Research Papers

1. Shaping Your Topic. Uses of Research. Conducting Your Research. Making Preliminary Decisions. Some Helpful Techniques. Searching for a Topic. Formulating a Thesis. Writing a Prospectus. Recording Possible Sources. Considering Main Points. Exercise A: Preliminary Decisions. Exercise B: First Steps. 2. Learning Library Procedures. Layout of a Library. Using the Catalog. Locating Books. Computer Searching. The Reference Room. Exercise C: Exploring the Library. Exercise D: Searching Reference Works. 3. Using Basic Reference Sources. Listings of Books. Listings of Articles. Listings of Both Books and Articles. Exercise E: Searching for Books and Articles. 4. Finding, Evaluating, and Recording Material. Evaluating Sources. Kinds of Sources. Fact vs. Opinion. Purposeful, Proficient Reading. Using Sources Efficiently. Taking Notes. Types of Notes. Exercise F: Differentiating Fact and Opinion. Exercise G: Taking Notes. 5. Avoiding Plagiarism. Dealing with Common Knowledge. Handling Paraphrases, Summary, and Quotation to Avoid Unintentional Plagiarism. Exercise H: Avoiding Plagiarism. 6. Constructing Your Outline. Types of Outlines. The Outlining Process. Conventions of Outlining. Examples of Formal Outlines. Exercise I: Classification. Exercise J: Classification: Specific to General. Exercise K: Classification: General to Specific. Exercise L: Arrangement. Exercise M: Analyzing a Faulty Outline. 7. Writing Your First Draft. Putting Words on Paper. Getting Started. Managing Borrowed Material. Exercise N: Managing Borrowed Material. 8. Preparing Your Final Copy. Effective Revision. Developing Your Outline. Writing in an Appropriate Style. Proofreading. Manuscript Form. Exercise O: Proofreading and Revision. 9. Documenting a Paper: MLA Style (In-Text Citation). Consistency. Listing Sources. In-Text Citation. Explanation and Reference Notes. Sample Papers: In-Text Citation. Exercise P: Listing Sources in Works Cited. 10. Documenting a Paper: Endnotes. MLA Style: Basic Procedure. Kinds of Citation Notes. Sample First Reference Note Forms (MLA). Chicago Manual of Style. Sample First Reference Note Forms (CMS). Sample Paper: Endnotes (MLA). Decline and Fall of the Oneida Community. Exercise Q: Citing Sources in Endnotes. 11. Documenting a Paper: APA Style. Listing References. In-Text Author-Date Citation. Other Differences between MLA and APA Styles. Sample Paper: APA Style. The School Uniform Debate. 12. Documenting a Paper: Other Styles. Variations of APA Style. The Number System. Documentation in Notes. Appendix A: Abbreviations and Basic Terms. Scholarly Forms. Library Terms and Abbreviations. Computer Terms. Publishers Names. Months and States. Appendix B: Specialized Reference Works. Art. Biology. Business. Chemistry. Computer Science. Criminal Justice. Ecology. Economics. Education. Ethnic Studies. Film. History. Journalism. Literature, Music. Myth, Folklore. Nursing. Philosophy. Physics. Political Science. Psychology. Religion. Sociology, Social Work. Women's Studies. Index.