Research Project
Career Exploration Portfolio
Project Information
• Topic: Career that interests you
• Must be specific (anesthesiologist, not doctor)
• Must be chosen by May 12, 2014
• Creation of a Research Portfolio
• Comprised of 4 smaller projects
Materials Needed
• Folder or small binder
• Ziploc bag
• At least 20 index cards
• Due by May 12
• See me you cannot get these items
• Grade will be 100% or 0%
Research Project Class
and Library Days
• 5/12 – 5/16 Laptop
• 5/19 – 5/23
Project Work Days
Due Dates
All due dates are at the end of the period unless
otherwise noted:
• 5/12 – All materials due
• 5/13 – All sources due
• 5/14 – Bibliography due
• 5/16 – All notes due (from
this day forward, you
should not need to use a
computer, just your notes)
• 5/21– First two genre
projects
• 5/23 – Third genre project
• 5/28 – Everything due
(table of contents,
organized source cards,
evaluation of genre
paragraphs)
Format for Source Cards
Sources = Where You Get Your Information
(books, online publications, encyclopedias,
magazine articles, etc.)
All source cards
must look the same.
Use a 3 x 5 lined index card.
In the top right-hand corner, put
a letter of the alphabet (a
different letter for each source
you use, beginning with A) on
the red line.
Begin writing on the first blue line
of the card.
The first line begins at the far left
on the card.
Each additional line is indented
approx. ½ inch.
Here is a sample source card for a
book with one author.
A
Miller, Mary. Coping with Parents. New
York: Rosen, 1990. Print
Here is a sample source card for a book
with two authors:
B
Ashby, Eric, and Mary Anderson. The
Rise of the Student Estate in Britain.
Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1970. Print.
Sample of Online Entry
F
Quade, Alex. “Elite Team Rescues
Troops Behind Enemy Lines.”
CNN.com. Cable News Network, 19
Mar. 2007. Web. 15 May 2008.
http://www.CNN.com
Special circumstances:
If no author or editor is given, begin with the title of the book.
If several cities of publication are provided, use only the first
one listed. If no city is listed, use N.p.
If no publishing company is given, use n.p.
If several copyright dates are listed, use the most recent
one. If no date is listed, use n.d.
If the work is published outside of the United States, use city
and country of publication (London, England:).
A couple of reminders
about online sources...
Needed information is not always available, so you
have to use what is available.
NC WiseOwl is a good database to help you locate
valid sources; the password is wiseowl.
Consider the validity of sources that list no author or
publishing information
Format for Notes
Correctly formatting your note cards and carefully
taking notes will make the research paper a much
easier task.
Taking Notes
Once you have examined your sources and
determined their usefulness, you are ready to begin
taking notes from them.
Certain information is required on ALL note cards.
Notes may be taken in a variety of formats:
complete sentences, lists, fragments, or a
combination of these. Material copied directly from
the text should ALWAYS be placed in quotation
marks and immediately cited.
Ex – “Plagiarism sometimes happens
because researchers do not keep precise
records. . .” (Modern Language Association
55).
Top, right: Card letter
and number
Example: A4
The card is from the first source and is the fourth note
card taken. A1 = first source and first note card. C6 =
third source and sixth note card
Top, middle: Subtopic
You will complete one genre for each of the following
subtopics:
• Education/Background
• Job description/responsibilities
• Job Outlook
• Notable figures in the field
• You may research “Related Careers” if you cannot
find any notable figures in your field
Top, middle: Subtopic
Also known as heading
Single word or phrase to indicate what the notes on the
card are about.
Multiple subtopics should be found in sources. In other
words, you SHOULD NOT have all notes about
Education from source A, all notes about Job
Description from source B, etc...
AT LEAST 5 note cards for each subtopic (HAG = 20
note cards)
Sample Note Card #1
Background
A4
Sample Note Card #2
Requirements
B5
Tips for taking notes
•
Bracket your own words [ ]
when you add them into a
quote.
Write only essential words and
info, abbreviate when possible.
•
Distinguish between 'fact' and
'opinion'.
•
Be accurate: double check
direct quotes and statistics.
•
Write the page number of the
source after the note.
•
Identify direct quotes with
quotation marks and the
person's name.
•
Write only one main point on a
note card
•