Introduction
This overview of research paper strategies will focus
on the type of research paper that uses library
resources. For the social sciences or sciences, learn
more about strategies for an original
research report.
The research paper is a popular academic assignment.
Forms of it are used in various professional fields as
well. The research paper gives you the opportunity to
think seriously about some issue. Building on the
research of others, you have the opportunity to
contribute your own research and insights to a
particular question of interest to you. It also gives
you practice in important academic skills such as
formulating research questions, conducting research,
managing time, organizing information into coherent
ideas, substantiating arguments with research in the
field, and presenting insights about the research.
Disciplines vary in their ways of conducting
research, in writing research papers, and in the form
the final copy takes. Individual instructors may also
vary in their expectations of a research paper. Some may
expect you to write a report that describes your
research; some may emphasize analysis of the information
you have gathered; some may anticipate a report on
original research. Therefore, it is important that you
read the assignment carefully and ask clarifying
questions. Here are three:
- What field of study--humanities, social sciences,
or sciences, for example--am I writing for? How will
the expectations of that field affect the decisions I
make?
- What exactly is the teacher asking in this
assignment?
- Are there suggestions in the assignment or class
notes that this paper should incorporate a particular
theory discussed in class?
Narrowing Down A Topic
Even if you have written a research paper before,
recognize that the procedures surrounding selecting a
topic will vary by instructor and by discipline.
Read the assignment sheet to ascertain the
specificity of the teacher's expectations. Is there an
explicit list of topics, or are you expected to narrow
to a topic on your own? Are you to work with a specific
theory or course material as you write the paper?
If your instructor hands out a topic list and expects
you to operate within those boundaries, keep in mind
that those lists are often broad topics, not thesis
statements. Other teachers prefer to be intentionally
vague in order to give you the freedom to narrow to an
area of interest. That means that you will have to
search for a topic that you are willing to work with for
a considerable amount of time.
Strategies for a topic search:
- Note in a research notebook provocative questions
that arise in class lecture or discussion, topics in
your textbook that appear ripe for further
exploration, or issues that come up in your
conversations with classmates. Those jottings may
prompt a topic that you can narrow for your paper.
- Use prewriting
strategies such as brainstorming, clustering, or
free writing to generate topics.
- A readily available source for a topic search is
the on-line
catalogue in the library. You can select subtopics
of interest to get into even more specific topics. The
benefit of using the on-line catalogue is that you can
narrow to a topic quickly and see what books are
available on the topic.
- The Internet is also a useful resource, although
you must take care to evaluate
Internet sources.
Now that you have decided on a topic, narrow your
focus. You can begin this process by asking yourself the
following questions: Is this topic consistent with the
assignment? Does it match what I intend to research?
Will anyone want to read about this? What do I know
about the topic? What do I want to know? What do I need
to know? Skim the literature to help you narrow your
topic to a manageable one which meets your instructor's
assignment and your interests. As an example, if your
initial topic for a 10 to 20 page paper is space
exploration, by the time you finish your topic search,
you might have narrowed your topic to unmanned U.S.
space exploration of planets and even to a specific
planet and mission, 1997s Pathfinder mission, let's say.
Asking Research Questions
At the college level, rather than writing an
encyclopedia entry that merely reports facts about a
topic, college-level writers will create more successful
papers if they work from questions that pose a problem
or question to be investigated. You need to do more than
describe, in other words; you need to analyze, to bring
your own insight to a problem or question you have
formulated. Try to formulate what you want to know as a
how, why, or
so what question.
With the Pathfinder mission, the temptation might be
to write a paper that reports on the nature of or event
surrounding the mission. However, a richer paper will
demonstrate not only that you know about the topic but
how you have thought critically about some specific
aspect of it. Here are some possible research questions
narrowed to specific aspects of the topic:
- How: How might the technology in
the Sojourner rover be applied on Earth to help the
disabled?
- Why: Given the success of robots
exploring Mars, why should a manned mission be
considered?
- So what? How will this initial
success of Pathfinder influence future space programs?
Notice that these questions require a commitment on
your part not only to show that you have researched the
material but that you have thought about its
significance as well. In other words, you will have to
provide information and establish the significance of it
in terms of the issue you have presented to discuss.
