ENG122 Composition II Research Paper Guidelines P a g e.docx

ENG122: Composition II
Research Paper Guidelines
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2015.09
English 122: Composition II
Research Paper Guidelines
You will spend five weeks completing a 5-7 page academic
argument in APA style. Each week is devoted to
one phase of the academic writing process:
1. Topic Selection & Beginning Research
2. Pre-Writing & Organization
3. Draft Writing
4. Revision
5. Final Draft
Week 1: Topic Selection & Beginning Research

Select a topic from the list of approved topics that begins on
page two of this document. You will be working
with the same topic for the next five weeks. Choose a topic that
is interesting but be wary of topics that elicit a
strong emotional response. We will be writing an objective
academic paper in third-person perspective, which
may be difficult if you feel too personally connected to the
topic.
As you begin to gather research on the topic, start organizing
your work into an annotated bibliography. You
will submit your annotated bibliography for grading and
feedback at the end of Week 1. You will use a working
thesis statement to guide you. These items may need to be
revised before you move forward.
Week 2: Pre-Writing & Organization
After gathering sufficient research, you will begin to build a
credible argument about the topic, which may
require revisions to your working thesis statement. You will
submit an outline of your academic argument for
grading and feedback at the end of Week 2. The outline may
need to be revised before you move forward.

Week 3: Draft Writing
You will utilize your annotated bibliography and outline as
tools to write a rough draft essay. The annotated
bibliography provides you with your research notes while the
outline guides you through the structure of your
argument. You will submit a rough draft of your academic
argument for grading and feedback at the end of
Week 3. You will have time to fully revise your draft over the
remaining two weeks of class.
Week 4: Revision
The revision process contains a number of steps that may
overlap and repeat. This includes additional research,
more writing, proofreading, editing, and content revision. You
must consider and apply the feedback you
received throughout class as you revise your rough draft. You
are expected to use Week 4 as an opportunity for
careful and thorough revision.
Week 5: Final Draft
The final week of class will culminate in the submission of your
Final Research Paper. This is the final,
complete, error-free version of your academic argument. The
final draft is worth 30% of your final grade in this

class.
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Writing Prompts – Select One for this Class
Prompts have been organized by subject area. Please review all
options before making your final selection and
consider selecting a topic from your field of study/major.
Business
1. Some argue that a gender-based income gap is still present in
America today. Many sources state that
women make less money than men, regardless of length of time
on the job, experience, or education.
Research the debate about the alleged gender income gap and its
causes. If you find that a gender gap
exists, argue for at least one solution to this inequality. If you
find that a gender gap does not exist,
offer an argument that women are compensated fairly in
American workplaces.
2. Many business analysts allege that the music industry is
faltering due to outdated record label business
models, inefficient and overly complex artist contract

agreements, and other factors. Does current
research support this assessment? Can the music industry be
saved by altering its business practices or
does it need a complete overhaul? Argue whether or not the
music industry is indeed faltering, and
what can or should be done to improve the business model of
the music industry.
3. Telecommuting (working from home) is a growing trend in
the workplace. While there might be positive
impacts for the company and employee, there may also be
downsides. Research the business impact and
personal impact of telecommuting and argue a well-supported
position on the value of telecommuting
today. Is telecommuting a good business practice or is it a bad
business practice? Support your
position with evidence.
4. What is the impact of disposable products and packaging in
the marketplace and on the environment?
What should be the focus: impact on business or impact on
environment? Research the issues and
explain whether new government regulations should be
developed to curb over-packaging, or
persuade the reader to believe that the environmental hazards
are being overstated. Utilize credible

and scholarly sources to support the argument.
Communications & Liberal Arts
5. Examine the role of the media (e.g. films, television, the
news, websites, etc.) in shaping public opinion.
In what ways do the mass media influence public opinion,
understanding and prioritization of social and
political issues? Argue whether mass media outlets have a
negative for positive effect on public
opinion and what mass media should do to help Americans
become informed citizens.
6. Critics allege that social media, 24-hour cable channels,
paparazzi, and online tabloids have blurred the
lines between entertainment, big business, and journalism. Some
critics have also alleged that these media
outlets have also altered the way journalists fulfill their roles
and responsibilities to the American public.
Argue whether or not these media outlets can indeed be
considered “journalism” by comparing the
principles and ethics that traditional journalists subscribe to the
actions taken by alternative media
reporters and digital journalists.

