Crafting the Research Paper: Accessing Key Library Resources

English 102 Steps in Crafting the Research Paper 1. Accessing Research Materials For English 102, you will be using mainly library-based source materials. This means you must be able to access the CCP Library in person OR via the internet. Luckily, you can access our library 24/7 from home! You do not need a password as long as you first log in to MyCCP. PLEASE VIEW THE LIBRARY VIDEOS AND SEARCH INFORMATION DOCUMENTS IN MODULE 2 OF CANVAS FOR SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS ON LOGGING INTO AND ACCESSING THE LIBRARY COLLECTIONS! However, here is a quick overview: the Library Homepage can be found by logging in to MyCCP and clicking on the STUDENT QUICK LINKS. Here, on a tab in the middle of the page, you will see a link to the library databases from which you will download the majority of your research materials (newspaper, magazine, and scholarly journal articles), and on which you can locate books, both hard copy and e-books. As you explore the databases, please employ search techniques that will ensure you find FULL-TEXT articles – not abstracts or summaries – on your particular topic. I like to have students begin with Academic Search Ultimate, which is found by clicking on the list of library databases and then selecting it from the list (it is the second down on the left hand side). Here is how to access Academic Search Ultimate and begin your research: Log in to MyCCP, click on the STUDENT QUICK LINKS, scroll down to LIBRARY, and click on that link. On the Library Home Page, click on DATABASES (the tab in the middle of the screen). Click on A-Z DATABASE LIST, and then select ACADEMIC SEARCH ULTIMATE (second down on the left hand side).  Once you have reached the Search page, FIRST scroll down on the left side and click on the "Full Text" box, or you may only get summaries instead of full articles! To search the databases for articles In each search box, type one or two key words you want to search for. For instance, if you want to search for articles about black women on television, type African American in the first box, women in the second box, and television in the third box. Another option is to use parentheses to search: (African American OR black) in the first box, women in the second box, and (television OR media) in the third box. Using the connector "AND" between the boxes will narrow your search. For instance, "Cats AND Dogs" will give you only articles that mention both cats and dogs. Using "OR" will widen your search. "Cats OR Dogs" will give you articles that mention either cats or dogs. Using "NOT" will exclude information. "Cats NOT Dogs" will give you articles that mention cats but not dogs.   Select ONLY articles that support or provide information on your subject. Email any source materials you find to yourself, or save them to a flash drive. Do not print them unless you are certain they are useful. Some articles are 50 or more pages long. Use the CITE icon on the right side of the article to see how to format the source on your Works Cited using MLA style. To search for books and anthologies (anthologies are book-length texts on a specific topic, but each chapter or section is written by a different author): Log in to the Library Home Page. Click on BOOKS, AFTICLES, AND MORE (the tab in the middle of the page). Click on EBOOK CENTRAL (below the search box). Browse by subject or do a search. OR you can go to other databases like JSTOR and Project MUSE. OR you can visit the library itself for hard copies! Remember that you can also contact the library through ASK A LIBRARIAN in order to get assistance in your search from librarians on staff. They can direct you to information that is NOT accessible online, including books and microfilm. If you foresee problems accessing the databases or getting to the library, please contact me immediately. Which source materials are approved for use? Approved materials include articles or information from the following sources. These sources must have credible (believable, knowledgeable) authors, and must be AT LEAST THREE PAGES in length: Scholarly (Academic) Journals – These are periodicals written for professionals by other professionals. The articles are usually quite long, include a lot of information, facts, and statistics, and end with a works cited or reference page, so they’re very useful. These are marked in the databases by an icon that says “Academic Journal.” Anthologies – These are book-length texts compiled of short articles about one specific subject, such as capital punishment or addiction. The anthology is edited by one or more individuals, but each article is written by a different author or authors. They are generally not available online. Weekly News Magazines – These are magazines which are published each week, and which cover a variety of current events and topics. The articles are written by journalists and tend to be rather short. They are marked in the databases by an icon that says “Periodical.” Subject-Specific Magazines – These are magazines which are published monthly or bi-monthly, and which focus on a specific topic or issue of interest (i.e. Psychology Today or Scientific American). The articles are generally written by journalists, but may also be written by authorities in the field. They are marked in the databases by an icon that says, “Periodical.” Monthly Magazines – These are general-interest magazines which are published monthly and which cover a wide range of topics (i.e. Women’s Day or Field and Stream). The articles