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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Bildung
- Sprache: Englisch
Get ready to take on your first college research paper like a pro Just got assigned your first college research paper? Don't sweat it! College Research Papers For Dummies has your back with the perfect companion to these not-as-hard-as-they-look assignments. Discover how to research, argue, problem-solve, analyze, and synthesize your way through even the densest material. Find out how to best revise and rework your paper until it's a polished gem. Plus, get some quick tips on higher-level research papers, such as literature reviews and white papers. * Accurately cite references using APA, MLA, and Chicago styles * Take advantage of all the resources available to you as you write your first research paper, from your university's library databases to your local college center's support services * Develop common research paper writing techniques, including argumentation, research questions, and thesis statements Don't wait until the night before your paper is due! Grab a copy of College Research Papers For Dummies today and ace that first research paper like we all know you can.
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College Research Papers For Dummies®
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2023941184
ISBN 978-1-394-19110-9 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-394-19111-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-394-19112-3 (ebk)
College Research Papers For Dummies®
To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “College Research Papers For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1: Laying a Foundation for Writing a Research Paper
Chapter 1: Understanding Expectations: College Research Papers
Looking Closer: The What and Why of College Research Papers
Applying Research Mindset: Way to A
Fulfilling Professors’ Expectations
Building Career Assets: Forever Research Skills
Chapter 2: Certifying Consistency: Documentation Styles
What and Why: Documentation Styles and Academic Standards
Certifying Sources: Documentation Styles
Surveying Documentation Styles: APA, MLA, and CMOS
Differentiating between the East and West When Documenting
Debunking Documentation Style Myths: The Whole Truth
Chapter 3: Preventing Plagiarism: Endorsing Academic Integrity
Defining Academic Integrity: A Win-Win Approach
Reviewing Forms of Academic Dishonesty: It’s on You
Avoiding Plagiarism in Six Easy Steps
Frequently Asked Questions About Plagiarism: Final Answers
Chapter 4: Fulfilling Requirements: Research Papers and Portfolios
Taking a Closer Look at Portfolios
Assembling Your Portfolio: Completing Requirements
Reaching Portfolio Success: Step by Step
Preparing for Career Portfolios: Future Investments
Part 2: Building Essentials of Research
Chapter 5: Managing Information: Gathering and Organizing Sources
Identifying What Makes a Good Topic
Creating a Thesis Statement
Developing Research Questions
Searching and Discovering: Sourcing Your Paper’s Success
Researching College Papers in Five Easy Steps
Finessing Sources: Making Arrangements
Chapter 6: Evaluating and Preparing Sources
Figuring Out Acceptable Sources: Earning Credibility
Uncovering Stones: Foundations of Evidence
Converting Sources: Supporting Assertions
Becoming Controversial: Engaging with Sources
Sending Out Signals: Phrases Identifying Source Intentions
Stepping Up Search Strategies: Beyond First-Year Research
Chapter 7: Going on the Offensive: From Evidence to Argument
Scholars Scuffling: Analyzing Argument
Building Your Compelling Argument in Six Easy-to-Follow Steps
Counter-Punching: The Rebuttal
Approaching Argument Logically: Busting Fallacies
Debunking Myths about Argument
Chapter 8: Citing Sources and Finalizing Recognition
Recognizing the Why of Documentation: Scholarly Way or Highway
Surveying Citations in Three Styles: APA, MLA, and Chicago
Identifying What Needs Documenting: Crediting Sources
No-Fault Citing? Looking Closer at Citation Generators
Understanding Common Knowledge
Finding Freebies from the Public Domain
Finalizing Sources: List of References
FAQs about Citing
Chapter 9: Classifying College Research Writing
Identifying Research Categories: Assignment Structures
Structuring Research-Assignment Packages: Submission Forms
Structuring Research Papers across Disciplines
Advancing Research Projects: Higher Level Learning
Part 3: Developing Essentials of Research Writing
Chapter 10: Identifying Audience and Purpose
Figuring Out Who Your Audience Is
Matching Tone, Tense, and Person to Your Audience
Showing Awareness: General Guidelines for Respectful Language
Justifying Why: Figuring Out Your Writing Purpose
Chapter 11: Writing with Style
Showing What’s Happening: Verbs and Nouns
Varying Sentence Patterns: Mashing Words
Varying Word Patterns: Letter Power
Building Better Paragraphs: Idea Placeholders
Balancing Elements: Parallel Structure
Organizing Writing: Transitions and Flow
Chapter 12: Reviewing Fundamentals: Grammar and Conventions
Following Rules of Language: Grammar and Usage
Creating Sentence Cadence: Punctuation
Seeking Attention: Italicizing
Perfecting Appearance: Spelling
Chapter 13: Focusing on Appearance: Formatting
Formatting Text Appearance: Letter Perfect
Formatting Pages: First Impressions
Formatting Research Sections: Big Picture
Avoiding Common Formatting Errors
Part 4: Writing Research Papers
Chapter 14: Planning and Organizing Research Writing
Early-Bird Planning: Preliminary Priorities
Answering the Asks: Analyzing Assignments
Populating Pieces: Major Sections of Assignments
Calling for Backup: Priorities and Contingencies
Chapter 15: Creating Draft One
Awakening Inspiration: Rituals and Environment
Writing the First Draft: The How-To
Modeling Major Sections: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion
