Writer's Roosts > Students > KU Writing Guide > Writing Your Research > Research Papers
Research Papers

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:

  1. title page
  2. abstract (if requested)
  3. outline (if requested)
  4. paper
  5. appendix (if any)
  6. explanatory endnotes (if any)
  7. endnotes (if required by the citation system you use)
  8. 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!