Research Tools

Choose a topic:

Brainstorm ideas based on what interests you or the parameters given to you by your teacher.
Gather background information about your topic to help you get the big picture. Use general encyclopedias and books to find background information to help you develop a questions about your topic and eventually narrow your topic into a thesis statement. (Wikipedia is a great place to start gathering background information but it should not be used as a source in your paper or project's work's cited.) We also have a subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica.
Develop questions about your topic. For example: What causes climate change? OR What does the title Crucible symbolize in terms of characters or plot?
Formulate a thesis statement. Your thesis statement asserts your position and should be debatable.
Generate a list of keywords that you can use to search.

Brainstorming Keywords

Decide what information you need:

Figure out where you are going to find your information. Use keywords to search indices of books , databases and the free Internet.

About PHS databases

Evaluating Digital Sources

Review your material to determine what is relevant. Does it help you answer your research questions?
Read for understanding.
Take notes. Different strategies work for different people.
Create a list of references. Doing this as you go along will help you stay organized and prevent plagiarism. Use Noodletools or a Google Doc.

You will probably have to go back and gather more information as you begin to narrow your topic into a focused thesis statement.

Create an outline.
Write a rough draft.
Create a Works Cited: Your teacher will require you to include a Works Cited and possibly a Bibliography. A Works Cited is a list of sources you used in your work. A Bibliography is a list of all of the source you consulted, including the ones you did not reference in the Works Cited.
Complete your final draft and format your paper for MLA style guidelines.