ACADEMIC RESEARCH

1. ACADEMIC RESEARCH Made Easy Information Literacy & Periodicals Librarian (845)848-7506 M-F 8am-4pm

2. The Step by Step Approach to Research Pre-Topic Step 1 – Understand the assignment Step 2 – Remove all preconceptions Step 3 – Practice time management and set deadlines Step 4 – Create a folder Step 5 – Find a topic and basic information about it Post-Topic Step 6 – Narrow your topic to a focused research question Step 7 – Gather information Step 8 – Write your thesis statement Step 9 – Weed out irrelevant information This PowerPoint covers the following: • Finding a topic – the Pre-Topic section. • Narrowing your topic into a research question or statement – the Post-Topic section • Constructing a thesis statement from your research question Thus: topic research question thesis statement

3. Use of research time Step by Step Research Percent of time • STEP 1 - Getting started: planning the process 5% • STEP 2 - Discovering and choosing a topic 10% • STEP 3 - Forming a focused research question 20% • STEP 4 - Gathering information: detail research 25% • STEP 5 – Writing AND Post-Writing 40%

4. Step 1: Understand the assignment Before you consider your topic . . . • What does your teacher expect? • Read the instructions so you know what your instructor has in mind for the type of paper you need to write. This will determine the approach. • Example of what can affect your approach: • The research topic is clearly specified, OR • The research topic is chosen by you

5. Working with a clearly specified topic . . . Look over the assignment. What key words do you find in the instructions? Does the assignment ask that you describe, survey, analyze, persuade, explain, classify, compare, or contrast? What do such words mean in the field you are studying? TIP: Look over the instructions of the assignment again one day prior to the paper being due, to make sure that you do not miss anything important which might affect your final grade.

6. Working with a topic chosen by you . . . Consider the following questions: • What subjects do you already know something about? • Which subjects were discussed in class that you are interested in? • What subjects look interesting when you browse the course materials (including textbook)?

7. be careful – don’t skip the basics If you think of an audience outside of just your instructor, it will help you to explain your topic more clearly. Think of writing for someone who does nothave as much experience in this subject area. You need to prove you understand the material being covered. You cannot do this well if you skip over the foundation, assuming your instructor already knows it. TIP: The foundation of your paper can be either books (if allowed) or journal articles which speak about your topic in general terms. For example: a book about diabetes or a journal article overview about diabetes, when your actual topic is “treatment of diabetes in the elderly in a nursing home setting”.

8. Know your audience; ask yourself . . . Who will be interested in the information you gather? Why? What assumptions might they hold about the topic? What response do you want to elicit from them? What kinds of evidence will you need to convince them of your view? What will your supervisor or instructor expect?

9. Terms to know Topic: For research; the subject matter at hand. Research Question: A narrower (focused) perspective on the topic. Thesis statement: The main point of your paper, which cannot be determined until after research and analysis is complete and you have narrowed down your topic into a research question (or statement). The topic you select should match the following: • Your interests and knowledge • The purpose of the assignment • The type of paper (report, issue, argument, etc.) • The length of the paper (most important)

10. Step 2 - Remove all preconceptions Some of the preconceptions held by students before beginning their research are: 1. Doing this paper will be easy. 2. Doing this paper will be hard. 3. I should be able to find all the materials I need easily. Even if I cannot, I will be able to get them from somewhere else in a day or two at most. 4. I will find everything I need on the Internet. 5. I have plenty of time to do this, so I will start it later. Don’t worry; we’ve all thought one or more of these at one time or another. The key is to stop thinking it and start the project!

11. Step 3 – Practice time management and set deadlines Ideally, you should begin the research process as soon as possible after receiving your assignment. A short paper, up to 8 pages, may take four weeks; whereas a longer paper of 15 pages or more will take the entire semester. Therefore, it is important to assign a deadline for each step of the project.

