Printer Friendly-Writing a Research Paper

While the prospect of completing a term paper or a research project may seem overwhelming at first, the following tutorials will provide you with some pointers that may make the research process easier.

The tutorials will guide you through some of the key steps of the research process including selecting a topic, identifying and accessing the proper resources, and getting as much out of your sources as possible. After you read through the tutorials you may also go through an online questionnaire to test what you have learned.

In some ways the hardest part of the research process is selecting a paper topic. If you have the opportunity to select your own topic it would be in your best interest to choose a topic that interests you. Use a classroom assignment as your chance to learn about something that you are interested in. It can be quite frustrating to try to write a research paper on a topic you have absolutely no interest in.

Regardless of whether or not you have the option of picking your own topic the following pointers will help to determine whether or not you have chosen a manageable topic.

The length of the paper. The topic you choose may be closely related to the length of the assigned paper. After all, the amount of information that you can cover in ten pages will be vastly different from what you can cover in three to five pages. While it might be reasonable to discuss America's involvement in World War II in a ten page paper this topic would be way too broad for a three to five page paper. For a shorter paper you can narrow this topic down. For example, in a shorter paper you could discuss a particular battle that involved American forces.

The amount of time you have to complete the work. Plan and budget your time carefully. If you only have a short time to complete your work it is also quite likely that you will only have to write a short paper so the suggestions made above still apply. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that if you only have a week to complete a paper it is unreasonable to attempt to write a paper of any length about the Civil Rights Movement. If on the other hand you have an entire semester to complete the assignemnt this could make for a very interesting topic.

The resources that are available to you. While you might be quite interested in writing a paper about the behavior of beetles, if the materials that you need are not readily available then you will find it difficult to complete your work. We will always make an effort to acquire the materials you need but if time is of the essence you may need to rethink your topic.

Topics that are too broad. Try to avoid biting off more than you can chew. If a topic is too broad you will have difficulty completing the work in the alloted time. It is also quite likely that you will be unable to write a good report as your ideas will be too scattered. How do you know if a topic is broad? Take a look at the resources that are available to you. If you feel swamped by the number of magazine articles and books that you find chances are the topic you have selected is too broad.

For example, attempting to write a short paper about warfare would be rather difficult as the subject is way too broad. On the other hand, this subject could be narrowed down to a study of a particular war or of a particular era.

Topics that are too narrow. Try to avoid topics that are too narrow as you may have difficulty finding enough information to write about. If you are trying to find evidence to support your ideas it would be difficult to do so with only one or two sources.

The table below illustrates how topics can be broken down.

BROAD >>>>	NARROW >>>>	NARROWER
war	World War II	D-Day Invasion
African American History	civil rights movement	Martin Luther King Jr.
music	opera	Mozart's Don Giovanni
science	physics	Newtonian Mechanics
literature	American Literature	William Faulkner
warfare	weapons	swords

Overused Topics. Try to avoid writing about such topics as abortion and capital punishment. Even though these issues are of great importance they have been greatly overused. Unless you feel that you have something new to add to the debate try to avoid these large social issues. In any case, you are most likely all too familiar with the subject matter so you will have lost the opportunity to learn something new. Furthermore, overused topics are going to bore your audience and it is always important to keep your audience in mind as you write a paper.

Persuasive papers. If you are trying to argue a point in a paper try to avoid a topic that involves no argument. For example, everybody agrees that teen suicide and drug abuse is bad so there is no point in trying to persuade people of something they already accept.

While it may be tempting to use the Internet as your first source of information, it is not always the best place to look for quality information. A great deal of information on the Internet is unverified therefore the information is suspect at best. If you do decide to use the Internet we will give you some pointers that will help you choose quality sites.

Books and periodicals (magazines and journals) are frequently your best choice as they go through a quality control process that most web sites do not. Furthermore, the Internet makes for an inefficient research tool because it is organized very poorly and much of the information found there is biased or useless.

