Writing Research Papers in the Social Sciences

Abstract

1. Writing from Research. 1a. Why Do Research? 1b. Learning to Write APA Citations to Your Sources. 1c. Learning Variations in Form and Content. 1d. Understanding the Scientific Terminology. 1e. Establishing a Schedule. 2. Finding a Topic. 2a. Relating Personal Experience to Scholarly Problem. 2b. Speculating about a Subject by Using Idea-Generating Techniques. 2c. Focusing the Subject by Consulting with Others. 2d. Exploring the Literature. 2e. Framing a Working Theory or Hypothesis . 2f. Drafting a Research Proposal in APA Style . 3. Gathering Data by Field Research and Laboratory Testing. 3a. Investigating Home Town Sources. Interviewing Knowledgeable People. Writing Letters and Corresponding by E-mail. Reading Personal Papers. Attending Lectures and Public Addresses. Investigating Government Documents. 3b. Examining Audiovisual Materials, Television, and Radio. 3c. Conducting a Survey. Developing a Questionnaire. Designing the Questionnaire. Giving Directions to Participants. Wording the Questions. Writing a Cover Letter. Writing the Questionnaire. Conducting a Pilot Study to Test Your Design. Designing the Questions. Rating Scales. Agreement Scales. Questions Requiring Short Written Answers. Short answer questions: Writing Online Surveys. CHECKLIST: Conducting a Survey. 3d. Conducting Experiments, Tests, and Observation. Observation. Laboratory Experiments. Field Experiments. 3e. Structuring Your Scientific Report. Introduction. Method. Results. Discussion. CHECKLIST: Conducting an Experiment or Observation. 4. Gathering Data in the Library. 4a. Launching the Search. 4b. Developing a Working Bibliography. 4c. Finding Books on Your Topic. 4d. Finding Articles in Magazines and Journals. 4e. Searching for a Biography. 4f. Searching for Articles in the Newspaper Indexes. 4g. Searching the Indexes to Pamphlet Files . 4h. Searching for Government Documents. 4i. Searching for Essays within Books. 4j. Using the Microforms. Checklist: The Library Search. 5. Finding and Filtering Internet Sources for a Paper. Checklist: Using Online Rather than Print Versions. 5a. Beginning an Internet Search. Checklist: Evaluating Internet Sources. 5b. Reading an Internet Address. 5c. Using a Search Engine. Subject Directory Search Engines. Robot-Driven Search Engines. Metasearch Engines. Specialized Search Engines. Educational Search Engines. 5d. Searching for Articles in Journals and Magazines. Online Journals. Online Magazines. 5e. Searching for Articles in Newspapers and Media Sources. 5f. Accessing eBooks. 5g. Using Listserv, Usenet, and Chat Groups. 5h. Examining Library Holdings Via Internet Access. 5j. Finding an Internet Bibliography. 5k. Conducting Archival Research on the Internet. 6. Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism. 6a. Using Sources to Enhance your Credibility. 6b. Placing Your Work in Its Proper Context for an APA Paper. 6c. Honoring Property Rights. 6d. Avoiding Plagiarism. Checklist: Documenting Your Sources. Checklist: Common Knowledge Exceptions. Checklist: Required Instances for Citing a Source. 6e. Sharing Credit in Collaborative Projects. 6f. Honoring and Crediting Sources in Online Classrooms. 6g. Seeking Permission to Publish Material on Your Web Site . 7. Responding to the Evidence for a Paper. 7a. Drawing Ideas from the Literature on Your Topic. 7b. Outlining a Source to Discover Its Key Ideas. 7c. Discovering the Writer's Intentions. 7d. Testing the Validity of Information. 7e. Distinguishing Factual Evidence from Assertions and Inferences. Guidelines for Judging the Assertions of Others. 7f. Finding and Evaluating a Writer's Argument. Identifying Fallacies. Guidelines: Finding Fallacies in Logic. 8. Organizing Ideas and Setting Goals. 8a. Charting a Direction and Setting Goals. Checklist: Evaluating Your Overall Plan. 8b. Using the Correct Academic Model (Paradigm). A General All-Purpose Model. Academic Pattern for Argument and Persuasion Papers. Academic Pattern for Analysis of History. Academic Pattern for a Comp