Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide (paperback) / Edition 15

by James D. Lester Jr., James D. Lester

Overview

The definitive research paper guide, Writing Research Papers combines a traditional and practical approach to the research process with the latest information on electronic research and presentation.

This market-leading text provides students with step-by-step guidance through the research writing process, from selecting and narrowing a topic to formatting the finished document. Writing Research Papers backs up its instruction with the most complete array of samples of any writing guide of this nature. The text continues its extremely thorough and accurate coverage of citation styles for a wide variety of disciplines. The fourteenth edition maintains Lester's successful approach while bringing new writing and documentation updates to assist the student researcher in keeping pace with electronic sources.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780321952950
Publisher:	Pearson
Publication date:	01/17/2014
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1 Writing from Research

1a Why Do Research?

1b Learning The Conventions of Academic Writing

1c Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism

1d Understanding a Research Assignment

Understanding the Terminology

1e Establishing a Research Schedule

Chapter 2 Finding a Topic

2a Relating Your Personal Ideas to a Scholarly Problem

Connecting Personal Experience to Scholarly Topics

Speculating about Your Subject to Discover Ideas and to Focus on the

Issues

2b Talking with Others to Find and Refine the Topic

Personal Interviews and Discussions

Online Discussion Groups

2c Using Online Searches to Refine Your Topic

Using an Online Subject Directory

Using an Internet Keyword Search

2d Using the Library’s Electronic Databases to Find and Narrow a Subject

2e Using the Library’s Electronic Book Catalog to Find a Topic

2f Developing a Thesis Statement, Enthymeme, or Hypothesis

2g Drafting a Research Proposal

The Short Proposal

The Long Proposal

Your Research Project

Chapter 3 Organizing Ideas and Setting Goals

3a Using a Basic Order to Chart the Course of Your Work

3b Using Your Research Proposal to Direct Your Notetaking

3c Listing Key Terms and Phrases to Set Directions for Notetaking

3d Writing a Rough Outline

3e Using Questions to Identify Issues

3f Setting Goals by Using Organizational Patterns

3g Using Approaches across the Curriculum to Chart Your Ideas

3h Using Your Thesis to Chart the Direction of Your Research

Your Research Project

Chapter 4 Gathering Sources Online

4a Beginning an Online Search

CHECKLIST: Evaluating Internet Sources

4b Reading an Online Address

4c Using Keyword and Boolean Expressions

Subject Directory Search Engines

Robot-Driven Search Engines

Metasearch Engines

Specialized Search Engines

Educational Search Engines

Educational Search Engines Maintained by Libraries

4d Using RSS and Social Bookmarking

RSS Feeds

Web and Social Bookmarking

4e Searching for Articles in Journals and Magazines

Online journals

Online Magazines

4f Searching for Articles in Newspapers and Media Sources

4g Searching for Photographs and Other Visual Sources

4h Accessing E-Books

4i Using Listserv, Usenet, Blogs, and Chat Groups

E-mail News Groups

Real-Time Chatting

4j Examining Library Holdings via Online Access

4k Finding an Internet Bibliography

4l Conducting Archival Research on the Internet

Go to the Library

Go to an Edited Search Engine

Go to a Metasearch Engine

Go to a Listserv or Usenet Group

Utilize Newspaper Archives

Your Research Project

Chapter 5 Gathering Data in the Library

5a Launching the Search

5b Developing a Working Bibliography

5c Finding Books on Your Topic

Using Your Library’s Electronic Book Catalog

Using the Library’s Bibliographies

5d Finding Articles in Magazines and Journals

Searching the General Indexes to Periodicals

Finding Indexes by Topic in Appendix B

Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature

Social Sciences Index

Humanities Index

Searching for an Index to Abstracts

Searching for Abstracts of Dissertations

5e Searching for a Biography

Biography Index

Current Biography Yearbook

Contemporary Authors

Dictionary of Literary Biography

5f Searching for Articles in the Newspaper Indexes

5g Searching Special Subject Directories

5h Searching for Government Documents

5i Searching for Essays within Books

Your Research Project

Chapter 6 Conducting Field Research

6a Investigating Local Sources

Interviewing Knowledgeable People

Writing Letters and Corresponding by E-mail

Reading Personal Papers

Attending Lectures and Public Addresses

6b Investigating Government Documents

