The Complete Idiot's Guide to Research Methods,9781592571925

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Research Methods

by
ISBN13: 9781592571925
ISBN10: 1592571921
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2004-06-01
Publisher(s): DK Publishing, Inc.
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Summary

Applicable to any field of study, this guide takes the novice researcher step - by - step through the process of extensive, credible research. From choosing a topic to presenting the information, this guide is full of tips on how to tell good sources from bad, evaluate information, and use it to support an original thesis.

Author Biography

Dr. Laurie Rozakis has published dozens of books, including Shaum's Quick Guide to Writing Research Papers, Study Skills for the Utterly Confused, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creative Writing. She is a full professor of English and humanities at State University of New York at Farmingdale, and has taught English and research skills for more than 15 years.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Basic Training 1(94)
1 What Is Research?
3(18)
The Origins of the Research Paper
4(1)
What Is a Research Paper?
4(9)
An Expository Research Paper
5(1)
Model Expository Research Paper
6(1)
A Persuasive Research Paper
7(1)
Model Persuasive Research Paper
8(5)
What Makes an Effective Research Paper?
13(1)
Different Sources for Research
13(2)
Primary Sources: Information Straight from the Horse's Mouth
14(1)
Secondary Sources: Reported After the Fact
14(1)
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Primary and Secondary Sources
15(6)
Fame, Fortune, and Food
16(1)
A Not-So-Secret Diary
17(2)
Choices, Choices
19(2)
2 Craft a Thesis
21(10)
Subjects vs. Topics
22(1)
Subject to Change
23(4)
Audience Analysis
23(2)
Stale Subjects
25(1)
Stupendous Subjects
25(2)
Evaluating Your Subject
27(1)
Narrowing the Subject
28(3)
Fine-Tuning Your Topic
29(1)
Practice Makes Perfect
30(1)
The Heart of the Matter: Writing a Thesis Statement
31(2)
Bending the Rules
33(1)
Study Fine Writing
34
3 Manage the Project
31(22)
Time Flies When You're Writing a Research Paper
38(6)
When You're Given Sixteen Weeks
39(1)
When You're Given Twelve Weeks
40(1)
When You're Given Eight Weeks
41(1)
When You're Given Six Weeks
42(1)
When You're Given Four Weeks
43(1)
Plan Ahead
44(1)
Working Outlines for Persuasive Research Papers
45(4)
The "Chunk" Method
45(2)
The "Slice" Method
47(1)
Variations on a Theme
48(1)
Working Outlines for Expository Research Papers
49(4)
4 Record, Refine, and Research
53(16)
Keeping Track of Your Research
53(2)
Record: Make Bibliography Cards
55(5)
Bibliography Cards for Electronic Sources
55(3)
Bibliography Cards for Books
58(1)
Bibliography Cards for Periodicals
58(1)
Bibliography Cards for Interviews
59(1)
Save Time!
60(1)
Cut-and-Paste Cards
61(1)
Keyboard Cards
61(1)
Working Bibliographies and Annotated Bibliographies
61(1)
Refine: Narrow Your Search
62(3)
1. Learn the lingo
62(1)
2. Know your sources and search tools
63(1)
3. Know your library
63(1)
4. Cozy up to the reference librarians
64(1)
Research: Search Smarter, Not Harder
65(4)
Identify Key Words
65(2)
Use Boolean Logic
67(2)
5 Take Note(s)!
69(14)
Start Evaluating Your Sources
70(4)
1. Evaluate your sources
70(1)
2. Choose whether or not to include the source
70(1)
3. Decide what notes to write
70(1)
Five Steps to Great Notes
71(3)
Process and Product
How to Write Notes
74(1)
Direct Quotations: Straight from the Expert's Mouth
75(3)
