How to Do a Research Project

1
How to Do a Research Project

• The Roaring 20s

2
Step 1 Narrow the topic

• Jot down ideas of all the subtopics you could
  cover.
• Try to organize this list a bit decide which
  subtopics are really important.
• Plan to find information about those and not
  about every little detail.

3
Example Religion in the 1920s

• Help me out
• What do you think I might consider?

4
Example Religion in the 1920s

• Urban vs. Rural
• Wealthy vs. Poor
• Race and ethnicity
• Changes in major religions
• New religions appearing
• Numbers of people/percentage of people in major
  religious groups
• Types of services
• Political influence of religions
• Conflicts

5
Example Religion in the 1920s

• Can I cover all of this?
• Sure, if I am writing a really long paper.
• This project requires 2 pages. I will need to
  cut it down.
• I will see what information is available. Then,
  Ill add and subtract subtopics from my list.

6
Your turn!

• Doing it at home before you research? Good for
  you! Do your best.
• Remember, youll revise this list as you learn
  more about your topic. Revision means you are
  doing it right!

7
Step 1 Narrow the topicClassroom
Creation/Revision Time

• Good news! You already have at least two
  articles, so you already have extra information
  to help you with this list.
• Using the sources you have with you, make a list
  of subtopics you would like to cover in your
  paper and presentation.
• You have 5 minutes. Help each other!

8
Step 2 Find appropriate sources

• School databases are always trustworthy.
• Be really choosy about sites you find on the
  internet!
• Wikipedia is good as a starting point, but never
  as a cited source.

9
Step 2 contd

• How can you tell if the source is good?
• Good ones are published by recognized groups or
  companies.
• You should be able to find all the required
  citation information. If you cant, its probably
  not good.

10
Step 2 contd

• Print the source.
• If it is long, only print the part you need.
• Get full citation information now, including the
  URL (in case the teacher wants it).
• My rule is I dont want the URL if you used a
  school database. I do want the URL if you used a
  website you found on the internet.
• If you arent sure what information you need, use
  my websites MLA Format page to help you.

11
HMWK due 10/4-7

• Find, skim read, and print at least 2 useful
  sources.

12
Step 3 Annotate your sources

• Annotate is a fancy name for highlight and label.
• Annotate useful information in your printed out
  sources.
• How do you choose? Find facts about the
  subtopics you planned to cover. Keep in mind,
  you might need to revise your subtopic list when
  you learn more about your topic.

13
Step 3 Annotate your sources Highlighting

• Read your sources, and highlight information that
  really seems relevant to your subtopic list.
• DONT highlight everything.
• Highlight important sentences.
• Even better, highlight important phrases.

14
Step 3 Annotate your sources About Labeling

• When you are done reading all your sources, you
  should have more than enough material
  highlighted. If you dont, find more sources,
  read and highlight, and then come back to this
  part.

15
Step 3 Annotate your sources About Labeling
(contd)

• Now, decide how you should group the information.
  You might use your whole original subtopic list,
  or you might use part of it, or you might
  reorganize your subtopics entirely.
• Assign a symbol to each subtopic that you will
  cover in your paper.
• In the margins of the sources, label each
  highlighted fact.

16
Example Religion in the 1920s my list revised
after skimming several sources!

• Major religious groups their associated beliefs
• In different geographical areas
• urban vs. rural AND/OR north vs. south
• Membership people/ percentage of population
• Social class (rich vs. poor)
• Race ethnicity
• Gender age factors
• Causes of change
• Immigration
• The Great War

17
HMWK due Tues-Wed, 10/8-9

• Annotate your sources.
• Highlight all relevant material.
• Decide which subtopics to cover.
• Decide how you will group facts in the paper.
• Label your annotated sources accordingly.
• Note that completing this step requires having
  enough sources to find all the material you need!