6c Examining Audiovisual Materials, Television, and Radio

6d Conducting a Survey with a Questionnaire

6e Conducting Experiments, Tests, and Observation

Your Research Project

Chapter 7 Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism

7a Using Sources to Enhance your Credibility

7b Placing Your Work in Its Proper Context

7c Understanding Copyright

7d Avoiding Plagiarism

Common Knowledge

Correctly Borrowing from a Source

7e Sharing Credit in Collaborative Projects

7f Honoring and Crediting Sources in Online Classrooms

7g Seeking Permission to Publish Material on Your Web Site

Your Research Project

Chapter 8 Reading and Evaluating Sources

8a Finding Reliable Sources

8b Selecting a Mix of both Primary and Secondary Sources

8c Evaluating Sources

Evaluating the Key Parts of an Article

Evaluating the Key Parts of a Book

Evaluating the Key Parts of an Internet Article

8d Outlining a Source

8e Summarizing a Source

8f Preparing an Annotated Bibliography

8g Preparing a Review of the Literature on a Topic

Your Research Project

Chapter 9 Writing Effective Notes and Creating Outlines

Gathering Printouts, Photocopies, Scanned Images, and Downloaded Data

Writing Notes of High Quality

9a Creating Effective Notes

Honoring the Conventions of Research Style

Using a Computer for Notetaking

9b Writing Personal Notes

9c Writing Direct Quotation Notes

Quoting Primary Sources

Quoting Secondary Sources

9d Writing Paraphrased Notes

9e Writing Summary Notes

9f Writing Précis Notes

Use the Précis to Review Briefly an Article or Book

Use the Précis to Write an Annotated Bibliography

Use the Précis in a Plot Summary Note

Use the Précis As the Form for an Abstract

9g Writing Notes from Field Research

9h Creating Outlines Using Academic Models

A General All-Purpose Model

Model for Advancing Your Ideas and Theories

Model for the Analysis of Creative Works

Model for Argument and Persuasion Papers

Model for Analysis of History

Model for a Comparative Study

9i Writing a Formal Outline

Using Standard Outline Symbols

Writing a Formal Topic Outline

Writing a Formal Sentence Outline

Your Research Project

Chapter 10 Drafting the Paper in an Academic Style

10a Focusing Your Argument

Maintaining a Focus on Objective Facts and Subjective Ideas

10b Refining the Thesis Statement

Using Questions to Focus the Thesis

Adjust or Change Your Thesis during Research if Necessary

10c Writing an Academic Title

10d Drafting the Paper from Your Research Journal, Notes, and Computer Files

Writing from Your Notes

Writing with Unity and Coherence

Writing in the Proper Tense

Using the Language of the Discipline

Using Source Material to Enhance Your Writing

Writing in the Third Person

Writing with the Passive Voice in an Appropriate Manner

10e Using Visuals Effectively in a Research Essay

File Formats

10f Avoiding Sexist and Biased Language

Your Research Project

Chapter 11 Blending Reference Material into Your Writing by Using MLA Style

11a Blending Reference Citations into Your Text

Making a General Reference without a Page Number

Beginning with the Author and Ending with a Page Number

Putting the Page Number Immediately after the Name

Putting the Name and Page Number at the End of Borrowed Material

11b Citing a Source When No Author Is Listed

Citing the Title of a Magazine Article

Citing the Title of a Report

Citing the Name of a Publisher or a Corporate Body

11c Citing Nonprint Sources That Have No Page Number

11d Citing Internet Sources

Identify the Source with Name or Title

Identify the Nature of the Information and Its Credibility

Omitting Page and Paragraph Numbers to Internet Citations

11e Citing Indirect Sources

11f Citing Frequent Page References to the Same Work

11g Citing Material from Textbooks and Large Anthologies

11h Adding Extra Information to In-text Citations

One of Several Volumes

Two or More Works by the Same Writer

Several Authors in One Citation

Additional Information with the Page Number

11i Punctuating Citations Properly and With Consistency

Commas and Periods

Semicolons and Colons

Question Marks and Exclamation Marks

Single Quotation Marks

11j Indenting Long Quotations

11k Citing Poetry

Quoting Two Lines of Poetry or Less

Quoting Three Lines of Poetry or More

Indenting Turnovers for Long Lines of Poetry

Retaining Internal Quotations within a Block

Providing Translations

11l Handling Quotations from a Play

11m Altering Initial Capitals in Some Quoted Matter

11n Omitting Quoted Matter with Ellipsis Points

11o Altering Quotations with Parentheses and Brackets

Parentheses

Brackets

Your Research Project

Chapter 12 Writing the Introduction, Body, and Conclusion

