BTH740 Research Essay 20103

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How To Write a Research Essay

Four Stages of Research

• Thesis Statement
• Research
• Writing
• Presentation

Thesis Statement

Requirements For the Final Essay

set by the instructor - what you need to know before starting to prepare the thesis statement

• number of sources
  • primary >= 2
  • secondary >= 4
  • tertiary - summarize
• length 1600-2400 words
• late penalties 20%
• timeline:
  • thesis statement - due October 18
  • preliminary research - due November 1
  • recording details - due November 8
  • writing - due November 22
  • publication - due November 25

Narrowing the Focus

select the topic

• sources
  • encyclopedias
  • textbooks
  • dictionaries
  • videos
• process
  • jot down ideas
  • discuss ideas
  • circle one that are of interest
  • select one from a short-list
  • select another as the alternative

Searching for Sources

create working bibliography

• questions to answer
  • are there sufficient sources
  • is each one relevant to the focus
  • are the sources diverse
  • are the sources quality sources
  • are there twice as many sources as required
• process
  • read
    • abstracts
    • conclusions
    • reviews
  • balance
    • books
    • articles
    • electronic
    • audio-visual
    • old
    • new
  • list publication details accurately

Defining the Purpose

• single sentence plus keywords
• discuss the thesis
  • discuss with two peers
  • refine the focus
  • define the scope
• pose the research question
  • sufficient sources
  • narrow enough topic
  • avoid
    • bibliographical
    • narrative
    • descriptive
    • unfounded assumptions
  • how successful not why successful
• formulate one precise sentence
• task is to answer the question <- sole purpose
• make short list of sub-tasks
• identify keywords

Submission

• thesis statement
• keywords
• bibliography

Research

Preparatory Readings

purpose: rephrase the thesis statement

• develop a fuller understanding of the topic
• read some of the shorter sources
• keep the research question in mind
• rephrase your thesis

Record Research Data

purpose: create the research note record

• maintain a well-balanced variety of source materials
• question what you read and record continuously
• read the prioritized sources carefully and in detail
• analyze and select ideas and data related to your thesis
• record all relevant information as research notes
  • for
  • against
• review other sources for context, support and opposition
• process
  • types of notes
    • direct quotations
    • personal insights
    • paraphrases
    • summarizations
  • method of documentation
    • note
    • page number
    • source number
  • major questions to keep in mind
    • does the note pertain to the thesis question
    • should I reconsider the focus
      • should I broaden the focus
      • should I narrow the focus further

Assemble and Prioritize

purpose: create a flowing argument

• assemble the notes into major groups
• arrange the notes within each group in order
• distinguish deductive, inductive, and abductive conclusions

Submission

• edited thesis statement
• prioritized note record
• outline of the argument

Writing

Outline

purpose: organize the flow

• structure
  • introduction
  • body
    • arguments
  • conclusion
• process
  • retain results that pertain to the thesis
  • create a skeleton
  • use point form

Rough Draft

purpose: compose the argument in ascending order of importance/interest

• preface
  • title
  • abstract
  • keywords
• introduction
  • context
  • purpose
  • interpretations
  • thesis statement
• body
  • each point is one paragraph
• conclusion
  • sum up supporting points
  • no new information
  • one to three paragraphs
• references
  • works cited

Edit

purpose: create final draft

• check instructor's requirements
  • format
  • layout
  • 1st person or third person
  • style
    • MLA (see Purdue OWL)
      • Margins 1" all around excluding page numbers
      • Times New Roman 12 point
      • no justification, no hyphenation, double space, two spaces after a period
      • no title page for a research paper
      • sentence case your title no bold no period
      • page numbering in upper right hand corner preceded by your last name
      • secure your pages with a paper clip no plastic folders
      • citations (Author pageNumber)
      • works cited LastName, FirstName. Title. City:Publisher, Year.
      • sites cited LastName, FirstName. Title. City:Publisher, Year. <http://www.xxx.org/xxx/>. Date of Access.
      • interviews LastName, FirstName. Type of Interview. Date.
      • list works cited in alphabetical order at the end of the paper starting on a new page
    • APA (see Purdue OWL)
      • citations (Author, Year, p.PageNumber)
      • works cited LastName, FirstName. (Year). Title. City:Publisher.
    • Chicago
      • citations and works cited
    • CBE
      • citations and works cited
      • citations and works cited
    • ACM
      • SIG journal articles
• expression
  • argument flow
  • paragraphing
    • circle the topic sentence in each
  • clarify your points
  • read out loud - use your auditory system - fix the jumps

Presentation/Publication

• source: Parberry, Ian (2000) How to Present a Paper in Theoretical Computer Science: A Speaker's Guide for Students, Dept. Comp. Sc., Univ North Texas. Denton, Texas.

What to Say How to Say it

• communicate key ideas
  • emphasize key ideas
  • skip standard, obvious, or complicated
• don't get bogged down in details
  • you have been thinking deeply for months
  • audience has not - is the paper worth reading?
  • details are out of place - leave them in the paper
• structure your talk
  • break into distinct parts
• use a top-down approach
  • introduction
    • informal description - impressions are important
    • define the problem
    • motivate the audience
      • explain why it is so important
    • introduce terminology
    • discuss earlier work
    • emphasize contributions of your paper
      • this may be the only points audience will remember
    • provide a road-map to the talk
  • body
    • abstract the major results or contributions
    • explain the significance of the results
    • sketch a proof of the crucial results
      • gloss over the technical details
  • technicalities
    • present a key result
      • give the flavour of the rest of the technical details in a short period of time
    • present it carefully
      • fill in small gaps
      • mention points that may not be in the paper itself
  • conclusion
    • hindsight is clear than foresight
      • make observation that would have been confusing earlier
      • regain the attention of non-experts in the audience
    • state open problems
      • identify problems that arise from your paper
      • mention weaknesses of your paper
      • indicate that your talk is over

Delivery - Getting through to your Audience

• use repetition
  • "tell them what you're going to tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you told them
• remind, don't assume
  • if your paper assumes a standard result, state it as a reminder
• don't over-run
  • conference presentations last 15 to 30 minutes with 5 minutes for questions
  • if short on time, cut the technicalities section
• maintain eye contact
  • spread your attention, don't concentrate on one person
• control your voice
  • avoid fashion, hype, information-free utterances
• control your motion
  • avoid hyperactivity
  • use natural gestures
• take care of your appearance
  • avoid ostentatiousness
• minimize language difficulties
• try not to get anxious
  • prepare adequately beforehand
  • do not pay undue attention to the reaction of the most important person in the audience - their reactions may be the result of something that is totally unrelated to your presentation
  • to calm panic, pause, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths
  • it is the quality of your research that matters

Visual and Aural Aids

• make legible slides
• don't put too much on a slide - remember short-term memory
• don't use too many slide- reserve 2 minutes per slide
• use colour effectively - avoid rainbows - yellow is almost invisible
• pictures and tables
  • pictures are worth a thousand words

Question Time

• expect three types of questions
  • genuine request for knowledge
  • selfish - draws attention to the questioner - indirectly compliment them
  • malicious - expect to have your ego bruised - be prepared, be polite, and avoid lengthy exchanges - offer a one-to-one discussion afterwards

Resources

• General
  • Seneca College Library Research Help
• Writing Labs
  • U of O - Hypergrammar
  • Owl at Purdue University
• Stylesheets
  • MLA Style
  • Nuts and Bolts MLA Style
  • Nuts and Bolts Science Style
  • Science Editors
• Classification
  • ACM Classification System