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Helpful Tips & Research Guides

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Helpful Tips

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Used for academic research papers in psychology, sociology, business, economics, nursing, social work, and criminology. APA's website is http://www.apa.org. Many universities offer online help - one is Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html. Or, look on any search engine for "APA style."

Boolean Connectors

All search engines and databases link words and phrases with Boolean connectors, but each has its own way for you to enter the connectors. Click the search engine or database 'Help' or 'Advanced Search' button.
These are the common Boolean connectors:
AND: Both words must appear in the record (cats and dogs)
OR: Either word may appear in the record (cats or dogs; oil or petroleum)
NOT: One of the words must not appear in the record (pets not cats)
WITH: Words must appear in exactly this order (Siamese with cats)
NEAR: Words must be near each other (indoor near dogs)
Quotes: Words in quotation marks are searched as a phrase ("raining cats and dogs")

Databases vs. Internet Sites

Confusion arises when instructors tell their students "Use only one Internet source for your paper" while librarians tell them "Use the online databases for your paper."
Databases: Academic libraries subscribe to appropriate databases, including books, periodicals, and other reliable resources. The only difference between these databases and other library resources is that the format of the databases is electronic rather than print or microfiche. Most instructors recognize that electronic databases are different from the Internet.
Internet: Anyone can publish anything on the Internet, resulting in entertainment, commercial, and personal sites that may not be appropriate resources for an academic research paper. The most reliable and appropriate Internet sites generally are those with a domain such as .org, .gov, .edu, or state.[name of state].us.

MLA Style

Used for academic research papers in American studies, English, German, Spanish. MLA's website is http://www.mla.org. Many universities offer online help - one is Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html. Or, look for "MLA style' on any search engine.

Quotation and Paraphrase

The original words, such as: A stitch in time saves nine. (This proverb falls in the 'common knowledge' category and would not need to be quoted in an actual paper. It is used here only as an example.)
Direct Quotation
  "A stitch in time saves nine."
  John took "a stitch in time."
Paraphrase
  A stitch now eliminates nine later.
 You'll need nine stitches later if you don't take one now.
Reference
  the "one stitch" theory of preventative maintenance.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is intellectual theft--stealing the words, works, or ideas of another by presenting them as your own. It doesn't matter whether you saw it, heard it, or read it or whether you found it in print, on an electronic database, or on the Internet.
CTC considers plagiarism to be a form of academic dishonesty. You avoid plagiarism by carefully citing all sources throughout the text of your paper and on the Works Cited page at the end of the paper. Two standard style manuals used to write academic research papers are APA Style and MLA Style.
Here's a rule-of-thumb to help you avoid plagiarism:
  Citation is required for Direct quotation from (or use of) someone else's words, works, or ideas Paraphrase from someone else's words, works, or ideas Reference to someone else's words, works, or ideas
  Citation is not required for Common knowledge (Minnesota is north of Florida. A stitch in time saves nine.) Personal knowledge (your experiences, thoughts, observations, original works, original ideas)

Primary and Secondary Sources

A primary source is the original words, works, or ideas
 An autobiography by Jane Jones
 An oil painting
 A poem
A secondary source comes to you second-hand
 A biography of Jane Jones by John Doe
 A print of the oil painting
 A critical essay about the poem


Research Guides

Evaluating Sources

Used for academic research papers in psychology,

Literary Criticism

In the phrase 'literary criticism,' the word 'criticism' doesn't mean 'find fault with.' Literary criticism is the written evaluation and interpretation of the plot, theme, and characters in a literary work. It's done by finding criticisms written by other people, comparing their opinions, and adding your own perspective.

Search for William Shakespeare
- By author, if you want books or poems written by William Shakespeare - By title, if you want books or articles with William Shakespeare in the title - By subject, if you want books or articles about William Shakespeare

Search for criticism about Shakespeare's play, King Lear
- By subject (King Lear Criticism) to find subject headings with those words
- By key word (King Lear Criticism) to find those words in author, title, subject headings, or text

Search print periodical indexes or the traditional card catalog
- Must search one place (author, title, subject) at a time
- Must use an exact sequence of words
- Can't find your search words in the text of the article or book
- Retrieve only the location of the book (call number) or periodical article (name and date of magazine)

Search online databases
- Can search one place at a time (author, title, subject) or all at once
- Usually don't need an exact sequence of words
- Can find your search words in the text of the article or book
- Some databases include full-text books, reference materials, and periodical articles

Search the Internet?
- Generally not a place to find appropriate literary criticisms
- Carefully evaluate the author, source, and content before selecting for your paper

A word about anthologies
- An anthology is a collection of poems, stories, literary criticisms, etc. by different authors
- The compiler of the anthology selected a group of writings about a central theme
- To find an anthology, first look under broader terms (English drama, English poetry)
- Then look in the table of contents and index to see if it includes your author or title

Research Paper Plan

Plan for success! Most people find that advance planning and a systematic process help make their research time more effective and efficient.

 If possible, select a topic that interests you (sometimes instructors assign the topic)
 Narrow the topic as much as possible ('pets' is broad, 'dogs' is narrow, 'poodles' is narrower)
 Write a topic statement in a complete, grammatically correct sentence (it helps you focus your thoughts)
 Circle the main concepts in your sentence (main concepts often are called keywords)
 List synonyms/alternative spellings for your main concepts (helps refine the search)
 Link concepts with Boolean connectors (another way to fine-tune a search)
 Decide whether you need books or articles, whether the date of publication is important, what databases or indexes to search, whether you want citations to articles or full-text articles
 Check the APA style manual or the MLA style manual so you'll know what information to gather for quotations and the works cited page
  Browse the results of your search - if there are too few results, broaden the search; if there are too many results, narrow the search
 Evaluate your results for content and appropriateness
 Take notes, organize your thoughts
 Write your paper
 Compile the Works Cited page
 Check spelling, grammar, your instructor's requirements, etc.

Scholarly Journal or Popular Magazine?

'Journal,' 'serial,' 'periodical,' and 'magazine' refer to any publication that appears at regular intervals; and they can be used to refer to both scholarly and popular publications. Some instructors use 'professional journal' to refer to all periodicals whose intended audience is the people working in that profession. Some instructors use various terms interchangeably. The correct use of any of these terms is whatever your instructor says it is.
The difference between 'scholarly' and 'popular' is the intended audience, the purpose, and the presentation of the material, not the quality of the writing or the reliability of the information.
Scholarly
 - Published by a professional organization or society to advance knowledge in that field
 - Written by researchers for fellow researchers
 - Purpose is to present the results of research
 - Language and presentation are formal
 - Always cites sources
 - Rarely includes photographs but frequently includes statistical graphs and charts
 - Advertising rare, usually subdued, usually related to the field
 - Examples: American Journal of Psychiatry, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Nursing Administration Quarterly
Popular
 - Published by a company to make a profit through sales of the magazine
 - Written by paid authors for the average reader
 - Purpose is to inform or entertain
 - Language and presentation are informal
 - Rarely cites sources
 - Frequently includes photographs or illustrations
 - Advertising colorful, promotes wide variety of products
 - Examples: People Weekly, Time Magazine, Motor Trend