English 113

Know Your Assignment Requirements

Research Assignment and Instructor Expectations

• Completed by due date (the Research Project Calculator can help you plan to finish on time)
• Length of finished product
• Sources selected and used
• References/citation form
• Organization and flow of ideas
• Writing skills

Topic Selection

• Select/define/refine/focus your idea
• Brainstorm
• 5 Ws (who, what, why, when, where) and how
• Determine if you will be able to cover all the important points of your topic in the space you have to fill

Choose the Right Resource

When choosing resources for your assignment, consider:

• Assignment requirements—what does the professor want you to cite?
• Learn about your topic -- You may want to use a reference book like an encyclopedia (print or online) to start out with if you don't have a clear understanding of your topic yet.
• Time—the more current the topic, the less will be found in scholarly journals or books, which take longer to get published. Recent events will be covered on the Internet, in newspapers and magazines, as well as in the media.
• Depth of coverage and/or the topic—scholarly journals and books cover topics in more depth than magazines and newspapers. Some topics are not covered by the popular press, e.g., research that would not be of interest to the average consumer.
• Quality of the resource - see Step 3: Evaluating Sources

Types of Resources

Primary Sources

Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based. It includes documents such as poems, diaries, court records, interviews, surveys, fieldwork, and some newspaper articles. It also includes research results generated by experiments, which are published as journal articles in some fields of study.

They are also sets of data, such as census statistics, which have been tabulated, but not interpreted.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources describe or analyze the primary sources.

Examples of secondary sources include: books, handbooks, textbooks, and articles that interpret or review research works. Encyclopedias maybe secondary as well as tertiary.

Tertiary Sources

Examples of tertiary sources includes dictionaries, encyclopedias, indexes and abstracts which serve to locate secondary and primary sources. An index will provide a citation which fully identifies the work: author, title of article, title of journal or book, publisher and date of publication, For a journal it will include the volume, issue and pagination. An abstract is a summary of the work being cited. Many indexes and abstract are available now online.

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Developing a Search Strategy

1. Once you have chosen a topic, write it down in the form of a question or brief statement:
   

   What is the relationship between SAT scores and college success?

2. Underline the key words and phrases that are most specific to your topic.
   

   What is the relationship between SAT scores and college success?

3. Write down each key word or phrase, and underneath it, list synonyms or related terms.
   Use a dictionary or thesaurus to find additional keywords. For example:

   SAT scholastic aptitude test

   college university

   success achievement

4. Think about the singular, plural, and other endings of words and write down the root of the word.
   

   SAT scholastic aptitude test

   college, colleges -- college university, universities -- universit

   success, successful, succeed -- succe achievement, achieve, achiever -- achieve

5. Write down your key words and phrases along with their synonyms in the form of a Boolean search statement. Use the root word, and truncate it with an asterisk (*). Note: Different databases use different truncation or wildcard symbols. Check the database's help page. For example:

   (SAT or scholastic aptitude test) and (college* or universit*) and (sucee* or achieve*)

Keyword Searching

1. Use keyword when your term may be very new, very distinctive, or jargon, e.g. "instant messaging", "XML".
2. Use a variety of keywords. There may be additional items on your topic that use different terms.
3. Be aware that you may retrieve items not related to your topic (called false drops)
4. When you cannot remember the exact title of an item, do a keyword search using the title words you remember.

Narrow or Broaden Your Search

Use AND between terms to narrow your search

example: television and violence and children

Use OR and/or truncate (*, ?) words to broaden your search

example: children or youth or adolescents
example: child* (will find child, children, etc.) Note: check online help for  the correct truncation symbol

Saving Items to E-mail, Print or Download from the Library Catalog

To save items:

• From a multiple item results list, select the checkboxes next to the items you wish to save, then click .
• In an individual record, click .

To export items:

1. To e-mail, print or download saved items, click the "View Saved" button.
2. Choose an export format:
   • "Brief Display" includes publication information only.
   • "Full Display" includes location, call number, subject headings, and other descriptive information.
   • "End-Note/RefWorks" to export citations for use in EndNote Web, EndNote Desktop, or Refworks.
3. Under "Send list to" choose an export method:
   • For e-mail: select E-mail and provide a "Mail To" address and subject line
   • For printing: select screen (you will use the browser's print function)
   • For saving as a text (.txt) file or other file format: select local disk
4. Click Submit.

Evaluating Print & Electronic Resources

World Wide Web sites come in many sizes and styles. How do you distinguish a site that gives reliable information from one that gives incorrect information? Below are some guidelines to help.

For both print and Internet resources, consider:

Types of Web Sites: the url is a key

.gov .edu .org .com

What is Plagiarism?

To plagiarize means to:

• Steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own;
• Use (another's production) without crediting the source;
• Commit literary theft;
• Present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

(Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary definition of "plagiarize," retrieved June 20, 2005)

How to Cite Articles

• Determine which citation style to use; the two most commonly used at CSUN are MLA and APA. If your professor didn't specify, pick one and use it consistently.
• Check the sample style sheets (MLA or APA) to see what information the article citation should contain and how it should be formatted.
• Be sure to indicate where material you quoted directly or paraphrased came from.

For more information, see Citing Your Sources - Plagiarism.

Formatting Citations

This tab contains citation guidelines and examples in both APA and MLA style formats, along with links to other styles and resources on citation styles. The style you should use is usually determined by the discipline or course in which you are working. Ask your instructor what style s/he requires or recommends.

Why Cite Sources? Avoiding plagiarism is the most obvious reason; it also helps you back up your arguments with credible evidence and allows others to track down the same resources.

Before turning in your paper, check for these common citation errors:

• Is the list of sources alphabetized?
• Are titles capitalized and/or underlined as required?
• Is spacing and indenting correct?
• Is proper punctuation used?

Ask a Librarian

At reference desk most hours the library is open.
(818) 677-2285
http://library.csun.edu/AskUs

Access Databases from Off Campus

Only current CSUN students, faculty and staff can access our databases from off campus. To access the databases from off campus, click the name of the database. You will then see a screen asking you to log in, using your CSUN User ID and password (the same ID and password you use to log in to the portal).

An alternative is to download and use the campus Virtual Private Network. This allows you to use your computer as if it was on campus. The VPN also supports uploading files to your campus udrive.

For more information, see Accessing Library Resources from Off-Campus and the Library's Copyright Statement (in particular, the Appropriate Use of Oviatt Library's Electronic Resources section).