Writing a Research Paper

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Writing a Research Paper
Intercultural Literature C. R. Valverde, Ed.D.
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Purpose

• A research paper presents the results of your
  investigations on a selected topic.
• Based on your own thoughts and the facts and
  ideas you have gathered from a variety of
  sources, a research paper is a creation that is
  uniquely yours.
• The experience of gathering, interpreting, and
  documenting information, developing and
  organizing ideas and conclusions, and
  communicating them clearly will prove to be an
  important and satisfying part of your education.

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Research Paper?

• A research paper
• is an extended essay that presents your own
  interpretation or evaluation or argument.
• analyzes a perspective or argues a point.
• should attempt to contribute to the field of
  knowledge on your given topic.
• You are contributing to the existing body of
  knowledge by offering your own unique analysis
  and insight of the information.
• Regardless of the type of research paper you are
  writing, your finished research paper should
  present your own thinking backed up by others'
  ideas and information.

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What is the difference between an essay and a
research paper?

• When you write an essay, you use everything that
  you personally know and have thought about a
  subject.
• When you write a research paper you build upon
  what you know about the subject and make a
  deliberate attempt to find out what experts know.

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Two Types of Research Papers

• 1) Analytical Research Paper
• You break a topic or concept down into its parts
  in order to inspect and understand it
• You do research to become an expert on a topic so
  that you can restructure and present the parts of
  the topic from your own perspective
• 2) Argumentative Research Paper
• You do research to support your stand on an
  issue.
• The research paper is still analytical, but it
  uses information as evidence to support its
  point, much as a lawyer uses evidence to make his
  case.

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Analytical or Argumentative?

• The role of women in Pakistani families.
• Racial profiling in US airports.
• Women in Pakistani families are feminist by
  nature.
• The need for greater racial sensitivity in US
  airport security.
• The need for animal testing despite the numerous
  claims of cruelty.
• US immigration policies and anti-immigrant
  political rhetoric.

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Thesis Statement Examples

• The process of Intercultural dialogue promotes a
  collaborative learning environment.
• An immigrants life, divided into the world of
  poverty and school, demonstrates how these dual
  roles enhance rather than detract from one
  another.
• Contrary to popular belief, the consumption of
  beef is contradictory to the generally accepted
  diet of human beings.
• While discrimination and implicit bias may
  appear to share superficial similarities, a
  closer examination reveals many differences
  concerning beliefs about cultural groups,
  concepts of difference, and the varying levels of
  tolerance.

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Keep in mind

• Argumentative research papers are usually
  persuasive by nature, therefore
• Express your argument clearly and convincingly
• Know your audience
• Understand the other point of view strengths and
  weaknesses
• Examine the weaknesses of your own arguments
• All of your arguments must be backed up with
  reliable and trustworthy evidence.

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Basic format to convey an Argument

• Here is a problem
• Its an interesting problem
• Its an unsolved problem
• Here is my idea
• My idea works (details, data)
• Heres how my idea compares to other peoples
  approaches.
• Here's why my idea is important to the field
• Viola! A Research Paper

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Doing Research

• The research process can be exciting or dreadful.
  
• This is why it is important to choose a topic you
  are passionate about something that intrigues
  you one in wanting to learn more about.
• The research process requires you act like a
  detective.

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Doing Research

• Search for what experts are saying about your
  topic.
• Find connections between what the experts are
  saying or finding.
• Begin to draw conclusions about the body of
  knowledge you research.
• One of these conclusions is ultimately your
  thesis statement.

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Research as a Living Thing...

• It grows and changes as the student explores,
  interprets, and evaluates sources.
• Primary and secondary sources are the heart of a
  research paper, and provide its nourishment.

