CONTENTS Top Ten Research Paper Topics x Introduction xi Research Paper Basics 1 What a Research Paper Is and Is Not 2 How Research Papers Differ from Reports 3 Including Your Own Thoughts and Opinions 4 Analytical Research Papers 7 Persuasive Research Papers 8 Choosing a Topic / 11 Assigned Topics 12 Brainstorming for Topics 13 Choosing Carefully Without Wasting Your Time 15 Writing About What You Know 16 Writing About What You Want to Know 18 Tying Your Topic into a Current Event 18 Choosing a Topic of Historical Significance 19 Narrowing the Topic 21 Ensuring That Your Project Is Unique 22 Asking Questions to Narrow the Focus 25 Narrowing Your Focus as You Gather Research 27 Is the Information Available? 28 Don't Get in over Your Head 30 Projects Too Narrow in Focus 30 Managing Your Time Efficiently 33 Reasons for a Schedule 34 Creating Your Schedule 35 Where to Begin 37 Setting Goals 38 How Much Time to Allot per Task 40 Allowing for Distractions 42 Revisit the Schedule 43 What to Do If You Get Behind 44 Encyclopedias and Other Reference Materials 47 Encyclopedias 48 Almanacs 50 Dictionaries of All Types 51 Atlases 52 Other Reference Books 54 Books as Research Tools / 59 Using Libraries to Find Books 60 Using the Librarian's Services 62 Finding What You Want in a Book 64 Looking at Related Books 65 Other Sources for Books 67 Magazines and Newspapers / 69 Choosing the Right Magazines 70 Magazine Indexes 71 Searching Current Newspapers 73 Searching Old Newspapers 74 Other Periodicals and Journals 76 Service Organizations 77 Public Newsletters 79 Private Newsletters 80 Using the Internet 83 Where to Look 84 When Searches Fail 87 Where to Ask Questions Online 89 Verifying What You Find 92 Bookmarking Pages 93 Academic Sites 93 Mass Media Presentations 95 Films 96 Movies 98 Videos/DVDs 99 Television 100 o Radio 102 Sound Recordings 103 Museums and Historical Sites 105 What You Can Discover 106 Museums 109 Historical Sites 111 Historical Societies 111 City Hall 112 Other Historicallnstitutions 113 Interviews 117 Who to Interview 118 Preparing for an Interview 120 Questions to Ask 122 Follow-up Questions 124 Taping Versus Taking Notes 125 Rechecking Information 127 Taking Notes 129 Put It in Your Own Words 130 Keep the Meaning 132 Plagiarism 133 Using Abbreviations and Acronyms 136 Deciding What to Include 137 Staying Organized 139 Performing Research 141 Research Ideas 142 Research Methods 145 Collaborating with Others 150 Project Funding 151 Collating Research Results 152 Assessing and Analyzing Information / 155 Types of Data 156 Types of Sources 158 Indicators of Reliability 160 Types of Data 163 Analyzing Research 164 Writing a Bibliography / 167 Start Early! 168 Citing Books and Other Printed Material 170 Citing the Internet 172 Citing Films and Television 174 Citing Information from Museums 175 Citing Interviewees 176 Putting It AH Together 177 Footnotes and Endnotes 178 Preparing an Outline / 181 Why Not Outline at the Beginning? 182 Picking Out What Is Important 183 Putting It in a Logical Order 184 Adding Your Own Analysis 186 o Finding Gaps in Your Information 187 Formatting Your Outline 188 Organizing Your Notes 193 Using a Chart 194 Using Index Cards 195 Numbering/Highlighting System 196 Organizing Notes on the Computer 197 Information That Doesn't Fit Anywhere 199 Organizing Each Idea in Sequence 200 Reviewing Your Notes 202 Writing a First Draft 201 Be Clear Aboout Your Purpose 204 The Thesis Statement 204 Limit Each Idea to One Paragraph 206 Including Your Own Views 207 Key Parts of a Paragraph 209 Writing an Introductory Paragraph 210 Writing a Conclusion 212 Checking Facts 213 Double- and Triple-Check! 214 Verifying Quotes 216 Spelling of Names and Places 217 Verifying Geographical Details 219 Historical Timelines 220 Maintaining Timeliness 221 Proofreading and Editing 225 Checking Spelling and Grammar 226 Achieving Clarity 231 Read It Out Loud 233 Does It Still Make Sense? 234 From Thesis to Conclusion 235 Use Active Voice 236 Use Parents, Siblings, and Friends as Proofreaders 237 Re-Draft! 238 Adding Extra Touches 239 Making It Special 240 Maps 241 Adding Drawings 243 Photographs 244 Charts and Diagrams 246 Creating a Web Site 247 Designing a Cover Page 248 Writing the Final Draft 249 Neatness Counts 250 Instructor Requirements 251 Using a Computer 253 Word Processing Programs 254 Report Covers and Binders 255 Avoiding Overkill 256 Presenting Your Research Orally 257 Publishing Your Research 259 Real-Life Research Papers 261 When Will You Ever Use These Skills? 262 Day-to-Day Examples 264 Work-Life Examples 266 Making a Living as a Researcher 268 Appendix A: Research Paper Schedule 271 Appendix B: Research Resource List 273 Appendix C: Glossary 277 Appendix D: Sample Bibliography 281 Index 285