Honoring Olden Rules: Ethics and Objectivity
Chapter 16: Identifying Required and Optional Headings
Finalizing Required Front Headings: Attention Grab
Determining Optional Front Headings: Ready Reserves
Completing Optional Middle Headings: Body Parts
Fulfilling Final Options: Rear Views
Chapter 17: Revising and Editing in Three Layers
Comparing Editing and Revising
Answering Revision’s Why: Grade Changers
Benefiting from Partnerships: Feedback and Revising Loops
Evaluating the Organizational Layer: Structural Elements
Rethinking the Paragraph and Sentence Layer: Point Makers
Revisiting the Word Layer: Choosing Wisely
Eagle-Eying Your Editing: Reaching New Heights
Chapter 18: Finalizing before Sending: Checking the Presentation
Avoiding Crash Carts: Your Grades’ Golden 60 Minutes
Checking Them Twice: Deliverables
Wrapping Up: Finalizing Hello and Goodbye
Formatting Firsts and Lasts: Titles through Reference Page
Minding Your Middle: Finalizing Evidence
Asking What’s Missing: Last Call
Publishing and Presenting: Wider Audiences
Reflecting Future Gains: Post-writing
Part 5: The Part of Tens
Chapter 19: Ten Common Problems and How to Fix Them
Missing Assignment Details
Failing to Follow the Rubric
Neglecting to Tie the Thesis to the Evidence
Transgressing with Your Research Questions
Lacking Research Paper Value
Fearing Where to Begin
Messing Up Your Citations
Deserting an Academic Writing Style
Failing to Plan Accordingly
Screwing Up Styles
Chapter 20: Ten Resources for Improving Research Writing
Professors
Other Courses
Chair of Your Major
Lectures and Events on Campus
Campus Organizations
Writing Center
Career Center
Travels Abroad
Suggested Campus Innovation
Extended Campus Community
Index
About the Author
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 1
TABLE 1-1 Research-Paper Writing versus Essay Writing
Chapter 2
TABLE 2-1 Professors’ Value and Undervalue of Style Features
TABLE 2-2 Differences in Eastern and Western Academic Culture
Chapter 5
TABLE 5-1 Thesis Statements and Resulting Research Questions
TABLE 5-2 Databases Specific to Academic Disciplines
TABLE 5-3 Comparisons of Databases and Academic Search Engines
Chapter 6
TABLE 6-1 Abbreviations Used by Many College Students
Chapter 8
TABLE 8-1 Citation Differences among Documentation Styles
TABLE 8-2 Citations of Landmark Legal References
Chapter 9
TABLE 9-1 Language of Writing
Chapter 11
TABLE 11-1 Vague Verbs Revised to Active Verbs
TABLE 11-2 Disclosed Hidden Verbs
TABLE 11-3 General to Specific Nouns
Chapter 12
TABLE 12-1 Principal Parts of Regular Verbs
TABLE 12-2 Principal Parts of Irregular Verbs
TABLE 12-3 Capitalization Rules and Examples
TABLE 12-4 Forming Possessives
Chapter 14
TABLE 14-1 Growth Mindsets versus Fixed Mindsets
Chapter 15
TABLE 15-1 Rituals of Famous Writers
Chapter 17
TABLE 17-1 Contrast of Editing and Revising
TABLE 17-2 “Re’s” for Revising Writing
TABLE 17-3 Revising Redundant Words
TABLE 17-4 Revising Wordy Expressions
TABLE 17-6 Your Editing Checklist
Chapter 18
TABLE 18-1 Research Parts’ Checklist
List of Illustrations
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: A sample portfolio title page.
FIGURE 4-2: A sample table of contents.
Chapter 13
FIGURE 13-1: APA title page template.
FIGURE 13-2: Example of APA title page.
FIGURE 13-3: Acceptable Chicago title page.
FIGURE 13-4: APA first page of text.
FIGURE 13-5: Top of MLA first page.
FIGURE 13-6: Top of Chicago first page.
FIGURE 13-7: APA’s five levels of headings.
FIGURE 13-8: Example of headings as an outline.
Chapter 14
FIGURE 14-1: Sample outline structure.
Chapter 16
FIGURE 16-1: A generic title page for a research paper.
FIGURE 16-2: A sample table of contents for your research paper.
FIGURE 16-3: A sample of abstract language.
FIGURE 16-4: A generic list of figures.
FIGURE 16-5: An example appendix.
FIGURE 16-6: A sample glossary of terms.
FIGURE 16-7: Numbered footnote in text and bottom of page note.
Guide
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Index
About the Author
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Introduction
Reading this book shows your commitment to understanding research papers and their role in fulfilling your academic goals and career preparation. I’ve been helping students like you achieve academic dreams by teaching researching and writing for more than a half century, including more than three decades at the college level. I’ve evaluated more than 10,000 research papers, essays, and other research projects.
I started teaching a few years before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon with technology 13,000 times less powerful than the phone you carry with you. New technology has improved today’s research process, and databases today store thousands of times more data than microfiche storage in the 1960s.
For you to write successful research papers, I am asking three things:
Commit to a mindset that you can achieve almost any academic goal if you work hard enough, including writing exemplary college research papers.
Use your research opportunities to satisfy your curiosities and develop new ones.
Increase your book reading (or start reading books) 15 minutes a day.
You’re a busy college student, but busy people commit time to what’s important to them. Researching and writing are skills common to almost everything you do academically. A commitment to researching, writing, and reading will fast-track you to achieving your college degree. It’s yours for the earning.
About This Book
College Research Papers For Dummies emerged from my enjoyment writing research papers at Widener University in the 1960s — a time when databases were a dream in a researcher’s file cabinet. I later taught students to write research papers to satisfy their curiosities. Some of those students pursued careers that resulted from their research.
