Conducting Research

Overview

Once you have an idea of what you want to write about, it's time to start researching the topic. The best place to begin your research is by using the resources available to you through the Sprague Library. In addition to the resources and assistance at Sprague Library, you may find the following online resources helpful as you conduct research and incorporate it into your writing.

Also see: Citing Sources for discipline-specific citation styles and web-based citation tools | Academic Integrity for guidelines to help you use research responsibly.

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FINDING SOURCES

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CREATING AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

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TAKING NOTES (QUOTING, PARAPHRASING, SUMMARIZING)

When should you use a quote from your research? When should you paraphrase? When should you summarize? And what is the difference between these different ways of incorporating research into your writing?

The resources on this page will help you to understand the difference between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, and decide when best to use each technique in your writing.

  • How to Work with Information from Sources (The Bedford Research Room)
    A tutorial on how to use direct quotations, paraphrases, and summaries.
  • Including Outside Sources (Writing@CSU)
    A writing guide on how to incorporate outside sources. This guide has three sections: Quoting Source Material, Paraphrasing Source Material and Summarizing Source Material.
  • Integrating Sources in MLA Style (Professor David Hennessy, Broward College)
    Posted on YouTube: July 23, 2008 | length 6:48
    A clear and informative video of a student explaining how she learned to integrate sources into her writing rather than dropping in a quotation and expecting it to explain its purpose.
  • Quotations (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center)
    "Used effectively, quotations can provide important pieces of evidence and lend fresh voices and perspectives to your narrative. Used ineffectively, however, quotations clutter your text and interrupt the flow of your argument. This handout will help you decide when and how to quote like a pro."
  • Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing (Purdue OWL)
    "This handout is intended to help you become more comfortable with the uses of and distinctions among quotations, paraphrases, and summaries. This handout compares and contrasts the three terms, gives some pointers, and includes a short excerpt that you can use to practice these skills."
  • Research Tutorials (the companion web site for Mike Palmquist's The Bedford Researcher)
    Interactive tutorials on gathering and integrating research into your writing. There are exercises on paraphrasing, integrating quotations, and even revising source information in the revision and editing process.
    Site Access: To access these exercises, you need to register with the site. Registration is fast and simple.
  • Summarizing and Paraphrasing Sources (Hacker A Writer's Reference Companion Website) Click on "Research Exercises"--requires registration to access.

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EVALUATING SOURCES

All sources are not equal. It is essential that you know how to evaluate the sources you find to ensure that they are accurate, reliable, and timely.

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