Philip Wolny - Strengthening Research Paper Skills

As with any skill, you can learn how to write research papers by approaching the task methodically. After a few attempts, it will feel like its second nature.

Theres no need to just sit there and worry, however. Whenever you have a big task to accomplish, a great way to make it manageable is to break everything down into smaller steps and plan ahead. Writing a research paper requires certain skills, and a young writer has to learn them eventually.

In this resource, readers will learn what, exactly, a research paper is, how to start one, what sources are, and how to organize and present their findings in a clear, straightforward way. They will also learn or get a refresher course on how to cite their research sources and how to avoid intentional and even accidental plagiarism.

Many of the skills involved are ones readers will probably already be familiar with. Doing research will strengthen them and give them the necessary tools and confidence to complete stellar research projects. Sharpening your skills now will make your academic life easier throughout your career.

Research has always been important for the sciences, professional academic fields, and in many jobs. In the modern-day information economy, it has become more important than ever. Whether a student is going to become a lawyer, marketing executive, entrepreneur, college professor, member of the military, salesperson, or embark on dozens of other possible career paths, doing good research will always make for a highly useful and well compensated skill set. In addition to the concrete payoffs, doing research helps students learn how to ask questions, organize their own thoughts, and even change their preconceived opinions on certain topics and pressing issues of the day. Lets get started and strengthen our research skills!

CHAPTER

ONE

Research Paper: A Definition

B efore refining and improving ones research skills, it is necessary to define what, exactly, is to be done. On the surface, it may seem that researching and writing is simple and straightforward. What is so hard about looking up facts and figures online and reporting back what you found? If it sounds deceptively simple, it is actually not. What is a research paper, really?

A research paper is more than just a bunch of information from various sources. It should analyze a perspective or argue a point. It goes beyond simply documenting ones own opinion, though. Instead, one collects information, data, perspectives, and other source content from periodicals, academic articles, books, and both online and physical sources. These sources, along with ones own original thoughts and ideas, are the backbone of research.

A good research paper will make use of the convenient online tools enjoyed by modern scholars but also explore all relevant sources. These can include physical books from school and academic libraries and the various digital and physical records libraries maintain. Many of these are still not accessible with merely a standard internet connection.

A well-rounded research effort will include plenty of reading. One goal is to cover information and ideas that may be new to you.

On a basic level, a research paper is an essay, but an expanded one. A high school research paper may be relatively shortonly ten typed pages, for example. A higher-level research paper for college or graduate school is often dozens of pages long and can even reach into the triple digits.

Looking around online, you may notice that you can find reports released by various national or international organizations, some of them hundreds of pages long. For instance, check out the reports of certain nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) or the World Health Organization (WHO). Note that these research reports can also have many, even hundreds, of contributors. But dont worry: you probably will not ever have to write something so long, unless you really want to. Longer research reports are not usually assigned until students have reached college. By then, you will have become an expert!

BUILDING ON THE WORK OF EXPERTS

One of the key words to remember when approaching a research paper is in the title above, in fact: expert. According to the online research guidelines from the State University of New Yorks (SUNY) Empire State College, When you write a research paper you build upon what you know about the subject and make a deliberate attempt to find out what experts know. A research paper involves surveying a field of knowledge in order to find the best possible information in that field. It is only from expert knowledge, along with information and data that have been confirmed and agreed upon by many experts, that you can obtain the best source material for a research paper.