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7. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has
published information regarding the
prevalence of childhood obesity in America today. Some critics
argue that advertising for junk food, fast
food, and sugary soft drinks are unethically targeting children
and teenagers. Are companies obligated to
adjust their business and advertising models to improve
society’s health? Should advertising directed at
children and teenagers be limited by government regulations?
Or, should companies have the right to
advertise in any fashion they like without government
interference? Argue whether or not the
businesses have, in fact, targeted children and teenagers, and
whether or not this should be an
allowable practice.
Education
8. Educational games have moved from a reward in education to
an accepted technique for teaching and
learning at all levels (Pre-K – higher education). Argue
whether or not educational games have value
in 21st century education and what the value may be. Explain
and support your view based on

scholarly sources published within the last five years.
9. Homeschooling has become a popular choice for many
families in America. Research the effects of
homeschooling on children and the efficacy of homeschool
education today. Argue whether or not
homeschooling is an appropriate educational experience for
children or if students are better served
by a traditional on-campus K-12 education.
10. Common Core State Standards are the newest standards in
the field of education. Research one state’s
Common Core State Standards and defend or refute the value of
the Common Core to better
prepare students for college, military, or the workforce based on
the evidence.
11. Distance learning, also known as online learning, has been
increasing as an alternative model of
education. Define and explain how this distance learning
environment is different from the more
traditional model of school. Research, discuss, and explain the
pros and cons of this type of
learning. Make your own argument either for or against online
learning for students and support
your viewpoint by using the credible and scholarly resource you
have found to support your

argument. Finally, explain why this is an important issue to
discuss.
12. Many public schools now require students to wear uniforms.
Discuss this topic by explaining some of the
possible reasons for or against this requirement. Argue whether
or not school uniforms should be a
requirement in public K-12 schools. Support your viewpoint
with relevant scholarly sources that
will support your reasons for making this argument. Finally,
discuss why this is an important issue
to consider.
Behavioral Sciences
13. Researchers have documented the physical impacts of
poverty, including issues of access to quality food
and availability of safe housing. In addition to the physical
impact, poverty can also have a long-lasting
social impact on the community and each individual. Argue
whether or not socioeconomic status
affects an individual’s ability to be socially mobile and provide
evidence to support your position.
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14. Discuss the meaning and role of gender equality and
women’s empowerment. What does it mean for
women to be empowered at work, in the home, and in higher
education? Consider sources that debate
women’s social and historical disadvantages. Argue whether
gender inequality remains a problem in
American society and address actions that should be taken to
tackle alleged power imbalances. Use
scholarly and credible research to form and support the paper’s
position.
15. “Systemic racism” and “institutional racism” are terms used
to describe racism that has been built into the
structure of a government and its social institutions. Research
the issue of systemic and institutional
racism in the United Stated. Identify the role and function of
legal, economic, political and/or
educational systems in perpetuating racism and argue for at
least one possible solution to curb
systemic and/or institutional racism in America today. Support
all claims with scholarly source
material.
Criminal Justice & Military Studies
16. Americans are afforded the right to peacefully assemble in
protest with certain limitations. Peaceful

protests may, however, escalate and result in criminal activity.
Argue whether or not the right to
peacefully assemble should be revised or whether it should
remain unchanged. Support the
argument with relevant scholarly and credible source material.
17. The American public has recently rallied to ask for body
cameras to be mandatory for all police officers to
provide evidence of misconduct in controversial cases. Others
have argued that body cameras should be
required to provide evidence of proper police action when
officer actions are questioned. Critics, however,
have raised concerns that body cameras violate privacy laws and
statutes. Argue whether police body
cameras are a solution for officers in the United States, risk a
violation to the privacy of American
citizens, or otherwise impact the relationship between law
enforcement and the community.
18. Cyberspace and its infrastructure (servers, cables, etc.) are
vulnerable to many risks. Cybercriminals have
the ability to operate from remote locations across the globe to
find vulnerabilities in the link between
cyberspace and physical systems/records and critical
infrastructure. Argue whether the Department of