Here’s a look at how this book can help you write professor-pleasing research papers:
Analyzing, planning, and organizing your research paper assignment
Developing your topic, thesis, argument, rebuttal, and research questions
Searching and organizing sources to support your argument
Citing and integrating sources
Formatting your paper with the required documentation style
Writing a first draft in an academic writing style
Revising your draft at three organizational layers
Checking your paper before final submission
This book shows you classroom-tested skills for writing successful research papers such as the following:
Capitalizing on the full-service resources of your college library, especially meeting with a reference librarian
Writing with language that respects all people
Identifying what to cite and what not to cite
Converting sources into evidence
Creating an annotated bibliography
Writing sentences that emphasize action verbs and specific nouns, and branch in three directions
Writing a research paper portfolio
Writing research papers across disciplines
Other features you’ll see in this book include
Example language modeling all parts of writing the research paper
Comparisons of major documentation styles
Planning strategies that prepare you for plagiarism allegations
Tips for reading academic journal articles
What to do with Wikipedia
Tips for asking professors questions and clarifications
Warnings for using citation generators
Information on writing reviews of literature and white papers
Tips for writing reports, reaction papers, and essays
Foolish Assumptions
You have a busy life as a college student, not an assumption, but a fact. From my decades’ experience teaching students like you and enjoying your academic energy in the classroom, I offer the following assumptions, which may or may not be foolish:
You’re committed to attending every class to learn about writing research papers, but stuff happens such as family emergencies that require you to miss a class. And if that happens, you’ll never ask your professor: Did we do anything important last class?
You’re most likely not committed to being a writer, and you may not be committed to being a researcher. But you’re committed to giving your best effort to every research paper you’re assigned to write.
Technology is one of your life commitments. It’s a teacher, tool, and a toy — and sometimes a tireless waste of time.
Some social media sites are available for academic engagement, but they’re not among the popular ones with college students.
Icons Used in This Book
Icons are legendary in For Dummies books, and some are candidates for the icon hall of fame (IHOF). They’re used similar to calendar reminders on your phone. Here’s an explanation of four icons used in this book to explore points of interest:
The tip icon highlights information that deserves special attention.
Think of the warning icon as cautionary action that may be necessary.
This icon represents a brief digression from the flow of content. This text is interesting but not essential to understanding my point.
The remember icon reinforces an important point.
Beyond This Book
For information on additional online sources for college research papers, see the Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com. Just search for “College Research Papers For Dummies” for more information you can refer to whenever you need.
Where to Go from Here
This book includes research-writing skills you need to complement your professor and your syllabus. It’s not a replacement for either but shows you another professor’s way of teaching research papers — and a way that may not meet specific objectives of your course.
If you’re working independently, this book can guide you, along with your research paper assignment and specifics of your required documentation style. In that sense, this is a reference book for writing research papers.
This book was designed like a contact list that overdosed on energy drinks — giving you quick access into depths of information you need to write research papers. Here’s a quick guide for using the book:
Give a quick read-through
Chapters 1
to
4
in
Part 1
for background on expectations for writing college research papers, a survey of documentation styles, implications of plagiarism as a threat to academic integrity, and an overview of research-paper portfolios.
Read
Chapter 14
for planning and organizing your paper and
Chapter 5
for beginning your research.
Before writing your first draft (
Chapter 15
), review addressing your audience and purpose (
Chapter 10
); look over grammar and conventions as a review of language issues common to your writing (
Chapter 12
); and focus on elements common to an academic writing style (
Chapter 11
).
Revise your draft (
Chapter 17
) and check your writing and documentation style (
Chapter 18
) before submitting your paper.
Part 1
Laying a Foundation for Writing a Research Paper
IN THIS PART …
Fulfill your professor’s research expectations by committing to course research requirements identified in the syllabus, accepting accountability for meeting all assignment requirements, persevering to figuring out the challenges of the assignment, and completing the assignment by meeting professional standards with an academic writing style.
Recognize the emphasis of major documentation styles such as APA’s focus on writing style development, MLA’s focus on literature and language topics, Chicago’s focus on professional research publishing and book publishing, and AP’s focus on writing for journalists and reporters.
Comprehend the seriousness of plagiarism such as learning your university’s plagiarism policy, evaluating controversies of today’s honor codes, identifying recent trends in plagiarism, recognizing why students cheat, and absorbing life-altering consequences of plagiarism.
Satisfy common research paper portfolio requirements such as writing a reflective statement that previews the organization of the portfolio, including artifacts that serve as supporting evidence for a successful portfolio, formulating language that validates artifacts as evidence, and formatting the portfolio consistent with the required documentation style.
Chapter 1
Understanding Expectations: College Research Papers
IN THIS CHAPTER
Answering the what and why of college research papers
Excelling at writing college research papers
Meeting your professor’s research paper demands
Building your research skills for the workplace
The signature activity of an educated person is reading academic materials. The amount you read corresponds with your success as a college student — especially your writing and research success. That belief is supported by self-educated successful readers who bypassed systems of formal education, including Wilbur and Orville Wright, Steve Jobs, and architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
These high achievers also researched — not in the sense of using databases and peer-reviewed sources — to answer formal research questions, but in a sense of satisfying their curiosities and answering questions such as: How can a self-powered machine fly? How can a pocket-size computer and a phone look like a piece of art? How can a functional building look aesthetically pleasing?
The answers require reading, researching, satisfying curiosities, and asking the right questions — questions that generate more questions than answers.
This chapter serves as your entry point into the world of research papers. Here I describe the research paper and its importance, explain the mindset of a college researcher, examine your professor’s expectations of you as a researcher writer, and identify the research skills you’ll carry into your career.
Looking Closer: The What and Why of College Research Papers
Although legendary innovators and creators obviously didn’t write formal research papers, they did follow a similar research process that included planning, organizing, searching, evaluating, and formulating questions from which they discovered their information.