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Organizing Your Research Paper

• Style
• Content

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General Style

• Basic Style Introduction, Body, Conclusion
• Basic Content A research paper contains
• a clear and concise thesis.
• Credible sources and information
• Appropriate formatting of document (MLA style)
• Works Cited list

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Writing the Introduction

• Purpose to acquaint the reader with the
  rationale behind your work, with the intention of
  defending it.
• Describe the importance (significance) of the
  study - why was this worth doing in the first
  place?
• Provide a broad context.
• Provide a rationale. State your specific
  hypothesis(es) or objective(s), and describe the
  reasoning that led you to select them.
• Style
• Describe the problem
• State your point (thesis)...and that is all

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Sample Introductions

• Example 1 Teenagers in many American cities
  have been involved in more gangs in the last five
  years than ever before. These gangs of teens have
  been committing a lot of violent crimes. The
  victims of these crimes are both gang members and
  people outside of gangs. Many people do not want
  to travel to areas in our cities because of the
  danger from this problem.  For this terrible
  situation to stop, it is going to take a combined
  effort on the part of many people. Excellent,
  supervised after-school programs, more jobs
  available for teens, and healthy family
  relationships will go a long way towards ending
  this crisis in our society.
• Example 2 During the Middle Ages in Europe and
  the Middle East there was much armed conflict
  between Christians and Muslims. Christians called
  these conflicts the Crusades because they were
  fighting under the sign of the cross to save the
  holy lands of the Bible from being desecrated by
  non-Christians. However, the true reason for
  fighting for these lands was less than holy. It
  was mainly a desire for economic gain that
  prompted the Christian leaders to send soldiers
  to fight in the Holy Land.

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Elements of an Introduction Thesis Statement
Despite the many cultural, historical, and
social implications of tatooing, the art form
continues to thrive in contemporary society.
While tatooing continues to thrive across
cultures in contemporary society, the art form
still carries many negative social and cultural
implications.
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Another example
High profile events
Forms of bullying (i.e., cyber)
Anti-bullying movements
Bullying has become an issue of great concern
in society today, however, many of the attempts
to prevent it continue to face many social and
legal challenges. While bullying is a part of
a greater social problem, ill-prepared schools
are inadequately left with the tremendous
responsibility to address this concern.
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Building the Body of your Paper

• Read and read more!
• Find credible sources that support your research
  topic.
• Begin to synthesize the information (develop your
  perspective on the issue)
• Decide which quotes and sources best suit your
  thesis.
• Beware of plagiarism use parenthetical
  citations paraphrasing vs. summarizing.

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Paraphrase vs. Summary

• A paraphrase is your translation of the text
  into your own words. (Unlike a summary, which is
  shorter than the text, a paraphrase is about the
  same length).
• A summary condenses the ideas of a text into a
  briefer version. (Unlike a paraphrase, which is
  about as long as the text, a summary is shorter
  in length).
• If you paraphrase or summarize a specific concept
  or idea from your research, you must cite the
  source with a parenthetical citation after the
  last sentence of your paraphrase Ex
  continues to affect society (US Dept of
  Education).
• You only need to cite paraphrasing of unique
  ideas found in your research. If the idea, fact,
  claim, or statistic is not yours, you need to
  cite it!
• If the information is generally considered common
  knowledge, you don't have to cite it.

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Writing Tips

• Use formal prose (avoid I)
• Stay focused on the research topic and thesis of
  the paper
• Use paragraphs to separate each important point
• Indent the first line of each paragraph
• Present your points in logical order
• Use present tense to report well accepted facts -
  for example, 'the statistics show that' the
  literature demonstrates that (Published
  literature is considered timeless so use the
  present tense when referring to it) the author
  states that
• Use past tense to describe specific results - for
  example, the results of the study showed that
  a review of the literature revealed that
• Avoid informal wording don't address the reader
  directly don't use jargon, slang terms, or
  exaggerated language.

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When to Use First Person in Academic Writing.

• "I", "we," "me," "us," "my," and "our
• Overly strict rules about writing can prevent us,
  as writers, from being flexible enough to learn
  to adapt to the writing styles of different
  fields, ranging from the sciences to the
  humanities, and different kinds of writing
  projects, ranging from reviews to research.
• When it suits your purpose as a scholar, you will
  probably need to break some of the old rules,
  particularly the rules that prohibit first person
  pronouns and personal experience. (Some
  instructors disagree, so it is a good idea to ask
  directly)
• Avoid I when analyzing an objective principle
  or data (Child Labor, Propaganda, High School
  Drug Use, Diamond Mining, etc.)
• Use I when your personal experience is valuable
  to your claim, argument, or research topic.
• In many cases, using the first person pronoun can
  improve your writing, by offering the following
  benefits
• Assertiveness to emphasize your unique
  perspective or argument
• Clarity to avoid awkward constructions and
  vagueness
• Positioning yourself in the essay to claim some
  kind of authority over your topic

