Lesson 5: Research Skills
Introduction
As you have already seen, much of your schoolwork consists of reading textbooks and
lecture notes and demonstrating that (1) you have a good command of the facts, and (2)
you understand the ways in which this knowledge can be applied outside of the
classroom.
You have also, perhaps, been asked to think and express yourself
creatively in written essays, which are more or less personal reflections or analyses of
certain subjects that do not require a lot of background research.
In this lesson, we will discuss the ways in
which you can become proficient in yet
another
area—writing
research
papers.
Whether you are setting out to (a) explore a
subject that’s relatively new to you, (b) test a
hypothesis you are not sure about, or (c)
prove a point you believe in, you must have a
solid grip on the facts and the ways in which
other
people—particularly
interpreted
One
other
experts—have
those
area
understanding
of
exactly
prime
how
facts.
concern
you
is
should
present information you have found elsewhere. Including the fruits of your research in
your papers is not just a matter of using a fact here or there. It means making sure that
you use reliable, credible sources for research, that you include the research data in
ways that are meaningful (in other words, that support your thesis and other ideas), and
that you follow standard conventions for showing where information came from.
Following standard conventions means using accepting citation styles and making sure
you cite each and every reference.
Lesson Objectives
In this lesson, you will learn how to write an academic paper that is based on research.
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Identify and apply the seven steps of research.

Conduct research using JMHS Online Library and Learning Resource Center, the
local public library, and the Internet.

Evaluate sources for credibility and accuracy.

Describe how to produce an academic paper that uses information from other
sources; this work will include appropriate citations both in-text and in the
bibliography (“works cited”).

Explain what plagiarism is, describe the consequences of plagiarism, and explain
how to avoid it.
The Seven Steps of Academic Research
To produce a successful research paper, follow these seven basic steps.
Step 1. Frame the question you intend to answer or the argument you intend to make.
This means asking exactly what it is you are trying to say or persuade others to believe
about your topic. This is similar to creating a thesis statement. Consider these
questions: What is your point of view? What question do you want to answer for
readers? What do you want readers to believe about the subject?
Step 2. Start with an outline. Similar to an essay, you can use the numbered outline
format to frame out your topic. Obviously, a research paper will have many more than
five paragraphs! However, the idea is still the same. Use the numbered outlined format
to organize your thoughts on your topic. Each subhead will represent an idea that
supports your thesis statement; you will have to back each of these up with research.
And remember, just like an essay, each subheading should have an introduction, body
text, and a conclusion.
Step 3. Start your research. Once you create your basic outline, you will have an idea of
what you need to support your paper. You may find yourself adjusting your outline as
you learn more about your topic. That is okay! Research and outlining go hand in hand.
As you do research, you will adjust your outline.
Step 4: Figure out what information you need and where to locate it. What points do
you need to support? What information sources will you need to use to find this
supporting information? Many research sources are available to you. You can use the
Learning Resource Center at Ashworth, your public library, or any of the thousands and
thousands of sites available on the Internet.
Step 5: Gather and catalog your information. As you gather your research, you should
have a system in place to organize what you find. That means keeping track of each
source—you will learn exactly what information you need for each source a little later in
this lesson.
Step 6: Stick with credible sources. An astounding amount of information is now
available at your fingertips. As you begin to conduct research, remember: not everything
you read is true. As a matter of fact, some of what you read may be completely false!
Information sources on the Internet in particular may be inaccurate, incomplete, or
downright misleading. Learn to rely on only credible sources of information, as you will
learn in this lesson.
IMPORTANT:
ACADEMIC
HONESTY POLICY
James Madison High School
supports academic honesty.
That means you agree you
will not attempt to pass
others’ work off as your own.
Take a few minutes to review
the Academic Honesty policy.
You can access this policy on
the LMS or review it in both
your catalog and handbook.
Step 7: Include hard data in your report but do not plagiarize!
As you move to the writing portion of your assignment,
remember to use your sources. You may want to cite sources
directly within the work to give your words more weight. You
can quote small amounts of research directly, as long as you
make it clear that you are quoting someone else. You can
also paraphrase research (or indicate what the person
discovered in your own words). These instances also must be
cited.
Do not plagiarize. Make sure you cite every fact you rely on in
your paper. Let your reader know, using the proper format,
where you found your data. Plagiarism means copying
someone else’s work and passing it off as your own.
Plagiarism is a very serious charge. To avoid plagiarism, you
must be very careful about using direct quotes from research
sources. You may use them, but they should clearly be
quotes (in quotation marks) and clearly cited. You must also
cite ideas that you found in your research. There’s nothing
wrong with using other people’s ideas—that’s really a major
part of any research paper! But there is something very wrong
with taking credit for
those ideas, even if you do not mean
to. You can avoid this by being clear about where those ideas originated.
Doing Your Research
Let’s return to our example and assume you are writing on the subject of junk food.
Your thesis statement should provide your point of view on the topic. “In this paper, I will
discuss junk food” is not a thesis statement. You must have a point of view. A thesis
statement might be, “The overconsumption of junk food by Americans is a disaster from
the perspective of health.” That statement has a definite point of view; it needs
supporting evidence. That makes it a sound thesis statement.
Next, imagine that you have started an outline. One of your subheads is “Americans
consume too much junk food” (some of the others might be, “Americans eat too much
red meat,” “Americans take in too much sugar and salt,” etc.). Some of what you will
need to discover during research includes:

