The Research Paper:
Getting Started
What is a research paper?
Sources
Your opinion
What is a research paper?
No sources
No credibility
No documentation
Plagiarism
What is a research paper?
Trash or treasure?
Good sources
GI
Good paper
GO
What is a research paper?
not proven
CSI effect is real
makes juries smarter
lets guilty go free
How do I start?
What are they talking about?
What’s been said?
Who’s talking?
What can I add?
What are they talking about?
Who’s talking?
CSI made me
a better juror.
I’ve done a controlled study
No study
has found a
CSI effect
Cole & Dioso, as cited in Tyler, T. R. (2006, March 2). Viewing
CSI and the threshold of guilt: Managing truth and justice
in reality and fiction. The Yale Law Journal, 115, 10501072. Retrieved June 8, 2008, from
http://www.yalelawjournal.org/pdf/115-5/
Tyler.pdf
What about the personal?
Personal
Diaries
Journals
Poems
Letters to vent
Academic
Autobiographies
Love letters
Express Feeling
What I feel or think
What is true for me
Reflections
Letters to editor
Surveys
Research papers
Capstone project
Thesis
Dissertation
Share Information
What is known
What is generally true
What about the personal?
The obvious may change.
Suicide bombers
must be crazy.
“What utter
nonsense,” says
anthropologist
Scott Atran
(2003, p. 21).
What about the personal?
The evidence may favor the other side.
Studies finding them
Suicide bombers
sane include
must be crazy.
Mersari, Hassan,
Krueger, and
CIA (Atran, 2003).
Atran, S. (2003, October). The surprises of
suicide terrorism. Discover, 24(10), 2122.
What about the personal?
Limited experience vs. Expertise
My cousin had
ADHD as a kid,
Symptoms persist
but he outgrew it.
into adulthood
So kids with
in 15 to 20 percent
ADHD
of cases.
don’t need
(“The Course,” 2002).
medication.
Sponsored
by Novartis
The course of ADHD. (2002). Retrieved
June 8, 2008, from ADHDinfo Web site:
http://adhdinfo.com/
schoolpersonnel/courseofADHD.jsp
What about the personal?
Your bias
vs.
Objective results
Those who attend
Coming to class
class 95% of the time
regularly
are significantly
will help
likely to earn an
your grade.
A or B grade.
(Snell & Meikes, 1995).
Snell, J., & Meikes, S. (1995). Student attendance and academic
achievement: A research note. Journal of Instructional
Psychology 22(2). Retrieved April 12, 2004, from Academic
Search Elite database.
What do I think now?
Can I trust my sources?
Is this complete?
Do I agree?
Sources
Your informed opinion
What can I add?
Review the evidence and take a stand.
Prosecutors Say:
Defenders Say:
Juries want
too much evidence
Juries understand
our case better
I say:
Thesis
What can I add?
Approach the problem from a new angle.
Anorexia, ecstasy
activate same
brain paths.
Could addiction
therapy help
anorexics?
I say:
Addiction therapy
is/is not a solution.
What can I add?
Notice a trend.
Karin: cutting into
tumors can lead
to cancer spread.
Others linked
inflammation to
cancer.
I say:
The role of inflammation
in cancer….
What can I add?
Disagree, or prove an expert wrong.
Children’s brains
are being
studied.
Crying causes
cascade of
chemicals.
Sunderland says:
Reject Supernanny….
What can I add?
Develop a new application.
Teens’ frontal
lobes aren’t
fully developed.
Their decision
making is too
logical.
I say:
Teach teens to weigh
consequences…
What can I add?
Evaluate a professional practice.
Clive police
add bicycle
patrols.
What are the
pros/cons?
I say:
Bicycle patrols are/are
not effective….
What can I add?
Debunk a myth.
Most people
believe that….
The evidence
shows that…
I say:
This is the truth….



Critical thinking
Originality = Critical thinking
Which is best?
Why do things
happen this way?
What would make
things better?
C or lower
Bloom’s taxonomy
Conversation: What can I add?
• Answer a question
—Do shows like CSI affect the way jurors react
to evidence?
—Is the CSI effect good or bad?
—Is the CSI effect real?
—What is the best treatment for ADHD?
• Sort out conflicting opinions
• Prove a myth (or an expert) wrong
• Suggest a new approach or application
• Update information
Conversation: Assignments
T
H
E
Y
S
A
Y
I
S
A
Y
Explore professional literature.
Form a tentative opinion.
Find evidence for and against
your opinion.
Refine your opinion.
Write your paper.
Kuhlthau’s Model of Research
Stage
Initiation
Selection
Exploration
Formulation
Collection
Presentation
Task
what do I do?
what’s my topic?
what’s out there?
what do I think?
what will I use?
how will I share
what I learn?
Feelings
uncertainty
optimism
confusion
clarity
confidence
satisfaction
(or not)
Remember the writing process?
It’s recursive
Plan
Get ideas
Draft
Get them on paper
Revise
Make them better
Publish
Share with others
Research can be Billy trail
Goal
Billy’s path
Family Circus
A research flowchart
Then there’s serendipity…


Look up schedule for Criminal Minds.
Find profiler quiz.
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/criminal_minds/games.shtml



Wonder: can profilers be as fast and
accurate as Gideon’s team?
Do some reading.
Stumble over CSI effect….
How do I get started?
1. Find a topic.
2. Read about it.
3. Ask
—Can I find enough information?
—Will this hold my interest?
4. Explore other topics.
5. Choose the best.
What’s the “best” topic?
• Arguable
• Discussable
• Adds something
to the conversation
What’s a starting place?
• http://word-crafter.net/CompII/
FindingaTopic.html
• magazines in your field
or series (Opposing Viewpoints)
• an instructor, librarian, or
expert in an interesting field
•your favorite news site