Reference books include encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, chronologies, handbooks, atlases, and desktop reference books. Some of these books can provide quick answers to specific questions. Some provide a brief overview of a topic. Reference books are usually written in a concise manner (and are organized alphabetically) so that access to information is quick.

General Encyclopedias. These include Encyclopedia Americana, Encyclopedia Britannica, Academic American Encyclopedia, and World Book. These books will provide you with a brief overview of subjects across the board including the sciences, the humanties, and the social sciences.

Subject Encyclopedias. These include the Encyclopedia of Psychology, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, Wiley Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and the Froehlich/Kent Encyclopedia of Telecommunications. These books will give a more in-depth treatment of a given topic. However, they are still encyclopedias so it is unlikely that they will give you all the information you need.

Almanacs. These include The New York Times Almanac, The World Alamanac, and The Macmillan Visual Almanac. These annual publications will provide you with quick facts such as dates, people, and events and statistics on a variety of subjects.

Atlases. These include the World Reference Atlas, The Book of the World, and The 21st Century World Atlas. These books contain maps and topographical information. They may also contain statistical information as it relates to population and economy.

Chronologies. These include the Chronicle of the 20th Century, Timelines of War, and The Timetables of History . These books will give you information about important historical events, people, and inventions in a chronological manner.

Reference books cannot be checked out of the library. If you need information from a reference book please let us know and we will fax or mail you a copy of the information you need. You may contact us by phone (732-435-4880 ext. 3840) or email.

Circulating books are books that can be checked out of the library. Books in the circulating collection frequently have a narrative format and they will normally give you a more in-depth treatment of a subject than reference books. Keep in mind that it takes about a year for a book to be published so if you are looking for information on current events you will need to look at periodicals (covered in the next section).

If you find a book that might be useful remember to make use of the index to find the information that you need. You may not have to read the whole book. Nor does the whole book have to be relevant to your topic in order for it to be useful. Very often the author will include a list of the works he or she used to compile the book. Take a look at this if you need ideas for more sources. This applies to reference books as well.

Through the library you have access to books across all subject ranges including telecommunications, the humanties, the sciences, computer hardware and software, and history.

To request a book you may call us at (732)435-4880 ext. 3840 or you may send us an email.

Magazines, journals, and newspapers collectively known as periodicals are an excellent source for current events. Like the books, periodicals cover a wide range of subjects. In addition, you will be able to find editorials and commenteries about a wide range of subjects.

Scholarly vs. Popular Periodicals. Scholarly journals are usually associated with a learning institution or a professional organization. The articles in scholarly journals very often contain works cited lists (something you are not likely to find in a popular magazine). You can use these works cited lists to find more sources. Some examples of scholarly journals include Journal of American History, Journal of Business, and Engineering Economist. Popular magazines such as Time, People, and Cosmopolitan may provide you with some valuable information but the level of scholarship might not be adequate if you are writing a scholarly research paper.

The Internet can be a great resource for doing research; however, not all web sites are created equal. For this reason, we suggest using the following guidelines when assessing the quality of an Internet resource. (These same guidelines can be used for judging any source of information whether it's a book, a magazine article, or your next-door neighbor's advice on fixing your car.)

We have singled out web sites for the subject of evaluation because, unlike books or magazine articles, most web sites do not undergo any sort of quality control or review process.

Authority

Is an author listed on the site? Keep in mind that an author can be an individual or an organization.

What makes the author an authority on the subject? Does the author list his/her educational or professional credentials?

What contact information is listed if any? This will enable you to contact the author(s) to verify the information on the site.

Accuracy

Does the author(s) indicate his/her sources? If the site has a research paper does it have a works cited list? If the site has statistical or graphical information are the sources of this information clearly indicated?

Does the web site have links to outside sources? If so, does the author(s) say anything about the quality of these outside links?

Shoddy presentation frequently reflects shody research - are there obvious grammar or spelling errors?

