Project 3, Slidedoc 2

1. How to
Research Like a
Pro and Make
Really Good
Annotated
Bibliographies
(with cats)

2. I. Research Like a Pro

3. By “research,” what I DON’T mean is “hunt for
sources that support the position you’ve already
decided you’re going to take.”
That’s not so much research as what they call
“cherry-picking.”

4. For the white paper, you need to do
research to GENUINELY UNDERSTAND
THE PROBLEM YOU’RE TRYING TO
SOLVE. Why is this a PROBLEM for the
group of professionals you’ve identified?
Doing research will provide you with
evidence to prove that there actually IS a
problem.

5. E.g. Why does the Internet have so many cat
memes? Why cats rather than some other
animal?
Come up with a research
question or questions:
not too narrow, not too broad. What are
a few of your burning questions about
the topic? What are you most interested
in or really trying to understand?

6. Generate search terms.
Use your research question to identify 2-
3 concept keywords. Generating
synonyms and related words will help you
develop a search strategy.
For example, to begin my research about cat
memes, I might start by Googling the following
phrases:
• why are cat memes popular
• why do people like cat memes
• why are cats popular on the internet

7. RESULTS:

8. Search to find more precise terms.
Skimming my initial search results
gives me a sense for what other
phrases people search for. This helps
me generate a better research
question and better keywords.
Doing my initial search made me realize that
I’m more interested in the psychology behind
cat popularity, or what, specifically, makes
humans so drawn to cats. So I might focus
my search more on that.

9. Search widely across different
platforms (Google Scholar, the UI
Library database, Amazon (!!), etc.).
Look for a key academic source with
a bibliography that will lead you to
MORE sources. See the research
guides on the library website for
specific topics.

10. Here’s what I found when I searched Google Scholar using
one of my new search terms, “psychology cat popularity.”

11. Develop a system to
organize your information:
• A free notekeeping program like
Evernote, Zotero, or Mendeley. Use one
post per source; provide accurate
citations in MLA format (you can get
these directly from the library site). Take
notes on sources, and develop a system
of #hashtagging so that you can find
your sources later.
• Good old-fashioned notecards.

12. II. Make a Really Good
Annotated Bibliography

13. Taking time to do this kind of pre-writing work
(i.e., deliberately creating an annotated
bibliography) will make you more familiar with
your subject, and ultimately will make writing
easier.

14. 1. Provide a complete, accurate source
citation (pro tip: use MLA format – look up
MLA citation style on the Purdue OWL.)

15. Miltner, Kate. "“There’s no place for lulz on
LOLCats”: The role of genre, gender, and group
identity in the interpretation and enjoyment of
an Internet meme." First Monday [Online],
19.8 (2014): n. pag. Accessed 8 Aug. 2017.
Example citation (of a journal article)
in MLA format:

16. 2. Summarize the source in a sentence
or two, USING YOUR OWN WORDS.
Example:
“Miltner’s article argues that while memes
are a popular form of what she calls
“vernacular” or everyday communication
because of their humor, they can still have
serious consequences in the cultural stories
and ideas that they circulate, especially
about gender.

17. 3. Write down relevant quotations
(whole sentences and phrases) from
the article. Also, explain briefly how it
might be relevant to your project.
Example:
This article will be useful
because it carefully explains
(and provides evidence) for
how seemingly innocuous or
silly things have serious
messages.

18. 4. Add tags that accurately categorize
the article so that you can more easily
find it later when you’re writing.
Tags for “There’s no place for lulz in
LOLCATS”:
• #rhetorical effects of memes
• #gender
• #cat culture