business plan: pet salon and day care in santa barbara county

Tips  for  Research  

 

 

Keep  in  mind,  to  locate  credible  business  sources,  they  should  be:  

 

1. No  more  than  2  years  old  (3  is  permissible,  but  avoid  going  over  that).  

2. Respected  sources  (you  can  google  names/titles  to  be  sure).  

3. Unbiased-­‐-­‐no  agenda.  

4. Written  by  an  easily  researched  author  or  entity.  

 

 

Also,  keep  in  mind:  

 

1. A  variety  of  types  of  sources  is  always  a  good  idea.  

2. There  is  still  some  lingering  distrust  of  web-­‐exclusive  sources.  

3. The  library  resources  will  help  you  (but  you  also  don’t  need  to  limit  yourself  to  

them).  

 

 

When  you  locate  a  credible  source:  

 

1. Actively  read  it,  making  notes,  highlighting,  writing  questions,  etc.  

2. Write  a  one-­‐paragraph  summary/description  of  the  piece’s  content  in  your  own  

words.  

3. Make  notes  of  the  major  points/information  you  might  use  in  your  project.  

4. Identify  (either  by  writing  down  or  highlighting)  direct  quotes  that  might  be  worthy  

additions  to  your  own  project.  

5. Make  sure  you  have  complete  bibliographic  information  for  the  piece.  

6. Remember  that  for  each  credible  piece  you  find,  you  should  find  others  as  well—the  

first  one  may  or  may  not  be  the  best  one.      

 

 

Once  you  are  crafting  a  draft,  keep  the  following  in  mind  about  integrating  research  

into  your  work:  

 

1. Always  cite  sources.    Any  time  you  use  information  that  is  not  your  own,  it  must  be  

cited  (whether  it  is  a  direct  quote  or  a  paraphrase).  

2. Don’t  rely  too  heavily  on  one  particular  source—mix  it  up.  

3. Introduce  qualifications  as  appropriate.  

4. Direct  quotes  can  “spice  up”  your  writing...  

5. ...but  avoid  more  than  10%  of  direct  quotes...  

6. ...and  make  sure  they  connect  to  the  ideas  around  them...  

7. ...and  that  you  properly  introduce  them  (According  to,  etc.)  

8. Don’t  end  a  paragraph  with  a  direct  quote.  

9. Sources  exist  in  the  present  tense  (“So-­‐and-­‐so  states...”    not  “So-­‐and-­‐so  stated.”)  

10. Always  remember  that  research  first  educated  you...now  it  must  support  you.  

 

 

 

 

A  word  about  Citation  Format:  

 

No  one  is  expecting  you  to  memorize  every  single  aspect  of  citation  format.    Use  the  online  

references  to  help  you—they  are  there  for  reference.    What  is  expected  is  that  you  will  

remember  the  following:  

 

1. To  cite  any  time  you  use  information  from  a  source  

2. To  refer  to  the  resources  to  get  proper  format  

3. To  know  the  difference  between  a  References  page  and  a  general  bibliography  

4. To  remember  that  not  properly  citing  sources  equals  plagiarism  

5. It  is  better  to  “over-­‐cite”  on  drafts  than  “under-­‐cite”  

 

As  always,  please  feel  free  to  see  me  with  any  questions  at  all!