College research papers are your invitation to participate at the adult dinner table with other researchers. They’re your passcode into the world of academic scholarship that answers the questions why and why not. Also, think of college research papers as your personalized extension of your course in the direction of new topics that you want to explore. Here I explain the what and why of writing research papers.
Recognizing what they’re all about
Research papers are as basic to college life as Thirsty Thursdays. And you can quench your research curiosities similar to your thirst — responsibly.
In today’s world of people sharing opinions based on gut feelings, research papers represent a non-opinionated position from evidence generated by the best experts in the field. As a college student, you represent a culture of people interested in explaining and adding new information to the body of research on a specific topic.
Research writing is scholarly inquiry that results in new information. It begins with developing an argument (see Chapter 7) and ends with drawing conclusions based on the findings, applying them to wider audiences (see Chapter 15).
The academic community accepts information that results from the research process of supporting an argument with reliable peer-reviewed sources and research methods reviewed by your professor and other experts. It’s called scholarship.
Characteristics of successful undergraduate research papers include the following:
Citing and formatting information following the required documentation style (see
Chapter 8
for citing and
Chapter 13
for formatting)
Creating an innovative topic that addresses the assignment question (refer to
Chapter 5
)
Reviewing literature on the topic (flip to
Chapter 9
)
Integrating reliable evidence (see
Chapter 6
) into the argument (see
Chapter 7
)
Adding to the body of research on the topic (refer to
Chapter 16
) by drawing conclusions based on the evidence.
Realizing why research papers matter
Research papers are like a six-hour energy drink for your grade. They’re usually weighted a higher point value than other assignments because they require more work. And writing a few successful research papers each semester boasts your GPA — and your academic confidence.
In addition to energizing your grade, here’s a look at the benefits of research papers and why they matter. They
Broaden your knowledge base:
Curious people like you are driven to satisfy curiosities. New knowledge produces new questions to answer and new answers to questions. Research papers broaden and develop new interests.
Develop your scholarship:
Research papers are the primary academic activity of scholars-in-training like you. It’s your apprenticeship for credentialing yourself as an educated person. More than any other academic assignment, research papers show your depth of understanding a topic.
Focus your expertise:
If your research writing reveals patterns of interests, such as an analysis of workplace issues, you may be developing an area of focus for career exploration. Trace your research topics from middle school through college and analyze what they reveal about your interests.
Develop problem-solving skills:
Captain Obvious (whom you meet throughout this book) reminds you that solving problems develops your problem-solving skills. Researching and writing are endless marathons of solving problems. Show me a research paper, and I’ll show you an abyss of problems that need solving.
Expand career opportunities:
Research papers and grad school are a given. A research background also qualifies you for many business careers, including entrepreneurialism. Each paper you write represents an opportunity to explore a new career.
Show your skills:
Research papers demonstrate a variety of academic skills such as synthesizing, analyzing, organizing, summarizing, and paraphrasing. They also show skills such as creating research questions, developing an argument, and drawing conclusions.
A number of studies show that students who write research papers develop the following academic benefits:
Preparation for the remainder of college and throughout their careers
Experiences for the workplace and applying for grad school
Confidence to work independently
Persistence toward achieving their degrees and other goals
Logical reasoning to support ideas
Complex research skills and knowledge of research resources
Writing research papers could easily be identified as the fourth “R” of basic skills and the first “R” of college learning.
Examining first-year college research papers
Your college experience includes a number of firsts:
Responsibility for your health and wellbeing
Accountability for your academic success
Reliance on your own transportation
First-year college also includes your first fully accountable scholarly research paper, which is often your first experience with the scholarship of higher education. First-year college writing courses frequently include essay writing, literature study, and research writing. Because of the importance of research and research-paper writing to college success, the second-semester course is usually dedicated to writing the college research paper.
Your first-year college courses are designed to give you hands-on experience with skills you’ll need for research success throughout your college courses and eventually in the workplace.
RESEARCH IN TODAY’S INFORMATION AGE
Imagine life today without research that developed innovations for better lives such as the following:
Safer auto and air travelElectronic devices that fit into the palm of your handFire retardant clothing and materialsArthroscopic surgery eliminating large incisionsTexting and social media that improves communication — when used responsiblyIf you’re thinking like a researcher, you may also be formulating questions such as the following:
What’s the role of ChatGPT in college writing?Can global pandemics be prevented?What will be a replacement for invasive surgery?Although the Internet has provided instant access to information to answer these questions today, college libraries and similar collections have made that information reliable and available — and very convenient for college students like you.
The challenge of undergraduate research today is locating reliable information among unreliable sources and information that some students prefer for convenience. Research for convenience earns you the grade that “convenience” begins with.
Throughout this book I encourage you to prioritize the resources that you’re paying for and that includes support for using them. Your library databases are fields of dreams and reference librarians are available to help you fulfill those dreams. Chapter 6 helps you distinguish the 5- and 4-star sources from the 1- and 2-star sources.