How health experts define junk food

How much junk food Americans consume, on average

Types of junk food and their nutritional content

Junk food price and availability as compared to other types of foods

Trends in junk food consumption over a period of time (say, 1960 to the present)
Of course, you can probably think of other types of supporting evidence you might need
or want to find, but this list will show you how to get started.
On Your Own Activity
Using the Online Library and LRC
On your own time, read
several articles on writing a
research paper. Go to Purdue
Owl. Search for Writing a
Research Paper, or follow the
link.
Once you have enrolled in James Madison High School
Make sure you review each
link in the left-hand menu:
• Genre and the Research
Paper
• Choosing a Topic
• Identifying Audiences
(JMHS), you are given access to the online student library. All
students have access to this excellent resource. You can find
the library in the Learning Resources area of the Student
Portal.
In addition, students also have access to the Learning
Resource Center (LRC). The LRC provides access to a
variety of resources in order to encourage students to achieve
academic success. The LRC provides tips, tutorials, and
• Where do I Begin?
answers to questions from students who are in the process of
conducting research and writing papers. The LRC also
provides resources to supplement those in the online library
to ensure that students have access to a wide range of
materials that is relevant to coursework. The LRC also offers
student discussion forums so that students can ask questions
about resources for specific assignments or subjects.
Using a Local Library
The local library—either the public library or a library
associated with a local college or university—is always a
good place to begin research. If you are not familiar with your
local library, ask the librarian to set up a guided tour through
the library’s resources. Most librarians are more than happy
to help students find the information that they need to conduct their educational
research; additionally, they may be able to point you to specific sources based on the
type of information you need. Libraries have many, many resources to use, including
the following common sources of information:

Books/textbooks

Articles (journals, periodicals, newspapers, magazines)

Government/news sources

Research collections (encyclopedias, dictionaries, and similar works)

Multimedia collections (DVDs, books on CD, etc.)
In general, you can conduct library research by following these steps.
1. Check out the encyclopedia/reference section. All libraries have collections of
reference materials that are strictly for research. These collections are not lent out to
patrons, so they are always available in the library. Most reference collections include
the following:

General encyclopedias (good for general overviews)

Subject encyclopedias (specific to content areas)

Textbooks

Dictionaries
Start by looking up your topic in these general resources. Remember to check the
bibliographic information that may be included in any source; that can help you to
identify additional sources of information for your own research. Look for and note down
any keywords, technical terms, or references to experts that may help you as you
continue your research activities.
2. Use the library catalog. Most libraries have complete electronic catalogs of every
offering in the collection. (As a matter of fact, many library catalogs are available on the
library’s Internet site! This allows you to check the library’s collection from a distance.)
Use the catalog to do a search on your topic. Start with a general subject search and
then use more specific keywords and expert names. As you search, you should begin to
get results that point you to certain parts of the library. Print your search results or note
them down on paper. You will need their location and subject headings. Also check to
make sure the item is actually available! You may need to add your name to a waiting
list for a very popular work. You may also be able to borrow books from other libraries;
ask your librarian how this works for your library.
3. Make use of other electronic resources. Periodicals can be found by searching the
appropriate electronic index. Some indexes will include full-text versions of articles that
you can print or save locally. Others will provide an overview of the article, which you
can quickly scan to determine if the article is of interest to your research.
Using the Internet
Probably the easiest way to conduct research is right at your fingertips: the Internet!
Since its modest beginnings in the twentieth century, the Internet has exploded. Today
there is nothing you cannot find on the Internet. You can locate sites sponsored by
businesses, educational institutions, not-for-profit organizations, teaching organizations,
and the government—among many, many others.
When using the Internet site for research, it is recommended to use only credible
sources. A credible source is defined as one that most people believe would provide
accurate, nonbiased information. On the Internet, credible sites generally include the
following:

