Research and WritingENG215

Researching

Topics

• Understanding research, primary and secondary research

• Choose a research question• Create a research plan• Use the library and various sources• Databases• Using printed and online documents• Effective visuals

Topics, continued

• Evaluate a source’s arguments, definition of plagiarism, determining common knowledge

• Understanding plagiarism, copyright and intellectual property

• What you do and do not acknowledge• Avoid plagiarism• Cultural assumptions and misunderstandings

about plagiarism• Use copyrighted materials fairly

Understanding Research, Primary and Secondary Research

• Library and Internet Resources• Primary Research• Secondary Research

– Facts– Interpretations– Evaluations

• Design Research Project• Rhetorical Situation

Choosing a Research Question

• To choose your research topic:– Question with personal significance– Specific, focused research question– Challenging question– Develop an hypothesis

• Speculate about answers to questions• Consider your assumptions• Personal opinions cannot be tested

Create a Research Plan

• Create general plan for your paper– Understand the assignment– What do you already know about topic?– What do you need to know?

• Create detailed plan for your paper– Three phases– Set priorities and deadlines– Decide how to search for material– Decide where to find your material

Use the Library and Various Sources

• Sources for Research– Computerized book catalog– Periodical databases– Electronic resources– Periodicals– Indexes and databases

Check Your Understanding

PROPERTIES

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Databases

• Use online tutorials to help you search• Searchable resources for research include

– Print indexes (used to find periodicals)– Printed and online reference works– Online databases

• Type of resources– Popular sources– Scholarly sources

• Search using key words/terms; use Boolean operators, wildcards, and search within fields

Using Printed and Online Documents

• Popular search engines– Meta search engines– Mediated search engines

• Subject directories– List broad categories– Narrow the search through selection

• Library’s online catalog or card catalog• Online research tools• Printed and online government documents• Other online communications

Effective Visuals

• Quantitative data can be displayed visually– Charts – Graphs– Maps

• Sources for images include:– Online library and museum image collections– Internet images– Scanned images from printed material

Check Your Understanding

PROPERTIES

On passing, 'Finish' button: Goes to Next SlideOn failing, 'Finish' button: Goes to Next SlideAllow user to leave quiz: At any timeUser may view slides after quiz: At any timeUser may attempt quiz: Unlimited times

Evaluate a Source’s Arguments, Definition of Plagiarism, Determining Common Knowledge

• Evaluation– Question print and internet sources: Credible?

Accurate? Reasonable? Supported?

• Plagiarism: failure to acknowledge sources of information

• Common Knowledge: information that the audience could be expected to know

• Anything that is not common knowledge must be documented

Understanding Plagiarism, Copyright and Intellectual Property

• Copyright and intellectual property – Related to plagiarism– Copyright: legal right to control reproduction

of material– Intellectual property: the copyrighted material

belonging to copyright holder– Fair use: protects most academic use of

copyrighted material

What You Do and Do Not Acknowledge

• You must document the source of :– Any concepts you learned from a source– Quoted material– Paraphrases and summaries– Interviews other than surveys– Abstracts– Visuals– Statistics– Your own work for another assignment

Avoid Plagiarism

• Plagiarism: inadvertent and deliberate• To avoid all forms of plagiarism:

– Use research plan– Record your thoughts in one color and those of others

in another color– Keep accurate records– Put quotation marks around other people’s words– Document source of summaries and paraphrases– Do not rely too much on one source– Cite sources of ideas, opinions, and statistics– Use APA documentation– Print all sources used

Cultural Assumptions and Misunderstandings about Plagiarism

• U.S. – core value of respect for ownership

• American academic culture requires documentation for all ideas not your own

Use Copyrighted Materials Fairly

• Copyrighted materials belong to copyright holder– Fair use includes:

• Educational• Non-profit• Personal

– Imaginative and non-published work usually requires permission to use

– Academic use of small portion of text • Fifty words from an article• Three hundred words from a book

– Consider effect of your use on the market

Check Your Understanding

PROPERTIES

On passing, 'Finish' button: Goes to Next SlideOn failing, 'Finish' button: Goes to Next SlideAllow user to leave quiz: At any timeUser may view slides after quiz: At any timeUser may attempt quiz: Unlimited times

Summary

• Understanding research, primary and secondary research

• Choose a research question• Create a research plan• Use the library and various sources• Databases• Using printed and online documents• Effective visuals

Summary, continued

• Evaluate a source’s arguments, definition of plagiarism, determining common knowledge

• Understanding plagiarism, copyright and intellectual property

• What you do and do not acknowledge• Avoid plagiarism• Cultural assumptions and misunderstandings

about plagiarism• Use copyrighted materials fairly