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Common Errors in Student Research Papers

• Plagiarizing Ideas that are not yours. Give
  credit when necessary.
• Incomplete sentences, redundant phrases, obvious
  misspellings Proofread!
• Do not define terms that are well known to the
  intended reader.
• When you affect a situation, you have an effect
  on it.
• 'Affect' is a verb Gender discrimination
  affects child development.
• 'Effect' is a noun. The effect of gender
  discrimination is worrisome to child
  psychologists.
• Improper Capitalization (names, titles, etc.)
• In the USA we put commas and periods before the
  quotation mark, not after it.
  
• This is a correct example. not This is an
  incorrect example.

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Note-taking

• It is easy to lose source information in the
  beginning stages of your research.
• Take notes of research and sources.
• Suggestion Create a word document to save URLs
  of different sites you visited

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Direct Quotations

• Directly quoting means typing one or two
  sentences verbatim from a source.
• Set up direct quotations with phrases of your own
  to guide your flow of discussion.
• Use quotation marks ( ) to set off directly
  quoted material from your own words, and
  parenthetically document the work at the end of
  the sentence, using MLA format.
• Avoid dropped quotations randomly placed
  without context or signifiers introducing the
  quote.

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Direct Quotation Example

• EXAMPLE Reflecting upon the role of books in
  shaping her childhood among missionaries, Ruth
  Bell Graham writes, I was born and raised in
  China, and books were just a part of our life
  (Literary Experiences).
• Tips Be sure to use the proper research citation
  format for parenthetical documentation.
• Use ellipses sparingly in omitting quoted
  material Readers will get suspicious if it
  looks like you omitted a lot of material.
• If you need to quote three or more sentences, use
  blocked quotation format, but dont use blocked
  quotations just to pad or lengthen a paper.

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Quotation No-nos

• NO dropped quotations or quoting without proper
  context presented by your own thoughtful
  phrasing.
• NO traffic-jam quoting or choo-choo train quoting
  where several direct quotations are strung
  together, one after another, without discussion.

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Source Credibility

• Ask yourself the following questions to determine
  a sources level of credibility
• When was the source published?
• What are the authors credentials?
• Whos the intended audience?
• Is the argument balanced or does it show bias and
  make unsupported claims, illogical conclusions,
  or inaccurate generalizations?
• Lastly, what sorts of references does your source
  cite?
• Watch for .edu .gov vs. .com, .org

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Final Thoughts

• Writing a college research paper is a
  process-oriented activity that encourages
  independent learning.
• Gathering notes, organizing them, shaping your
  thoughts, and writing a paper should give you a
  strong sense of satisfaction.
• Allow yourself plenty of time to brainstorm,
  research, plan, and write.
• Writing a research paper has its own rewards
  Youll remember what you wrote about long after
  youve graduated from college, and youll retain
  the valuable practice of independent critical
  thinking along with the lifelong ability to
  synthesize and communicate information.
• Never hesitate to ask questions.

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Modern Language AssociationStyle Sheet Format
FOUNDED IN 1883, THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION
OF AMERICA PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR ITS MEMBERS
TO SHARE THEIR SCHOLARLY FINDINGS AND TEACHING
EXPERIENCES WITH COLLEAGUES AND TO DISCUSS TRENDS
IN THE ACADEMY. MLA MEMBERS HOST AN ANNUAL
CONVENTION AND OTHER MEETINGS, WORK WITH RELATED
ORGANIZATIONS, AND SUSTAIN ONE OF THE FINEST
PUBLISHING PROGRAMS IN THE HUMANITIES. FOR OVER A
HUNDRED YEARS, MEMBERS HAVE WORKED TO STRENGTHEN
THE STUDY AND TEACHING OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.
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Why is it important?

• MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly
  Publishing is published and utilized widely
  across the the world.
• Higher education institutions have adopted its
  guidelines as the standard for scholarly and
  professional writing.

