Start at the Beginning:
It is easy to get ahead of yourself, especially early on. So let's start with the tools you've been given:
Your syllabus will have the requirements of the project carefully outlined. Read it! Make sure you understand what the assignment is, what the instructor is asking for, and what is required. It seems crazy, but the last thing you want is to be 6 pages into an 8 page research paper and find out you missed a requirement with 15% of the final grade that was in bold in the assignment notes!
Next, look at the rubric for the assignment. What does an "A" paper look like compared to a "B" or "D" paper? How many Reference sources are required? What style guide should you be using? and so on.
Ask Questions:
Instructors and Librarians love answering questions, maybe not at 10 p.m. the night before the paper is due, but they'll do their best. Just make sure the answer to your question is not easily found in one of the resources mentioned above. Review your syllabus, rubric, and any provided examples, and THEN ask questions before you begin the process. Of course, others may arise, but at least you are starting on firm foundations, and headed in the right direction.
Define Scope of Project
What is your research question? The scope and focus of the project will depend heavily on the particulars of the assignment that we discussed in the section above. But here you should define "what do I want to find out?" "What is my Thesis Statement or Research Question?" or "What topic do I want to write about?"
Thesis Statement/Research Question: What is the "main point" of the the paper? What fundamental question will I be researching the answer to, and outlining in this project? This question can often be very difficult to actually nail down, especially before you do some preliminary work. Sometimes, the topic is handed to you, through the assignment parameters/instructions, but most the time you may have to do all the heavy lifting yourself. Start broad! You can always narrow later if the research permits. We encourage you to think of topics that you're interested in that also fits the assignment.
I want research "sleep needs of teenagers" or "using music as a tool teaching English as a Second Language" is broad enough to ensure you'll find materials, but will also allow you to focus on specific subjects or areas within those questions as well. Again, if we start too broad, this next step can help us focus in better.
Preliminary Search:
The preliminary search is where we gather the basic editorial information on our subject. Using a basic Internet search (described in more detail on the "Using the Internet" page), or reference materials, you'll be answering the basic "who, what, where, why, and when" questions to get a basic understanding of your topic. The preliminary search is important because it will help you define the scope of your research question, which will dictate the information your paper will probably cover. As you search pay attention to key concepts that pop up, like major dates, keywords, or related materials that you might want to discuss in your project. You don't have to go in-depth on any of these things yet, just make note of things that may be important later.
Get everything together
This step is pretty self explanatory and will start your "work" phase of the project. From your preliminary search, you should have some basic information to work with and you'll start to explore that information in-depth.
Use the rest of this guide: The rest of this guide outlines how to use the Library Search box to find books, videos, articles, and other materials that will be useful in your project. It also provides useful tools to continue using the Internet in more detail to find more information as well. Jump to the other tabs to find out how to better use those tools to find more resources. Again, be mindful of what types of materials your instructor requires. Is there anything that they don't want, do you need a certain number of scholarly/peer-reviewed materials or primary-source materials? These are all things to keep in mind during this step.
And remember, you may be able to count the materials you used in your preliminary search as well, especially if you used reference materials from the library! This is definitely the part where your librarian and library staff will be most helpful, let them know this is where you are, and we can help you gather your resources.
Interlibrary Loan: ILL is a free service provided by Link Library for the CUNE community. Simply, if we don't have access to a resource you need, we can get it for you! Jump over to the ILL Guide and request materials or learn more about how the process works.
Read it:
Yes. You do have to read the materials once you get them, but don't let that overwhelm you! This is one of the areas that can seem most daunting, but doesn't need to be. Books and 20+ page academic articles can pile up quickly, but you're not reading every word, nobody has time for that! Rely on your preliminary research to give you a basic understanding of what you're looking for, then pinpoint that material in your resources. When reading look for:
You want to look for what is actually going to help you write your paper and will lend to your understanding of the topic at hand. If the author goes off on a tangent or starts discussing a specific point that you know you won't be putting in your paper, skip it. And don't sit down expecting to read word-for-word. Skim first, and find the interesting parts! Remember: You will potentially have quite a few resources you'll need to pull from, so learning how to prioritize and manage your time is a huge part of the research process that often gets overlooked. Be smart about it and use your time wisely.
