Research info.
(also see useful research links at the bottom of the page!)
Notes on Research from Ms. Z....
The most common problem students have when completing a research project is their failure to appropriately evaluate the information they find. This often leads students to superficial summaries of encyclopedia articles or (hopefully) unintentional plaigarism of sources. In any case, the student is failing to do true RESEARCH and is therefore not completing the assigment properly. Please follow these basic guidlines when doing research.
1. Understand the assignment! Be sure you know what it is you are supposed to do. If you are unclear ask your teacher immediately.
2. Craft a thesis before you begin. This will define the parameters of your project. It is a good idea to share this with your teacher early in the course of the project so that she may help you to refine it if necessary.
3. Use encyclopedias for a general overview of your topic only! This is high school. It is time to move beyond the superficial summaries that encyclopedias are designed to provide. They are an excellent beginning source for defining terms or providing a general overview, but you should not rely on them as primary sources for your project.
4. Take careful notes, especially of source names and bibliographic information you will need to include on your works cited page.
5. Evaluate your sources carefully! Library books are deliberately chosen by trained library media specialsts to be sure they have the most up-to -date and accurate content for students. The internet, while an excellent potential resource, has no such safeguards. Just because "Bob's homepage" says so does not mean it is true. You MUST be discriminating. When evaluating a site be sure to ask "says who?" a lot. If it is unclear where the information is coming from or if there is any question as to its accuracy you have two choices: 1. verify through a second reliable source or 2. DO NOT USE THE INFORMATION.
6. Once you have gathered your information THINK. Make sure your are making connections, drawing conclusions and creating a thoughtful product. If you are simply summarizing the research materials you collected you are not properly completing the assignment.
7. CITE THE SITE YOU SIGHT!!! You MUST give credit to all of the research you use. This information is called "intellectual property" and to use it without acknowledgement is stealing.
Whenever you have questions or concerns about the research process see you teacher. She loves this stuff!
_____________________
Useful Research Sites
These are links to some site which may be useful in writing research papers and creating bibliographies.
Note: The Williamsville North High School English department uses the MLA (Modern Language Association) style guide unless otherwise specified by the teacher.
Modern Language Association Style Guide
Bibliography and In-Text References
last revised 7/23/98