Responsible Researching

Gathering Information in Support of Your Thesis Statement

A thesis statement:

is a road map for the paper.It tells the reader what to expect

from the rest of the paper.

How do you know if you've got a solid thesis statement? 

Try these five tests: Does the thesis  inspire the reader to ask,

"How?" or Why?" Would the reader NOT respond with "So

what?" or "Who cares?" Does the thesis  avoid general words such as

"all" or "none" or "every"? Does the thesis lead the reader toward the

subtopics needed to prove the thesis? Can the thesis be adequately developed in the

required length of the paper?

Weak vs. Strong

Weak Strong

Tolkien's The Hobbit is a great Fantasy novel.

Through contrasting scenes of life in and out of the Shire, Tolkien's The Hobbit suggests that to find the true meaning life, you must leave the protection of home and travel into the challenges of the outside world.

As you research: Stay Focused

Stick to your topic. Be accurate. Copy direct quotations

word-for-word. Double check statistics

& facts. Distinguish between

fact and opinion.

Three Methods of Taking Notes:

Direct Quote

Paraphrase

Summarize

Use direct quotes for emphasis-

When a passage is:

* Very clear- "The best things in life aren't things."

- Art Buchwald

* Beautiful - "Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird, that cannot fly."

- Langston Hughes

When to Quote:When to Quote:

Continued…• Funny - "Pay peanuts and you get

monkeys." -Anonymous

• Powerful- "A diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under pressure."

- Unknown

Using the Ellipsis

Quote only important parts of passage

Use ellipsis when cutting information from sentence or passage

Follow instructions in handout for punctuation guidelines

…

When should I paraphrase, and when should I summarize?

Paraphrase: to express someone else’s ideas in your own language.

Summarize: to express only the most essential points of someone else’s work.

Paraphrasing and summarizing are necessary tools for research because they allow you to include other people’s ideas without cluttering up your essay with quotations.

Rely on either tool when an idea from one of your sources is important to your essay but the wording is not.

Above all, think about how much of the detail from your source is relevant to your argument.

How do I paraphrase?

You must provide a reference. The paraphrase must be entirely in

your own words. You must do more than merely

substitute phrases here and there. You must also completely alter the

sentence structure.

Paraphrasing is valuable because:

• It is better than quoting information from an undistinguished passage.

• It helps you control the temptation to quote too much.

• The mental process required for successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.

Six steps to effective paraphrasing:

• Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.

• Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on notebook paper.

• At the top of the notebook paper, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.

Continued…

• Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form.

• Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.

• Record the source on your notebook paper so that you can credit it easily if you decide to use the material in your paper.

Cautions when Paraphrasing:

• Make sure your wording is not too close to the original.

• Do not copy the author’s sentence structure.

• Make sure your wording doesn’t distort the original meaning.

An Acceptable Paraphrase

Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes (Lester 46-47).

In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).

Oliver Sacks’ essay

“An Anthropologist on Mars” The cause of autism has also been a matter of dispute. Its incidence is about one in a thousand, and it occurs throughout the world, its features remarkably consistent even in extremely different cultures. It is often not recognized in the first year of life, but tends to become obvious in the second or third year. Though Asperger regarded it as a biological defect of affective contact — innate, inborn, analogous to a physical or intellectual defect — Kanner tended to view it as a psychogenic disorder, a reflection of bad parenting, and most especially of a chillingly remote, often professional, “refrigerator mother.” At this time, autism was often regarded as “defensive” in nature, or confused with childhood schizophrenia. A whole generation of parents — mothers, particularly — were made to feel guilty for the autism of their children.

Unacceptable paraphrase

The cause of the condition autism has been disputed. It occurs in approximately one in a thousand children, and it exists in all parts of the world, its characteristics strikingly similar in vastly differing cultures. The condition is often not noticeable in the child’s first year, yet it becomes more apparent as the child reaches the ages of two or three. Although Asperger saw the condition as a biological defect of the emotions that was inborn and therefore similar to a physical defect, Kanner saw it as psychological in origin, as reflecting poor parenting and particularly a frigidly distant mother. During this period, autism was often seen as a defense mechanism, or it was misdiagnosed as childhood schizophrenia. An entire generation of mothers and fathers (but especially mothers) were made to feel responsible for their offspring’s autism (Sacks 247-48).