A recent survey of college librarians revealed the following research deficiencies among beginning college students:
Depending on Google for sources
Lacking the skills to evaluate sources, especially authenticity of sources (refer to
Chapter 6
)
Using weak critical thinking skills such as drawing conclusions (see
Chapter 15
)
Misunderstanding plagiarism (check out
Chapter 3
)
Failing to integrate sources into writing (flip to
Chapter 6
)
Classifying research writing skills
Research paper writing requires these two distinct skill sets:
Researching skills:
You need these skills to locate your information (refer to
Part 2
). They include the following:
Creating research questions
Developing key terms for searching
Familiarizing yourself with library databases
Citing sources
Evaluating, annotating, and managing sources
Exploring the library catalogue of materials
Research writing skills:
You need these skills to incorporate your research into writing your research paper (refer to
Part 3
). They include the following:
Sticking to a documentation style as you write (see
Chapter 8
)
Integrating sources into the argument (check out
Chapter 7
)
Drawing conclusions from evidence (refer to
Chapter 15
)
Summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting sources (see
Chapter 6
)
Addressing an audience and purpose (flip to
Chapter 10
)
Developing a topic and creating a thesis statement (see
Chapter 5
)
Searching from your strengths
You have your strengths as a person, and you have your strengths as a student. Your learning strengths can serve as an asset for your research skills.
Research papers usually include a number of required sources such as peer-reviewed articles and a number of optional sources. Choose your optional sources based on your strengths such as the following (they’re generalizations created for the purpose of locating additional sources):
Literacy-rich oriented:
Focus on additional primary and secondary sources (refer to
Chapter 5
) and library databases. Search reference entries in reviews of literature.
Extrovert-gregarious oriented:
Focus on talking with people (librarians, professors, writing center staff) to gain more information about available and applicable sources.
Audio-visually oriented:
Focus on academic podcasts and YouTube channels, speeches, and documentaries.
Writing research papers across disciplines
The sequence of your college courses usually includes a course designated as your research paper instructional course — followed by or simultaneous to — research paper requirements across the disciplines you are studying. See Chapter 9 for examples of research paper topics across disciplines.
Excelling at writing research papers
Tens of thousands of college students work hard and write successful research papers every semester, and most of them earn As and Bs. Yet many of those successful students lack confidence as college writers. By passing your essay writing course, your university validated you can write at the college level and fulfill college assignments.
In other words, you’re enrolled in a research-writing course because you successfully completed the prerequisites of essay writing.
Your essay-writing course is frequently designated as a gatekeeper course, meaning if you don’t write successfully, you don’t pass through the gate to the next level of college writing. For more information on college essay writing, see my College Writing For Dummies.
Writing research papers can be easier than writing college essays because research papers are more formulaic, meaning they include a built-in structure unlike essays.
Table 1-1 compares writing research papers and writing essays, showing the organizational advantages of research writing for college students.
The comparison doesn’t say research papers are less work or easier to write. Rather, research papers require less creative design than essays.
TABLE 1-1 Research-Paper Writing versus Essay Writing
Writing Element
Research Paper
Essay
Topic selection
Develops a topic from a question asked in the assignment
Develops a topic from the theme of the assignment
Supporting evidence
Requires researched evidence to argue a position on the assigned question
Requires creating evidence to support a created thesis
Audience engagement
Addresses an audience of fellow researchers
Addresses an audience with a variety of interests
Writing style
Requires a style with the serious tone of research
Requires a style appropriate to the audience and that engages their interests
Writing structure
Follows a highly structured research format
Creates a structure that isn’t five paragraphs
Take a look at these tips for writing professor-pleasing research papers:
Begin as soon as you’re assigned the project (see
Chapter 14
).
Meet with your professor and a reference librarian at the beginning of the assignment (refer to
Chapter 5
).
Review your thesis, argument, and research questions (see
Chapter 5
) with your professor (or the writing center if your professor isn’t available).
Plan your feedback sources, trial readers who will tell you strengths and liabilities of your paper (check out
Chapter 17
).
Commit to a three-layer revising plan that distinguishes revising from editing (see
Chapter 17
).
Applying Research Mindset: Way to A
Think of a research-paper mindset as preparing for a four-week study abroad program. You’re initially overwhelmed with thoughts such as: How do I start? Where can I get information I need? How do I organize what I find?
You committed for study abroad when you paid your fee, and you committed to your research paper when you enrolled in the course. The mindset for writing a college research paper requires the commitment of a four-week relationship with your new love — researching, reading, analyzing, documenting, and revising.
Writing a research paper requires a similar commitment and confidence that hard work will result in achieving almost all your academic goals. And when you face obstacles, support is available to help you. See Chapter 20 for a description of resources available to help you with write your research paper.
Approach research and other assignments with a mindset that hard work results in success and that you can figure out more than you think you can.
Here are characteristics of a growth mindset attitude that applies to writing college research papers:
Commitment:
Allocate the time, energy, and mental resources required to write a successful assignment.
Determination:
Work with the confidence that you can write a successful paper and that some assignments require more effort than others.
Resilience:
Recognize that you’ll face obstacles and that when you need support, help is available on campus.
Progression: Focus on accomplishing incremental steps that lead to the next step. You can’t become a successful second-year college student unless you complete requirements for the first year.
A plan for completing your college degree incrementally includes completing requirements one step at a time — one assignment at a time, one course at a time, one semester at a time, and one year at a time. In sports it’s called “small ball.”
Reflection:
Reflect regularly on what was successful and unsuccessful and the lessons you learned to overcome obstacles.
Fulfilling Professors’ Expectations
You’re the successful person you are today because you’ve fulfilled expectations — those of the significant adults in your life and those you’ve set for yourself. Add your professors to the influential people in your life who set expectations for you, including their research expectations.
Your professors, as representatives of the academic community, are held to a high standard of research and professional development. If they fail to meet those expectations, they fail to earn promotions and other career advancements. They can also be dismissed from employment. Research is an integral part of their academic lives, and when they’re teaching you research, they most likely are completing it themselves.
Research offers you an opportunity to connect with your professors on a scholarly level. Think of your research as planting ivy in front of the tower. The following sections show you the value of research and research expectations of your professors.