12. Undertake one step at a time As you work on your assignment, break it down into smaller units, day by day. For example, focus on one part of your argument and only find sources for that before you move on to another part. Can’t find the information you need? • Don’t quit! Keep looking and rephrase your question until you locate what you need. Some aspects of a topic are better covered than others. Ask your professor or a librarian for help if you need! TIP: When you are searching, it is very helpful if you know some synonyms of your search terms. Don’t restrict yourself to one search. How else can you say it? Develop your search terms handout: http://sullivanlibrary.wordpress.com/handouts

13. Step 4 – Create a folder Before you begin your searching, create a folder and label it with a name that will be easy to identify, such as Research Folder for the affects of Alzheimer’s on the patient’s caregiving children. To help you with creating this folder the Library provides RefWorks*, an online research management, writing and collaboration tool. http://www.refworks.com/tutorial/ RefWorks is designed to help researchers easily gather, manage, store and share all types of information, as well as generate in-text citations and bibliographies (your Works Cited page). *http://my.dc.edu/ics/Library/Refworks.jnz Undergraduates might prefer EasyBib.com instead, although it does not have as many features.

14. Step 5 – Find a topic and basic information about it Do you need a topic? Yes? Most students don’t know what they are going to use right away either! • Thumb through your textbook or course pack. Browse the table of contents, index, chapter headings, and subheadings. • Look on the internet (Google, Wikipedia, etc) for topic ideas – and for good search terms to use later. • For books, try http://books.google.com (Google Books)

15. Preliminary sources to develop a research question • The Library Portal Page (http://my.dc.edu/ics/Library) • The Library Catalog (Portal Page, click Library’s Online Card Catalog) • Books, E-Books, E-Resources, Print Journals, and Microfilm Journals • Do a words or phrase search. If you have more than one aspect to your topic, put an and in between. Diabetes and elderly • Electronic Databases (Portal Page, click Remote Database Access) • Reference Material • Encyclopedias (in print in our reference section or through our databases – Credo Reference and Encyclopedia Britannica) • Dictionaries, Fact Books, & Handbooks • Subject guides at http://my.dc.edu/ics/Library/Subject_Guides/

16. Write down what you find While you search for a topic you will raise questions or formulate ideas. Be sure to take record of these. Also take record of anything that you think might be a useful search keyword or phrase. TIP:Write down the keywords you have already searched for, and where you searched for them. Then you can see the progress you have made, and not accidentally repeat searches you have already done! Sullivan Library’s handouts page includes: • a research log for documenting where and what you searched for • a citation log for documenting the sources you found

17. Creating an outline While searching for your topic, be aware of any possible focuses you find, but take care to not get sidetracked by information that is not directly pertinent for the task at hand. Create a brief outline for the paper, even if your professor does not assign you one. Outline help: EasyBib.com NOTE: Off-campus users without an established account need to log-in first, select EasyBib, then look at Citation Guide at the top. Look for the outline section on the left side.

18. Step 6 – Narrow your topic to a focused research question Have you gathered your preliminary information andorganized the notes that you currently have? It is time to focus on narrowing your information down to a desired research question. • Review all of the information that you have collected. Your research question will be based upon your interest and the information that you have been able to locate in your preliminary search. TIP: Write down the research question so you know you have a concrete topic to work with and you can put it into words!

19. Deciding on the final research question (Cont.) Do you find yourself unable to figure out how to mention everything you have found in the page limit you have been given? Do you have too many different (yet possibly remotely related) ideas to cover? You need to narrow down your topic still and restate it either as a statement or a question. For instance: risk management with dementia patients could be narrowed down to: pros and cons for using physical restraints with dementia patients (this is a type of risk management) NOTE: You must narrow down your topic before you can construct a thesis statement.

20. Post Topic . . .Step 7 – Gather sources for your paper • Serious research begins • Make sure you have citation information for all sources you find • You should be inputting your sources into programs like RefWorks or EasyBib • Shift your focus to database searches and/or library catalog searches • Move away from the general internet, except for search term harvesting or Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com) for journal articles • Note there is no subject searching and there is no peer-reviewed limiter • However, it does let you see who cited a particular article and also related articles close to the article you are looking at. • Information about each source: • Paperclip an index card to each item with information about why you chose it, and any page numbers where you took quotes or paraphrased something Research guide: EasyBib.com NOTE: Off-campus users without an established account need to log-in first, select EasyBib, then look at Citation Guide at the top. Look for the research section on the left side.