Objectivity

Why did the author(s) produce this page...
- as a public service?
- to sell something?
- to influence people?
Does the web site have sponsors? If so, does the author(s) make clear who the sponsors are? Do you feel the prescence of sponsors affects the objectivity of the web site?

Currency

How current is the information on the web site?
If any dates are given, do they indicate...
- when the page was placed on the web?
- when the content was last revised?

Access to library resources is provided either electronically or via regular mail. If the information you need is in book form, we can photocopy the relevant information (as in a reference book) and send it to you or, when possible, we will ship the entire book. Books in electronic format are accessed through the netLibrary database (see Library Catalog).

Articles in periodicals are accessible via the Library Databases.

The library databases provide access to periodical articles and reference material online. These resources are password protected. Passwords are available by calling (732) 435-4880 ext. 3840.

In general, it is best to think in terms of concepts or keywords when searching online resources. Most electronic databases do not answer direct questions. Even those databases that do allow natural language searching usually produce better results with keyword searching. Make your search more precise and productive by using Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT). The following examples will illustrate the use of these Boolean operators.

    Problem: Student is looking for articles that will answer this
    question - How does violence on TV affect children?
    Solution: Choose the important terms from the question and use the
    AND operator between each term to locate articles that include all the
    important terms.
    Possible Search Statement: television AND violence AND children

    Problem: Student is looking for information on laptops. In
    addition to getting articles about laptops the student is also
    getting unwanted articles about desktop computers.
    Solution: Eliminate the unwanted articles by using the NOT
    operator
    Possible Search Statement: laptops NOT desktops

    Problem: Student is trying to find more information about AIDS.
    Solution: Expand the search using the OR operator.
    Possible Search Statement: AIDS OR HIV.

The Virtual Academic Library Environment (VALE) is sponsored by the New Jersey State Library. It is a database shared by New Jersey College and University Libraries. View and download full-text articles from Periodical Abstracts or ABI/Inform (business information).

To open Vale:

From the DeVry Web Page click on "Library Databases."
From the list of Databases double-click on "Vale."

To find articles:

From the Vale home page, click on "Databases."
To search an individual database, click on "ABI Inform" or Periodical Abstracts." To search both databases click on "Multiple Databases."
Click on a search option: Titles, Authors, Advanced, or Browse. ("Keyword" is the default option)
Type in your data and click on "Go" to begin your search.
When you find an article you like, click on its title to see an abstract.
- If the article has a green "Full Text Online" button below its title then the full text of the article is available.
- To see the full text of the article click on the green "Full Text Online" button.
To start a new search, click on "Search" on the blue toolbar.

To print:

Click on the "Print" button in your web browser.

Tips:

If you do not get satisfactory results from one search do not be afraid to play around with your search terms.
Ex. If your topic is "elementary school teachers,"
then also try "teachers," "educators," education," "schools," etc.

When you find an article that you like, take a look at the subject headings that go along with it at the top of the page. If you click on one of these subject headings you will be taken to a new list of related articles.

EBSCOhost is a full-text online periodical database containing over 4,000 journal and magazine titles. In addition, EBSCO includes an encyclopedia and other reference sources. The databases available are: Health Source Plus, Business Source Elite, Funk & Wagnall's New World Encyclopedia, and EBSCO Animals.

To open Ebscohost:

From the DeVry web page click on Library Databases.
From the list of databases, click on "Ebscohost."

To find articles:

Click on the boxes next to the databases you wish to search and click on "Enter" at the top or the bottom of the screen. You may search any or all of the databases at the same time.
From the green toolbar choose the type of search you prefer: Keyword or Natural Language. For more options within Keyword or Natural Language searching, select "Advanced."
Click on "Search" to begin the search.
To view a full text article, click on the book icon next to the title or, click on the title of the article.

To print:

Click on "Print/E-mail/Save Option and follow the onscreen instructions.
Or, click on the "Print" button in your web browser.

