Are slums the cause of social problems or are they the symptom?
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HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER
UNI123
RESEARCH PAPER –Take Home Assignment
A research paper is an academic paper in which you use the ideas of experts to support your point of view (thesis) about a topic. These kinds of papers are written following a universally accepted format such as the APA style and MLA style.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A RESEARCH PAPER:
· In a research paper, you read the relevant expert sources and then make an evaluation of what you have learned from them. Your research findings, your opinion based on what you have learned from various sources and your original ideas about your topic comprise a good research paper.
· A research paper shows your creativity. However, this doesn’t mean that a research paper is a long personal opinion essay. Your own opinion only, not supported by sources, will not make a reliable research paper. Likewise using only experts’ ideas without evaluating them, adding your own interpretation and judgment will not make an original research paper; it will be a report paper without your own thoughts.
· In a research paper you evaluate and interpret what you have learned about your topic from your sources. Your unique interpretation and the conclusions you have drawn from your research findings will make your original research paper.
· A summary of a single source cannot make a good research paper; you must use variety of sources, evaluating each source. Similarly, a list of nothing but direct quotations cannot make a research paper. That will look like a ‘cut and paste’ work, nothing original.
· In a research paper all sources must be cited. You can use paraphrase, summary and direct quotation (if necessary) techniques to cite from the sources. Using sources without making proper citations is NOT RESEARCH; it is PLAGIARISM= STEALING
BASIC STEPS TO FOLLOW WHEN YOU WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER:
1. Choose one of the thematic topics that your lecturer will submit.
2. Find sources and information about your topic. You need to find minimum two different sources for this research paper.
3. Read the sources and evaluate the information in them.
4. Develop and argument and determine your supporting points for it.
5. Do brainstorming from your sources.
6. Decide on your thesis statement and write it down.
7. Organize your thoughts and research findings and prepare a tentative outline.
8. Take notes on your sources and decide which ideas to cite in which parts of your essay.
9. Add your evaluations, interpretations and judgments to each point you make.
10. Prepare ‘References’ part.
11. Write your first draft.
12. Revise your outline and first draft.
13. Type your paper.
WHILE WRITING:
There is no set structure for a research paper; thus, you can make use of the following approaches:
Make comparisons or contrasts
Write about causes or effects of your topic
Write a paper that is either for or against an aspect of your topic
PREPARING SOURCES:
Background Information:
For general or background information, you can use search engines almanacs or encyclopedias online and other search tools as a starting point.
! WIKIPEDIA ALERT! Wikipedia is a background information sources and you can not cite from Wikipedia.
Electronic Sources on The Net:
Pay attention to domain name extensions, e.g., .edu (educational institution), .gov (government), or .org (non-profit organization). These sites represent institutions and tend to be more reliable, but be watchful of possible political bias in some government sites. Be selective of .com (commercial) sites.
! Evaluate Websites critically; you can use these evaluation criteria from the Cornell University Library
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· Author · Date of Publication · Edition or Revision · Publisher · Title of Journal · Intended Audience · Objective Reasoning · Coverage · Writing Style Evaluative Reviews |
Books: To find books in the Library:
· Use the Library Catalog: http://library.sehir.edu.tr/Pages/Anasayfa.aspx
· Check out other print materials available in the Library
Electronic Resources:
Use Istanbul Sehir University, Research, Electronic Sources and databases
http://library.sehir.edu.tr/en/SitePages/Electronic%20Resources.aspx
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Please note that as soon as you choose a source for your paper, you should photocopy certain pages of it. This may differ from source to source, but basically you will need both · the pages where there is useful information for your paper · the pages with reference information. The reference information includes details such as the author , the title, the date and the publication information for a print source or the website info for an electronic source. |
A SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR A RESEARCH PAPER:
Thesis: Gender discrimination persists in some rural areas in Turkey because it stems from economic, psychological and cultural factors.
I. Economical factors
A. Lack of education
1. Women’s place in society (Source 1, pg.56, paraphrase)
2. Women as a housekeeper
B. Lack of job opportunities
1. Agriculture- women labor force
2. Lack of investment in rural areas
II. Cultural Factors
A. Patriarchal family structure
1. Men=family head brings the money
2. Women serve and obey the family head (Source 2, p.2 quote)
B. Concept of Honor linked to women’s social ‘purity’
1. Social contact with other men (Source 3, p.5 summary)
2. Set behavior patterns for women
III. Psychological Factors
A. Supremacy of Male
1. Assumptions of physical strength
2. Male emotional supremacy
B. Male misogyny and Machismo
1. Manhood, honor, brevity, aggressiveness
2. Inferiority Complex
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM; PARAPHRASING, SUMMARIZING AND QUOTING
PARAPHRASE: (length similar to original)
Original sentence from the source by Adams, 2005, pg.12
Researchers are concerned that exposure to the chemical MIT (Methylisothiazoline) by pregnant women put their fetus at risk of abnormal brain development.
Paraphrase of the sentence:
Paraphrase 1:
If a pregnant woman is exposed to the chemical MIT (Methylisothiazoline), according to the result of researchers, there is a possibility that abnormality in the development of the fetus’ brain could occur (Adams, 2005, p.12).
Paraphrase 2:
Adams (2005) indicated that If a pregnant woman is exposed to the chemical MIT (Methylisothiazoline), according to the result of researchers, there is a possibility that abnormality in the development of the fetus’ brain could occur (p.12).
SUMMARY: ( length shorter than original)
Original Sentence from the Article “Allergies and Cosmetics”, 2005, pg. 3
Another class of chemicals that has received some press recently is parabens, short for ‘parahydroxobenzoate”. These preservatives are widely used in cosmetics, particularly nail polish. Recent studies have implicated parabens as being associated with breast cancer, though more testing is needed.
Summary of the sentence:
Summary 1:
Cosmetic products, mainly nail polish, contain a chemical called parahydroxobenzoate,which is considered to be effective in causing breast cancer (Allergies and Cosmetics, 2005. p. 3).
Summary 2:
As explained in the article “ Allergies and Cosmetics” (2005), cosmetic products, mainly nail polishes, contain a chemical called parahydroxobenzoate, which is considered to be effective in causing breast cancer (p.3).
QUOTATION: (the same length as the original)
! Choose your quotations carefully and wisely.
· Only effective wording in the original that you think will add value to your paper should be quoted.
· A quotation can be a single word or an entire paragraph.
· You should choose quotations carefully and keep them as brief as possible.
· Be sure that the wording, capitalization, and punctuation of direct quotations are the same as in the original work.
Original sentence from the source by Miles, 2006 pg. 4
I am neither a chemist nor a cancer sufferer, however I do believe that many of the illnesses we suffer as a race are of our own doing.
Direct Quotation:
Quotation 1:
“ I am neither a chemist nor a cancer sufferer, however I do believe that many of the illnesses we suffer as a race are of our own doing” (Mills, 2006, p.4).
Quotation 2:
Mills states, “ I am neither a chemist nor a cancer sufferer, however I do believe that many of the illnesses we suffer as a race are of our own doing” (2006, p.4).
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Academic Year 2011-2012
UNI123 Textual Analysis
Compiled from http://www.aresearchguide.com, Writing Research papers, Dilek Vidana Tavaşoğlu, http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research