21. Sources Needed FOR FOCUSED RESEARCH QUESTIONS • The Library Catalog: Books, E-Books, E-Resources, Print Journals, and or journals on microfilm (print/microfilm journals are located in the periodical section of the library past the computer lab) • Electronic Databases (off the Portal Page) • Definition: databases are a collection of online journals, which in turn are a collection of journal articles • Databases provide either an article citation (abstract) or the entire article itself (“full-text”) online (PDFs, HTML, etc) • Searching EBSCOhost Handout: http://sullivanlibrary.wordpress.com/handouts These are the prime resources to use after you have constructed your topic (post-topic)

22. Sources Needed FOR FOCUSED RESEARCH QUESTIONS • Web sites • Over three thousand are available through the Library’s Portal page under “Internet Resources on the Web”, or click here) • Website Evaluation Handout: http://sullivanlibrary.wordpress.com/handouts • Also see UC Berkeley’s website evaluation checklist (Google for it). • You can also use reputable “gateway” sites which generally lead to more authoritative websites. • Infomine (Scholarly Internet Resource Collections): http://infomine.ucr.edu • Intute (British based but has global resources): http://intute.ac.uk • Internet Public Library (try others first): http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/ These are the prime resources to use after you have constructed your topic (post-topic)

23. Step 8 – Create your thesis statement • Once you have gathered all sources that you are going to use and cite, and you have your final research question, look at constructing your thesis statement. • It is the main point of your paper. • As you are reading through each source, look for the main point(s) of each and write them down. • Use these points to create an outline – it is hard to make a thesis statement without first establishing an outline Writing a thesis statement: EasyBib.com NOTE: Off-campus users without an established account need to log-in first, select EasyBib, then look at Citation Guide at the top. Look for the research section on the left side.

24. Create Your Thesis Statement Beforeyou begin writing, create the thesis statement. This is accomplished by condensing the main point of your paper to a single statement. Hamilton College (Williams & Reidy) gives this explanation of the thesis statement: “A well-written thesis statement, usually expressed in one sentence, is the most important sentence in your entire paper. It should both summarize for your reader the position you will be arguing and set up the pattern of organization you will use in your discussion. A thesis sentence is not a statement of accepted fact; it is the position that needs the proof you will provide in your argument. Your thesis should reflect the full scope of your argument—no more and no less; beware of writing a thesis statement that is too broad to be defended within the scope of your paper.”

25. Create Your Thesis Statement (Cont.) Another way to summarize the nature and function of the thesis statement is that it is a single sentence, usually in the first paragraph of the paper, which: * declares the position you are taking in your paper, * sets up the way you will organize your discussion, and * points to the conclusion you will draw. EXAMPLE THESIS: Although the current trend for aggressive or wandering dementia patients is to use physical restraints, there is a growing body of evidence that electronic alarm devices provide a better long-term prognosis for the patient’s emotional and physical well-being.

26. Step 9 - Weed out irrelevant information Guess what? Now that you have all those wonderful notes and citations from your research, you're going to have to get rid of some of them! No matter how profound and interesting the information is, if it doesn't relate to and support the thesis you've chosen, don't try to cram it into the paper—just sigh deeply and set it aside. You'll have easier time writing if you do this weeding before you start. TIP: As mentioned in step 5, if you create an outline, there will be less difficulty in deciding what to use and not use.

27. CHECKING YOUR WORK • Don’t forget – little mistakes can really hurt your paper. • Writing & Post-Writing should be 40% of your time • EasyBib.com also makes: • a writing guide • a proofreading / revising guide NOTE: Off-campus users without an established account need to log-in first, select EasyBib, then look at Citation Guide at the top. Look for the relevant guides on the left side.

28. Citing Sources Here are some alternatives to using RefWorks: EasyBib On Campus: http://www.easybib.net/ - create a free premium account to use forever. Off Campus: Log into http://libdb.dc.edu, choose EasyBib, and create a free premium account (With it, you do not need to log into the databases again.) APA Formatting and Style Guide: The OWL at Purdue [reference list and in-text] http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ MLA Formatting and Style Guide: The OWL at Purdue [reference list and in-text] http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ Many library databases will give you the citation. You just need to double check it for accuracy. The EBSCOhost handout tells you how (page 5, item record image, cite option): http://sullivanlibrary.wordpress.com/handouts/ [reference list]

29. If we don’t have it . . . If the Library does not have a particular book, book chapter, or journal article which you are looking for, please feel to visit this address to submit a request: https://my.dc.edu/ICS/Library/Library_Services/Interlibrary_Loan_Services.jnz