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.

Table of Contents:
  Preface to the Instructor Preface to the Student   Chapter 1   Writing from Research 1a Why Do Research? 1b Learning Format Variations 1c Understanding a Research Assignment         Understanding the Terminology 1d 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 the World Wide Web to Refine Your Topic             Using an Online Subject Directory             Using an Internet Key-word Search 2d   Using the Library’s Electronic Databases to Find and Narrow a Subject 2e   Using the Library’s Electronic Book Catalogs to Find a Topic 2f   Expressing a Thesis Statement, Enthymeme, or Hypothesis 2g   Drafting a Research Proposal             The Short Proposal             The Long Proposal Your Research Project   Chapter 3   Finding and Filtering Electronic Sources 3a Beginning an Online Search 3b Reading an Online Address 3c 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 3d Searching for Articles in Journals and Magazines         Online Journals         Online Magazines 3e Searching for Articles in Newspapers and Media Sources 3f Accessing E-Books 3g Using Listserv, Usenet, and Chat Groups           E-mail News Groups         Real-Time Chatting 3h Examining Library Holdings via Internet Access 3i Finding an Internet Bibliography 3j 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 4   Gathering Data in the Library 4a   Launching the Search 4b   Developing a Working Bibliography 4c      Finding Books on Your Topic             Using Your Library’s Electronic Book Catalog             Using the Library’s Printed Bibliographies 4d   Finding Articles in Magazines and Journals             Searching the General Indexes to Periodicals             Finding Indexes by Discipline in Appendix B             Using the H. W. Wilson Indexes             Searching for an Index to Abstracts             Searching for Abstracts of Dissertations 4e Searching for a Biography 4f Searching for Articles in the Newspaper Indexes 4g Searching the Indexes to Pamphlet Files 4h Searching for Government Documents 4i Searching for Essays within Books 4j Using the Microforms Your Research Project   Chapter 5   Conducting Research Outside the Library 5a Investigating Local Sources             Interviewing Knowledgeable People             Writing Letters and Corresponding by E-mail             Reading Personal Papers             Attending Lectures and Public Addresses 5b Investigating Government Documents 5c Examining Audiovisual Materials, Television, and Radio 5d Conducting a Survey with a Questionnaire 5e Conducting Experiments, Tests, and Observation Your Research Project   Chapter 6   Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism 6a Using Sources to Enhance Your Credibility 6b Placing Your Work in Its Proper Context 6c Honoring Property Rights 6d Avoiding Plagiarism             Common Knowledge Exceptions             Correctly Borrowing from a Source 6e Sharing Credit in Collaborative Projects 6f Honoring and Crediting Sources in Online Classrooms 6g Seeking Permission to Publish Material on Your Web Site Your Research Project   Chapter 7   Finding  and Evaluating  Sources 7a Finding Reliable Sources 7b Selecting a Mix of both Primary and Secondary Sources 7c Evaluating  a Source             Evaluating the Key Parts of an Article                   Evaluating the Key Parts of a Book             Evaluating the Key Parts of an Internet Article 7d Outlining a Source 7e Summarizing a Source 7f Preparing an Annotated Bibliography 7g Preparing a Review of the Literature on Topic Your Research Project   Chapter 8   Organizing Ideas and Setting Goals 8a Charting a Direction and Setting Goals             Using a Basic, Dynamic Order to Chart the Course of Your                             Work             Using Your Research Proposal to Direct Your Notetaking             Listing Keywords and Phrases to Set Directions for                                       Notetaking             Writing a Rough Outline             Using Questions to Identify Issues             Setting Goals by Using Organizational Patterns                    Using Approaches across the Curriculum to Chart Your Major                         Ideas             Using Your Thesis to Chart the Direction of Your Research 8b Using Academic Models (Paradigms)             A General All-Purpose Model             Paradigm for Advancing Your Ideas and Theories             Paradigm for the Analysis of Creative Works             Paradigm for Argument and Persuasion Papers             Paradigm for Analysis of History             Paradigm for a Comparative Study 8c   Writing a Formal Outline             Using Standard Outline Symbols             Writing a Formal Topic Outline             Writing a Formal Sentence Outline             Using a Research Journal to Enrich Your Organizational Plan Your Research Project   Chapter 9   Writing Notes             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             Developing Handwritten Notes 9b Writing Personal Notes 9c Writing Direct Quotation Notes             Quoting Primary Sources             Quoting the 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 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 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 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, Enthymeme, or Hypothesis         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         Relate a Time Sequence         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 14b Bibliography Form – Books 14c Bibliography Form – Periodicals 14d Bibliography Form – Newspapers 14e Bibliography Form – Government Documents 14f Bibliography Form – Internet Sources 14g Bibliography Form – Citing Sources Found on CD-ROM 14h Bibliography Form – Other Electronic Sources 14i  Bibliography 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 Reference         Book         Periodical         Abstract         Review         Report         Nonprint Material         Internet Sources         World Wide Web Sites         CD-ROM 15e Variations on the APA Style for Other Disciplines in the Social Sciences         Linguistics         Sociology and Social Work 15g Formatting an APA Paper         Theoretical Article         Report of an Empirical Study         Review Article 15h Writing the Abstract 15h 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           Guide by Discipline 17a Writing In-Text Citations Using the CSE Citation-Sequence  System  17b Writing a  References Page 17c Writing In-Text Citations Using the CSE Name-Year System 17d Using Name-Year with Bibliographic Entries 17e  Sample Paper Using the CSE Citation-Sequence System   Chapter 18   Creating Electronic Research Papers 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           Graph 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 Presenting Research in Alternative Formats Your Research Project   Appendix A   Rules and Techniques for Preparing the Manuscript in MLA Style Appendix B   Finding Reference Works for Your General Topic   Credits Index