would disappear at the stroke of midnight. She and the prince meet and fall in love at first glance. She is also given glass slippers, one of which she loses on her way hurrying out of the ball. The prince, after finding the shoe, creates a search team to find the wearer. The stepsisters try to get in the way of Cinderella being discovered; however, the shoe only fit Cinderella. Despite her shabby appearance, the Prince allows Cinderella to try on the shoe, and the rest, as they say, is fairy tale history.

Summarizing • Summarizing takes the entire source and puts it • • • into your own words. Summarize the main ideas only Be concise No quotations Tends to be shorter than the original source (In this class, your summaries will be a paragraph [5 -7 sentences]) Starts off with an introduction of the source (I of ICE)

Summarizing • Condensing a writer’s ideas into a much • shorter piece with your words Summaries allow you to sort through the information in the source and report only what you consider to be essential.

Example of a Summary Though put to work by her evil stepmother and stepsisters, Cinderella manages to get a ball gown by the help of her friends and make it to the ball where she meets the Prince. There, they fall in love, she loses her shoe, reunites with the Prince, and lives happily ever after.

Why Summarizing/Paraphrasing is Important • The mental process required for • • successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original. It helps you control the temptation to quote too much. It is better than quoting information from an undistinguished passage.