The definitive research paper guide for your courses , 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 you with step-by-step guidance through the research writing process, from selecting and narrowing a topic to formatting the finished document. It includes an extremely thorough and accurate coverage of citation styles for a wide variety of disciplines.   To help you keep on top of your work Writing Research Papers backs up its instruction with the most complete array of samples of any writing guide of this nature.

Table of Contents:
To the Instructor To the Student   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 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     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 Topic 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     Arrangement by issues     Arrangement by Cause/Effect     Arrangement by Interpretation and Evaluation     Arrangement by Comparison    Your Research Project   CHAPTER 4: Gathering Sources Online 4a Beginning an Online Search 4b Reading an Online Address 4c Using a Search Engine     Subject Directory Search Engines     Robot-Driven Search Engines     Metasearch Engines     Specialized Search Engines     Educational Search Engines     Educational Search Engines Maintained by Libraries 4d Searching for Articles in Journals and Magazines     Online Journals     Online Magazines 4e Searching for Articles in Newspapers and Media Sources 4f Searching for Photographs and Other Visual Sources 4g Accessing E-books 4h Using Listserv, Usenet, and Chat Groups     E-mail News Groups     Real-Time Chatting 4i Examining Library Holdings via Online Access 4j Finding an Internet Bibliography 4k Conducting Archival Research on the Internet     Go to the Library     Go to an Edited Search Engine     Go to a Metasearch Engine     Use Search Engine Directories     Go to a Listserv or Usenet Group     Go to Newspaper Archives    Your Research Project   CHAPTER 5 Gathering Sources 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 Printed Bibliographies 5d Finding Articles in Magazines and Journals     Searching the General Indexes to Periodicals     Finding Indexes by Topic in Appendix B     Using the H. W. Wilson Indexes     Searching for an Index to Abstracts     Searching for Abstracts of Dissertations 5e Searching for a Biography 5f Searching for Articles in the Newspaper Indexes 5g Searching the Indexes to Pamphlet Files 5h Searching for Government Documents 5i Searching for Essays within Books 5j Using the Microforms     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 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 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 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 Consistently     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 11mAltering 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 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 — Books 14c Works Cited Form — Periodicals 14d Works Cited Form — Newspapers 14e Works Cited Form — Government Documents 14f Works Cited Form — Internet Sources 14g Works Cited Form — Citing Database Sources 14h Works Cited Form — Other Electronic Sources 14i 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 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     Writing Full or Abbreviated Notes 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 Using the Footnote System for Papers in the Fine Arts 16i Writing a Bibliography Page for a Paper That Uses Footnotes 16j Sample Research Paper in the CMS Style   CHAPTER 17: CSE Style for the Natural and Applied Sciences 17a Guide by Discipline 17b Writing In-Text Citations Using the CSE Citation-Sequence System 17c Writing a References Page 17d Writing In-Text Citations with Name and Year 17e Using Name-Year with Bibliography Entries 17f Sample Paper Using the CSE Citation-Sequence System   CHAPTER 18: Creating Electronic Research Projects 18a Beginning the Electronic Project 18b Using Word Processing 18cBuildingElectronic Presentations 18d Research Paper Web Pages and Sites     Creating a Single Web Page     Creating a Web Site with Multiple Pages     Using an Editor to Create Web Pages     Importing, Entering, and Modifying Text     Citing Your Sources in a Web Research Paper 18e Planning Electronic Research Papers     Creating a Plan for Your Research Paper     Designing Your Electronic Research Paper 18f Using Graphics in Your Electronic Research Paper     Graphic File Formats     Creating Your Own Digital Graphics 18g Using Sound and Video in Your Electronic Research Paper 18h Delivering Your Electronic Research Paper to Readers 18i Preparing a Writing Portfolio 18j 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   Credits Index