Company-sponsored websites

Educational institutions

Government sites

Military sites

Research organizations
It is easy to tell what type of organization is sponsoring a site; just look at the URL, or
uniform resource locater—the website address. The address indicates where the page
originated—who created or is sponsoring it. The most common domain names include
the following:

.com for company or commercial sites

.org for non-profit organization sites

.edu for educational sites (most commonly four-year universities)

.gov for government sites

.mil for military-sponsored sites

.net for Internet service providers or other types of networks
The domain name may also include two additional letters to identify the country. For
example,

.us = United States

.uk = United Kingdom

.au = Australia

.mx = Mexico

.ca = Canada

…and so on
Most academic experts agree that
credible sources are those that do not
have a bias or financial stake in
establishing a particular point of view
about a topic. For example, for a
research paper on nutrition, a good
place to start would be the US Food
and
Drug
Administration
(FDA),
because government agencies are generally considered unbiased sources of
information. Other good choices for academic research include educational institutions,
especially well-known colleges and universities, as well as not-for-profit sites for
organizations that are considered leaders in their field.
Since Google is the world’s largest and fastest search engine, it is a good starting place
for research activities. We will search there first, starting with the search phrase “how
experts define junk food.” Note that we are putting that phrase in quotes when we enter
it into the Google search field. That means that Google will display only results that
contain that exact phrase. If we had typed in the phrase without quotes, we’d get
different results. To limit your search results to particular domains, you can use the
advanced search features and indicate site:edu or site:gov. That helps to limit search
results to domains that will include the most credible information.
For more information and practice using the Internet to conduct research, visit
“Searching the World Wide Web” site on Purdue OWL. Make sure you follow all of the
links on the site to learn how to conduct research using the Internet.
Evaluating the Information You Find
Even research that you locate using the local library needs to be evaluated. Consider
the following:

Who is the author of the material? Does this person or organization have
recognized credentials, such as advanced educational degrees? Is the material
written by someone who may have a bias in the field? Remember, not everyone
wants you to have objective information. Some people just want others to believe
their points of view, even when those perspectives are unfounded or based on
faulty science.

Who is the publisher? Is it a known publisher? If it is a publisher you have never
heard of before, ask the librarian for help. Or try conducting a search on the
Internet to see what others may have to say about the publisher.
On Your Own Activity
For more information on how
to evaluate research sources
and Internet sites, read these
articles:
“Evaluating Internet
Resources” from
Georgetown University
Library
“Evaluating Sources of
Information” from Purdue
OWL

When was the material published? Is it recent? If
material is old, it may be relevant, but it may not be current
enough for your purposes. Always look for recent information
to make sure your facts are current. What you will learn as
you do a lot of research is that our knowledge of the world
changes and grows over time—make sure the sources you
use are recent.

