Using Information Sources

Read, watch, or listen with your purpose in mind

Each source you find should serve some purpose in furthering your research. Before diving in, ask yourself what you expect to learn from this source. Some sources will provide background information. Others will help you understand one of your subtopics, and some may present a different perspective or a counterargument. Understanding this purpose will focus your attention on what you want to learn.

Skim and scan

Skimming and scanning are two rapid reading techniques used for slightly different purposes. Skimming involves reading through a piece of writing very quickly to get the gist of what it's about. Scanning is when you scan the page quickly looking for specific words in order to find the answer to a question. When reading online, use the FIND command (ctrl key + F key) to search for particular words or phrases. [Read "Skimming and Scanning Tip Sheet" for more information about how to use these techniques in your research and studies.]

Identify main ideas

Understanding the main ideas in a source is critical to your research. Main ideas capture the topic of a section or passage and the author's point about that topic. A source may explore one or many main ideas, but a general rule of thumb is the longer the text, the more likely the author will delve into multiple ideas. Some sources may cover main ideas directly related to your research question or thesis, in which case you will likely return to these sources multiple times. It pays to make note of these main ideas when your are recording useful information. See below for more information on note-taking, and check out "How to Find the Main Idea" for a thorough breakdown of this reading strategy.

Annotation & Note-taking

Every time you start a research project, whether it's a paper, an oral presentation or some other type of project, you need to have a reliable method for keeping track of your information sources. Here are a few options:

• Use index cards, jotting a heading and one piece of information on each card, along with the bibliographic information.

• Open a Google Doc and write down each piece of information and its category, followed by information about the source.

• Print or make a copy of your source, then highlight/underline/circle key phrases, ideas, and points. Write your own comments and reactions in the margin. Record the bibliographic information on that copy.

• Write down your information and sources on sheets of paper, kept in a notebook or binder.

• Keep all of your sources and annotations in a Google Sheet.

Whatever you do, choose a system, keep it very well organized, and stick to it. Don't change methods in the middle of a project as you might lose some of your research and need to start over. Be sure to record source information so you don't have to go back later to find that information.

Direct Quotations

A direct quotation is an exact replica of the words of the original author or speaker. No words can be added, omitted or changed in a direct quotation. Direct quotations should be used sparingly, with a specific purpose in mind. In your research paper, you will always indicate direct quotations by attributing the quote within the text and with the use of quotation marks at the beginning and end of the quotation. [Watch In-text Citations.]

Paraphrasing

Correctly paraphrasing paragraphs or sections of text can be tricky. [Watch a video explanation.] Replacing some words with synonyms or changing the order of words or sentences is not enough. A well-written paraphrase will use your own words and "voice" to convey the ideas expressed in the source material and will connect those ideas to your own conclusions.

The most effective way to do this is to read the material you want to use in your paper or presentation, jotting key words and phrases as you do, then close the book or web page and use only the words you've jotted to capture the main ideas in your own words. Once you are finished, compare what you have written to the original material to make sure that the two are not too similar. There is no concrete rule to tell you what is too similar, but if you have written the idea in your own voice and have added your own interpretation of what was said, you should have a successful paraphrase.