Formulating a Thesis Statement
Express the focus and the perspective about it that
you intend to pursue in a carefully crafted thesis
statement which introduces the topic and what you
are going to argue, show, or prove about it. This
statement becomes your commitment to your readers. When
others read your writing, the thesis statement will
inform them what you will discuss and also indicate the
organizational structure your writing will take.
At this point in your writing process, the thesis
statement will establish perimeters for your discussion.
As you write, check back to the thesis statement often
to confirm that you remain on topic and that you are
adhering to the organizational structure that you have
determined is most appropriate for your paper. The
organization of your paper will depend on your topic,
the argument you intend to make, and the expectations of
your audience.
Creating a Working Outline
An outline is a systematic way of organizing your
ideas for your paper. A jot list is an informal outline
and may work for your purposes. Often, however, you'll
want to use of a formal
outline to manage your information as your research
expands. Besides helping you organize and manage your
information as you draft your paper, outlining is
helpful when you prepare to revise. Review your paper's
organization and development by outlining your draft.
Understanding Your Instructor as
Audience
In the case of most research papers, your instructor
will be your primary audience. That person can be an
intimidating audience for many student writers. How,
after all, can you write anything about this topic that
your instructor does not already know? Your instructor
may indeed know the factual information about the topic,
that is true; nevertheless, he or she is anticipating
reading the thoughtful insights that you bring to the
issue as a result of your thorough research and
reflection.
To help students develop an understanding of their
expectations, many instructors incorporate check points
into the research writing assignment. If yours does not,
it may be helpful to set up an appointment with your
professor in order to confirm that you are making
appropriate progress.
Use your working thesis statement and outline as the
basis for the conference. Here are some questions to ask
at this point: Is this thesis statement and preliminary
outline on track? I'm familiar with MLA citation system.
Is that appropriate for this paper? If the answer is no,
ask: What form do you recommend, and where can I get the
style information? What types of sources (see Primary
vs. Secondary Sources) are acceptable for this
assignment and this topic? Use your instructor's
guidance as you research your paper.
Researching the Paper
Having planned your paper, you are now ready to do
comprehensive research. This section will address how to
develop a working bibliography, collect information, and
credit information.
Your research is more than gathering information,
though. College-level research paper writing requires
that writers inquire into an issue of significance;
therefore, throughout the information-collecting
process, ask yourself how what you are learning is
reinforcing or countering, clarifying or confusing your
working thesis statement. Take the time to reflect on
what you are learning. How does the new information that
you are gathering modify the thesis statement? Your
outline? As you learn more about the topic, your views
about it may change. If so, adjust your thesis statement
and your outline accordingly.
Developing a Working Bibliography
After creating a working outline, use library and
other resources to develop a working bibliography. This
bibliography is a list of resources with which you will
begin your research. In the process of reading, you will
probably use some of the resources extensively; others
will probably be repetitious; and still others may be
useless for your purposes. For future reference, you may
wish to develop an annotated bibliography.
An annotated bibliography consists of the
bibliographic entry in the form you are using for this
paper and a brief statement about the item listed in the
bibliography. The statement may summarize the item, it
may comment on the relevance of the item to the project,
or it may do both. Typically, the annotation will be
placed as a block of indented text under the
bibliographic entry.
This is the time in the research process to determine
what citation
form is appropriate for your paper. If you use the
form your instructor has recommended, you will record
the information in the order established by the form
and, thus, save yourself a return trip to the library.
Write the bibliographic citation of your source on a
note card, one citation per card, or begin a
bibliography on your word processor. Your bibliography
will be listed in alphabetical order by the last name of
the author on your final paper.
Collecting Information
You will need to organize your notes by outline
headings at a later point, so take notes by those
headings now. If you are taking notes by hand, use 5" x
7" note cards or half sheets of paper. Because you will
have to reorganize the pages of notes later, a spiral
notebook or legal pad is less efficient than cards,
which can easily be reordered. (If you are using a word
processor, a file folder per outline heading with a
document for each source will serve your purposes.)
Include on a note card only information that fits the
heading and the source on that card. You will want to
put most of your notes in your own words. You can do
that by writing a paraphrase or a summary. Write a
direct quotation only when it is the best way to state
the idea.
Throughout the research process, you will need to
evaluate which information to include and which to
eliminate. If you have not done so before, now is the
time to learn to distinguish primary
and secondary sources appropriate for your topic,
especially Internet
sources.
