So You Need to Do a Research Paper?

• How to start (sample)
• How to do a good online search
• How to define a topic
• How to create a bibliography for print materials
• How to create a bibliography for electronic materials

Preparing your mind to research

We are going to assume that you have already chosen a topic.  For example, you have just watched Absence of Malice and you have chosen or were given the topic of "ethics and the press." (See example below)

Here are some steps to begin.

1. Write your topic down on a piece of paper (or in a word processing program).
2. List (brainstorm) what you already know about your topic.    You can even give personal observations here. Don't worry about how obvious some of your knowledge is. This step is just to get you in the correct mindset. 
3. Write down how you feel about the topic. Be aware that your feelings or opinions may change as you research.
4. Next, go back over your list and start asking yourself what information do you THINK you will need to complete the assignment.

Sample

Topic: The Ethic Responsibility of the Press

What do I know: 

1. The press is often accused of being irresponsible
2. There are some laws that protect people from the press (Don't know what they're called)
3. Benjamin Franklin wrote for the newspaper
4. The New York Times is considered an excellent newspaper and many of their reporters are highly respected.
5. Papers like the Sun and Enquirer are not taken seriously
6. The responsibility of the press is to inform the public
7. I don't like the way they interview people who have just lost someone in a fire, shooting spree, etc.
8. The press has become too sensational but I think TV news is even worse.
9. The press was responsible for breaking "Watergate" in the 1970s.

What I think:

I think that the press often doesn't act in an ethical manner.  I think that they too often just want the story and don't worry about hurting innocent people. 

What information I think I'll need:

• information about the laws that protect and control the press
• examples where the press has had positive and negative impacts on the public

This is just a preliminary start to your paper, a starting point.  As you research you might realize that you need additional information or that you might even have to rethink how you are going to approach this topic. 

How to do a "good" search

• Need help in searching?  Learn how to refine your searches.
   
• Need to find articles online?
  • EBSCO Host
  • Find Articles (free)
•  
• Looking for good search engines to use?

  Finding the best search tool for the information that you need: Noodletools.

  • Google.com
  • Altavista.com
  • dogpile.com
  • Vivismo.com
  • WebBrain.com
  • All4one.com

  Using Homework Helpers for research.

  • Big Chalk
  • Welcome to Homework High
  • Kids Connect (American Library Association)
  • The refdesk.com

  If you are in grades 5 through 8 you might want to try:

  • Yahooligan.com
  • Tekmom.com
  • Kidsclick.com
     
• Want to help from an expert online?
  • AllExperts
  • Star Tribune Experts
  • HomeworkSpot's Experts
  • Ask the Experts on Scientific American
  • The Mad Sci Network
  • Ask A+ Locator (The Virtual Reference Desk) Click on AskA+ Locator.

Define your topic

Original topic:  Does the press act in a responsible or ethic manner?

After you have done some research go back an look at your topic.  What changes, if any, do you have to make?

Final topic:  Does today's Press practice American Society of Newspaper Editors code of ethics?

Bibliography Using Print Material For a book: What information do I need to write a bibliography for a book? Where do I find that information in a book? How would I write this up in the Bibliography? How would I write up a bibliography entry for a book with more than one author: What would I do it the book have more than three authors? What do I do if the book has no author or is given the author as anonymous? What would the Bibliography page look like for all books?    Books Question#1: What information do I need to write a bibliography for a book? Answer: You need the TITLE, the AUTHOR(s) or EDITOR(s), COPYRIGHT DATE, and the PUBLISHING COMPANY. .. ......   Question#2: Where do I find that information in a book? Answer: In the inside pages: ... Additional information on the inside pages: ...   Question#3 How would I write this up in the Bibliography? Remember in your actual paper none of this is in color! Answer: Brancato, Robin F.  Winning.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997. That's AUTHOR's LAST NAME (, comma) FIRST NAME (.period) TITLE (italic) (.period) PUBLISHING PLACE (:colon) PUBLISHING COMPANY (,comma) DATE (. period) .. ...   Question#4 How would I write up a bibliography entry for a book with more than one author? Answer: Reverse the first author's name only.  For example: Daniels, Jeff, and, Robert Brown. Making the Most of Life. New            Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1984.  That's AUTHOR's LAST NAME (, comma) FIRST NAME (,comma) and (,comma) SECOND AUTHOR's FIRST NAME LAST NAME (.period) TITLE (italic) (.period) PUBLISHING PLACE (:colon) PUBLISHING COMPANY (,comma) DATE (. period)   ...   Question#5 What would I do it the book have more than three authors? Answer: If three authors or more, simply use first author and the term et al Edens, Walter, et al.  Teaching Shakespeare. Princeton:         Princeton Press, 1977. That's AUTHOR's LAST NAME (, comma) FIRST NAME (,comma) ET AL (.period) TITLE (italic) (.period) PUBLISHING PLACE (:colon) PUBLISHING COMPANY (,comma) DATE (. period)   ...   Question#6 What do I do if the book has no author or is given the author as anonymous? Answer: If a book has no author's name on the title page, do not use either Anonymous or Anon.  Begin the entry with the title and alphabetize by the first word (not a, an or the).  In this example, you would alphabetize by "G." A Guide to Our Federal Lands.  Washington: National          Geographic Society, 1984.   ...   Question#7 What would the Bibliography page look like for all books? Answer: Click heee for an example of a Works Cited page. Magazines   Question#5 What information do I need to write a bibliography entry for a magazine? Answer: This is currently under construction!

Sites like NoodleBib "Quick Cite" make it easy to create a bibliography list; however, you sometimes need help in knowing what information you need, and where on a web page that information can be located.

Need help with cite information that is not listed on this page?  Check out Mt. Ararat High School for a clean look at using the MLA style sheet.

How to Locate Information Details on a Web Page

Title of Page and Web Address

Sometimes the title of a web page doesn't make logical sense and the title of the article or topic title is clearer.  Under these circumstance it would be more practical to go with the title written on the web page if it is clearer.

Publisher

Publication Date

There is not always a publication date on a page.  The date of publication can be important if the material is time sensitive.  For example research on cloning would be time sensitive.    In this example I have an illustration of the date of an article on cloning

Author

This site, SparkNotes, made it easy to find the author.  Notice that it also will show you how to cite the SparkNote site.

Here is another example of date and author

Web Pages:

Individual Work

Part of a Work

Magazine, Journal, Newspaper Article

Messages:

E-Mail Discussion List Posting

USENET Newsgroup Posting

Web Forum Posting

Personal E-Mail Message

Access Date

The access date is the date that you visited the web page that you have cited.  This date is important because many web pages are changed or updated.