Research

Organizing Research

When researching, you may quickly become overwhelmed with information.  It is important to find a way to gather and record your research in an efficient and organized way.  After deciding on your research question and pre-writing you should have an idea of the kind of information you need to gather.  You should categorize your research notes into specific topics that you will address in your paper.  You could keep this organized on different pieces of papers, different folders or different envelopes.  Another way is to use note cards.  This method requires you to name your topics and then gather research about each area, record it on note cards and file the note card with its’ appropriate topic.

NOTE CARDS

Note cards are tied to the appropriate source cards through a simple numbering system for source and page. Create a note card for each piece of information you will use. Follow these three important steps:

1) READ (or scan the article in its entirety to get a sense of the author's position)

2) THINK (about what is important and what is implied in the article)

3) RECORD (accurately and thoughtfully in your own words)

There are four types of note cards: source cards, fact, paraphrase, and quote. Each note card should contain the following:

• a specific topic heading (taken from your research questions)

• only one idea

• your note (fact, paraphrase, or quote)

• the source number (which ties it to the source card)

• the page number where the information is found

• if no page number is available, write "N. pag." for "No Page"

The type of information which should be placed on the note cards is the following:

• information that gives support to your thesis

• facts, statistics, definitions, dates

• opinions from authorities on your subject

• information that relates to each of your topic headings

• quotations that state something important about your subject/thesis

Sample Note Cards

Source Cards

Give each source a number and record its MLA citation on the card.  This source number corresponds with the source number you will label on your research cards.  This way you can track your sources without having to rewrite the source each time.

Facts and Statistics Note Card

These notes are single facts or closely related data written in very abbreviated form. They may be statistics, dates, definitions, or other facts. Notes of this type should not be written in complete sentences. All unimportant words are left out as well as all connecting words. These notes add strength and accuracy to your report.

Sample facts/statistics note card:

1      (source number) Shakespeare's Personal Life 13 (page number: you still need to record this)

christened April 26, 1564

traditional birth date April 23, 1564

died April 23, 1616 = full circle

Paraphrase Note Card

Paraphrase note cards are used when translating someone else’s words into words of your own; consequently, they are often called summary notes. This is the most useful type of note card. When writing paraphrase or summary notes, follow these directions:

• ask yourself the author's main idea or purpose

• restate the idea in your own words

• leave out all insignificant and/or joining words

• read what you wrote to be sure it has the same meaning as what the author wrote

Consider the following excerpt from John Gardner's article (source 3). The is the passage as it appears in the original:

At the end of a mystery, we want all the questions answered, red herrings explained away, false clues justified, and so on. In a more serious kind of novel, we want all important issues dealt with, no character left hiding forever behind the tree where the author put him and forgot him. It may be that, finishing the novel, we at first imagine that some thread was left untied--for instance, some symbolic idea. Two different characters may have been subtly identified as Eden serpents, and as we finish the novel we at first can't see how the double identification was resolved. Carefully rereading, we discover the seeming contradiction was indeed resolved, and the belated satisfaction of our expectation gives pleasure. But whether the satisfaction is immediate or purposely delayed, it must sooner or later come.

Sample paraphrase note card based on Gardner's comments:

3 (source number) Reader Response Theory 614 (page number)

good authors set up reader expectation and then fulfill that expectation

sometimes it is immediate: usually plot related

sometimes it is delayed on purpose: usually symbol related

Sample paraphrase card for information on one topic summarized from several pages

of a single source: (Notice that the page breaks are recorded.)

1 Social Issues in Merchant of Venice 129-131

P-129 conflict between Antonio (Christian) & Shylock (Jew)

is really not religious but economic

Antonio (merchant) vs. Shylock (money-lender)

P-130 Christians forbidden to lend money; Jews were not

P-131 however, Christians did lend money

proof: Shakespeare's own father convicted of usury! 27

Direct Quotation Note Card

A direct quotation is a sentence or phrase taken word for word from a source. When writing a direct quotation note, place quotation marks around the phrase or passage you are quoting. Also, include the name of the person who said it (in parentheses) at the end of the quote. Use a direct quotation when:

• a thought has been phrased particularly well

• the words express a meaning as no other words could

• an author has concisely stated an opinion about your thesis

• the effect of the quote is startling, thought provoking, or shocking--an attention-getter!

Use direct quotations judiciously. Overuse of quotations diminishes your authority and weakens the effectiveness and quality of your paper.

Sample quotation card where the author of the source is the author of the quote:

2 (source number) Language Development 620

"As soon as you plant a garden or a crop, you develop the

conception of a 'weed,' the plant you don't want in there.

But you can't say that 'weed' is either an intellectual or an emotional conception, because it's both at once."  (Frye)

Since Frye is also the author of the source, you would cite it as usual in the text of your report. MLA style (author/page) would become (Frye 620).

Sample quotation card where the author of the source is NOT the author of the quote:

2 Poets 621

"A poet in our times is a semi-barbarian in a civilized community.

He lives in the days that are past. [. . .] The march of his intellect

is like that of a crab, backwards."  (Thomas Love Peacock)

Peacock is quoted in Frye's article, so your citation (MLA style) would reflect your use of an indirect source, as follows: (Peacock, qtd. in Frye 621). Another option (MLA style) would be to name the author of the phrase within your text, as follows: According to Thomas Love Peacock, the "march of his [the poet's] intellect is like that of a crab, backwards" (qtd. in Frye 621).