Professors’ research requirements
Think of the disservice of professors — or any other instructors — who expect little from their students, and they get it. When professors expect more, students achieve more. If your professors expect a multifaceted research paper with extensive analysis and synthesis, you’re going to write a better paper than a requirement to write about the history of an event.
Here’s a look at research expectations most college professors expect from their students:
Commitment:
Professors expect a commitment to the course and research, which is displayed by attending and preparing for every class, following the syllabus, completing readings, meeting deadlines, checking course management sites, and showing academic enthusiasm for your research projects. They also expect your commitment to learning research strategies and the designated documentation style.
Accountability:
College students accept accountability for performing at their best level. Professors expect you to be accountable for selecting a topic that addresses the assignment and interests you, understanding the structure and purpose of the research, locating scholarly sources that argue your thesis, and citing and formatting as determined by the required style.
Perseverance:
Researching includes many movable parts which sometimes malfunction and cause frustration — similar to most complex projects. Your professors expect you to persist through problems, access available support when you need it, and utilize office hours as necessary.
Professionalism: Your professor expects professionalism that includes formal writing, not only with the assignment, but also with all course communications. Your professor expects academic writing that includes clarity, conciseness, sentence variety, and use of academic verbs and nouns.
See Chapter 11 for detailed information on writing in an academic style, including elements described in the previous paragraphs.
Scholarship:
Scholarship represents the difference between high school academics and college academics. Most professors were serious scholars from the time their parents read Shakespeare to them as a two-year-old. Forgive them for expecting similar scholarship form you, especially if you only had Chaucer read to you as a two-year-old. Professors’ scholarship expectations from you include a passion for knowledge, an unquenched thirst for inquiry, near-perfection in your academic work, and a desire to re-read the classics when you’re not working on assignments. Thank them for such scholarly expectation.
Professors design assignments based on their education background, research, and teaching experience — which is very demanding for you as a student. Follow the program. You’re not going to understand the whys of the assignment, and don’t ask. Remember who’s the professor and who’s the student. You’ll figure out the assignment, and if you work hard, you’ll earn a good grade.
Undergraduate mentored research
For many undergraduate scholars, working with a faculty research mentor is a memorable experience in their undergraduate education. It’s almost as exciting as scoring a backstage pass for a Taylor Swift concert.
Mentored research is an asset for applying to graduate school and also shows initiative and leadership on a workplace application.
Here are some tips for pursuing mentored research opportunities:
If your university has an undergraduate research office, stop there to ask about opportunities. If your campus doesn’t have one, stop by the faculty research office and talk with them.
Talk with your academic advisor about opportunities.
Look for a professor who shares similar research interests as yours.
Before you meet with anyone to talk about mentored research, develop your research idea by completing the following:
Detail your research plan, including an investigation of funding.
Complete a preliminary review of literature.
Draft preliminary research questions.
If formal mentored opportunities aren’t available, consider asking to volunteer with a professor.
Building Career Assets: Forever Research Skills
When many college students are first assigned a research paper, their thoughts include questions such as the following:
What do I need to do?
Where do I get the information?
How do I start?
How much time do I have to do it?
Then they commit their best effort to the paper and earn an A or B. The one question students don’t ask is more important than the ones they do ask: What did I learn from the project that contributed to my career-preparation skills? The answer is more academic value than students imagined.
The skills that students learn from writing research papers could fill a resume. Here’s a look at lifetime academic skills students learn from a regular diet of writing research papers:
Project management:
Planning and organizing a research paper and delivering comprehensive results within the structure of a formal style
Research:
Applying research strategies by developing keywords that answer the research questions
Data collection:
Collecting, organizing, and preparing data into an informational format
Source evaluating:
Evaluating source information according to its currency, relevance, accuracy, and appropriateness to the topic
Communication:
Writing information into a documentation format understandable by the audience
Supporting an argument:
Converting sources into evidence that supports an argument
These skills, for example, can be applied to business or a number of other careers by performing workplace activities.
Chapter 2
Certifying Consistency: Documentation Styles
IN THIS CHAPTER
Explaining the big three plus one documentation styles
Identifying common ground among documenting styles
Crossing the intersection of Eastern and Western documentation philosophies
Debunking documentation style myths of college students
Your dreams and goals as an educated person may be centered in the fields of marketing, management, science, technology, law enforcement, or the arts. Each discipline of study contains its own standards, expectations, and formatting preferences.
Research in those and other fields also has their standards and formatting preferences — and they’re called documentation styles. Standards of crediting the works of others represent the language of professional scholars as they communicate with one another and the remainder of the academic community.
In this chapter I explain documentation styles common to college writing: APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association), CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style), and a few others. I also explain differences in cultural philosophies of crediting sources and debunk myths associated with documentation styles.
What and Why: Documentation Styles and Academic Standards
My experience with some scholars is that they lack a sense of humor; they eat plain pizza; they brew their morning beverage from recycled herbs; and they read thick books sometimes written in foreign languages. Scholars thrive on academic consistency — for example, some have been using the same book marker since the invention of paper.
Scholars dislike inconsistencies such as three different styles of documentation using three different terms for lists of sources: references (APA), works cited (MLA), and bibliography (Chicago). Scholars prefer style consistencies when they read, write, and teach research.
You may ask: Why not one super-style documentation style system for all academic disciplines? Scholars are very protective of their disciplines and believe that the style for their discipline is the one true style. It’s like all owners of Golden Retrievers thinking they have the best pet — and they’re all correct.
Data and information differ among disciplines and require unique formatting of information. For example, a style for formatting statistical values differs from a style that displays historical documents. Documentation styles are as different as college students’ creation of playlists.
