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Research
Papers
Of all
of the assignments, this one presents the greatest challenge
to undergraduate students. Doing good research and writing
requires a serious effort, and it need not be as dreaded
as some students make it out to be. The following guidelines
are designed to demystify the process of creating a good
research paper. Included are time-tested strategies to help
you deal with some necessary steps in the process, and special
insights.
A.
Choosing Your Topic
B.
Overcoming Writer’s Block and Procrastination
C.
Narrowing the Topic
D.
Research Question
E.
Research Thesis
F.
Research Methods and Resources
G.
Outline
H.
First Draft
I.
Editing the Drafts
A.
Choosing Your Topic
Some professors require you to write on a topic you select
from a list of recommended topics, and many allow you to
choose your own topic. Choosing an appropriate research
topic is crucial to producing a quality research paper.
Unfortunately, many students give little thought to their
topic. To get started developing a topic, you should ask
yourself the following questions:
-
Does the proposed topic relate to the course and the
assignment? For example, does the topic stem from material
covered in the texts or lectures?
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Is
the topic something that you can adequately cover in
the required number of pages?
-
Is the topic something you (and possibly your professor)
would find interesting, rather than something that
is easy to cover?
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B.
Overcoming Writer’s Block and Procrastination
If you are having trouble finding an interesting and
suitable topic, writer’s block may be the culprit.
Frequently, students become frustrated because they
cannot translate their general interests into a workable
research topic (that should be narrow and particular).
Here are three techniques for you to use in overcoming
writer’s block:
1. Free
writing is a technique that allows you to write your way
into a topic by avoiding that part of your mind that refuses
to write or that cannot think of anything to put on paper.
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Try to write without stopping for a certain amount of
time (e.g., ten minutes), or for a given length of paper
(e.g., one page).
-
Put down any thoughts or words on paper and use these
words to suggest other words or thoughts.
-
Keep writing even if it means writing the same word several
times. Do not go back and read or revise what you have
already written. Once you have finished (ten minutes or
one page), review what you have written. Try to find out
what interests you, as well as your perspective and position
on issues.
2.
Brainstorming is a technique that is a form of list-making
that requires you to list everything that seems even remotely
related to your topic.
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The idea is for you to focus intently on the topic for
a fixed amount of time and to push yourself to list every
idea and detail that comes to mind.
-
Like free writing, the trick is to short-circuit the internal
editor long enough to advance thinking and organization
on a given topic.
3. Clustering
is a technique that is a form of free association that combines
writing and nonlinear drawing. Your cluster radiates out
from your topic.
-
When
you get an idea related to the basic topic, try to move
beyond it by branching out and pursuing its implication.
-
As
new ideas are generated from the branching out, you can
continue with other branches.
-
The
result should be a cluster of ideas, some of which are
useful, and some of which are not.
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C.
Narrowing the Topic
You may be one of those students who at first chooses a
topic that is too broad to cover in the semester schedule,
or a topic that is too complex to be thoroughly covered
within the allotted page requirement. If the professor says
the topic is too broad, don't worry--this is a common problem
that frequently plagues professors, too! Virtually all research
must be refined not only during the research process but
also during the writing process. The sooner you get comfortable
with this fact, the easier and more enjoyable the whole
research and writing process will be.
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D. Research Question
Keep the following tips in mind:
-
The research question you develop should be a complete
question consisting of one or two sentences. Generally,
the shorter and simpler the research question, the better.
-
Your research question should be something you can answer
systematically using sources (primary and secondary),
reasoning and persuasion.
-
You should begin devising the research question at the
same time they develop (and narrow) the research topic.
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E.
Research Thesis
The thesis is the most important and central idea or assertion
that you wish to convey in the paper.
A good thesis should:
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Narrow the topic to a single idea that you want to convey
to the readers in the essay.
-
Clarify the purpose, position and attitude in the paper.
- Be
stated somewhere in the paper’s introduction because
it tells readers why they are reading your paper.
-
Be a work in progress. Many students (and many writers
for that matter) typically revise their thesis as they
complete the research and writing stages. This is a good
strategy for you to use.
You,
as a writer, need a thesis because a working thesis helps
you to stay on track during the research and writing process.
Reviewing
the thesis reminds you of why you are pouring over primary
documents in the first place.
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F.
Research Methods and Resources
You need to select the appropriate methods you will want
to use to research a topic, address the question and argue
your thesis.
Methods
will include examining books, articles, and other written
sources on the topic. At this point students should know
the difference between primary and secondary sources.
-
Primary
sources: historical documents (e.g., treaties), official
reports or memoranda, hearing transcripts, interviews,
etc.
-
Secondary
sources: books and articles that often analyze primary
sources.
To achieve
a balance, the research should include a mixture of primary
and secondary sources. Going beyond just a review of what
other say strengthens an essay’s main argument.
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G.
Outline
Many
student writers procrastinate and, as a result, experience
false starts because they do not have a plan for writing
drafts and continuing the research.
The
key to staying on track is for you to develop and stick
to a working outline. Outline styles vary and can range
from loose and general to tight and specific.
An
outline, regardless of the form chosen, helps you to:
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clarify thinking,
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explore
further patterns of thought, and
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devise
strategies to fulfill intentions of the research question
and thesis.
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H.
First Draft
For most writers, getting the first draft on paper is the
most uncomfortable step in the writing process. The reason
for this is that writers expect thoughts to flow in a logical
and clear manner, and often they do not. As a result, anything
first put on paper usually falls short of expectations.
To overcome
this problem, you must remind yourself that often you will
need to develop several drafts before you complete the paper
and that no one else will see the paper. The initial discomfort
usually goes away once you have your initial thoughts on
paper.
You
may sometimes experience problems when the outline is an
insufficient guide to what you want to say. If this happens,
go back and add specifics to the outline. Use the outline
to begin thinking about transitions and subheadings. At
some point a very detailed outline actually resembles a
first draft. What remains is a matter of filling in the
blank spots to complete the first draft.
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I.
Editing the Drafts
The
key for you to produce a quality research paper is to produce
several drafts, with each succeeding draft being a refined
version of the prior draft.
The
necessary process of revision involves improving both the
underlying meaning and structure of your essay as well as
the mechanics of sentences and paragraphs.
The
following checklist comes from The Little, Brown Handbook
written by H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron (New York,
Harper Collins Publishers, 1992: pp. 53, 59).
For
revising your essay's underlying meaning and structure,
consider the following:
-
Does
the body of the essay carry out the purpose and central
idea expressed in your thesis sentence?
-
Are
there adequate details, examples, or reasons to support
each of your main points?
-
Does
each paragraph relate clearly to the thesis sentence?
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Does
your introduction engage and focus your readers’
attention?
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Does
your conclusion provide a sense of completion?
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For
editing your essay’s mechanics, consider the following:
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Are
your sentences grammatical?
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Are
your sentences clear and concise/
-
Is
your use of commas, semicolons, colons, periods and other
forms of punctuation correct?
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Is
your use of capitals, italics, abbreviations, numbers
and hyphens correct?
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Do the words you use exactly convey your meaning and feeling?
-
Are
your words spelled correctly? Be aware that spell check
is not a foolproof way to determine this.
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