Research Paper Info (Quick Access 28)

When researching a topic there are different strategies that you can use in order to help your search be more efficient. One is if you already have a specific topic then you can start with books or articles that have experts on your topic. The second type is if your topic is general then you start by reading reference books like encyclopedias to get a more specific topic then afterwards you can refine your research to that. So you are finding your research through chaining. The third way you can research is brainstorming when all you have is a topic, because it then helps you come up with a more defined question. This is good for making sure that your research question is covered by all areas by your sources. A source is any information that gives ideas, examples, or evidence for your topic. There are two types primary which is an original work and secondary which is reports, comments on, or describes someone else’s work. A good way to do research is by field study which means you go out into real-life situations to observe, survey, interview, or participate in an activity firsthand. Surveying is when you use questions to gather information about people’s thoughts. Observing is when you watch specific situations to gather information. Interviewing is when you ask questions to a primary source. After you gather all your sources you have to put them into some type of documentation style like MLA, APA, CSC, or CM. You then start by listing all your sources in a working bibliography. Once you have them all listed with the information then you can write it out in the correct documentation style format. Also you need to make an annotated bibliography for all the sources that you summarized or commented on. You can use content notes to keep track of what sources gave which information.