Certifying Sources: Documentation Styles
They aren’t the lines of sportswear endorsed by college athletes as part of their NIL rights. Documentation styles are a set of standards for documenting the works of others and formatting pages of research specific to a field of study.
Scholars have been thinking about and working on standards since a group first met to discuss them on a cold December day at the University of Pennsylvania on Walnut Street in Philadelphia in 1892. (No, I wasn’t in attendance.)
A documentation style provides consistent (and sometimes logical) methods of documenting and formatting information for readers and researchers in the same field of study. For example, MLA readers expect the list of citations at the end of a research paper will be labeled “Works Cited,” logical wording for a list of cited works in the research.
The documentation style chosen by your professor or the department is based on its compatibility with the type of data common to the topics being studies.
Documentation styles such as APA and MLA are compatible with most research topics studied in high school and first-year college. Those styles are adaptable to research in literature, language arts, history, psychology, economics, sociology, mass media, business management, and many others.
THE HISTORY OF POPULAR DOCUMENTATION STYLES
More than a hundred years ago, three popular documentation styles were developed and continue to be used today for writing college research papers. Here’s a look at how they began:
APA (American Psychological Association): More than 120 years ago, approximately at the time when Orville and Wilbur were dreaming of flying, a handful of psychologists organized with a dream of promoting scholarship and standards among academicians in psychology and related disciplines.
Their official seven-page writing and style guide from the early 1900s evolved into the 2020 Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition, a 427-page document.
MLA (Modern Language Association): Advocates for study of language and other humanities (literature, history, and philosophy) first met in the late 1800s for the purpose of studying modern languages and focus on the teaching of those languages.
MLA survived a period of disagreeing on the objectives of the organization (scholars will be scholars) and eventually refocused to become a leading professional resource for the promotion and teaching of language and literature study.
CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style): In the late 1800s, the University of Chicago Press (affiliated with the University of Chicago), began notating style inconsistencies from handwritten manuscripts submitted by professional scholars. The development of that list of style issues continues today.
The Chicago Manual of Style, a publication of the University of Chicago Press, has been revised and published continuously since 1906. That initial publication title was a mouthful: Manual of Style: Being a Compilation of the Typographical Rules in Force at the University of Chicago Press, to Which are Appended Specimens of Type in Use. Chicago followed its advice on eliminating wordiness and reduced the 27-word title to 5: The Chicago Manual of Style.
The 17th edition was published in 2017. Chicago stands out among other stylebooks for its detailed sections on grammar and usage. In addition to its use by students, publishers use Chicago for novels and trade books.
If you’re writing a research paper as a major in a field of study such as literature and language study, MLA is the best style. If you’re a psychology or social science major, APA is the best style for research. And if your field of study is publications, Chicago is your best choice.
The full versions of your documentation styles are created for professional scholars who usually intend to publish their research. The documentation style offers presentation formatting for complex information such as tables of statistical data that exceeds first-year college research.
Because most college research doesn’t need complex formatting, your research papers are adaptable to APA, MLA, or Chicago.
Surveying Documentation Styles: APA, MLA, and CMOS
These sections describe documentation styles older than dirt — and all three major styles adapted and survived controversy. Today they’re commonly used in college and high school research writing, more than a century after small groups of scholars first met and eventually resolved their differences.
In full disclosure, note that I’m the author of APA Style & Citations For Dummies. As a former high school English teacher, I taught Turabian and MLA styles. As a college professor, I taught both MLA and APA. Eventually APA became the designated style in the department I taught at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. These sections detail background on documentation styles common to college research writing.
American Psychological Association (APA)
APA ranks among the oldest documentation styles and held its first organizational meeting in the late 1800s. Philadelphia hosted a couple dozen psychology scholars who started an organization that claims more than 120,000 members today.
The documentation and formatting guidelines in APA’s seventh edition focus on features for professional scholars. The latest edition introduces a sample student research paper for college and high school scholars. The student paper includes a title page that differs from the professional title page.
The APA manual includes several undergraduate examples and many professional examples.
Scholars-in-training, like you, can benefit from an APA version written to the undergraduate audience — one that models writing the basic structure of a research paper and includes strategies for revising. Are you listening, APA?
APA features guidance for college and high school audiences that includes the following:
Writing style development:
APA includes elements of an academic writing style such as flow, conciseness, clarity, and tone. It explains the importance of reducing wordiness and avoiding contractions, colloquialisms, and jargon (see
Chapter 11
).
Respectful language guidelines:
APA details language that shows respect for all people and provides guidelines for reducing bias. The guide includes excellent examples of inclusive language (refer to
Chapter 10
).
Grammar and mechanics guidelines:
Similar to other major manuals, APA reviews grammar, usage, and mechanics that are fundamental to academic writing (see
Chapter 12
).
Modern Language Association (MLA)
MLA is appropriately named and it’s the only popular documentation style that includes the word “language” in its name. When your research topic is language related, think MLA.
MLA’s popularity in high school can be partially attributed to generations of high school teachers who were weaned on MLA as liberal arts majors in college and became well-versed in MLA style and documentation. The standards of MLA were developed to serve scholars in the humanities, especially language and literature study.
MLA’s professional development and student support materials exceed their style and citation guidance for scholars-in-training. MLA provides more instructional materials for students than APA and Chicago.
Beyond MLA’s guidance for writing research papers that focus on literature and literary works, the MLA offers extensive language instruction such as the following topics that appear in the MLA Handbook 9th Edition:
Literature-research topics:
MLA documentation style focuses on referencing literature-based sources that support language and literature topics.
Language study:
The study of language is fundamental to the MLA manual. It’s the best language review of any of the major styles.
Respectful language principles:
Similar to APA, MLA emphasizes language that respects all people and all groups of people.