12a Writing the Introduction of the Paper

Provide the Thesis Statement

Provide the Enthymeme

Provide a Hypothesis

Relate to the Well Known

Provide Background Information

Review the Literature

Review the History and Background of the Subject

Take Exception to Critical Views

Challenge an Assumption

Provide a Brief Summary

Define Key Terms

Supply Data, Statistics, and Special Evidence

12b Writing the Body of the Research Paper

Organize by Chronology

Compare or Contrast Issues, Critical Views, and Literary Characters

Develop Cause and Effect

Define Your Key Terminology

Explain a Process

Ask Questions and Provide Answers

Cite Evidence from the Source Materials

Use a Variety of Other Methods

12c Writing the Conclusion of the Research Paper

Restate the Thesis and Reach beyond It

Close With an Effective Quotation

Return the Focus of a Literary Study to the Author

Compare the Past to the Present

Offer a Directive or Solution

Discuss Test Results

Your Research Project

Chapter 13 Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting the Rough Draft

13a Conducting a Global Revision

Revising the Introduction

Revising the Body

Revising the Conclusion

Participating in Peer Review

13b Formatting the Paper to MLA Style

Title Page or Opening Page

Outline

Abstract

The Text of the Paper

Content Endnotes Page

Appendix

Works Cited

13c Editing Before Typing or Printing the Final Manuscript

Using the Computer to Edit Your Text

13d Proofreading on the Screen and on the Printed Manuscript

Your Research Project

13e Sample Research Papers in MLA Style

Short Literary Research Paper

Sample Research Paper

Chapter 14 Works Cited: MLA Style

14a Formatting the Works Cited Page

Index to Works Cited Models: MLA STYLE

14b Works Cited Form – Internet Sources

14c Works Cited Form – Citing Database and CD-ROM Sources

Other Electronic Sources

14d Works Cited Form – Books

14e Works Cited Form – Periodicals

14f Works Cited Form – Newspapers

14g Works Cited Form – Government Documents

14h Works Cited Form – Other Sources

Chapter 15 Writing in APA Style

15a Writing Theory, Reporting Test Results, or Reviewing Literature

Theoretical Article

Report of an Empirical Study

Review Article

15b Writing in the Proper Tense for an APA Research Paper

15c Using In-text Citations in APA Style

15d Preparing the List of References

Index to Bibliographic Models: APA style

Book

Periodical

Abstract

Review

Report

Nonprint Material

Internet Sources

World Wide Web Sites

Article from a Library Database

CD-ROM

15e Formatting an APA Paper

Theoretical Article

Report of Empirical Research

Review Article

15f Writing the Abstract

15g Sample Paper in APA Style

Chapter 16 The Footnote System: CMS Style

16a Inserting a Superscript Numeral in Your Text

16b Formatting and Writing the Footnotes

16c Writing Footnotes for Electronic Sources

16d Writing Subsequent Footnote References

16e Writing Endnotes rather than Footnotes

16f Writing Content Footnotes or Content Endnotes

16g Using the Footnote System for Papers in the Humanities

16h Writing a Bibliography Page for a Paper That Uses Footnotes

16i Sample Research Paper in the CMS Style

Chapter 17 CSE Style for the Natural and Applied Sciences

Guide by Discipline

Index to Bibliographic Models: CSE style

17a Writing In-Text Citations Using the CSE Citation-Sequence System

17b Writing a Reference Page

17c Writing In-Text Citations with Name and Year

17d Using Name-Year with Bibliography Entries

17e Sample Paper Using the CSE Citation-Sequence System

Chapter 18 Creating Electronic Research Projects

18a Beginning the Electronic Project

18b Building Electronic Presentations

18c Research Paper Web Pages and Sites

Creating a Single Web Page

Importing, Entering, and Modifying Text

Citing Your Sources in a Web Research Paper

18d Using Graphics in Your Electronic Research Paper

Graphic File Formats

Creating Your Own Digital Graphics

18e Using Sound and Video in Your Electronic Research Paper

18f Preparing a Writing Portfolio

18g Presenting Research in Alternative Formats

Your Research Project

Appendix A Glossary: Rules and Techniques for Preparing the Manuscript in MLA Style

Appendix B Finding Reference Works for Your General Topic

Historic Issues of Events, People, and Artifacts

Scientific Issues in Physics, Astronomy, and Engineering

Issues of Health, Fitness, and Athletics

Social and Political Issues

Issues in the Arts, Literature, Music, and Language

Environmental Issues, Genetics, and the Earth Sciences

Issues in Communication and Information Technology

Issues in Religion, Philosophy, and Psychology

Issues in Business and Economics

Popular Culture, Current Events, and Modem Trends

Credits

Index