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The Process: More Like This
The Process: More Like This
Sure, you can search on Google or look things up on Wikipedia, but do you really
know how to conduct online research? Here are 10 tips for better research!
Arm yourself with an understanding of these 15 common logical fallacies and
become a master debater!
Sharpen your debate skills! Searching for a subject to research? Need help
refining your argument? Check out these 12 powder-keg topics, each with the power
to generate debate, stimulate emotional response, and reduce a room full of
reasoning adults into spluttering children.
Here are the steps and resources you need to write a strong research
paper, as well as a checklist to go over to be sure you wrote a good
paper. Research writing can be a challenge, but with a little practice, it
can become an important part of your academic and professional
toolkit.
The Process
The following steps will help you write a research paper, starting with
nothing but an assignment or prompt and ending up with a well-crafted
essay. The steps are:
Step 3: Research
And now what you have been waiting for — research! This step is
pretty flexible; different people will research for a paper in different
ways. However, it’s important to stay focused and move pretty quickly.
After all, you still have to write your research paper.
First off, skimming. You don’t have to read in-full everything ever
written about your topic. In fact, you probably can’t. Get comfortable
reading through things quickly. Learn how to identify key points and
arguments without getting bogged down and reading every word.
Next, find reliable resources. Although this may run contrary to what
you’ve been told, you can use Wikipedia to write a research paper.
But, you cannot use that as a final source. You can use general
sources like Wikipedia to get familiar with a topic, find keywords that
can further drive your research, and quickly understand large amounts
of information. But, for the information you use in your paper, you have
to find reliable resources.
Take what you have learned from a Google search or Wikipedia article
and dig deeper. Check out the sources on the article, use keywords
from your internet search to search an academic database, or ask an
expert whether or not what you learned is valid and if it is, where you
can find a reliable source stating the same thing. So, just to be clear:
you can use Wikipedia as a starting point in your research, but you
should not cite Wikipedia as one of the primary sources for your
research paper.
Finally, don’t ignore information. You can find an article that says
anything you want it to say. Did researchers recently discover that
octopus DNA is made of alien DNA from outer space? Are the spires
on the Cinderella Castle at Disney World removable in case of a
hurricane? Did a cook attempt to assassinate George Washington by
feeding him poisoned tomatoes? You can find articles testifying that all
three of the previous claims are true; however, when you dig deeper,
it’s clear that they’re not. Just because you find one article stating that
something is true, that does not necessarily mean it is a proven fact
that you can use in your research.
The relationship between dogs and humans goes both ways; not only
are dogs man’s best friend, but human interactions have influenced
the way that modern dogs’ behavior and anatomy.
Many universities require freshmen students to live on campus for their
first year, which keeps students out of trouble, helps students get
better grades, and increases their likelihood of staying in school.
Can you see the differences between the first set of sentences and the
second set of thesis statements? It might take a few tries, but work to
eliminate words and phrases like “I think,” or “My paper is about.”
It is also very important not to be too vague. Don’t be afraid to make a
strong statement. If you look at the above examples, each of them
makes a specific point about the topic. Another key to crafting a strong
thesis statement is making sure that your thesis is arguable. That
doesn’t mean it’s controversial or particularly opinionated, but it does
mean that someone could disagree.
As you create an outline, think critically about what you are trying to
explain or communicate in your research paper and what structure
allows you to do that in a clear, organized way. It usually makes sense
to have an introduction and conclusion, but what goes between will
vary based on the contents of your essay.
And then, finally, it’s time to actually write your paper. You might feel
like you should have started writing sooner, but, rest assured: the work
you have done up to this point is important. It will help you create a
strong, clear, interesting research paper.
It might be helpful to look over your research before you start writing,
but don’t write directly from your research. If you’re looking back and
forth between your resources and your paper as you begin writing, it’s
easy to copy ideas without really creating your own work. You have
done a lot of work already, so trust that and work from memory as you
write your research paper. It’s okay to look up a specific quote or
statistic, but in general your ideas should be your own at this point.
Working from your own ideas will help you avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism
is the uncredited use of someone else’s words or ideas, whether you
meant to use them without credit or not. This sounds scary, but it
doesn’t have to be. If you follow the steps outlined in this guide, you
can be confident that you’ve created your own essay that builds on the
ideas, writing, and work of others, without stealing, copying, or
plagiarising.
If your paper is too long or too short, now is the time to cut it down or
build it up to an acceptable length. Don’t just delete your conclusion
because your paper is too long. Don’t waste your time playing with the
font size and margins to try to make your essay longer. Be careful and
thoughtful about these edits. If you need to take something out, what
makes sense to cut and how can you re-organize your paper so that it
maintains a strong structure? If you need to lengthen your paper, don’t
just randomly add words or repeat things you have already said. Think
about where you could expand or what you can add that fits in with the
rest of your paper, further develops the ideas you are presenting, or
adds valuable information to your research paper.
Once you have made all the changes you think necessary, read back
through your paper again to be sure it all makes sense. Especially
when working on a computer, it is easy to leave or delete a word,
sentence, or paragraph that you didn’t mean to. If you are tired of
looking at your research paper, give it to a friend, mentor, or teacher
and ask them to take a look at your paper and let you know what they
think of the content.