Problem: Most of these sentences just

substitute one phrase for another. The only citation occurs at the very end

of the last paragraph. The reader might be misled into thinking that the

earlier sentences were not part of Sacks’ essay .

Acceptable Paraphrase In “An Anthropologist on Mars,” Sacks lists some of the known facts about autism. We know, for example, that the condition occurs in roughly one out of every thousand children. We also know that the characteristics of autism do not vary from one culture to the next, and we know that the condition is difficult to diagnose until the child has entered his second or third year of life. As Sacks points out, often a child who goes on to develop autism will still appear perfectly normal at the age of one (247). Sacks states that researchers have had a hard time agreeing on the causes of autism. He talks about the different opinions of Asperger and Kanner. Asperger saw the condition as a defect in the child’s ability to make emotional contact with people and the world. Kanner blamed autism on bad parenting practices. This confusion continued for many years. According to Sacks, one unfortunate consequence of this confusion, was the guilt so many parents felt for their child’s condition (247-48).

What this writer did correctly:• This passage makes it clear from the

beginning that the ideas belong to Sacks. • The parenthetical note at the end of each

paragraph is all the citation that is needed.• Using Sacks’ name in the paraphrase

makes the job of providing citations easier.• It also strengthens the passage by

clarifying the source of its facts and ideas. • All the details from the original passage

are included in the paraphrase.

When to Summarize

• Summarize when a passage is too long to be quoted or paraphrased.

• Remember: A summary does not give a point-by-point translation.

• First absorb the meaning of the passage.• Then, capture (in your own words) the most

important points from the original passage.– A summary is much shorter than a paraphrase.

Description of a Summary:      • Gives an objective overview of the main points

of a passage.• Clearly and accurately expresses all of the

author’s main ideas.• Avoids specific descriptive details. • Is about 60% shorter than the original passage. • Does not change the main idea of the original

passage.

Summary of “An Anthropologist on Mars”

In “An Anthropologist on Mars,” Sacks notes that although there is little disagreement on the chief characteristics of autism, researchers have differed considerably on its causes. As he points out, Asperger saw the condition as a defect in the child’s ability to connect with the external world, and Kanner regarded it as a consequence of harmful childrearing practices (247-48).

Cautions when summarizing:

• Don’t misunderstand the author’s meaning- (such as the use of sarcasm.)               

• Make sure you use your own words.

• Do not include direct quotes.• Do not include new

ideas.  Your thoughts must be based on researched facts.         

An acceptable summary:

Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).

Paraphrase/Summary Comparison Chart

Paraphrase Both Summary

Covers a short passage

Re-state the author’s words

Covers a longer passage

Includes all the points in the original passage

Use your own words

Includes only the main ideas of the original passage

Is about the same length as the original passage

Preserve the emphasis of the original passage

Is about 60% shorter than the original passage

Things to Remember

• All notes will be taken on notebook paper.

• Always put your source information at the top left corner of your notebook paper. (See handout for instructions.)

• In the top right hand corner, put the type of source being used.

• Include page numbers while taking your notes if the source is a book, newspaper, or magazine.

WebsiteAuthor or Organization: MADDTitle of Web Page with information: “Alcohol and the Teen Brain”Title of the Homepage: Get the Truth about the 21 LawDate of webpage posting: 2007Organization: MADDDate you accessed website: 02/02/2009UTL: http://why21.org/teen/

• brain development ends at age of early 20s

• dynamic change, frontal lobe development, and refinement of pathways and connections continue into mid-20’s

• damage possibly irreversible• adolescents more vulnerable than adults

to effects of alcohol on learning and memory

• alcohol affects sleep cycle- impairing learning, memory, growth, & maturation

BookAuthor(s): Scott Barbour et al. (Latin term meaning and others)Title: AlcoholCity of publication: New YorkState of publication: New YorkPublisher: Greenhaven PressYear of publication: 2006

• “1,400 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries… .” p. 47

• 500,000 between ages 18-24 injured each year p. 47

• 600,000 between ages 18-24 assaulted each year due to alcohol p. 47

• 25% of college students suffer academic problems due to alcohol p. 48