Take LOTS of Notes!
There are a ton of ways to outline a paper. Your instructor may even give you an outline as part of the project. An outline serves many purposes, and is pretty important to the writing process, which you are about to begin!
5 Point Outline: The standard 5 Point Outline is the one we suggest, as it's incredibly basic but versatile, and of course, easy to use! The standard 5 point outline is as follows:
See? Not much too it now, but this little outline can be built into anything from a 3 page book report to an actual book (though you probably won't be writing an entire book of research during your undergrad... or grad school). The reason this outline is so versatile is because each Main Point can be broken down into as many sub-points or minor-points as you need.
Cite Properly:
You should be developing your main points as you read through your resources and take notes. What areas are being covered over an over? What points will help you drive your Thesis Statement home? If you're writing a persuasive paper, these are often the key points to your argument. if you're writing a book report these are your key themes. You should be somewhat aware of what your main points might be all the way back as you do your preliminary search, but these are usually well defined as you dive into reading your resources and gaining a better understanding of the topic. As you continue to read through your resources, you can develop a hierarchy of points and which subjects would be good sub-points to your main topics, and so-forth.
Basic Outline
There are a ton of ways to outline a paper. Your instructor may even give you an outline as part of the project. An outline serves many purposes, and is pretty important to the writing process, which you are about to begin!
5 Point Outline: The standard 5 Point Outline is the one we suggest, as it's incredibly basic but versatile, and of course, easy to use! The standard 5 point outline is as follows:
See? Not much too it now, but this little outline can be built into anything from a 3 page book report to an actual book (though you probably won't be writing an entire book of research during your undergrad... or grad school). The reason this outline is so versatile is because each Main Point can be broken down into as many sub-points or minor-points as you need.
Defining Points:
You should be developing your main points as you read through your resources and take notes. What areas are being covered over an over? What points will help you drive your Thesis Statement home? If you're writing a persuasive paper, these are often the key points to your argument. if you're writing a book report these are your key themes. You should be somewhat aware of what your main points might be all the way back as you do your preliminary search, but these are usually well defined as you dive into reading your resources and gaining a better understanding of the topic. As you continue to read through your resources, you can develop a hierarchy of points and which subjects would be good sub-points to your main topics, and so-forth.
Combine Your Notes and Outline
As you take notes, it should start to make sense which part of your paper each quote or citation will fit into (for the most part!). Once you have your outline, you should take your notes and copy/paste or otherwise organize them into the sections of your outline. At this point, make sure to keep your citation information with each quote so you don't have to go back and look each up again! But this is the part where you start filling your outline with content, and that content should be the stuff you've been finding/reading and pulling. I'll note that we aren't often adding Notes to our Introduction or our Conclusion, but you can if it seems the best fit. For the most part, we are focusing on the body right now, because we will go back and write the intro and conclusion at the end, once our body has been built out.
Assess:
At this point in the process, you should be able to assess whether or not you are conveying the points that make the most sense and whether or not your research is building the argument you think it is. By looking at your newly beefed up outline, you should have a general feel for how your paper will go and what points are strong, what points are weak, and maybe where we should fill in some extra information or add a point, etc. Read through your notes as they now sit in a rough outline of what they'll look like in the paper. You should see a structure established. Thinking critically throughout this process will make sure your research covers the points you intend. Intentional inspection of all these elements as they go into your paper will help you build your paper before you even start writing.
Remember: It's easier to edit a page down than it is to fluff useless information into a paper at the end.
Add your thoughts and perspective:
We have the bones and muscle of our paper, the outline is the skeleton and the research references are the muscle which allows it to move. But what makes this YOUR paper is your voice and your insight and input, and tying it all together. Your input is what is going to make the reader care about all this information you have found. The difference in doing a research project this way, is that you are now able to bite off tiny chunks and connect from point-to-point, instead of staring at a blank piece of paper in the hopes that a 10-page paper will appear. Focus on one section, and take one step at a time.
