How to Develop and Write a Research Paper

Developed by Judy Harding Coordinator of User Services Wadsworth Library and Christine McLaughlin Director of the Academic Success Center and the Writing Center

Research Paper Assignment

Identify what the assignment requires: topic possibilities number of sources type of sources (journal, book, Internet) citation requirements (MLA, APA, Chicago) presentation requirements (oral or written) length of paper due date

Getting Started
Choose a topic based on requirements.
Ask yourself questions:

What do I know about the topic? What would I like to learn? What will others learn from reading my paper?

Formulate a Research Question

Start by finding background information on your topic: Resource Links to Background Information:

How to Find Journal Articles in Electronic Databases How to find Books in the Online Catalog

Personal Exploration of Topic

Once you have familiarized yourself with the topic, reflect on your initial impressions:
Free Writing just write down your thoughts

List Key Words list words that describe your topic

Clustering/Webbing - create a web that links terms

together (an example of webbing is on the next slide)

Webbing - red is the topic

1.Relax. Play some creative music. 2.Spelling or style doesn't count. 3.Don't worry about organization. 4.Free-associate ideas. Keep them simple. 5.Write or sketch as quickly as you can. 6.Write or sketch in any order. 7.Develop all ideas. 8.Keep working.
Content and materials published in http://www.graphic.org site may be duplicated for educational, non-profit, single school use only.

Formulate a Question

Decide what question you want to answer with your research. Formulate a Question the answer to the question becomes your thesis question. For example:
How does exercise improve someones mental health? What are the effects of violent video games on elementary

school children? What was the impact of Cubism on early twentieth century culture? Should elementary schools provide more programming in the arts?

Starting Your Research

Decide what kind of information that you need based on your research assignment. The information will be determined by your topic and assignment requirements:

Current or historical or both Biographical information Criticism and analysis Statistics And More

Sources
http://www.papermoz.co.uk/research-papers/ http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/writing-resources/howto-write-an-apa-style-research-paper http://www.temple.edu/lawschool/dpost/guidelines.html