Crediting Information
Your instructor is expecting you to provide your
insight into this topic; at the same time, you need to
give credit to information that you have gained from
other sources. Giving credit is an important aspect of
academic
integrity. Failure to give credit is plagiarism. You
need to give credit not only because it is ethical to
acknowledge what originated with someone else but also
to ground your research in the existing scholarship.
Situating your efforts in the carefully selected work of
others adds credibility to your own.
In order to give credit, take notes systematically.
Whatever method of notetaking you use, you will have to
account for your source, the page number, and a key
phrase in the upper corner of the note to direct you
back to the outline.
Writing the Research Paper
When you have a substantial part of your research
completed, you may want to begin drafting. Writing is
recursive rather than linear. In other words, you may
find that it is necessary to resume researching in the
midst of drafting. You may also find that your
introduction needs re-working once the body of the paper
is drafted. This section will help you
- draft the paper
- revise the draft
- edit the text
Develop a working plan for your paper by revising
your working outline into a formal outline with special
attention to organization and development. Working from
the thesis statement, check the points on the working
outline. How will each go back to the thesis? What do
you know about each? Modify the key phrases on your note
cards to adjust them to the new outline. Some cards may
have to be set aside. Reorganize the others to match the
order of the outline. If you have taken notes on a word
processor, make similar adjustment to your documents and
file folders.
Drafting
Drafting is a messy process during which you, the
writer, get your ideas in print. In order to focus on
the ideas, restrain yourself from cleaning up the paper.
Rather, permit yourself to reflect on your topic and
your sources as you draft. Begin writing the draft by
writing into the outline. Make a copy of the outline and
begin writing into it. If you use the outline as the
backbone for your paper, you will have your
organizational scheme in front of you at all times. If
you wish to work out of order on the paper, you can
easily do so without losing your place. You will also be
able to see at a glance how well your writing has
progressed.
You will want to signal the structure of the paper in
the thesis
statement. However, the drafting process may cause
you to re-think your topic, the organization and, thus,
the thesis statement. Remain flexible, allowing the
organization and development of the body of the paper to
emerge from your growing understanding of the topic.
The introduction will focus your reader's attention
on your argument by making clear why the paper is
written, what is being argued in the paper, and how the
author situates the argument in the field's literature.
If writing an introduction is difficult, start with the
thesis statement and keep writing. Here are some popular
strategies to begin the paper:
- relate the topic with something that is well known
- open with the thesis statement
- provide background information to the reader
- review the literature
- take exception to critical views
- challenge an assumption
- provide a brief summary
- supply data, statistics, and special evidence
- define key terms (avoiding "Webster says")
The directness of the introduction varies from field
to field. Review exemplary papers or published articles
from that field for models, but, most importantly, let
the purpose of your paper and your information drive the
nature of the introduction.
The body develops the argument by presenting evidence
to support the thesis statement. As you use your notes,
keep track of the origin of your outside information by
jotting down the source information that is on your note
card.
The conclusion provides the reader with a summary of
the argument as well its implications. Possible
concluding strategies include
- restating the thesis and going beyond it
- closing with an effective quotation
- comparing past to present
- offering a directive or solution
- discussing test results
Revising
This first draft will require revision. To determine
what needs reworking, read the entire paper. What works?
What doesn't? Now, get more specific. Working through
paragraph by paragraph, ask yourself the purpose of each
in terms of the thesis. When the second draft is
complete, think about the readers, your instructor
certainly, but also the educated public. You are, at a
minimum, presenting your own original research on a
topic, and quite possibly a unique way of looking at
that research. Your writing should convey that. The
following revision tips incorporate suggestions from
Donald Zimmermann and Dawn Rodrigues's Research
and Writing in the Disciplines. (Fort Worth:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publisher, 1992.)
Revise for content first. Do not do
final revision at any other levels until content
revision is complete. Have you explained why you
conducted this research? Clarified how this research
fits into other research? Given all necessary details?
Reported results? Confirmed the logic of your reasoning
and inference?
Revise for organization. Do you need
to reorganize sections of the paper? Revise main points
for clarity? Use headings and sub-headings for
clarification? Delete material? Add material? Insert
transitions to connect sections of the paper to the
thesis?
