The Elements of an Article   Part 2

What is a Research Paper?

The following quotations about research papers are taken from books and articles about writing in college and university.

Research papers can take two forms: factual, objective surveys of all the literature available on a topic, or interpretive analyses of selected evidence arrayed to support the writer's viewpoint and ideas. An interpretive paper, though primarily concerned with the writer's own ideas and interpretations, cannot ignore contrary evidence. Writers of such papers must be thorough and fair even though they must take a position on their material." pp. 445-446, Perrin

Research essays and reports are not generically different from other types of college and university writing. The English word research derives from the French chercher, to search, and from the Latin cicare, to circle around, explore. Searching, circling around, and exploring are activities that can be important to any writing that you do. p. 163, Lunsford, Connors, and Segal

A research paper is an entirely new work that you create by consulting several sources to answer a research question. The paper is a synthesis of your interpretation and evaluation of the information you discover, with complete documentation of where these discoveries came from. It is not a summary of an article or book or a collection of summaries of articles or books. p. 440, Adams and Tickle

Attempt is an important word in relation to research. Some research questions lead to a final, definitive answer. Some do not, especially when an assignment asks you to take a position about a debatable topic and argue for that position in your paper. p. 141, Troyka

Your role in writing a research paper will depend on whether you are called upon mainly to report, to interpret, or to analyse sources. In reporting, you survey, organize, and present the available evidence about a topic (for instance, how lobbyists influence MP's votes or how three mice responded to sleep deprivation). In interpreting, you examine a range of views on a topic in order to draw your own conclusions (for instance, the ethical dilemmas in using humans as experimental subjects), or you search in varied sources for facts and opinions relevant to your thesis (for instance, that adopted children should, or should not, have access to their birth records). In analysing, you isolate an unsolved problem or unanswered question (for instance, the failure of an economics theory to explain a change in the economy or the significance of a repeated image in the work of a poet), and then you attempt to reach a solution or answer through critical evaluation (or analysis) of relevant scholarly sources or of texts such as literary works or historical documents. As the examples indicate, reporting generally serves an explanatory purpose, while interpreting and analysing may serve either an explanatory or a persuasive purpose.
The three operations are not exclusive. p. 530-531, Fowler, Aaron, Downey, and Pell

The distinctive feature of the research paper assignment is that it requires you to find and use information in library books and periodicals and to acknowledge your sources properly. ... You [must] decide whether the purpose of your paper will be chiefly informative (to report, analyse, or explain) or persuasive ( to prove a point). p. 473, Hodges, Whitten, Brown, and Flick

In time, you will come to understand that knowledge is not always something conveyed by experts in books and articles to novice writers who merely copy the ideas of the experts onto the pages of their research papers. In truth, you will want to generate new ideas about the issues and defend your position with the weight of your argument, as well as with the strength of your evidence. You will want to cite the sources that support your ideas, not cite the sources just because they relate to your subject. p. xvii, Lester

To gain power over your research project, you need to establish a feeling of authority. This means finding your own personal angle on the topic or finding the aspect of the topic that you care about. pp. 3-4, Hughes, Silverman, and Wienbroer

Perhaps in elementary or high school you ... wrote a library paper. That is, you recorded facts you discovered and then handed in the results. If you only compiled information without making evaluations or interpretations about it, you were actually preparing a report.

A research paper differs from a report ... in one major way: you are expected to evaluate or interpret or in some other way add to and participate in the information you gather and write about. In a research paper, you are expected to develop a point of view toward your material, take a stand, express some original thought. pp. 2-3, Roth

What a research paper IS:

1. The research paper synthesizes your discoveries about a topic and your judgment, interpretation, and evaluation of those discoveries.
2. The research paper is a work that shows your originality.
3. The research paper acknowledges all sources you have used.
4. The research paper shows that you are part of a community of scholars.

What a research paper IS NOT:

1. A summary of an article or a book (or other source material) is NOT a research paper.
2. The ideas of others, repeated uncritically, do NOT make a research paper.
3. A series of quotations, no matter how skillfully put together, does NOT make a research paper.
4. Unsubstantiated personal opinion does NOT constitute a research paper.
5. Copying or accepting another person's work without acknowledging it, whether the work is published or unpublished, professional or amateur, is NOT research. IT IS PLAGIARISM. pp. 2-5, Roth

A research paper is a formal essay based on your exploration of other people's ideas, rather than simply an analysis of your own thoughts. Although both the expository essay and the persuasive essay may use source material to some extent, the research essay is unique. Its purpose is to formulate a thesis based on a survey and assessment of source material. p. 79, Buckley

A research paper is not ...

• a mindless regurgitation of everything you have read about a subject;
• the reiteration of an argument you have found in a book or article, with a few other sources thrown in here and there to show your teacher that you "covered " the subject.