Who appears to be the intended audience? For
academic research, the materials with the most weight are
those that appear in peer-reviewed journals or respected
textbooks.
Embedding Your Research into the Paper
Once you have found the research you need, think about how
you plan to embed it—in other words, how will you use this
fact in your paper? You can embed research information in
two ways: by including direct quotations or by paraphrasing
someone else’s ideas or results in your own words.
When you use a direct quotation, you use the author’s exact
words and place these words inside quotation marks to show
others the words come from someone else. Here is an
example:
According to nutrition expert Joanne Larsen (2009), junk food
is defined as “foods with limited nutritional value. I would
include foods that are not only high in salt, sugar, fat, and/or calories, but also
low in nutrient content.”
When you paraphrase, you use your own words but make it clear that this is someone
else’s idea. For example, instead of including the direct quote above, you might say:
Junk food can be defined different ways. Some experts say that junk food can be
defined as items that lack overall nutritional value; for example, salty, sugary, and
high-fat foods (Larsen, 2009, p. 145).
No matter which route you choose, you must be sure to include citation information in
your paper.
Citing Research Sources and Following APA Style
This part of your text shows you how to format citations used in your research papers.
Because James Madison High School/Ashworth College follow the style developed and
maintained by the American Psychological Association (APA), that is the format used in
all examples. (Take the time to become familiar with APA style—resources are provided
a little later.)
Notice the (Larsen, 2009, p. 145) parenthetical reference in the last example shown.
This is called an in-text citation or parenthetical documentation. It is meant to tell
readers exactly whose idea you are citing and when that idea was published.
Remember, this is an indirect quotation because you did not use the author’s exact
words.
The format of the in-text citation is quite simple—just look back at the example. It is
enclosed in parentheses and comes before the ending punctuation for the sentence.
When using a direct quote, the rules are a little bit more complex. If you are including a
direct quote, you must include the author, year of publication, and page number. For
example, for a short quote (under 40 words), you might say:
According to Larsen (2009), "Junk food can be defined as any of those foods with
limited nutritional value. I would include foods that are not only high in salt, sugar,
fat, and/or calories, but also low in nutrient content" (p.145).
For a longer quotation, or one that is more than 40 words, you can use quotations or
you can set the quote off as a block of text. Notice the page number comes outside the
punctuation for the quote, though. For example:
Larsen’s (2009) research indicated the following:
Americans indicated they frequently choose fast-food restaurants due to a
combination of convenience and relative low cost, especially when
considering the volume of food offered for the price. These factors may
help to explain the explosive upward trend of junk food consumption
across the country in the last ten years. (p.305)
APA style can be involved and it is important to know the specific rules. For more
information on the APA style, visit the following sites:
APA Style Guide (Purdue OWL)
Frequently Asked Questions about APA Style (APA)
Creating a Bibliography or “List of Works Cited”
Of course, you must also include a bibliography, or a list of all the “works cited” used as
your research material. This list is included at the very end of a paper. It should tell
MLA Style
readers everything they need to know about the works you
used. References should be listed in alphabetical order by the
authors’ last names. However, the format of each works cited
is very specific! A book, for example, is cited much differently
than a website. It is important to carefully review the APA
style guide to make sure you are citing each type of work
correctly.
Go here for more information: Reference List: Basic Rules
(Purdue OWL)
Here are a few examples of how to properly format each type
of entry. As you write academic papers, spend time studying
the APA style guides. You will need to be very familiar if the
style is required by your instructor.
Another style for formal
papers is known as the
Modern
Language
Association (MLA). Although
you should NOT use the MLA
style for research papers
during your schooling with
JMHS/Ashworth, you should
be somewhat familiar with it
since you may see references
to it in research materials.
To learn how to use MLA to
format academic papers,
review one or both of these
sources:
MLA Formatting and Style
Guide (Purdue OWL)
What is MLA Style? (MLA
Organization)
Book Citation
Author, A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle.
Location: Publisher.
Here is an example:
Larsen, J. B., & Michaels, S. K. (2012). A guide to nutrition for schoolteachers.
New York, NY: Association of American Dietitians.
Periodical Citation
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of
Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages.
Here is an example:
Bieder, H. T. (2010). Fundamentals for building nutritionally dense diets for
children with special needs. Journal of Nutritional Health, 12, 326-329.
Website Citation
Author, A. (Year of publication). Title of work. Title of website. Retrieved from
URL name
Here is an example. Note that no punctuation is used after the URL to avoid
misrepresenting the exact address of the website.
Larsen, J. B. (2011). 10 tips for eating healthy on a budget. Eating in America:
For
People
Who
Care
About
Health.
Retrieved
from
http://www.websitename.domain
A Sample Finished Paper
Now, let’s take a look at a completed sample papers. This paper is in APA form. The
purpose of this exercise is for you to start getting familiar with the level of style
requirements—and also to see how the style guide you are required to use affects how
your paper looks. Make sure you review the extensive notes provided on the Purdue
OWL site to lean the parts of the paper, why the elements appear as they do, and how
and why the author chose particular sources and means of citation.
Follow this link to the sample APA-style paper on Purdue OWL.
More about Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a very serious charge. As already mentioned, it means using someone
else’s word or ideas and pretending they are your own. In your student handbook,
James Madison High School defines plagiarism as follows:
“Plagiarism is an act of taking someone else’s words or ideas and using them or
representing them as one’s own work. This includes not properly citing the
source of the words or ideas. When students use direct quotations, they must
use quotation marks and cite the relevant sources. When students paraphrase
material, quotation marks are not used, but the sources still must be cited.
Students must also cite sources for any use of language, ideas, theories, data,
figures, graphs, programs, electronic information, or illustrations.”
Sometimes, people intentionally plagiarize—they know that they are including someone
else’s work, but they do so anyway. This behavior is inexcusable. However, other times,
students may inadvertently plagiarize by failing to cite sources appropriately. Whether
done intentionally or unintentionally, plagiarism is a serious charge and has
consequences.
James Madison High School has a strict Academic Honesty policy. You can find this
policy on the LMS or in the Student Handbook. The policy spells out exactly what JHMS
thinks about plagiarism. In short, JHMS believes the following:
“Academic integrity is the hallmark of excellence and the foundation of education
which requires honesty in all course work. Students are expected at all times to
submit their own work for all assignments, to present their own work and ideas in
all discussions, and to properly cite original authors and others when referring to
sources used. Students must succeed in their classes and programs without
violating the Academic Honesty Policy.”
In addition, students who are found guilty of plagiarism face severe consequences, from
including warnings to academic probation to dismissal from the program to the
revocation of a conferred diploma. Spend a few minutes carefully reading the Academic
Honesty policy so that you understand what it means and how it affects you. Whether it
is intentional or not, plagiarism is cheating; it is both illegal and a breach of academic
conduct. The policy briefly addresses definitions and examples of plagiarism and
provides instructions on how to avoid plagiarism in your assignments.
Academic faculty do recognize that plagiarism is at times inadvertent and caused by
poor citation methods. That is one reason it is important to learn how to cite sources
properly. Another tool you can use is a software program that will flag potential
plagiarism for you. The school uses sophisticated software methods to look for
plagiarism occurs. A less complex type of this software is freely available to students
and may be useful. You can find the software at this site: Dustball.
To repeat, remember: There is absolutely nothing wrong with including the words and
ideas of other people in your paper—as long as you give them appropriate credit. Still, it
is sometimes easy to plagiarize without really meaning to. What if you have an idea of
your own, but then find out that someone else has used the same argument? What if
you use someone’s idea but change almost every single word and express it entirely in
your own voice? And as for facts—does everything need to be cited? (For example, if
you are writing about junk food, do you need to cite the fact that most chips are fried
and salty?)
As you can see, the answer is not always clear. Sometimes you have to make judgment
calls. The best policy to follow is, if you have ANY doubt, cite a source. Another good
rule of thumb is, if something is common knowledge, you usually do NOT need to cite a
source. For example, the fact that potato chips are salty is common knowledge, so a
citation of this fact would not be necessary. However, if you say that certain brands of
potato chips contain preservatives that may pose health risks, you DO need to cite a
source. Anything new that YOU learn while doing your research needs to be cited.
Here is a list of the type of information that you should be sure to cite.

