1. ENGLISH 12 HONORS JEANNETTE HIGH SCHOOL MR. ARGALL
COLLEGE RESEARCH TIPS
ENGLISH 12 HONORS
JEANNETTE HIGH SCHOOL
MR. ARGALL

2. Time Management
This is the most overlooked component of doing research!!!! Keep the following in mind when working on any research driven project:
Start Early
Unknowns always appear
Need to talk to profesor
Sources may not be available or need borrowed
May need to switch topics or research takes you down a different path
As a general rule of thumb, take about half of your time researching and the other half for writing

3. Where to start? Google and Wikipedia Do not use as sources
Use as a place to locate other sources
Gives a general idea of what you are looking at

4. GO TO YOUR LIBRARY!!!!
There is more available to you there than any web based search can give you!
Online Databases
Online Research Guides
Inter Library Loan
University works (Thesis)
Collections of print material not yet online
and most importantly……..

5. THE LIBRARIAN!!! Do not be afraid to approach these people!
They know your professors
They know the assignments
They know where the best sources are (if you get there early)
They know how to operate the library system better than you
It’s their JOB to help you.

6. Don’t ignore the fine print…
Print sources are very valuable
In today’s world, these are often overlooked
Often they have not been digitized
Using them can give you better information than your peers and set you apart

7. GOOGLE SCHOLAR This is Google’s academic search engine.
You will find many items here that will not show up in regular google (at least not on the first few pages of results)
Citation information is here
Whole scholarly articles are here
Whole BOOKS are here

8. When writing… Don’t be afraid of change Stay focused Go deep!
Your research may take you in a different direction than you originally intended
Stay focused
You control what is in your paper.
You do not have to include everything you find
Keep on topic, don’t wander off on tangents
Go deep!
Pick a narrow focus and delve deeply into it. Inch wide, mile deep.
Don’t be shallow
Take a stand
Don’t waffle
Don’t be inconclusive
Take notes and stay organized
You’ll have lots of sources, find a way that works for you to keep them coordinated

9. Participation assignment
Take the rest of the class today to explore Google Scholar in relation to your research paper. I found whole books online about the fairy tales.
Write down what you found in MLA citation style format (yes you may use reference software, but check it with Purdue OWL)