Homeland Security doing enough to protect citizens from
cybersecurity risks or if there is more to
be done.
19. The trauma of war is not confined to military personnel.
War-affected children are left with many
physical, psychosocial, educational and security needs. Explore
what being done to address the mental
health needs of war-affected children. Then argue for future
steps that need to be taken to better
protect children in warzones.
Health Care
20. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) maintain much
controversy when it comes to human health and
the environment. Discuss the main concerns about the effect of
genetically modified agriculture on
biodiversity and human health. Argue whether consumers have a
right to know if a product contains
genetically modified food and support your position with
academic sources.
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21. Health insurance is a program meant to assist people with
the cost of medical services and health-related

procedures. Argue whether access to affordable health insurance
should be the responsibility of the
individual, the government, or employers in the United States.
Support your position with credible
and scholarly evidence.
22. More women are being encouraged to participate in prenatal
genetic testing during their first trimester.
However, there is much debate about whether prenatal genetic
testing is appropriate for all pregnant
women due to the occurrence of misleading results and future
privacy concerns for the child. Research the
literature from the last five years and develop an argument
regarding the use of genetic screening. Argue
whether prenatal genetic testing should be a part of all prenatal
care or if it should be reserved for
those with preexisting conditions and/or high risk pregnancies.
23. The aging American population will require extra health and
human services in the near future. Some
experts have expressed concern that we are unprepared for the
population surge in the geriatric age group.
Develop an argument that explains the necessary steps for the
healthcare industry and the federal
government to take to prepare for the needs of aging Americans.

Support your position with
academic and scholarly source material.
Public Administration & Political Science
24. Examine two well-documented peace negotiations (e.g.
Geneva Convention, Treaty of Versailles, Paris
Peace Accords, etc.). What were the outcomes? Be sure to
discuss the complexities and any ongoing
efforts. Based on your research of two peace negotiations, argue
whether a non-violent approach is
beneficial in enforcing a peace treaty. Support your argument
with scholarly research materials.
25. Choose a statement or speech made by one of the
presidential candidates from a current election
campaign. Was the candidate completely truthful or did s/he
mislead the public? Argue whether or not
the candidate is a trustworthy and reliable future civil servant or
leader based on the statements
they made to the public. Be sure to incorporate multiple
credible and scholarly viewpoints to
explore all sides of the issue and refute the counterarguments.
26. Difficulties in the European Union have led to individual
nations undertaking austerity measures, which
are drastic cuts in government spending to prevent defaulting on

national and public-sector debt. Explore
what makes austerity measures unpopular and how they
influence the quantity and quality of government
services. Argue whether austerity measures are an effective
means for reducing deficit spending and
government debt or if they cause too much harm to the nation’s
citizens. Support your position with
credible and scholarly sources.
27. The United States entered World War II in 1941
immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The
nation mobilized for war as millions of men volunteered for
military service and consumer factories
converted to produce material. Americans bought bonds, grew
Victory Gardens, and lived with rationing
of food and consumer goods as well as recycling important
items like metals and rubber. Argue the ways
in which WWII created new employment opportunities for the
poor, women, and racial and ethnic
minorities in America despite the difficult material
circumstances.
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Building on GEN 103
28. If you have taken the GEN 103: Information Literacy course
at Ashford University, you developed a
research question and began the process of researching a topic.
Drawing on Chapters 1, 4, and Appendix
A in the textbook, turn your topic into a research question that
inspires argumentation. For instance, if you
researched, “What are the effects of bullying in public
schools?” your question might be: Should schools
implement a zero tolerance policy on bullying? Then, argue a
position with scholarly and credible
supporting evidence.
Note: If you select this prompt, you must share your research
question with your instructor for approval
by Thursday, Day 3, of the first week of the course.
An Introduction to Argument
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English 122: Composition II

