Research Paper Planning Guide

Language Arts 11: Ms. Bower

Dr. PetersonLibrarian/Media Specialist

NHS IMCThe Research Project Calculator is based on the MINITEX project developed in part by University of Minnesota Libraries. Adapted & Modified by J. Peterson NHS 1/2011

Research Is…

EVALUATING

COMMUNICATING

ORGANIZING

GATHERING INFORMATION

Research Process

FORMULATING TOPIC/QUESTION/THESIS

Topic Selection:

– Interesting to you

– Your are willing to spend time with the topic

– You can locate reliable sources on your topic

FORMULATING TOPIC/QUESTION/THESIS

Research Process:

Preliminary Research Explore general information about your topic. Read, view, listen

Websites, Encyclopedias, Books, Magazines, News Reports, etc.

Write down potential keywords for searching & creating questions.

Learn enough about your topic to identify that you can answer your question and write a thesis statement.

FORMULATING TOPIC/QUESTION/THESIS

Research Process:

Military

_______

Warfare

_______

Chemical Weapons

_______

Agent Orange

General Topic:

Narrower:

Narrower:

Specific Invention:

Topic Selection:

Research Process:

FORMULATING TOPIC/QUESTION/THESIS

FORMULATING TOPIC/QUESTION/THESIS

Research Question

What are the effects of agent orange on military warfare and the communities that came into contact with the chemical weapon?

Military

_______

Warfare

_______

Chemical Weapons

_______

Agent Orange

General Topic:

Narrower:

Narrower:

Specific Invention:

Topic Selection:

Research Process:

Questions to ask

before moving to next phase… Topic/Question to broad?

– Answer in allotted space?

Topic/Question to narrow?– Available resources?

What’s your angle?– Effects of the invention on society at large.

– Positive and negative effects

FORMULATING TOPIC/QUESTION/THESIS

Research Process:

Think about ideas, concepts, and facts needed to answer questions

Think about where to go to locate information (Online catalog, general & specialized databases, Web sites, primary resources, expert interviews)

Think about keywords to use to retrieve information– Broad terms: library catalogs & research

databases

– Narrow terms: for Internet search engines

Beginning the search…Beginning the search…

GATHERING INFORMATION

Research Process:

Research Process:

Gather information from credible sources that contain recognized facts and expert opinion to answer your questions.

GATHERING INFORMATION

How Do You Know A Source Is Credible?

When selecting sources look at: Source AUTHORITY: Author's expertise

Source OBJECTIVITY: Bias

Source COVERAGE: Breadth and depth of information

Source CURRENCY: Timeliness

Source ACCURACY: Identify points of agreement and disagreement among sources

GATHERING INFORMATION

Research Process:

http://my.northmontschools.com/hs/imc/eresources.html

Locate Credible Sources @

IMC Research Resources: Databases by Subject/Category

General Reference*Oxford Reference Online (INFOhio)*World Book Encyclopedia Online (INFOhio)*Gale Virtual Reference Library*Fact Cite: Lincoln Library

Popular Topics/Current Events*Issues & Controversies*Opposing Viewpoints (DML)*Ebsco Topic Search (INFOhio)

Science/Energy/Agriculture*Science Online (INFOhio)*Ebsco:All Databases: GreenFile (INFOhio)

*ACCESS CODES ON YOUR HANDOUT

Multidisciplinary*Student Research Center (INFOhio)*eLibrary (DML)*Academic Search Premier (INFOhio)*Ebsco:All Databases (INFOhio)

Health/Medicine*Science Online (INFOhio)*Ebsco:All Databases: Alt Health Watch (INFOhio)*Ebsco:All Databases: Health Source (INFOhio)*Ebsco:All Databases: Medline (INFOhio)*Ebsco:All Databases: Psychology & Behavioral Sciences (INFOhio)

History/Military *African American History (DML)*American History*Modern World History

Don’t forget to check for books available at various libraries! Northmont IMC * Dayton Metro * Wright State * Sinclair Library* UDh

ttp

://m

y.n

ort

hm

on

tsch

oo

ls.c

om

/hs/

imc/

eres

ou

rces

.htm

l

Research Process:

Does the information answer your question?

What are the main ideas, supporting points and important details of the source?

Is this new information to you? Can it be found in other sources?

Does this information change what you know about the topic? If yes, how?

While reading…

GATHERING INFORMATION

Research Process

Record & Cite Sources

GATHERING INFORMATION

EVALUATING

COMMUNICATING

ORGANIZING

GATHERING INFORMATION

Research Process

FORMULATING TOPIC/QUESTION/THESIS

Research Process:

Research questions:

What are the effects of agent orange on military warfare and the communities that came into contact with the chemical weapon?

FORMULATING TOPIC/QUESTION/THESIS

Thesis Statement:

While agent orange advanced the U.S. chemical warfare operations during the Vietnam War, the weapon continues to devastate community growth and human life today.

Research Process:

A. Organize notesB. Formulating

outline

ORGANIZING

Research Process:

Writing the Draft

Document Check

Preparing Work Cited

Preparing the Final Draft

COMMUNICATING

Research Process:

Evaluation Tools Noodletools Turnitin Teacher Peer Review

Self Evaluation Happy with your grade? How can you improve?

EVALUATING

EVALUATING

COMMUNICATING

ORGANIZING

GATHERING INFORMATION

Research Process

FORMULATING TOPIC/QUESTION/THESIS

Need Help?

Just ask!

Come in the IMC during study hall

Set up appointment before/after school

Email me! jpeterson@northmontschoools.com

Use http://www.knowitnow.org/