are written by journalists. They are marked in the databases by an icon that says, “Periodical.” Newspapers – These appear daily or weekly, and cover a wide range of current topics. However, many newspaper articles lack authors and are shorter than three pages in length, which means they might not meet approval for use your paper. Books – These are full-length texts written by one or more authors. They are generally very detailed and include a lot of information and statistics, but the information may be slightly out of date. They are generally not available online; however, you might find an ebook on the library website. Webpages – These are informational texts which appear on websites on the internet and which run the gamut from current to out-of-date and from credible to biased and useless. They can be written by authorities in the field, or by dimwits and people out to take your money. For this reason, you will only use the internet to find source material that is unavailable on the databases. If you want to use a webpage, please send me a link so I can examine and approve its use. Some sources which you might find helpful can be found on government and educational websites, or on organizational websites written by what we call “corporate authors,” for instance, the Red Cross, or the American Civil Liberties Union. Media Broadcasts/ Documentaries – These are hour-long to movie-length videos or films about particular subjects, produced by reputable agencies or news outlets, and meant to educate the public about specific issues. Materials which ARE NOT approved include Non-credible or non-authoritative articles from the Web (Yahoo, Google, Wikipedia, etc.) Articles that have no author Articles shorter than three pages in length Book Reviews Reference Books (Dictionaries, Encyclopedias) Juvenile Literature (young adult books) Fiction, Novels, Plays, Poetry Fictional Films, Sitcoms, Sound Bites, Mockumentaries, Personal YouTube Videos Important information about the pagination (page number organization) of materials available in print, on the databases, and on the Internet: Print materials are those which you access in person, such as books and anthologies. Print materials generally have visible page numbers which you can use when documenting information from them in your paper. Electronic materials are those which you access through a computer or other electronic device, such as articles on databases or on the internet. Electronic materials may or may not have visible page numbers to use when documenting information. Here is how to tell the difference: When you find an article on the databases, DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY CLICK ON THE TITLE. First, look below the posted information to see whether a PDF version is available (there should be a small red icon which says “PDF”). Click that on to view a PHOTOGRAPHIC version of the article. Page numbers should be visible. You can use these page numbers when it is time to document information from the article. If there is no PDF icon below the article information in the databases, click on the HTML icon instead. This will give you a non-photographic version of the text – one which has been re-typed from the original, and which will lack page numbers. When it is time to document information from the article, you will have to count each paragraph and number it, and then document the paragraph number from which you are taking information. Obviously, it is easier to use PDF files than HTML files. Webpages do not have page numbers, either! You may have to count paragraphs for webpage material, like you do for HTML files. One final note: please do not be confused by the page numbers your printer assigns to articles, if you choose to print them out. Printer page numbers ARE NOT the page numbers of the articles. 2. Creating a Works Cited Page or Pages A works cited is simply a list of all the sources you have used to construct your research paper. However, it must follow a very specific format. In English courses, we use MLA (Modern Language Association) style to construct our works cited. Below are various works cited source entries from the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) website and from actual student papers. Note that these source entries are written in Times New Roman 12 point font (as is this whole handbook), and that each entry uses hanging indents (the first line of each entry is flush with the left margin, while the second and third lines are indented). Here are a few details to look for as you scan the entries: Titles of articles are enclosed in quotation marks. Titles of magazines, academic journals, newspapers, and books are italicized. Page numbers (for print or PDF files), paragraph numbers (for HTML files), or web addresses (URLs for web pages) are included after the publication date. Some databases provide what are called Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) instead of URLs. Use DOIs, if available, instead of URLs. “Accessed” indicates the specific day, month, and year you accessed the source online. Below each source entry I have explained important details about the source. Works Cited Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." The New York Times, 22 May 2007, www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/science/earth/22ander.html?