《学术论文写作》课件 English Academic Writing 4

1、Chapter 4Conducting ResearchI. Map out a search Strategy A search strategy is a systematic plan for tracking down sources. No single search strategy works for every topic. For some topics, it may be appropriate to search for information in newspapers, magazines, and websites. For others, the best so

2、urces may be found in scholarly journals, books, and specialized reference works. Still other topics might be enhanced by field research, such as interviews, surveys, or direct observation. Step 1 Analyze your topic to decide where to beginhave distinctive words or phrases?methernitha, unique meanin

3、gaffirmative action, specific, accepted meaning in word clusterhave NO distinctive words or phrases you can think of? You have only common or general terms that get the wrong pages.order out of chaos, used in too many contexts to be usefulsundiata, retrieves a myth, a rock group, a person, etc.seek

4、an overview of a broad topic?Victorian literature, alternative energy sourcesspecify a narrow aspect of a broad or common topic?automobile recyclability, want current research, future designs, not how to recycle or oil recycling or other community effortshave synonymous, equivalent terms, or variant

5、 spellings or endings that need to be included?echinoderm OR echinoidea OR sea urchin, any may be in useful pagescold fusion energy OR hydrogen energy, some use one term, some the other; you want both, although not precisely equivalentmillennium OR millennial OR millenium OR millenial OR year 2000,

6、etc.Pages you want may contain any or all.Make you feel confused? Dont really know much about the topic yet? Need guidance?Step #2.Pick the right starting placeStep #3. Learn as you go & VARY your approach with what you learn. Dont assume you know what you want to find. Look at search results and se

7、e what you might use in addition to what youve thought of.Step #4. Dont bog down in any strategy that doesnt work.Switch from search engines to directories and back.Step #5.Return to previous strategies better informed.Library ResearchBooksBooks are generally a great resource-they often contain a lo

8、t of information gathered into one place, and they can give you a more thorough investigation of your topic. As you are reading a book, journal article, or newspaper article, you should keep the following questions in mind, which will help you understand how useful the book will be to you.1.Is the b

9、ook or article biased in a particular way? For instance, is the book or article written by a person who is a member of a particular religious group, or a particular environmental group, for example, which would color their interpretation?2.Does the author agree or disagree with my thesis?3.Is the in

10、formation presented accurately, to the best of your knowledge? Is the author him/herself using valid sources?PeriodicalsMagazines (including Time or Newsweek) are called periodicals as they are published periodically (weekly, monthly, etc.). When you are doing research in the library, a great place

11、to look for information is a publication calledThe Readers Guide to Periodical Literature. This is a book which lists, by both author and subject, the names and locations of articles written in that particular year about a particular subject.specialized databases There are many specialized databases

12、. Some examples are ERIC, the educational database, and Silver Platter, which offers texts of recent articles in particular subjectsThe American Psychological Association has the titles of articles on specific subjects (psychology, sociology, etc). Sociofile is another example. One good thing about

13、specialized databases is that you Warning: Bring your own paper if you plan on doing this type of research! Many libraries allow you to print from the databases, but you must supply your own paper. Internet/World Wide Web ResearchInternet research is another popular option these days. You can resear

14、ch from home if you have internet search capabilities, or you usually can research from the library. Most libraries have internet connections on at least a few computers, although sometimes you need to sign up for them in advance. Even if there doesnt seem to be much of a crowd around, be sure to si

15、gn up on the sheet so that you dont have someone come along and try to take your spot.Internet research can be very rewarding, but it also has its drawbacks. Many libraries have set their computers on a particular search engine, or a service that will conduct the research for you. If you dont find w

16、hat you are looking for by using one search engine, switch to another (Lycos, Excite, Web Crawler, and HotBot are all good choices).1. Taking notes, paraphrasing, and quoting 2. Documentation :Any time that you use information that is not what is considered common knowledge, you must acknowledge you

17、r source. For example, when you paraphrase or quote, you need to indicate to your reader that you got the information from somewhere else. This scholarly practice allows your reader to follow up that source to get more information. II Locate different sourcesUsing sources to support your ideas is on

18、e characteristic of the research paper that sets it apart from personal and creative writing. Sources come in many forms, such as magazine and journal articles, books, newspapers, videos, films, computer discussion groups, surveys, or interviews. The trick is to find and then match appropriate, vali

19、d sources to your own ideas.But where do you go to obtain these sources?For college research papers, you will need to use sources available in academic libraries (college or university libraries as opposed to public libraries). Here you will find journals and other texts that go into more depth in a discipline and are therefore more appropriate for coll