Argument and Rhetoric
An argument can take many forms. It is, at its root, a method
for communicating a singular
position with evidence, logic, and persuasion. There are
essential elements to all valid
arguments, though they may take different forms.
1. Claim
2. Evidence
3. Counterargument
4. Rebuttal
A successful argument depends upon the delicate balance
between these elements. Imagine a teeter-totter at the
playground. The claim is the basis of the argument, much
like the base of the teeter-totter. A big opposing viewpoint,
called the counterargument, is constantly pushing down on
one side or the other. Balance can only be achieved by
providing enough evidence to support the claim along with
rebuttal of the counterargument.
Essentially, an argument depends on research (evidence) and

finding flaws in opposing
viewpoints (rebuttal). Each claim made in an argument needs
this support to be valid.
Any time you begin to write, you must analyze the rhetorical
situation. This means identifying
the writer (Ethos), Audience (Pathos), and Topic (Logos). These
three items form a triangle
that will frame your project. Let’s take each item and apply it to
an argument.
First, we will consider the writer. It seems obvious that you are
the writer. However, who are
you? Are you a student at a university or are you something
else? When writing academic
papers, try to set your other interests and behaviors aside and
write as a scholar. This will make
you a credible writer. Aristotle referred to the credibility
of a speaker or writer as ethos. Ethos is very important
when presenting an argument. To persuade readers to
agree with you, writing must be credible.
Next, let’s think about the audience. For most papers, the

audience will be Ashford University. How can you
appeal to this audience? University students, faculty, and
staff are educated, detail-oriented, smart, and play a big
role in your success at school. You must find a way to
reach this audience and impress them with your ability to
use shared values and culture to persuade the reader.
Aristotle used the term pathos to describe the humanistic appeal
to emotion and values of your
audience.
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A research-based paper will rely heavily upon logos, Aristotle’s
term for an appeal to reason
and logic. An argument will also require attention to reason and
logic to be credible. A simple
formula for logos in an argument is claim + evidence = credible
argument. Other factors, such

as counterarguments and rebuttals, can also play a role in this
equation. All factors should be
analyzed in a logical manner to add credibility to an academic
argument.
Two common types of argument are Classic and Rogerian. How
do the four elements of an
argument fit into these two styles? How do the three points of
the rhetorical triangle fit into
each style?
Classic and Rogerian Arguments
Classic (Aristotelian) Argument
Classic or traditional argument is rooted in Greek philosophy
and rhetoric. Aristotle believed
that every valid argument contained a syllogism. At its roots, a
syllogism is nothing more than a
statement with evidence to support it. The key to understanding
how a syllogism works is the
ability to evaluate or generate proper evidence. In the classical
form, this evidence should work
to convince an audience of the author’s contentions in a fashion
that not only supports their

argument’s major claim, but rebuts all alternative arguments in
a way that is both logical and
decorous. Remember, it is crucial to win your audience over
with logic and credibility, but one
can only accomplish that feat by courting the audience with
rhetoric: “The art of using language
so as to persuade or influence others; the body of rules to be
observed by a speaker or writer in
order that he may express himself with eloquence” (Oxford
English Dictionary, 1910). The
structure below is a basic outline of how a classic argument is
constructed. The sections do not
represent paragraphs; they represent distinct segments of an
argumentative essay and, with the
exception of the introduction and thesis statement, the body of
an essay can be situated in any
fashion that is most effective at convincing a given audience.
Section One: Introduction and Thesis—Your introduction
should describe the rhetorical
situation and give a clear forecast of the material you will cover
in your essay. Your thesis
statement should make a clear, limited, descriptive assertion
and explain why your stance

matters. Example: Failure to pass the recent gun law is a bad
move for public safety because
inexperienced, mentally ill, and unethical people will continue
to have access to firearms.
Section Two: Present the position that you most agree with.
Then, give ample evidence to
support why you hold this view. (Do not use first-person. Use
third-person narrative).
Section Three: Present the position that you most disagree with.
Then, validate the perspective
with a circumstance or situation in which that viewpoint could
or might be correct.
Section Four: While remaining non-offensive in language and
style, provide a rebuttal of the
opposition’s stance by pointing out its fallacies or lack of logos
and ethos.
Section Five: Conclusion—Provide a sound but brief
explanation of your argument and further
direction for your reader.

