Research is looking up information—something you all know how to do already. Research for presentation, learning, or writing, however, has to give credit to the people whose knowledge you’ve used. You might have found that info in books, periodicals, newspapers, tapes, videos, interviews, websites, etc. To be successful in presenting your academic research accurately and completely, you should use logical reasoning to support a thesis about a selected topic and follow the specific guidelines for quoting and documenting sources of information.
The First Steps for your Research Speech or Paper:
1) Make sure you completely understand the assignment.
How long should it be? How many sources do you need to use? What resources should you use to document your research? When is your speech to be given?
2) Use your time wisely!
Use the class time given and your own study halls and homework time to be sure you’re ready on your assigned speech day.
3) Choose your topic. Make certain it is interesting to you and to others. Also make sure you’ll be able to find plenty of information on the topic.
4) Complete the research . Read up on your subject in order to learn more about it. Encyclopedias, books, and websites are excellent starting points. You may also want to talk to people who are knowledgeable about your subject.
5) Come up with your thesis statement
—a sentence that states the main point of your speech. As you work on your research, you should be looking for ways to prove and support that point.
6) Create an outline . Even in a speech you need an introduction, body and conclusion.
Evaluating Sources of Information:
Not every source that you find will be equally valuable for your purpose. Use the following criteria to select useful, accurate sources:
1) Be sure that your source is up-to-date.
2) Select reliable publications and reputable publishers. For example, you wouldn’t want to rely on information from a tabloid found at a grocery store checkout line.
3) Choose credible authors. Learn who is considered an expert in the field you are researching and what key sources of information on the subject have been published and are available.
4) Skim each source to be sure that it contains information you can use on your topic. Review the table of contents and index; flip through the book or article.
5) Determine whether the source is appropriate for your needs. Is it too general or too scholarly? Is it too basic or too complex for your purpose?

Taking Notes:
As you find important information about your topic, record it! Make sure you also record the source where you found this information along with the page number. There are three basic methods for taking notes: summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting.
Summarizing
When you summarize, you present ONLY the author’s main ideas in your own words . In your notes, use abbreviations, numbered lists, and other shortcuts to record an author’s words.
 Author’s original words

Source: Fleming, page 287

Meanwhile, Franklin kept the pressure on the French, writing letters that were aimed at forcing
France to abandon its policy of watchful waiting.

Student Note

F. wrote in France to gain support for Revolution. Pg 287

Summary

In France, he began a letter -- an essay-writing campaign -- to gain French support for the
American colonies’ cause (Fleming 287).
Paraphrasing
When you paraphrase, you record specific facts or details in your own words . However, paraphrasing does not mean keeping the author’s sentence structure and simply replacing the original words with synonyms. You will need to read the source carefully, analyze it, and then rephrase the information to reflect your understanding of it.
 Author’s original words

Source: Fleming, page 196

Meanwhile, in the English newspapers, Franklin began a task that was to occupy him for the next ten years – defending American’s reputation against the volleys of abuse fired at the Colonies by outraged Britains, who could see no reason why Americans should not pay the same taxes they paid at home.

Student Note

For 10 years, Franklin wrote in British newspapers, defending Americans against having to pay taxes. Pg 196

Paraphrase

For ten years in London, Franklin acted as an agent for several of the American colonies. During this time, he wrote letters and articles that were printed in British newspapers, explaining the position of the American people as they sought to avoid taxes being imposed on them (Fleming
196).

Quoting
Quotations should be used only when the author’s words are as important as the facts or ideas expressed. Be sure you enclose the author’s exact words in quotation marks
. Use ellipsis points
(…) when you want to leave out a portion of the quotation; use brackets ([ ]) to add letters or words of your own to clarify or explain a point or to make grammatical sense. Take special care to avoid errors.
Always proofread quotations immediately after recording them.
 Author’s original words

Source: Fleming, page 395

During the often bitter debates, he played his favorite role of conciliator and compromiser.

