A research paper is the second most common assignment that college students face after essays. It is made of several chapters, and it is rather time-consuming. As you can guess, it is based on your study of sources that offer relevant information about the topic. In this post, we will have a look at how to choose sources properly, which types of materials exist, and how to structure your work.
How to Collect the Best Sources for Your Project
The dreaded research project can make any student confused about where to collect info for the paper. Thanks to the Internet which has become accessible today, it is enough to type in a few keywords and get thousands if not millions of the results. However, search engines like Google do not always filter the results properly. You may find irrelevant and outdated information among the offered sources. Sure, the results that pop up first usually contain the best content, but you should know which pieces of it exactly you need for your work.
The lucky ones tend to find right what they need on the first offered website. However, most of the students spend hours on the web just to end up with nothing. Less credible sources may trick you and even lead to a complete disaster with your project. It is critical to learn how to assess information before writing a research paper. It is key to a successful project. Here are the basic steps to take:
- Begin with a simple search, meaning that you use Google or its analogy. They will provide you with lots of great ideas, including the correct keywords to type in for a narrower search.
- Do not use Wikipedia and other open sources that can be edited or created by just any user of the Internet. They may contain false, unapproved information. Besides, college professors tend to lower grades for using such websites. At the same time, print encyclopedias like Encyclopedia Britannica can be used. Some tutors even insist on quoting these sources. Open sources are a great jumping-off point when one should decide what to look for.
- Search for data and information in scholarly databases and archives available on the web or in your library. Online sources like that include InfoTrac and EBSCO, for instance. They allow accessing the most recent studies in various fields.
- Newspapers & magazines will help you to catch up with what is currently happening in the field of your interest. Choose scientific magazines instead of popular ones. However, you can get useful info in both of them depending on what subject you are writing for. Forbes, New York Times, and Time are the best options when it comes to collecting credible and fresh data and statistics.
Never underestimate the role of a college or regional library. You may have to spend more time there, but the results are worth trying. Only in a physical library, you can find rare and interesting materials to prove your position or introduce something unusual in your assignment. Not all articles were scanned or republished online – keep that in mind!
Types of Sources for Your Assignment to Consider
Now, it is time to say a few words about the sources. There are two basic types, primary and secondary, but you can mix both to get more accurate results. It is not that difficult to distinguish the two types. Before looking for the information, define each of them correctly, and decide which one suits for your project.
- Primary sources
They serve as a basis for various experiments. Those are surveys, polls, interviews, diaries, etc. In other words, you are the one to come up with the questions and ask an expert or group of people to participate in order to collect answers for your work. You get these sources from the first hands, so they are the most accurate. It might be difficult to work with them as they require the knowledge of quantitative statistical methods. You can also use the articles published in scientific journals.
- Secondary sources
Those are pieces of information that you can find online or in the library. They are already written for you, so you don’t have to conduct any experiments or surveys on your own. You just use the ready data. Those are textbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.
Sometimes, experts name the third category of sources. They call them tertiary. They serve for identification and structuring the sources that belong to the first two groups. For example, we can say that an abstract is a tertiary source. It offers a summary of different resources. Also, those could be indexes that include the important bibliographic info. Finally, those are databases – online indexes that may contain summaries of various reliable sources.
It is up to the student to decide whether to use only one category or all three of them. Of course, you should also pay attention to the instructions from your teachers.
Research Paper: Useful Pre-Writing Tips
Before you start writing your paper, you should take some of the pre-writing steps. For example, you should always start with selecting a topic, idea, or research question for your work unless your tutor assigns one to you. You can do the preliminary research to come up with the list of good points and choose one depending on your interest, availability of relevant information, and tutor’s advice.
You should have a clear vision of where you are going, not just a clue. Based on the discovered facts, narrow down your topic to avoid questions that you cannot find answers to. Once you pick the topic, you can develop a thesis. Pick an extensive subject, and edit the final research problem based on the preliminary study results. The rest of the pre-writing stages look this way:
- Remember the goal of your work
Various research papers have various objectives. You need to keep them in mind to get the most relevant and informative sources.
- Develop a list of major concepts
It will speed up the research process significantly. You should know the keywords and key phrases for your work.
- Attend college library
As we have already mentioned, even though you can find plenty of info on any topic in the world on the web, you should not underestimate the value of traditional libraries for your study. Textbooks offer the best valid data.
- Put down important information
Making notes will make it easier for you to work on your project. For example, write down everything covered in class that relates to your field of study. Each time you quote any source, put down the entire entry for a reference page not to work on it separately after you are finished with the paper.
- Work with different sources
Except for the sources that you should avoid like open online encyclopedias, collect as many materials as possible to compare and contrast them. The truth is always somewhere in the middle.
- Evaluate and organize the gathered information
Review the data you have collected. Define the key sources and solutions.
- Prepare an outline
That is the final stage to take before writing the paper itself. It will be your guiding friend throughout your journey, so you should have it even if your professor does not require it.
The Components of a Research Paper
So, you are ready to start writing! While working, you may slightly change your topic, research question, or thesis. You do not necessarily have to start with an introduction and move in the order the chapters will appear in your project. More often, a better idea is to begin with the body of your paper, and get back to the introduction and abstract once you are done. However, you should have a thesis statement from the very beginning.
An outline for a research paper is much more expanded than one for an essay. It contains more chapters and elements.
- Title page
It is the shortest and simplest part which has to state the title of your research, your full name, course, professor’s name, college credentials, and date of submission. You just need to take care of the proper formatting.
- Abstract
It is a brief explanation of what the audience will learn about from your work. Do not make it more than 1/3 of a page long. State only the major points of your study as well as its significance.
- Contents or outline
In a table of contents, you should list all of the sections of your work. Provide the corresponding page numbers next to each new headings. It will lead your readers through your work.
- Introduction
You should present the topic or questions to answer. Explain why you decide to investigate the problem. Finish this opening part with a solid thesis statement made of 1-2 sentences.
- Methodology
Describe how you conducted the experiment(s). List the tools, equipment, and techniques. It may remind you of a process analysis essay as your reader should be able to repeat the same after reading your instructions.
- Results and discussion
Present the findings of your study. Make sure to interpret every obtained figure. You may use charts, graphs, and tables for visualization and better understanding. Sometimes, a discussion may serve as your conclusion.
- Bibliography
List the sources that helped you to create a research project. Follow the chosen or recommended format.
That is it! Oh, and do not forget to revise your paper, in the end, to make sure it is properly formatted, unique, and free of mistakes. We hope that this article will help you to master the art of research project writing!