Language-based citations:
MLA offers extensive examples for referencing language-based sources.
See Chapter 8 for additional information on MLA.
AP AND OTHER DOCUMENTATION STYLES
The Associated Press (AP) news organization was created about 80 years ago. The resulting AP Stylebook was developed to standardize grammar and usage initially among news organizations in the New York City area. Popularity of the style guide extended to other journalists and reporters as a basic reference for rules of usage.
The first public editions of the AP Stylebook became available in the early ’50s, and since then the AP style has become the standard in news, broadcasting, public relations, and magazine publication. In recent years, the AP Stylebook has been sold worldwide with annual sales exceeding 2 million copies. AP Style is also the standard for college majors in the fields of journalism, public relations, and marketing.
AP is a major style guide along with the others compared in this book (APA, MLA, and Chicago). AP isn’t used as a comparison style because it’s exclusively used by journalists and other media representatives, and journalists don’t commonly write college research papers.
Other documentation styles in specific fields of study include the following:
American Anthropological Association (AAA): Used in the field of anthropologyAmerican Chemical Society (ACM): Used in the field of chemistry and related sciencesAmerican Medical Association (AMA): Used in medicine and related fieldsAmerican Political Science Association (APSA): Used in the field of political scienceColombia Online Style (COS): Used in the humanities and sciencesLegal Style (The Red Book): Used in the legal fieldVancouver: Used in the field of biological sciencesChicago Manual of Style (CMOS)
If you’re a publication-focused major, your favorite song could easily be (with respect to Frank Sinatra) “Chicago, My Kind of Manual.” When publishing houses think publication, they think Chicago and the University of Chicago Press.
Chicago’s emphasis in publication began more than a century ago and continues today. It’s the publication style of the For Dummies series that you’re currently reading. Chicago lists more examples of style and usage than any other style. Because of that feature, a copy of Chicago has been a reference book in my office library for more than half a century. It’s my go-to source for questions of usage.
Chicago’s appeal to language lovers is that it includes chapters of topics such as the following:
Mathematics in type
Numbers
Distinctive treatment of words
Quotations and dialogue
Indices
See Chapter 8 for additional information on uses of Chicago.
Your professor’s style
The documentation style for your course and research is sometimes as complex as a recipe that has more chefs than ingredients. For example, the department that houses your course may have a preferred documentation style. But your professor may determine that a specific research assignment is more adaptable by a different style. The professor’s choice rules.
Professors’ choices may be influenced by the documentation style they’re more experienced with reading and researching. Or, if professors preferred style isn’t adaptable to the assignment, they may adjust the assignment to meet the research needs. The options may result in the required style you’re most familiar with.
Professors’ documentation style is shaped by the documentation style they teach and their personal preferences of what they value. Professors’ adaptions to assignments frequently include the following:
Avoiding tables and figures (see
Chapter 6
)
Requiring use of sources found exclusively in library databases (refer to
Chapter 5
)
Requiring an annotated bibliography (check out
Chapter 5
)
Requiring an appendix (see
Chapter 16
)
These options offer you flexibility of presenting your research ideas.
Table 2-1 shows features many professors value and undervalue in a documentation style:
TABLE 2-1 Professors’ Value and Undervalue of Style Features
Professors Value
Professors Undervalue
Accurate citations
Footnotes (unless Chicago style)
Table of content
Creative title page
Page numbers (see Chapter 13)
Running heads (see Chapter 13)
Punctuation in text (see Chapter 12)
Internal punctuation in unusual reference entries (see Chapter 8)
Formatting accuracy of reference page (see Chapter 8)
Citation and reference accuracy of unusual sources (see Chapter 8)
Library database sources (see Chapter 5)
Open Internet sources (see Chapter 5)
Professors frequently adapt documentation requirements to assignments. For example, a professor may accept an informal reference to a source in an essay or short reaction paper, such as naming the source in the text and not requiring a formal list of sources at the end of the essay. For more information on informal sources in essays and writing essays, see my College Writing For Dummies
Professors don’t memorize documentation styles. (But they do know how to research answers to questions if they need to.) If you ask a question in class about documenting an unusual source, professors usually respond with the following: “Choose a format consistent with similar entries.”
The point is don’t fear minor formatting errors in unusual citations and references entries. Professors may sometimes confuse unusual reference entries, and they frequently give you the benefit of their doubt.
Your preferred style
You’re the product of your experiences, and your successes created confidence in your academic skills such as the documentation style you’re comfortable with.
In college many students are generally required to use APA more than MLA — except for language and literature majors who still use MLA. Between high school and college, you may have experience with Chicago.
When you have style choices, use the style you’re most familiar with. If you’re having a can’t-make-a-decision day about style, think APA first, MLA second, and Chicago third.
Differentiating between the East and West When Documenting
The two major hemispheres of the world include more than a thousand cultures, with each culture having its unique beliefs. Some of those belief differences include documentation styles, more specifically, lack of need for a documentation style. Academic writing on a global scale has become culturally centered in audience, content, tone, and especially crediting sources.
Two opposing positions of writing discourse have developed in the past few decades, styles that can be generally classified as Eastern philosophy and Western philosophy. The following sections explain cultural differences in writing and documenting.
Grasping cultural differences in writing
Saying that English is a difficult language to speak and write is an understatement. Think of nonnative language learners trying to make sense of expressions such as learn by heart, pass with flying colors, hit the books, and brainstorm.
And with a belief that language is a gift to be shared by all, Eastern culture students lack understanding of crediting sources. Their misunderstanding of citing frequently results in unintentional plagiarism. Table 2-2 shows major areas of differences of Eastern and Western styles.
