1 / 14

Personal Research Project

This guide offers a comprehensive approach to successfully completing your Personal Research Project in English II Honors. It emphasizes the importance of asking good questions to develop a strong thesis, presents strategies for selecting a focused and challenging research question, and provides a structured timeline for completion. The guide also includes advice on evaluating sources and avoiding plagiarism, while maintaining an organized bibliography. Utilize various research strategies, including database searches, field research, and online resources, to enrich your project.

idona-hopkins
Télécharger la présentation

Personal Research Project

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Personal Research Project English II Honors

  2. Assignment & Timeline • Go over the assignment thoroughly • Determine your timeline for completing the assignment

  3. Good Questioning = Strong Thesis • Choosing a narrow question • Too broad: • What are the hazards of fad diets? • Is the United States seriously addressing the problem of prisoner abuse? • Narrower: • What are the hazards of low-carbohydrate diets? • To what extent has the US military addressed the problem of prisoner abuse since the Abu Ghraib discoveries?

  4. Good Questioning = Strong Thesis • Choosing a challenging question • Too bland: • What is obsessive-compulsive disorder? • How does DNA testing work? • Challenging: • What treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder show the most promise? • How reliable is DNA testing? •  intellectually challenging line of inquiry •  Provoke thought or engage in debate

  5. Good Questioning = Strong Thesis • Choosing a grounded question • Too speculative: • Is it wrong to share music files on the Internet? • Do medical scientists have the right to experiment on animals? • Grounded: • How has Internet file sharing affected the earning potential of musicians? • How have technology breakthroughs made medical experiments on animals increasingly unnecessary?

  6. Draft a working thesis • Using your question, draft out a working thesis: • (can always be modified or changed)

  7. Search Strategy • Databases • Access to newspapers, magazines, scholarly or technical journals • Keywords • Books • Web • Lacks quality control so beware • Field Research • Interviews • Surveys • Observation • shadowing

  8. Keywords • “Broadway musicals” • Ireland AND peace Ireland + peace • Titanic NOT movie Titanic – movie • “mountain lion” OR cougar • ‘marine biolo*” • (cigarettes OR tobacco OR smok*) AND lawsuits • Use the advanced search option! • See if the database/search engine suggests other subjects to try

  9. MHS Library • Go to www.wmmhs.org • Click on Library Media Center • Collection (Find Books) • Online Databases

  10. Evaluating sources • How will it contribute to your writing? • Is it worth your time and attention? • Scan search results • Database: title & abstract (relevant?), date (current?), name of periodical (scholarly?), length (extensive coverage?) • Book: publisher?, author (credentials?), date (current?), evidence (sources?), bias (author/publisher?) • Web: title (how relevant?), date (current?), indication of site’s sponsor or purpose (reliable?), url .edu, .gov, .com, .org (relevant?, reliable?), advertising (prominent?)

  11. Evaluating sources—scholarly? • A scholarly source is written by an expert for a knowledgeable audience and will go in depth • Formal language and presentation • Authors who are academics or scientists • Footnotes or bibliography accompanies • Original research and interpretation • Quotations and analysis of primary source • Description of research methods

  12. Evaluating sources • Keep an open mind & critical eye • Primary vs. Secondary • Primary: original docs • Secondary: commentaries on primary sources • Be alert for signs of bias • Assess author’s argument • Have a care with web sources (see handout)

  13. Avoid plagiarism • Maintain a working bibliography • Keep track of source materials • Avoid unintentional plagiarism in note taking • Summarize • Paraphrase • Use quotation marks • Use MLA style guidelines and formatting at all times

  14. For help: • Books: • A Writer’s Reference, 6th edition or up, Diana Hacker • Dianahacker.com/writersref • Writing a Guide for College and Beyond, Lester Faigley • Online: • Online Writing Lab at Purdue University (OWL) • Class webpage • Librarians and English teachers

More Related