Research Notes

Research Notes

Research is

• the appropriate process of collecting and organizing facts about a specific topic

Primary Source

• document or source with first-hand knowledge of an event

• ex. the Declaration of Independence, autobiography, speech, diary

Secondary Source

• document or source with second-hand knowledge of an event

• ex. biography, news report, text books

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of a secondary source?

• Abraham Lincoln's diary

• an interview about Lincoln from a historian

Research topics

• topics should not be too broad (too large) or too narrow (too specific)

• Ex. of a bad topic: San Diego Trip

• Ex. of a good topic: Top 5 Must See Sites in San Diego

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is too broad of a research topic?

• Tortillas

• The History of Homemade Tortillas

Multiple Choice

Which of these topics is probably too narrow?

• Academic achievement of private school 9th graders in Hartsville, SC

• Academic achievement of private school students in the US

Validity Check

• You must ensure the sources you use are valid and credible

• Check for an author's name and credentials

• Check for a recent date

• Evaluate the source's appearance--is it professional?

• Read beyond the headline

• Ask an expert--check with your librarian or teacher

Multiple Select

Which of the following would be valid and reliable?

• A website last updated in 1992

• A scholarly journal published in May with an author's name

• Wikipedia article published in October

• A news interview about last week's football game

Evidence

• information in a text that supports a specific claim

• In research, evidence is used to support the primary research topic statement

Inference

• an educated guess based on the information given

• In research, you may have to make inferences (just as you do when reading fiction) based on evidence.

Citations

• give credit to the creator

• gives information to the audience about the source

• Ex. McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. Print. New York: Harper. 2007.

• Includes author or editor info, title, source type, publication city and company, and copyright year

In-text citation

• provides a quick reference to the source info in parentheses at the end of a sentence

• ex. (McCarthy 19).

Plagiarism

• stealing or taking credit for work that is not your own

• taken very seriously by schools and universities

• use citations to avoid

Appropriate Research Tools

• SCDISCUS

• Search engines (like Google)

• Encyclopedias

• Scholarly journals

• It's important to choose the right type of research source; you wouldn't want to use a math textbook for an English project

Using your research

• You can QUOTE, PARAPHRASE, or SUMMARIZE

• quotes use the exact words with quotation marks (requires a citation)

• paraphrase explains a quote in your own words (requires a citation)

• summarize shortens the information in a concise manner in your own words

Multiple Choice

"Hartsville High School's mascot is the Red Fox."

This is an example of..

• quotation

• paraphrase

• summary

Multiple Choice

Red, black, and white serve as symbols for HHS.

This is an example of

• quotation

• paraphrase

• summary

Multiple Choice

The article explains the symbols and colors of HHS.

This is an example of...

• quotation

• paraphrase

• summary