The AMEX Paper Research Process
Your classes will meet in the HHS library during the research process. If you use you class time well, you should have minimal homework during this time. In addition to learning about your topic, learning research and information skills--you are learning how to work. No matter what you do after high school, one of the best skills you can learn is how to come in, focus and accomplish tasks in a given time period. That not only means being quiet and on task, but figuring out what you need to get to that point. Chatty person next to you? Move your seat or go to silent study. Keep checking your phone? Put it in your bag or leave it with the teacher during class. Turn off distracting websites by using apps such as StayFocused or SelfControl.
Remember there is always something you can be doing. There are times when your teacher(s) will be conferencing with students and you may have a question. It may seem like the most pressing question in the world and you can't do anything else until it's answered. Write down your question, send an email and then move on. Make a list of things you've done or need to do. Do some peer editing. Start on the next step in your process.
Remember there is always something you can be doing. There are times when your teacher(s) will be conferencing with students and you may have a question. It may seem like the most pressing question in the world and you can't do anything else until it's answered. Write down your question, send an email and then move on. Make a list of things you've done or need to do. Do some peer editing. Start on the next step in your process.
What the Research Process Looks Like
Research is a process. It takes time and thought, which is why you want to find a topic that interests you. The more interested you are, the easier and better your research will be.
1) Background Research
Doing research is like being a detective, you are trying to gather the evidence and make a case or argument and so like any good detective it's important not only to know the facts, but also the background--who was this person? what is happening in the world at the time they lived? what were their family, school and friends like? what was said about the person at the time they lived? what about now? Understanding the context of a person's life, will help you understand their actions.
2) READ!!!
You have to read to do research. The point of research is to gain understanding and argue a point, not to answer a yes or no question. That means you need to read widely. Read things that you agree and disagree with.
3) No, you have to really, truly read!
You can read without understanding. It's easy to find a few articles and say you've read. But you need to read and understand what you're reading. Some tips to reading well are:
Our default method of "research" is to type a word or our question into Google. While you may find sources this way, you will find the same sources or the in-depth sources you will find by going to library subscription databases or to other print resources. Not everything is available for free online, so use your library!
5) Write
In a larger research project, it helps to take a break and write. Done with background research? Write it up. You may not use all of your writing in your final project, but it will help you organize your thoughts and find gaps in your research.
6) Organize
Whether you outline, make notecard piles or draw a mind map, it helps to have a clear view of your paper. What are you trying to say? Is your message clear throughout your paper?
7) Get Feedback
Things make perfect sense inside our own heads, but unfortunately you're not the one reading and grading your paper, so get feedback. Parents, teachers, tutors, friends, are all good resources to have read your paper. People have different strengths so it's good to have more than one person look over your paper. One person might read for grammar and another historical accuracy and another citation formatting.
8) Citations
Sometimes this gets pushed to the end--make sure you're putting citations in as you write. If it interrupts your writing flow, put in a shorthand for the source and go back and format it correctly later.
For more in-depth research information---please visit the HHS Lib Guide or refer to your Cite-it-Right packet.
1) Background Research
Doing research is like being a detective, you are trying to gather the evidence and make a case or argument and so like any good detective it's important not only to know the facts, but also the background--who was this person? what is happening in the world at the time they lived? what were their family, school and friends like? what was said about the person at the time they lived? what about now? Understanding the context of a person's life, will help you understand their actions.
2) READ!!!
You have to read to do research. The point of research is to gain understanding and argue a point, not to answer a yes or no question. That means you need to read widely. Read things that you agree and disagree with.
3) No, you have to really, truly read!
You can read without understanding. It's easy to find a few articles and say you've read. But you need to read and understand what you're reading. Some tips to reading well are:
- read, close the book and then say what you've just read in your own words
- when paraphrasing write your notes without looking at your source. Yes this is more difficult, but more difficult for a reason. There is research into the phenomenon "desirable difficulty" that suggests that making learning harder makes the information stick and by recalling and putting information just read into your own words, you make reading a less passive, more difficult process that ideally, helps you later recall that information
Our default method of "research" is to type a word or our question into Google. While you may find sources this way, you will find the same sources or the in-depth sources you will find by going to library subscription databases or to other print resources. Not everything is available for free online, so use your library!
5) Write
In a larger research project, it helps to take a break and write. Done with background research? Write it up. You may not use all of your writing in your final project, but it will help you organize your thoughts and find gaps in your research.
6) Organize
Whether you outline, make notecard piles or draw a mind map, it helps to have a clear view of your paper. What are you trying to say? Is your message clear throughout your paper?
7) Get Feedback
Things make perfect sense inside our own heads, but unfortunately you're not the one reading and grading your paper, so get feedback. Parents, teachers, tutors, friends, are all good resources to have read your paper. People have different strengths so it's good to have more than one person look over your paper. One person might read for grammar and another historical accuracy and another citation formatting.
8) Citations
Sometimes this gets pushed to the end--make sure you're putting citations in as you write. If it interrupts your writing flow, put in a shorthand for the source and go back and format it correctly later.
For more in-depth research information---please visit the HHS Lib Guide or refer to your Cite-it-Right packet.
Conducting Research & Taking Notes
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