1. Use square brackets to add material
76(1)
2. Use "sic" in square brackets to indicate that an author or typesetter has made a mistake
77(1)
3. Use an ellipsis when you omit something
77(1)
4. Use single quotation marks for quotations within quotations
78(1)
Summaries: Short and Sweet
78(2)
Paraphrase: In Your Own Words
80(3)
6 It's the Latest, It's the Greatest-It's the Library!
83(12)
Explore the History of Libraries
84(1)
The Library of Alexandria
84(1)
Libraries in the Middle Ages
84(1)
The First Public Libraries
85(1)
Libraries Are Forever
85(1)
Today's Public Libraries
86(2)
Card Me
87(1)
More Than Research
88(1)
Academic Libraries and School Libraries
88(2)
The Ivory Tower
89(1)
School Libraries
90(1)
Private Libraries
90(1)
Research Libraries and Specialized Libraries
91(1)
Research Libraries
91(2)
Specialized Libraries
91(2)
Choose the Best Library for Your Needs
93(2)
Part 2: Seek and Ye Shall Find 95(86)
7 Find the Books You Need
91(20)
Classification Systems
98(2)
The Three Main Types of Classification Systems
99(1)
What Is a Call Number?
99(1)
The Dewey Decimal Classification System
100(1)
Categories of Nonfiction Books
100(1)
Model Dewey Decimal Call Number
101(1)
Library of Congress Classification System
101(4)
Categories of Books
101(2)
Model Library of Congress Call Number
103(1)
Mix 'n' Match Classification Systems
104(1)
Location Prefixes
105(1)
Government Document Classification System
105(1)
Systems Failure
106(2)
Using Card Catalogs
108(3)
Search Methods
109(1)
Reading an Online Catalog Entry
109(2)
8 Research with Reference Books
111(14)
Almanacs: All-in-One General Reference Texts
112(3)
What's in an Almanac?
113(1)
Trustworthy Almanacs
114(1)
Atlases: Your Source for Maps
115(1)
Dictionaries: More Than Just Words
115(3)
Types of Dictionaries
116(2)
Using a Dictionary
118(1)
Encyclopedias: The Big Daddy of Reference Books
118(4)
So What's in an Encyclopedia?
119(1)
All-Purpose Encyclopedias
120(1)
Encyclopedias on Specific Subjects
121(1)
Print vs. Online Encyclopedias
121(1)
Other Reference Books
122(3)
9 Research with Periodicals
125(6)
What Are Periodicals?
126(3)
Newspapers
126(1)
Magazines
127(1)
Academic journals
127(1)
Different Types of Articles
128(1)
Weighing Different Print Sources
129(1)
Books vs. Periodicals
129(3)
Pros and Cons of Periodicals
130(1)
Pros and Cons of Books
130(2)
Locating Articles
132
Full Text and Abstracts: How Much Is Enough?
132(1)
Locating Periodicals Through Databases
133(2)
The March of Progress
135
10 Research with Interviews, Media Sources, and Surveys
131(22)
Straight from the Expert's Mouth: Interviews
137(6)
Top Ten Interview Tips
138(3)
Should You Conduct an E-mail Interview?
141(1)
Authenticate Experts
142(1)
Use Media Sources
143(1)
Sample Research Paper
144(9)
11 You're Not Done Yet: Explore Other Research Sources
153(12)
Government Documents: Uncle Sam Helps You
153(1)
So How Do I Obtain Government Documents?
154(3)
Access Government Documents in a Library
155(1)
Access Government Documents Online
155(1)
Purchase Government Documents
156(1)
The Freedom of Information Act
157(1)
Special Collections
157(3)
Finding the Collection
158(1)
Accessing the Collection
158(1)
Examining the Documents
159(1)
The Vertical File: Home to Clippings and Pamphlets
160(1)
Take a Survey
160(1)
Other Great Sources
161(4)
12 Research with Electronic Media
165(16)
What Is the Internet?
166(1)
Getting Access to the Internet
167(1)
What's Your Address?
167(1)
The Password Is Swordfish
168(1)
Internet Terms and Symbols
168(6)
Top Twenty-Five Internet Words and Signs