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Consensual (Rogerian) Argument
The consensual or Rogerian method is based on the notion that
many contentious issues,
subjects, problems, etc. can be solved by identifying the
“common ground” of all parties
involved and working together toward a common goal. Common
ground is the shared values,
concerns, and constraints of each party. There are no clear
winners or losers in this type of
argument style. The key is that both (or various) parties profit
in some defined fashion while
making concessions or changes that benefit the traditionally
labeled opposition. The structure
below is a basic outline of how a consensual (common ground)
argument is constructed. The
sections do not represent paragraphs; they represent distinct
segments of an argumentative essay
and, with the exception of the introduction and thesis statement,

the body of an essay can be
situated in any fashion that is most effective at convincing a
given audience.
Section One: Introduction and Thesis—Your introduction
should describe the rhetorical
situation and give the audience a clear forecast of the material
you will cover in your essay.
Your thesis statement should make a clear, limited, descriptive
assertion and explain why
your stance matters. However, you need to remember to argue
for a solution that is
acceptable to both perspectives. Your thesis should clearly state
a type of compromise. You
should then be able to expand on that compromise in Section
Three. Example: Though video
games often have positive educational value, children should
not be allowed to play video
games until they are 13 years old.
Section Two: Present the perspective that you disagree with the
most. Make sure you do so with
fair language, and fully develop the perspective from the
constraints in which the stance

might be most valid—i.e. no one is wrong all the time. In what
circumstance might this
perspective be the most correct to select?
Section Three: Present the most valid perspective using logic,
credibility, and ample evidence.
Your research should guide you in the creation of this section.
Section Four: Create common ground/ a Rogerian solution. This
section should convince your
audience that the opposing perspective will benefit from your
stance. The key here is not to
point out why the opposing perspective is faulty, but to explain
why your perspective serves
the greater good or is more logical in the given constraints and
how it benefits the opposing
perspective.
Conclusion: Provide a wrap up and continuation of your
Rogerian solution. It should also
include direction for your audience (i.e., no subject can be
completely solved). Therefore,
you should work toward plausible solutions rather than absolute
remedies.

Previous section
Next section
4.2 Working With Sources—How to Review the Literature
As we move from finding sources to working with sources, it is
important to understand what you are doing when you "review t
he literature"as well as get a better grasp on the structure and d
ynamics of research conversations. The most important thing to
bear in mind when you arereviewing the literature is to rememb
er that research articles and books are artifacts of living minds a
ctively involved in conversation withothers. When you consult a
research database to find information on a topic, you are actual
ly seeking out partners-in-inquiry—
people who areasking questions similar to your own and thinkin
g about issues that concern you. You are looking both for more
material (facts and concepts) tothink with and for someone to th
ink along with, someone who looks at things from a different pe
rspective and who sees different aspects ofthe phenomenon or p
roblem.
So when you start your review of the literature, remember to ke
ep track of the names, disciplines, and areas of expertise of the
researcherswho wrote the articles you are reading. Over time, if
you have located an active and coherent conversation, as Emma
did, you should startrecognizing names, be able to link them to
positions and lines of thought, identify whose ideas and position
s they use and whose they counter,and see the structure of the c
onversation emerge. In fact, creating this understanding of the s
tructure and dynamics of the conversation is asignificant part of
the work you need to do in this phase of your research. If you d
o not understand how researchers are using the ideas, data,and a
nalyses to make arguments, you risk cherry picking data to supp
ort your own views and misunderstanding the positions of resear
chers. Ifyou do not recognize how arguments are positioned wit
h respect to one another, you also risk overestimating the certai
nty and consensus ofthe field, and underestimating the degree of
reasoned controversy.