_r=0. Accessed 12 May 2016. Explanation: This is a newspaper article accessed through The New York Times website. Note that the author’s name is arranged “Last Name, First Name,” the title of the article is enclosed in quotation marks, the name of the newspaper is italicized, and the date the article was published is included. The URL for the website and the date the article was accessed complete the source entry. DeNavas-Walt, Carmen, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010. U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Reports: P60-239. Washington: GPO, 2011. Explanation: This is a book-length government report written by three authors. Note that all three authors are listed, with the name of the first author appearing “Last Name, First Name,” and the remainder of the authors appearing “First Name Last Name.” Also, note that the last name of the first author begins with the letters “DeN,” which means it would follow, alphabetically, the last name of the author of the previous source entry, “Dean.” Works Cited are arranged alphabetically by authors’ last names. The title of the report is italicized because it is a full-length source. The name of the government agency is listed, as are the pertinent page numbers of the report. The place of publication, publishing agency, and year of publication follow. This was a print, rather than an online, source. Gowdy, John. "Avoiding Self-organized Extinction: Toward a Co-evolutionary Economics of Sustainability." International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, vol. 14, no. 1, 2007, pp. 27-36. Explanation: This is an academic [also called “scholarly”] journal article. After the title of the article and the name of the journal you will see the volume and issue numbers, the year of publication, and the page numbers on which the article appeared. If you were to access this through the library databases, you would also be provided with a DOI, which you would include after the page numbers. An Inconvenient Truth. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, performances by Al Gore and Billy West, Paramount, 2006. Explanation: This is a documentary movie. The entry is alphabetized by the movie’s title (“Inconvenient” rather than “An”). The title also is italicized because this is a full-length film. The stars, the film’s producer and the year of distribution are included. Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology. Springer, 2005. Explanation: This is a book. Notice that the title is italicized, and the two-parts of the title are separated by a colon. The publisher and year of publication are also included, but no page numbers are listed. This is because we assume you have read the whole book. Milken, Michael, et al. "On Global Warming and Financial Imbalances." New Perspectives Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 4, 2006, p. 63. Explanation: This is an academic journal article written by more than three authors. Note the use of “et al” after the first author’s name to indicate that more than three authors wrote the article. Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming." American Economic Review, vol. 96, no. 2, 2006, pp. 31-34. ---. "Global Warming Economics." Science, vol. 294, no. 5545, 9 Nov. 2001, pp. 1283-84, DOI: 10.1126/science.1065007. Explanation: These two articles were written by the same author. We use “---” when indicating that the same author wrote two or more articles or books included on a works cited. Also, note that the first source entry is for an academic journal article while the second source entry is for a magazine article accessed through the databases. A DOI is included. Regas, Diane. “Three Key Energy Policies That Can Help Us Turn the Corner on Climate.” Environmental Defense Fund, 1 June 2016, www.edf.org/blog/2016/06/01/3-key-energy- policies-can-help-us-turn-corner-climate. Accessed 19 July 2016. Explanation: This is an article from the Environmental Defense Fund web page. Note that the title of the web page is italicized, a URL is included, and the date of access is indicated. Revkin, Andrew C. “Clinton on Climate Change.” The New York Times, 17 May 2007, www.nytimes.com/video/world/americas/1194817109438/clinton-on-climate- change.html. Accessed 29 July 2016. Explanation: This is an article with an embedded video posted on The New York Times website. Zuckerman, Mortimer. “Why We Cannot Live With a Nuclear Iran.” U.S. News Digital Weekly 20 March 2009: 14 paragraphs. www.usnews.com. Accessed 18 October 2012. Explanation: This is a magazine article from a weekly publication. The date is followed by the total number of paragraphs, since this article was in HTML form and didn’t include page numbers. The works cited represents the last page or pages of your research paper. You will be practicing this format in several of your smaller papers. Please use MLA style in creating it. You will find exhaustive information about its structure on the Purdue OWL (online writing lab) website, to which I have provided links. Also, remember the library databases provide icon links and tabs to assist you in translating information from a source to the proper works cited format. 3. Taking a Position The paper you will be writing is considered both argumentative AND persuasive in nature. This means that the essay's purpose is, first, to argue for or against a specific idea, proposal, situation, or issue.  However, it is not enough that you simply state your opinion; you must also analyze the topic's complexities and offer supporting materials that will persuade your reader that your viewpoint is valid and well-researched. This is the persuasive part of the assignment. It is therefore important that you select a controversial and complex subject for your paper. You must be able to take a posi