Check the effectiveness of your organization by
glossing the draft and then track your thoughts, outline
your draft, or insert trial sub-heads. Improve your
organization by inserting transitional phrases or
paragraphs, or by adding clarifying and elaborating
information.
Revise for coherence. Do you offer a
road map of your paper in your thesis statement and
through your headings (if you use them)? Incorporate
transitional devices? Stay consistent within topics? Use
pronouns and repetitions within paragraphs to indicate
continuation of the topic? Comment in the document about
the significance to your argument of the information
(especially direct quotations) that you have introduced?
Improve coherence by incorporating ideas using a
consistent organizing principle, inserting transitions
between sections, using topic sentences, and inserting
headings and sub-headings.
Editing
After you have satisfied yourself with the
organization and development of the paper as well as the
way it communicates with the audience, edit for
punctuation. Pay special attention to quotation marks,
commas and semi-colons, spelling, and grammar.
Carelessness here undercuts your credibility and casts
doubt on the quality of your work.
When you edit, become the reader of your document.
You can do that by placing time between yourself and the
document. When you return to it, you will bring the eyes
of a reader rather than of a writer. If you have not
done so before, now is a good time to consider
incorporating headings. In lengthy papers, especially
ones written in the sciences and social sciences,
headings are considered helpful guides to the logic and
content of each section. At each level of heading, the
parts of speech (nouns, verbs, gerunds, for example) and
the form of text (words, phrases, statements, questions)
need to be consistent. Besides directing readers through
the document, headings will help you review the
organization of the document.
In addition to using your eyes differently in order
to re-see your document, listen to it. Sometimes what
may look fine on the page sounds awkward to the ear.
This practice is especially important if what you have
written will later be presented aloud. And don't depend
on the word processor; the spell checker is not a
proofreader.
Edit for clarity and consistency. Improve clarity and
consistency by
- incorporating strong, active verbs
- replacing nominalizations (nouns made from verbs)
with strong verbs
- reducing "there are" and "it is" constructions
- deleting excessive prepositional phrases
- replacing hedge or vague words with precise words
or phrases
- reducing wordiness
- maintaining appropriate tense
- using parallel structure
- maintaining inclusive language
Now that all the other editing is complete, edit for
spelling, punctuation, precision in grammar (especially
subject-verb and pronoun agreement), and accuracy in
information. As you edit, check your citations again.
Make certain that all directly quoted information or
ideas that are not your own are cited in the citation
form appropriate for the assignment. And make sure that
you take drafts of your paper to a Writer's
Roost for consultation with a tutor!
Adding an Appendix
Some research projects include information that helps
the reader understand the argument but would be
distracting if it were to appear in the text. This
information may be included in the appendix. These
materials should be titled and labeled (for example
Appendix A: Questionnaire). The
appendix needs to be referred to in the text so that the
reader understands additional useful information is
available elsewhere in the document.
Adding Explanatory Notes
Explanatory notes refer to additional sources or
details on a topic, elaborate on statistics or other
information beyond what is essential to the paper, refer
the reader to a contrary position, explain variables in
the evidence, describe testing procedures, and
acknowledge individuals who helped in the research.
Signal that you are adding an informational note by
typing a superscript number in the text at an
appropriate spot, usually at the end of a sentence.
Where you place the notes in relation to the rest of the
text will vary by the documentation system you are
using. If you are using the parenthetical or author/date
style, place notes on a page following the manuscript.
If you are using end or footnotes, incorporate the notes
into the reference notes.
Formatting the Document
Even the best research is undercut if the paper is
poorly presented. Protect your research investment by
taking the time to package the research properly. Your
paper should be typed in standard manuscript form. That
is, unless instructed otherwise, double-space it in 10-
or 12-point type with one-inch margins. Place a title on
the first page of the text and generate a coversheet
with pertinent information (title, author's name, date
submitted, course and instructor's name) attractively
arranged.
Keep in mind that your paper may not include all of
the elements and that the order of research paper
elements may vary by disciplinary practices. Unless
instructed otherwise by your professor, arrange your
paper in this order:
- title page
- abstract (if requested)
- outline (if requested)
- paper
- appendix (if any)
- explanatory endnotes (if any)
- endnotes (if required by the citation system you
use)
- works cited, reference, or bibliography
Bind the paper according to your instructor's
directions. Now you are ready to submit a paper that
provides an insightful look at the topic of your choice.
Good work!