Argumentative Research Paper (McKnight & Walsh-Bradley)

Assignment Resources

• • Assignment Sheet (McKnight)

  • Assignment Sheet (Walsh-Bradley)

• Source Packets

• AHS Research Handbook

Library Lesson Materials

• Research Question Slides

• Socrative (enter room number KITSIS)

• Grading Systems Article (sample database result)

• Integrating Sources Exercise (and sample paragraph)

Recommended Databases

Say it with me now: "Databases are not websites." Save the static address (and citation, to save time!) at the bottom of a database article, not the URL from the top, to get back to your results.

Tip: Need a password? Get a bookmark from your friendly school librarian, or download the passwords from this website.

• Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Gale)

  • Great for "hot button" topics in the news today, and particularly useful for exploring both sides of an issue or controversy to develop a more nuanced ("qualified") point of view. Highly recommended!

  • Academic OneFile (Gale)

  • Your source for peer-reviewed, full-text academic journal articles from leading journals in a wide variety of subjects, from science and technology to the arts and theology, as well as news and magazine coverage.

  • Issues and Controversies (Facts on File)

  • Similar to Opposing Viewpoints but a smaller collection with longer, original articles on single topics. Some reports are outdated, so be critical.

• CQ Researcher Online (via Robbins Library so library card and PIN required)

• In-depth reports on single issues such as "health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy." Worth a shot.

Search Tips and Strategies

Combine keywords to get articles that match each of your important concepts. For example, if you are researching the effects of education on social mobility, you would need to search for:

economic mobility AND education

Try different synonyms for key terms. For example, economic mobility, social mobility, and upward (or downward) mobility are often used interchangeably.

economic mobility OR social mobility

Use quotation marks to find complete phrases, especially proper names and titles. For example:

"birth lottery" or "stickiness at the ends"

Truncation uses a symbol, typically an asterisk, to tell the search engine to look for the root of the word with all possible suffixes. It's a great way to find all forms of a word, increasing your results. For example, searching for econom* will find economy, economics, economist, etc.

Check your spelling. If you aren't finding anything for your topic, sloppy spelling may be to blame!

Sample Boolean Search

Combine search terms using AND and OR to create a more powerful search:

We Need Your Help

Check out the new AHS Research Handbook and take the time to share your thoughts!

Source: Library of Congress. “Uncle Sam Needs You” painted by James Montgomery Flagg

Citation & Note Taking Tools

Tip: My favorite resource for citation help is Diana Hacker, of research handbook fame. The Research and Documentation Online website that goes with her book should be your go-to source for MLA questions.

The school has purchased a paid subscription to EasyBib.com for all students, and we encourage you to use this tool to create and manage your citations, notes, and outline.

Go to EasyBib.com, click Register, and then Sign in Using Your Account with Google. Use your school Spyponders account for a unified password and streamlined communication with your teachers.

Then you may choose to filter by documents with full text, sort by relevance, set a publication date range, or refine your subject headings to further narrow the field.