Reminder: We're still not working on the Intro or Conclusions as we begin to write. Often we want to start at the beginning of the paper, or we've even been told by teachers to build it that way to "know where you start and know where you're going." However, the truth is, those are easy to tag at the end. The intro and conclusion are even easier to write if you already have your entire paper to use as reference, as well. So save them till the end.
More Assessment:
As you are writing, you'll start to recognize areas that make lots of sense, and seem really good. Other areas may not make as much sense or don't feel as strong or compelling. At this point, you have probably noticed one or more of the following:
These are all very natural aspects and you shouldn't feel bad if you get through one of your main points and realize any of these, or a combination of them. One more reason the outline we built is so nice, is it allows us to edit and reincorporate new information in without destroying everything we've done thus far. The trick is to continue to critically inspect all aspects of your paper.
What Am I Missing?
Go back and find the information that will build up the areas that are deficient. Of course, grab information from sources you've already used, but often you'll find that in order to actually cover the new information you'll have to do a whole new search and grab an article or two. Now is a really good time to go back to your resource list and rubric and make sure you don't need any extra materials or resource types, and if you do, maybe search for specific types of resources to cover the information you're looking for. This is another reminder that your library staff is here to help and would love to find those materials with you. Don't forget, you can always get more materials through Interlibrary Loan, as long as you've planned ahead!
Flavor Text: depending on the focus of your paper or your topic or the level of writing, this is a time to find interesting bits of information or quotes that really add to the "voice" in your paper. Not all projects allow for this type of thing, so make sure the level of writing you are aiming for allows for it, but popular quotes, or interesting, wild, or shocking quotes and anecdotes can really inject life into a paper, and here would be a good time to snag a line or two for use.
Continue Writing
You should have all the materials you need to wrap up your rough draft. You've got all your extra supplemental information, you've gone back to Steps 3 and 4 and included these new materials in your draft. Rewrite, rework and reconfigure to make it make sense and connect your points the way you want/need them. Be mindful of page limits and other assignment specifics from your syllabus or rubric.
Finally: Yes! once the body of your text is written, go back and write your intro and conclusion. I like to start with my conclusion (because why go in order now?) and then end with the introduction, but that's really up to you. Then when it's all said and done, read your paper. Then maybe read it again, out loud. Yes, reading your work out loud can help you rewrite funky parts or ask yourself "does that actually make sense?" once you've heard it instead of just reading it.
Edit
Most word processors and text editors have built-in spell check and some grammar editing, but don't just trust those tools without at least skimming over it. In higher education, it is generally a great idea to get rid of conjunctions all-together (plus it helps the word count!), and pro top: the word "that" is often filler. Reread your sentence and ask yourself "do I really need that that there?" The answer is usually no, and your paper will read better for it. Once you've edited it yourself, make sure to take it to the Tutoring Center and have one of the student tutors read it for you. (Grad Students: use Smart Thinking! available in your Blackboard portal, find out more in the Grad Resource Room guide).
Style Guide: At this point you should have at least a cursory knowledge in how your style guide wants you to set up a paper. But this is where you comb over your paper with a critical eye to make sure your paper style is correct, your bibliography/works cited/reference page is correct and your citations are correctly cited throughout. For more information and help with style guides, check out our Research Toolkit guide, and of course, look at your style guide!
Turn it in!
At this point, the end of your hard work is at hand, and it's time to turn in this artifact which hopefully represents quite a bit of learning and development on your part. Be proud of it, because not only do you have a better grasp on the subject but your hard work is about to pay off. Congrats!
Final Note: At any point if you have questions of your instructor or the library staff, we're here to help. Just because this guide is available online doesn't mean your library staff won't take time to show you the finer points, or walk you through a confusing section or help you find materials. If at any point in the above process you feel like you're getting stuck, let us know! A librarian's job is to help get you unstuck.