A research paper is a report that an individual presents to others about the conclusions he or she has reached after investigating a subject and carefully assessing the information he or she has gathered. p. 3, Hubbuch

Although there are many similarities between writing an essay in English or history and one in psychology or biology, there are also some differences. In particular, a scientific essay usually requires extensive citation of a body of literature. p. 39, Northey and Timney

In biology there are two types of papers: the research paper, or "scientific paper," and the review paper. The research paper reports original research, almost always in the standard format of Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion and Literature Cited. A review paper synthesizes and interprets work on a particular subject area. It reflects the author's painstaking efforts to report accurately on the state of knowledge in a defined field. A good review not only synthesizes information; it also provides a critical overview of an important scientific problem. --from pp. 2-3, McMillan

A good term paper or short essay [in Biology] is a creative work; you must interpret thoughtfully what you have read and come up with something that goes beyond what is presented in any single article or book consulted.
Essays and term papers are based mostly on readings from the primary scientific literature--that is, the original research papers published in such scientific journals as Biological Bulletin ... p. 123, Pechenik

The model of writing as product in inherently authoritarian ... Certain forms of discourse and language are privileged: the expository essay is valued over the exploratory; the argumentative essay set above the autobiographical; the clear evocation of a thesis preferred to a more organic exploration of a topic; the impersonal, rational voice ranked more highly than the intimate, subjective one. p. xii, Caywood and Overing

[Instead of requesting papers of monologic argument, we should be requesting dialogue, teaching students mediation and negotiation as alternative forms of writing.] What quickly becomes apparent, in both negotiation and mediation, is that the goal [of writing] has changed: it is not longer to win but to arrive at a solution in a just way that is acceptable to both sides. p. 18, Lamb.

The Steps in Writing a Research Paper

Note: The following steps are presented as if writing a research paper were a linear process. It is actually recursive: you may double back quite often. However, thinking of the process as linear is helpful because it keeps you on track and increases your efficiency.

Clarify What to Do

Choose a topic (and a backup topic)

• Are you interested in the topic?
• Will learning about the topic help you in the course (e.g., final exam)?
• Will learning about the topic help you in future courses?
• Will learning about the topic help you in your career?
• Is your audience interested in the topic? (Ask!)
• Has your lecturer approved the topic?
  Do exploratory reading to see how your topic is being dealt with in the literature; focus your topic.
• Write a one-paragraph research proposal and a working outline.

A research proposal paragraph should include four things:

1. The principal purpose of the paper (to explain? to analyse? to argue? to explore?)
2. The intended audience
3. Your voice as the writer (What image of yourself do you want to create: advocate, critic, etc?)
4. A working thesis statement or a research question

Gather Data

• Create a working bibliography or list of resources
• Gather all the resources available to you
• Is there enough information available to you on your topic?

Locate, Examine, Read, and Record Sources

• Locate sources
• Read quickly to find the best sources
• Read and take notes
• Optional: Conduct original research (e.g., interviews)

Organize for Writing

• Reevaluate your notes and select those most relevant
• Optional: Write the research paper in 30 minutes (a miniature version)
• Turn the working thesis into a carefully worded thesis statement
• Turn the working outline into a formal outline which grows out of the thesis statement
• Gather more information on any sections that are too weak 

Write

• Write a rough draft
• Revise: Make any major changes in areas such as ideas and organization
• Edit: Check citations, bibliography, and format, as well as spelling, grammar, and sentence structure

Why Summarize, Paraphrase, or Quote?

"A summary is a relatively brief, objective account, in your own words, of the main ideas in a source passage." p. 579, Rosen and Behrens

"A paraphrase is a restatement, in your own words, of a passage of text. Its structure reflects the structure of the source passage. Paraphrases are sometimes the same length as the source passage, sometimes shorter. In certain cases--particularly if the source passage is written in densely constructed or jargon-laden prose--the paraphrase may be even longer than the original. ... Keep in mind that only an occasional word (but not whole phrases) from the original source appears in the paraphrase, and that a paraphrase's sentence structure does not reflect that of the source." p. 580, Rosen and Behrens

A quotation uses the exact words of the original.

Summarize

To condense a long, detailed passage

Paraphrase

To retain the ideas in the original passage but put them in your own words, often because you want them to be clearer to your readers

Quote

To maintain a passage which is particularly well-written.
To present to the reader a passage which will be discussed in some detail
To set forth the exact wording (e.g., of a definition, law, etc.)

General Reasons

To bolster your point with the credibility or reputation of the source
To identify others' opinions, theories, and personal explanations
To present assertions of fact that are open to dispute
To present statistics
To establish your ethos or character, especially as a good, reliable scholar/researcher
To acknowledge help provided by friends, instructors, or others
To impress people with who you have read (e.g., to show what camp you are in, that you have read literature from the other camps, that you have been thorough in your research, or that you have read the classic works in the area)
To let the reader know where the document can be found

What Not to Quote

Do not quote facts available in a wide variety of sources, or your own independent ideas or primary research.