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MLA guidelines include

• How to format documents appropriately
• How to cite authors and works appropriately
• How to write an appropriate bibliography format
  (Works Cited list)

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Scholarly Essay Format
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Scholarly Essay cont.
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What is an in-text parenthetical citation?

• MLA requires that you cite the quotations,
  summaries, paraphrases, and other material used
  from sources within parenthesis typically placed
  at the end of the sentence in which the quoted or
  paraphrased material appears.
• These citations correspond to the full
  bibliographic entries found in a list of
  references at the end of the paper.

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In-text Parenthetical Citation Example
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Why is an in-text citation so important?

• It avoids plagiarism.
• Plagiarism using any information that is not
  common knowledge from any source and not giving
  proper credit through citation.
• If the ideas and information are not yours, dont
  write as if they are. Give credit where credit is
  due.
• Plagiarism is a high-risk endeavor. It can lead
  to
• Failure of the assignment
• Note on academic records
• Expulsion (most institutions)
• Embarrassment and regret

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Examples of In-text Parenthetical Citations

• Single author named in parentheses.
• The tendency to come to terms with difficult
  experiences is referred to as a "purification
  process" whereby "threatening or painful
  dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a
  clear and articulated image of oneself and ones
  place in the world" (Sennett 11).
• Single author named in a signal phrase.
• Social historian Richard Sennett names the
  tendency to come to terms with difficult
  experiences a "purification process" whereby
  "threatening or painful dissonances are warded
  off to preserve intact a clear and articulated
  image of oneself and ones place in the world"
  (11).
• Two or more authors.
• Certain literacy theorists have gone so far as to
  declare that "the most significant elements of
  human culture are undoubtedly channeled through
  words, and reside in the particular range of
  meanings and attitudes which members of any
  society attach to their verbal symbols" (Goody
  and Watt 323).
• Corporate author (organization, association,
  etc.).
• The federal government has funded research
  concerning consumer protection and consumer
  transactions with online pharmacies (Food and
  Drug Administration 125).
• Works with no author.
• Several critics of the concept of the
  transparent society ask if a large society would
  be able to handle the complete loss of privacy
  ("Surveillance Society"115).

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In-text Parenthetical Citations cont.

• Work found in an anthology or edited collection.
• For an essay, short story, or other document
  included in an anthology or edited collection,
  use the name of the author of the work, not the
  editor of the anthology or collection, but use
  the page numbers from the anthology or
  collection.
• Ex Lawrence Rosenfield analyzes the way in
  which New Yorks Central Park held a socializing
  function for nineteenth-century residents similar
  to that of traditional republican civic oratory
  (222).
• Bible passage.
• Unfortunately, the president could not recall the
  truism that "Wisdom is a fountain to one who has
  it, but folly is the punishment of fools" (New
  Oxford Annotated Bible, Prov. 20-22).
• Secondary source of a quotation (someone quoted
  within the text of another author).
• As Erickson reminds us, the early psychoanalysts
  focused on a single objective "introspective
  honesty in the service of self enlightenment"
  (qtd. in Weiland 42).
• Web page.
• Website Abraham Lincoln's birthplace was
  designated as a National Historical Site in 1959
  (National Park Service). 
• Internet Article w/ no page number) A study by
  the Rand Corporation indicated a growing
  hysteria due to economic turmoil (Economic
  Crisis).
• Note
• Internet citations follow the style of printed
  works.  Personal or corporate author and page
  number should be given if they exist on the
  website. Have more questions? For information on
  electronic sources, try the MLA's homepage or
  Online! A Reference Guide to Using Internet
  Sources. 

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Caution How much should I quote?

• If more than 20 of your paper are quotes, which
  is someones exact words, then thats too much!
• You want your paper to contain your writing.
• Too many quotes in a paper take away from the
  writers voice.

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Works Cited list (aka Bibliography)

• A list of references that demonstrates the source
  of where you obtained your information.
• Demonstrates evidence of your research
• Allows readers to locate the original documents
• Brings credibility to your work
• Helps avoid plagiarism.

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Works Cited Format Example
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Example
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The End For now ?