Student Note
 At Constitutional Convention of 1787, Franklin “played his favorite role of conciliator and compromiser.” Pg 395

Direct Quote

At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the elderly Franklin “played his favorite role of conciliator and compromiser,” his final public service to the nation he loved (Fleming 395).
Incorporating Source Material:
Material from outside sources, whether it is summarized, paraphrased, or quoted should be smoothly incorporated into your report. If the material is an unusual fact or theory, or if it is a quotation, introduce it with the name of the author, the title of the source, or both.
Make sure that you can tell the difference between information that is common knowledge (so you can just present it) and information that shows specific thoughts, point of view, or knowledge of an individual source (which you must give credit for).
Documentation:
The main purpose of documentation is to give proper credit to the sources of information used in a research report. If you use another person’s words or ideas, you need to cite the source in which that material appears. If you fail to do so, you are guilty of plagiarism – stealing material and passing it off as your own work. Documentation involves some sort of note or citation within the report itself.
Usually it is a parenthetical citation that is written in a specific format established by the MLA.
Word to the Wise – plagiarism, even if it is unintentional, is a serious offense. Not only will you risk earning no credit for a research report in which plagiarized material appears, but you also may face other consequences as well.

Parenthetical Citations within the Paper:
Most parenthetical citations consist of the author’s last name and the page number(s) on which the material appears in the source. A space (with no mark of punctuation) separates the author’s name and the page number(s). Usually, the citation is given immediately before the final punctuation of the sentence that contains the material being cited.
If you’re using a source from the internet that has no author, then use the first few words of the title of the article.
Example
*
*
“The Way to Wealth,” a collection of more than a hundred proverbs taken from Poor Richards
Almanac made Franklin’s name synonymous with saving (Baida 100).
“Franklin is credited as being foundational to the roots of American values and character, a marriage of the practical and democratic Puritan values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment (“Benjamin
Franklin”).
As you document information, you will need to use the MLA format sheet you were given in class.
Preparing the List of Works Cited or Bibliography:
Whenever you do research, you’ll need to include a listing titled Works Cited to give full credit to the sources you’ve used. Each entry follows a specific format. Follow these guidelines for preparing your list of works cited:
1) Collect the information needed for each of the sources you use in your speech.
2) Put this information in the correct format according to the MLA guidelines.
3) Alphabetize the entries by the authors’ last names or by the first important word in the titles of anonymous works.
4) Place the words Works Cited at the top of the page on which the list appears. (Center it!)
5) Begin each entry at the left-hand margin and indent all other lines of the entry five spaces to the right.
Student Notes:
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

MLA Format Instructions:
Book:
Author’s last name, first name.
Title of the book . City of publication: publisher, copyright date. Print.
Wiesel, Elie. Night.
New York: Bantam, 1960. Print.
Encyclopedia:
Author’s last name, first name (if there is one). “Word or phrase you looked up.” Name of
encyclopedia.
Edition (if given). Year of publication. Print.
Hutjens, Michael. “Milk.” World Book Encyclopedia . 2004. Print.
Website:
Author’s last name, first name (if there is one). “Title of the article you read.” Name of the website .
Publisher of the website or n.p. if there isn’t one, date of publication or n.d. if there isn’t one.
Web. Date you accessed the information.
“Ernest Hemingway Biography: Childhood.”
Hemingway Resource Center . N.p., 30 Nov. 2007.
Web. 16 August 2007.
EBSCO Periodical:
Author’s last name, first name. “Title of the article.” Name of periodical Volume number.Issue number: (year published): page number of article. Database EBSCO found it in . Web.
Date you accessed the info.
Wallace, Patricia. “Separateness and Solitude in Frost.” Kenyon Review 6:1(1984): 1. Literary
Reference Center . Web. 12 Oct. 2009.

Works Cited
“Cheshire Cat.”
Oxford Dictionary of Allusions . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print.
Denby, David. “The Moviegoer: Susan Sontag’s Life in Film.” New Yorker 12 Sept. 2005: 90-97.
Print.
“Ernest Hemingway Biography: Childhood.”
Hemingway Resource Center . N.p., 30 Nov. 2007.
Web. 16 August 2007.
Wallace, Patricia. “Separateness and Solitude in Frost.”
Kenyon Review 6:1(1984): 1. Literary
Reference Center . Web. 12 Oct. 2009.
Wiesel, Elie. Night.
New York: Bantam, 1960. Print.