Understanding the purpose and process of research

What is research? “re⋅search –noun 1.diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications, etc.: recent research in medicine. 2.a particular instance or piece of research.–verb (used without object) 3.to make researches; investigate carefully.–verb (used with object) 4.to make an extensive investigation into: to research a matter thoroughly” ("Research").

What is the purpose of research? Don’t forget: logos=research! Your goal is to PERSUADE. Therefore, you want to collect as much EVIDENCE as possible to convince your audience to adopt your CLAIM.

Where do I conduct research? Books are almost always a credible source of research. However, we live in a society based on technology. Therefore, use the Internet to your advantage as an easily accessible route to information.

BEWARE THE INTERNET!!! Because anyone can create a web page or even a www.wikipedia.org entry, you need to be really careful. Not all information on the Internet is reliable.

Where to go to be sure… Any major newspaper, news magazine, or news source (see the blog for a list of sources). The library databases Any information accessed through a library database has been checked for reliability. THIS MEANS YOU HAVE LESS WORK TO DO! My parents always said, “Lazy people work the hardest.” Believe it or not, if you Google it, you are making more work for yourself. If you find information through Google, then you need to check that information against two more sources to make sure it is credible. Who wants to do all that work???

What do I do when I find a good piece of information? Create a citation on www.noodletools.com.

Why do I have to make citations? Reason #1: You always have to show where you found a fact or idea. If you do not give credit to the source, you are plagiarizing. Plagiarism is not just cheating; IT’S STEALING (Yes, that means it is a crime. You could fail a course, be expelled from college, or even sued for your actions.)

Why do I have to make citations? Reason #2 Citations help you to persuade by means of an appeal to authority. Research isn’t just logos. If you say that a Harvard University conducted as study in your topic and here are the results, don’t you sound more persuasive?

When do I make citations? After you have found an article that has useful information in it, make a citation on www.noodletools.com. For each project for this class, you will create a list on www.noodletools.com. Make sure you use “MLA Starter.”

How do I make a citation? Choose the type of document you are citing from the dropdown menu (i.e. journal, reference source, etc.). See below for help with what type of document you are citing. Then click “Create Citation” On the next page, choose “Print” or “Online” and click “Next.” On the next page, choose “Subscription Database” (for the library databases) or “unique URL” (for the newspapers, magazines, or news sources) and click “Next.”

How do I make a citation? (cont’d) If you chose “subscription database”: On the next page, type in the name of the database (i.e. facts.com, Grolier.com, etc.) and click “Next.” Then, choose the specific version of the database you are using from the given list and click “Next.” Do not change the URL given on the following page. Just click “Next.” Complete the following fields and then click “Generate Citation”: Author(s) First name Middle name Last name (or organization) Don’t forget to click “Add.” Article title Name of journal Volume number (if available) Issue number (if available) Date of publication Name of Web site Sponsoring organization Web address (URL) Date you viewed it Annotation When you make the citation, you should include a brief annotation (in this case, a 3-4 sentence summary of the document).

What if I find a really important fact? Make a note card on www.noodletools.com. Once you have made a citation, you will have the option of making a note card.

How to make a note card Go to your list of citations. Click where it says Note card “new.” Complete the following fields and then click “Create Note Card.” Title: Topic of the note card URL: copy and paste the entire URL into this box Direct quotation: copy and paste the information from the article Paraphrase: put this information into your own words My Ideas: How does this information help you to prove your claim?

Finished researching? Once you feel that you have collected enough information to make your case, you need to put it together and make it persuasive. Use the research to support YOUR IDEAS and present it with YOUR WORDS, using the other ELEMENTS OF PERSUASION to convince the audience.