Tips:

If you do not get satisfactory results from one search do not be afraid to play around with your search terms.
    Ex. If your topic is "elementary school teachers,"
    then also try "teachers," "educators," education,"
    "schools," etc.
When you find an article that you like, take a look at the subject headings that go along with it at the top of the page. If you click on one of these subject headings you will be taken to a new list of related articles.

Available ProQuest databases are The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Applied Science and Technology, ProQuest Computing, and Telecommunications. When you log into this database, you will be given the choice of searching all of the databases or each one seperately. It is usually better to choose them separately to avoid duplication of items or sorting through items you do not need.

To open ProQuest:

From the DeVry home page, click on "Library Databases."
From the list of databases, click on "ProQuest Databases."

To search for articles:

To search all of the databases in ProQuest click on the box next to "All Databases."
To search selected databases click on the box next to the databases that are of interest to you and then click on "Continue."
Choose "Basic" or "Advanced" search by clicking on either tab.
To search for articles that are older than 1997 choose "Backfile" from the "Date Range" drop down menu.
Enter keywords or phrases and then click on the blue "Search" button.

To print:

Click on the "Print Article" button to the left of the article and follow the onscreen instructions.
Or, click on the "Print" button in your web browser.
You may also email the article to yourself by clicking on the "Email Article" button to the left of the article.

Tips:

If you do not get satisfactory results from one search do not be afraid to play around with your search terms.
When you find an article that you like take a look at the subject headings that go along with it at the top of the page. If you click on one of these subject headings you will be taken to a new list of related articles.
To weed out articles that are not available in full text format click on the "View only Full Text" hyperlink below your list of articles.
Look at the "Format Legend" at the bottom of the screen to interpret ProQuest's symbols.
Use the "Search Wizard" as an aid in constructing complex searches.
Your search statement appears at the bottom of each screen to allow you to change your search any time you see fit.

Moody's is a database of detailed information on publicly held companies. You can search by company name, ticker symbol, SIC codes, and other business-related criteria. This database provides background and current company information, recent news articles on specific companies, and spreadsheets of financial information.

To open Moody's:

From the DeVry web page click on "Library Databases."
From the list of databases, click on "Moody's."

To search for a company:

Enter the Company Name OR Ticker Symbol in the slots then click on "Submit."
Click on the link that appears with the name of your company.
Select the folders for the type of information that you want by clicking on the boxes. You can click on as many boxes as you want to.

To print:

Click on the "Print" button in your web browser.

Tips:

When you look up a company, you will see the "Full Document" link at the top of the screen. Clicking on this option will produce a very long report (100 pages or more) about your company. It is better to select only the information that you need.
For more search options, such as searching by SIC code or location, click on "Advanced" on the main search screen.

Search the catalog to find electronic and print books. Electronic books will not have call numbers but rather they will be identified as "e-books." To look at electronic books you must enter NetLibrary.

NetLibrary is a collection of electronic books in a variety of subject areas. The text of the books is fully searchable. Contact a librarian by phone (732-435-4880 ext.3480) or email to gain access to NetLibrary.

In the WebVoyage title bar, select the type of search you
want-Keyword (easiest & broadest), or Heading (subjects).

Enter Search terms.
Invert author names(last name, first name).
Do not use punctuation or initial article (a, the).

Search results are returned in a relevance ranking order-not alphabetically by title.Look at the search results and select any record desired by clicking on its title. Once finished with a record, click Titles in the title bar to return to the full search results list.

OR

In a Keyword search, you can "mark" a number of records on the results page (to display or email).Press the enter key to display all marked records - then use the Back Arrow when ready to return tothe search screen. NOTE: You can only "mark" and display author results in a Keyword search.

*** EXCEPTIONS *** The ability to set location limits and to mark records for selected viewing is ONLY possible in the Keyword search.

Test what you have learned throughout this tutorial. Select an answer for each choice click on "Answer" and you will get immediate feedback.