Another person’s idea, opinion, or theory, regardless of medium (magazine,
book, newspaper, journal, song, email, lecture, TV program, movie, website,
letter, advertisement, interview, etc.).

Any information, such as facts, statistics, graphs, photographs, or drawings, that
are not common knowledge.

Quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written words.

Paraphrase of another person’s spoken or written words.
In addition, the following suggestions may be helpful in avoiding inadvertent charges of
plagiarism.

As you take notes, mark the material that is directly copied or paraphrased in a
significant way, perhaps by using a different-colored highlighter or font or by
changing the background color of the information. When you finalize your paper,
then you can easily go back to make sure you have cited the information properly
and included the source in your bibliography.

When quoting directly, copy the quoted person’s name into your notes next to the
quote. As you take notes, put quotation marks around any exact words that you
copy.

Always put quotation marks around direct statements from others. Always
provide a citation for these quotations.

Cite any instance in which you paraphrase another writer's ideas or statements.
Summary
Congratulations on having nearly completed this part of your course! You have covered
a LOT of material in your lessons. Take steps to make sure you do not quickly forget it.
Consider printing the lessons from this course or bookmarking pages with important
information. You may want to return to these pages as a refresher each time you are
assigned a written paper.
One way to remember what you have read is to create a series of checklists for
yourself, derived from the information provided in this course. For example, you might
create a checklist for each of the following:

SPQR3 study method

Tips for better studying

Steps in writing an academic paper

Five-paragraph essay approach

Thesis statements and outlines

Key sources of online information
The last is especially important. As you delve into your studies, you will find that there
are aisles in libraries just full of materials on how to communicate more effectively, and
loads of books devoted to the art of academic writing. One course cannot possibly
contain it all! Additionally, you want to make sure you are always looking at the most upto-date version of the APA style guide. So, make sure you bookmark and make sure of
the many resources that have been cited in this work.
Now it’s time to take the examination for this lesson, Lesson 5 Examination.