Critical Reading and Note-Taking Strategies
During her earlier research, our student researcher, Emma, built
a strong set of articles—
ones she believes accurately represent the substanceof the resea
rch conversations to which she has been listening. Now is the ti
me to start to read the articles systematically so that she cancon
struct a structural model of the relationships among the ideas sh
e finds in the articles she is reading. Before we continue with E
mma'sresearch project, let us take some time to understand the d
ifferences between reading for information and reading to write
about a topic.Along the way, we will collect some concrete strat
egies for reading more critically.
To get the most out of your time spent reading, you should set a
mbitious reading goals; Table 4.1 lays out some of the key diffe
rencesbetween basic and advanced reading goals.
Table 4.1: Basic and advanced reading goals
Basic Reading Goals
Advanced Reading Goals
Read to store andretrieve information
Read to be conversant—
to be able to speak about the details (and the relationshipsamon
g them) and general effect of a text without referring to it
Read passively
Read actively—
take notes, ask questions, make connections, paraphrase key poi
nts
Read to absorb
Read to explore, inquire, consider, question, criticize, analyze
Read to understand
Read to do something to/with the text—
evaluate, synthesize, create, write
Read for the gist
Read to understand nuances and to assess views, to locate gaps i
n the conversation, tofind places to comment and respond
Read each text inisolation
Read texts as part of an intertextual dialogue or field

Readimpressionistically
Read systematically
Read to agree ordisagree
Read to understand a position that is different from one's own
Tips on Keeping Research Notes and Citations Organized
English Professor James Meetze recommends ways to keep your
research notes organized.
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
Why is writing down source citations along with your notes an i
mportant practice?
2.
What is your current strategy for organizing your notes and sour
ces, and does it work well foryou or not?
Analyzing and Interpreting
In order to read to fulfill these more advanced goals, you may n
eed to alter your reading habits. In particular you will need to ta
ke ananalytical approach to reading your sources in order to inte
rpret them. By interpretation, we mean the process by which yo
u have come to seethe significance, meaning, or implications of
the ideas, data, and questions with which you are working. Anal
ysis and interpretation arenotoriously fuzzy terms. But it is not
hard to be concrete about the process used to do these activities.
Let us begin by understanding what itmeans to read analyticall
y. To read analytically is to attend to, understand, assess, and c
omment on
1. The sequence of moves a writer uses to make an argument;
2.
The relationship between claims made and the evidence and logi
c used to support them;
3.
The significance and implications of specific keywords or phras
es a writer chooses to convey his or her view;
4. Patterns in data, ideas, methods, or perspectives;
5.

Anomalous data, ideas, methods, or perspective once a pattern h
as been established; and
6.
The explicit or tacit organizing binaries or oppositions in the pi
ece.
Reading analytically also means
7.
To uncover and reveal the tacit values and assumptions that anc
hor a writer's perspective;
8.
To understand the larger contexts in which specific data or phen
omenon are relevant; and
9.
To explore and reveal the implications of the data, ideas, or met
hods.
While it may seem that reading analytically requires you to pay
attention to a lot, the following sections provide you with some
strategies for astep-by-step reading and note-
taking process that will maximize your chances of reading analy
tically.
Approaching the Text With the Right Mindset in the Right Envir
onment
It can be easy to check out of a reading that on first blush seems
dull or irrelevant, is hard to follow, or is on complex subject m
atter. Do notlet yourself take the easy way out! It will make you
r life as a writer considerably more difficult if you do. So, try to
focus hard, knowing thatthe work you put in up front will pay o
ff with time saved, less stress, and better results at the end of th
e project. Work actively to payattention, understand, and respon
d to the material being presented. Concentrate on understanding
what is being conveyed, whatever thedeficiencies of the piece o
f writing. Try to connect what you are reading to what you alrea
dy know (through personal experience or otherreading you have
done on the subject). Think about how what you are reading pos
sibly changes what you think about the topic on which youare w
orking. Assess the uses and limits of the ideas which you are rea

