Research+Day+02

Continue your research by following the next steps. We will do this for three research days. Don't forget to fill out the survey at the end of class!

OK, for some reason this step seems to stump you most often. Think about the places you usually go to answer questions. Use your note taking sheets to organize your sources, or write a bibliography (source) card—using MLA style—for each source you find. **TIP:** You should have approximately one source per page of a research paper. · Honestly, the first thing I do is **ask someone** who would most likely know the answer. In research, we call this “interviewing an expert.” You can converse face to face, by phone, or by email. All are simple to document. //See your Interview Note Taking Sheet//. · You can also visit the **internet**, but be sure to use websites that are appropriate—NO Wikipedia! You can probably find the original source if you look hard enough. You may not use blogs or personal webpages—you know people will LIE about anything. One tip is to use Google Scholar—you can find this under the “more” button on the Google page. //See your Internet Note Taking Sheet//. · **Magazines and Newspapers** are easy to document, easy to use, and most often ignored by students. Think about what kinds of periodicals would have information about your subject. Remember that you can use online magazines as well. Your librarian can help you access online magazines. //See your Print Resource Note Taking Sheet.// · **Books**—I know you hate them, but they are an easy way to access information—assuming you can read J (only kidding, of course). You should try to find a book source at your school library or the public library. You may want to ask your expert (you know, the one you interviewed) if he or she has any books that you could use. //See your Print Resource Note Taking Sheet.// · **Screen**—and not the kind that surrounds the porch. Television shows, documentaries, videos, film, etc. I’m sure someone, somewhere has video-taped information on your subject. Try checking online—most television channels have websites. See what you can find. Watch the screen, take notes, and document your findings. //See your Screen Note Taking Sheet.// Now that you’ve found your sources, you can start taking notes. Keep you preliminary thesis in mind, but don’t be afraid if your research leads you in a different direction. **TIP:** You should have approximately 10 notes for each page of your research paper. Remember there are **__four__** essential parts to your note cards: The first step to taking notes is to **brainstorm headings (categories, topics, subtopics, etc.—call them what you like)** for your note cards. Later, these headings will help you organize your outline, so you may as well get ahead of the game by starting with a plan in mind. I encourage you to keep your heading list to ten or fewer. You can always add and delete as you go, but start with some sort of organizational structure in mind. This will help later—**YOU WILL REGRET IGNORING THIS STEP.**
 * Step 4: Find Sources**
 * Step 5: Note Taking**
 * 1) a number in the upper right hand corner that corresponds to the source from which you’ve taken the information,
 * 2) a heading on the top line that identifies the topic of the note,
 * 3) the note itself—and an indication of whether the note is a paraphrase, summary, or direct quotation,
 * 4) the page number from which the information was taken if you are using a print resource.

If you are doing notecards by hand, they should look like this:



If this is an internet source. The subtopic will still be of your choosing. (Yes, you generate categories for your paper.) Source number will designate what source you got this info from. (So number your sources. Every webpage is a new source.) Instead of page number, put an address link. (http://........)

Of you can use the note taking sheets in your folder to create a paperless system of notes. Save each set of notes under the name of your source!

media type="custom" key="8421882"