168(4)
E-mail Abbreviations
172(1)
E-mail Smileys
173(1)
Researching on the Internet
174(4)
Search Engines
174(2)
Meta-Engines
176(1)
WAIS and Newsgroups
176(1)
Databases
177(1)
Useful Sites
177(1)
Johnny B Good: "Netiquette"
178(1)
Internet Ethics
179(2)
Part 3: Evaluate Your Research 181(48)
13 All Sources Are Not the Same
183(12)
You've Shopped the Rest, Now Shop the Best
184(4)
The Best Databases for Research
184(1)
Easily Available Library Databases
185(3)
How to Access Library Databases Off-Site
188(3)
Finding the Articles You Need
190(1)
Using the Articles
191(1)
The Proof Is in the Pudding
191(4)
14 Junk or Jewel? Now to Evaluate Your Findings
195(10)
An Embarrassment of Riches
195(8)
Who's the Boss?: Authority
196(2)
What's Behind Curtain #3?: Source
198(1)
It's All Relative: Timeliness
199(1)
Find the Hidden Agenda: Bias
199(2)
Take Aim: Purpose
201(1)
Good Fit: Appropriateness
202(1)
On the Right Track
203(2)
15 Integrate Research into Your Paper
205(6)
Sort Your Findings
205(3)
1. Sort
206(1)
2. Read
206(1)
3. Rank
206(1)
4. Annotate
206(1)
5. Take notes
207(1)
6. Position
207(1)
7. Connect
208(1)
8. Check
208(1)
Backed by the Best
208(3)
Star Power
210(1)
Cued In
210(1)
Study Examples
211(1)
From a Paper on Nature vs. Nurture
211(2)
From a Paper on Olestra
213(1)
From a Paper on Chocolate
214(1)
Credit Given Here
215
16 Stop Thief! Avoid Plagiarism
211(18)
What Is Plagiarism?
218(1)
An Ounce of Prevention
219(1)
What You Don't Need to Document
220(2)
Common Knowledge
220(1)
Original Thinking
221(1)
Document Quotations to Avoid Plagiarism
222(2)
Guidelines for Using Quotations
223(1)
Document Opinions to Avoid Plagiarism
224(2)
Document Paraphrases to Avoid Plagiarism
226(3)
Part 4: Use and Document Research to Make Your Point 229(56)
17 Documentation Style: Focus on MLA
231(10)
Different Systems for Crediting Sources
232(2)
Documentation Methods
232(1)
Agree to Disagree
233(1)
Footnotes, Endnotes, Internal Documentation: A Review of Terms
234(1)
The MLA System of Documentation
235(3)
MLA Internal Documentation
235(2)
MLA Footnotes
237(1)
Model Paper with MLA Documentation
238(3)
18 Documentation Style: Focus on APA and (MS
241(18)
The APA System of Documentation
247(2)
APA vs. MLA Formats
248(1)
Model Internal Documentation in APA Format
248(1)
The CMS System of Documentation
249(4)
Writing Footnotes/Endnotes in CMS Format
250(1)
Model Footnotes in CMS Format
251(2)
Model Paper with APA Documentation
253(6)
19 End Game: Prepare "Works Cited" and "References" Pages
259
The Three Main Types of Source Lists
259(1)
Overall Guidelines
260(1)
Prepare a Works Cited Page: MLA Format
261(6)
Citing Books
261(2)
Citing Periodicals
263(1)
Citing Government Documents
264(1)
Citing Interviews
264(1)
Citing Speeches or Lectures
265(1)
Citing Radio Shows and TV Shows
265(1)
Citing Electronic Sources
265(2)
Prepare a Reference Page: APA Format
267(3)
Citing Books
267(1)
Citing Periodicals
268(1)
Citing Electronic Sources
269(1)
A Note on Formatting
270
20 Spit and Polish
111(174)
Endmatter and Frontmatter
271(3)
Checklist
272(2)
Revise and Edit Your Research Paper
274(4)
Consider Audience and Purpose
274(1)
Revise by Deleting
274(1)
Revise by Elaborating
275(1)
Revise Punctuation
276(1)
Revise by Rewording
277(1)
Revise for Unity
277(1)
Correct Errors
278(1)
Type and Proof
278(1)
Keyboarding
278(1)
The Final Shine: Proofreading
279(1)
Model Paper
279
Appendixes
A Glossary of Research Terms
285(6)
B Model Research Papers
291(18)
Index 309

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