18
Heads up!

• Before you can effectively move on to Step 4, you
  must have completed research and created a final
  subtopic list.
• If you want to begin writing the paper before
  your research is done, be prepared to make major
  revisions.

19
Step 4 Writing the Rough DraftIntroduction

• Start with an interesting hook. A common
  knowledge fact about your topic might work well.
• Include a Main Idea Statement. (In some cases,
  this is an official thesis statement.) Sum up
  the point of your paper in 1 sentence.
• List your main subtopics, in order. You might
  want to give each one a sentence of its own.

20
Step 4 Writing the Rough DraftBody Paragraphs

• Following your own organization plan, write the
  body paragraphs of your paper. You decide how
  many paragraphs there will be.
• Remember to include a topic and closing sentence
  for each body paragraph.
• You can actually write the body paragraphs in any
  order. When all are written, you will make a
  final decision about their order in the paper.

21
Step 4 Writing the Rough DraftBody Paragraphs

• This paper requires you to paraphrase info and
  weave quotes!
• We discussed this with a literary work. You make
  the same decisions with nonfiction reference
  material.
• Paraphrase most material.
• Quote when the original phrase is just perfect
  already. Weave quotes into your own sentences.

22
Step 4 Writing the Rough DraftConclusion

• Start by restating the papers Main Idea
  Statement.
• Review the main subtopics.
• End with an interesting idea. A suggestion of a
  connection between then and now might work.

23
Step 5 Citations

• This is NOT really a separate step. You should
  do this while you write the rough draft (in Step
  4). I include it as a step to remind you to
  check that you have done this correctly
  throughout the paper.

24
Step 5 Citations

• This includes
• In-text citations in EVERY sentence with someone
  elses ideas
• Works Cited page
• The MAJOR difference (from a literary analysis)
  You must cite both paraphrased and quoted
  material!
• Why? Because you must differentiate between your
  own ideas and the researched material you have
  found.
• Think of it this way when you are referring to a
  books events, your reader knows the material is
  not yours. When you are referring to anything
  else, the reader just cannot tell.

25
Step 5 (contd)

• Follow the MLA Format rules for the in-text
  citations and the Works Cited page.
• Use my MLA Format page for help.
• Seriously, you need to spend some time actually
  reading through this material. It explains
  almost everything.

26
HMWK due Thurs-Fri, 10/10-11

• Type and print your rough draft, following ALL
  MLA requirements for format
• Introduction
• ALL body paragraphs
• Topic sentences
• Paraphrased and/or quoted information in-text
  citations
• Closing sentences
• Conclusion
• Works Cited

27
Step 6 Revise Proofread

• Peer edit! Check each others work for
  structure, clarity, and correctness. Look out
  for anything confusing, unclear, or grammatically
  flawed.
• Look back at the Step 4 Writing the Rough Draft
  slides for ideas.
• If you have to, go back to your sources or even
  find additional sources to get more information.

28
Step 7 The Final Product

• Print a clean and perfect copy of your paper,
  including the Works Cited. Follow all MLA rules,
  as posted on my website.
• Staple or clip your packet together, as follows
• Paper (inc. Works Cited) on TOP
• No rough draft required. If you have one, attach
  it.
• Annotated sources, in alphabetical order on
  BOTTOM

29
Step 8 About presenting

• Your purpose, in this case, is to educate all of
  us about your subject. Plan to spend 2-3 minutes
  telling the class about your subjects important
  subtopics.
• You may bring up notes with you. I do not advise
  you to read a copy of your paper.
• You may not use the copy of your paper that you
  are handing in.
• This first presentation is not graded.

30
Step 9 the Visual Aid

• At least 3 printed 4x6 (or larger) photographs,
  arranged into a mini-poster, with an attached
  (single-spaced) paragraph explaining them.
• Use this visual aid while you present!
• No citations or Works Cited required for this
  part

31
HMWK due Tues-Wed, 10/15-16

• Final Paper Annotated Sources
• Mini-poster
• Presentations