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Steps in the Research Process

 

 

1.     Establish your topic and focus.

·    Make sure that your topic addresses the assignment as required by the instructor.

·    Check with your instructor to make sure that that the topic is appropriate.

·    Narrow or broaden the topic so that it is appropriate for the number of pages required.

 

2.     Develop your research question.

·    Develop an Essential Question which will focus your research and provide you with opportunity to develop your topic in depth. Writing about a subject is a way of learning about it, so this question will provide you a way to increase your knowledge about your topic.

·    This question should be critical in nature, and not a question that is topic-oriented that requires nothing more than moving words from a resource to your paper and creating a report.

 

3.     Develop a Working Thesis.

·    Develop a declarative sentence which asserts the main point of your research topic. This main point of your paper, the thesis, will be a preliminary answer to your Essential Question.

 

4.     Explore, search, and gather resources.

·    Find and explore sources that will give you information that helps you to examine and answer your Essential Question. This information should come from a broad range of sources, including books, other print sources, non-print sources, and the Internet.

·    Record your sources using appropriate M.L.A. bibliographic format.

·    Record your notes, making sure to differentiate among quotations, summaries, and paraphrases using correct M.L.A. note-taking format.

 

5.     Develop a preliminary outline.

·    Review and organize your note cards or re-arrange your computer notes in order to establish a framework for your outline.

·    Determine which areas of your research require additional information.

 

6.     Write a draft of your paper.

·    Follow your outline and use it as the framework for your paper.

·    Write in third person, scholarly Voice.

·    As you write, integrate appropriate research quotes, paraphrases, and/or summaries from your research into your text. Follow your instructor’s guidelines about the number of sources and cited materials used.

·    Document your sources using M.L.A. parenthetical in-text citation format.

 

7.    Draft a Works Cited Page.

·    On a separate page at the end of your paper, list the works you have cited in your paper following the M.L.A. Works Cited page format.

·    Pay very close attention to the details of correct bibliographic format.

 

8.     Revise the paper.

·    Pay particular attention to content, focus, organization, paragraphing, and coherence.

·    Make sure that your paper adheres strictly to the M.L.A. format for citations and form.

 

9.     Draft the final copy.

 

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