Common Knowledge

Telling people who have written few research papers that "common knowledge" need not be cited is not particularly useful unless explained in some detail. First, common knowledge to whom? Obviously, you must know the audience. Is it readers like yourself, the average adult with a college or university education, someone working in the discipline, or someone whose area of expertise is precisely your topic?

Common knowledge can be facts or interpretations. Oddly, commonly known facts do not have to be known exactly. For example, the typical adult with a university degree would probably know that George Bernard Shaw was an English playwright who lived around the turn of the century. You would not have to acknowledge a source for Shaw's birth and death dates: your readers would see the dates and think, "Yes, that looks right." The other reason you would not have to acknowledge a source here is that the information is readily available in all sorts of reference books.

It is difficult for someone new to an academic topic to discover what is common knowledge, for not only must everyone in the discussion know the fact or opinion, but they must know that everyone knows.

Ideas have a long and complicated history--to the point where some people question the possibility of having an idea that is uniquely, originally your own. If your readers are likely to question where you got the idea from, cite the source. Don't let the reader even suspect you of plagiarizing. If in doubt, cite.

If in doubt, you can also ask your instructor.

Plagiarism

Calvary University regulations on plagiarism are as follows:

Plagiarism This refers to the presentation or submission of the work of another without citation or credits, as your own work. Whenever the thoughts, words, drawings, designs, statistical data, computer programs, or other creative work of others are used by either direct quotation or by paraphrasing, the author and the source must be clearly identified through the use of proper referencing (ie., footnotes, endnotes)

When no recognition is ascribed to an author for phrases, sentences, thoughts or arguments within a student's work, substantial plagiarism exist. Complete plagiarism involves an entire essay or form of creative work of another being copied and presented as original work. Unless prior written and signed permission is obtained, submitting the same essay, paper or other term work for credit in more than one course constitutes a similar situation to complete plagiarism. The minimum penalty for plagiarism is failure of the assignment and notation within the permanent student record; the maximum penalty is expulsion from the University.

1. Don't hand in someone else's paper as your own.
2. If you would like to use the same term paper for more than one course, get permission in writing.
3. Be comfortable with one system of documentation. Ask more than one lecturer in your major. Learn only one system well because if you attempt to master more than one, you will get them confused. Being comfortable with the system means knowing how to do some of the common citation patterns and common bibliography forms, and relying on our manual or handbook for the more complex or unusual ones.
4. When taking notes from any source, copy all of the necessary bibliographic information. (You can see why it is handy to know some of the most common bibliographic entry forms.)
5. When you write a quotation in your notes, make sure that it has quotation marks around it. Even a short one. Even one or two words. When you paraphrase in your notes, do it properly the first time. Do not copy an author's words and phrases in your paraphrase thinking that you'll improve it later, for you will forget or be in too much of a rush, and then you will have plagiarized.
6. Separate your ideas from others' as you are taking notes. Use brackets [ ] to enclose your comments. Some researchers like to introduce their comments with ME: or their initials; this has one disadvantage: they have no way to signal when their personal comments end and their paraphrasing and so on resumes.
7. Know the conventions regarding plagiarism. They are not as simple as you might at first think. Read some good examples of what to do and not to do.
8. Know the regulations, laws, and punishments for plagiarism. This knowledge can motivate.
9. Admit that you cannot write as professionally as the source you are reading. You should sound like a serious student who is entering the ongoing conversation among academics.
10. Have your ideas control the paper. If you come to write and you have lots of notes but no ideas, you know full well that a string of quotations from other people does not make a research paper, so the temptation is strong to let some of your notes seem to be your ideas. It's safer to think, and have the research relate to your ideas.
11. Try writing a short first draft in 30 minutes using no notes. This will help you take ownership of the topic and see what you think about it. A related strategy: Try writing your first draft without using your notes. Whenever you want to insert other people's ideas, leave a blank or put parentheses with the source's name if you can remember it.

Acknowledgements

Writing is not something you do by yourself. Oh, yes, some people picture an unfortunate poor writer, late at night, pounding out an inspired masterpiece alone in a paper strewn room.

But the reality is that writing is highly social. For example, you get ideas from people who have written articles and books. And you have to acknowledge these in a bibliography. But you also get ideas from 

your instructors, in and out of class
your friends and family,
your fellow students and
Learning Skills Centre staff. 

Why not also acknowledge these sources of information and help?

There are two different ways to do such acknowledgments.

1. Put the acknowledgments in your Works Cited when you use the idea in your composition. e.g.,
   Armstrong, Lorne. Personal interview. March 17, 1997
   OR
   
2. Put a footnote at the bottom of the first page. Or, in the unlikely event that you have a Notes page at the end of your composition, make the acknowledgment the last one of the notes. Both of the following examples are adapted from recently published professional journals.
   The Trials and Tribulations of a Peer Tutor¹

1. I wish to thank my psychology professor, Chuck Houghton, for suggesting several key sources, and my peer response group in English 2201 for helping to effect substantive revisions to by manuscript.
   Notes
   
2. Thanks to Andy Davis and Liz Eppley for their helpful comments on earlier drafts. 

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