ding for your own writing project.
Using Pre-Reading Strategies
Survey the reading and develop questions and interests to guide
your reading. Activate what you already know about the topics,
whether fromother reading or life experiences. When you survey
a text, you scan the table of contents, introduction, chapter intr
oductions, headings, orsummaries to pick up a shallow overview
of the text. From your survey, develop a small set of initial que
stions or thoughts that you will to tryto answer or think through
as you read. Also, locate areas of particular interest (topics or s
ubtopics, but also specific page ranges) to which youwill give y
our best attention.
Before reading the text carefully, consider what you already kno
w (or think you know) about the topic of the text. By creating e
xpectationsabout what you are reading, you will notice when the
writer's line of thought diverges from your expectations and see
those moments asinteresting, puzzling, troubling, ambiguous, o
r suggestive—as moments about which you will need to write.
Marking Up Your Texts
Corbis/SuperStock
Marking up a source helps reinforce your engagement with it,re
gardless of which method you choose to make notes andannotati
ons.
The simple act of making marks on a reading focuses your atten
tion andpromotes an active and dynamic approach to your readi
ng that is absolutelyessential if you are to write effectively abou
t what you read. Unless you have alate model tablet that accepts
input from a stylus, and a good piece of "ink onPDF" software (
such as PDFill's PDF Ink), it is best to mark up a reading using
apencil or pen.
In the next paragraph, we will describe some basic marks and ty
pes of margincomments. But before we do, we want to prompt y
ou to notice how they focusyour attention more on the flow of t
he intellectual conversation, rather than onthe specific pieces of
information or materials the writers use to have theconversatio

n. Remember, you are reading to further the conversation, notm
erely to acquire and retain information. To participate in the con
versation,you have to be able to use the words on the page to m
ap the exchange ofideas embedded in the text.
Use the following marks and margin comment types to help you
make theconversation in your set of research texts come to life (
see Marked Up Text:Sam Anderson, "In Defense of Distraction"
for an example):
·
Underline essential and supporting questions and label which su
pporting questions go with each essential question;
·
Circle key concepts, and then define concepts and terms in your
own words in the margin;
· Double-
underline compelling passages and make margin notes about ho
w you could use them in your own project;
·
Draw a block around passages that are complicated, challenging
, or hard to understand, and then on a separate sheet of paper, tr
y toparaphrase them until you understand them;
·
Jot down the ideas, examples, and lines of inquiry that occur to
you as you read;
· Draw lines or make cross-
references to forge connections and comparisons between sectio
ns of the reading, or between the currentreading and others you
have read previously; and
·
Make margin notes about the uses and limits of particular conce
pts or passages for your own work.
It is particularly important to track the writerly moves the write
r is making. When you track a writer's moves, you are paying as
much attentionto the purpose of each paragraph as to the conten
t of it. When you attend to the writer's purpose of a paragraph, y
ou better understand howhe or she wants you to synthesize the i

deas, exhibits, and arguments he or she is presenting into a larg
er argument. When you understand howa writer is making his or
her argument, you can better evaluate it. Table 4.2 below prese
nts some common writerly moves for which to be onthe lookout.
Table 4.2: Common writerly moves
Offering background
Analyzing an exhibit
Interpreting an exhibit
Borrowing expert authority
Extending another writer's argument
Presenting another writer's argument
Countering another writer's argument
Making an argument
Defining terms
Describing a method
Criticizing another writer's method
Revealing tacit values or assumptions
Keeping track of a writer's moves will enable you to better see t
he conversation in his or her text. By understanding how the aut
hor is makinguse of his or her sources, you can distinguish betw
een what the sources say and what the author is saying in respon
se. Then you can consideryour response to all the voices in the t
ext.
Marked Up Text: Sam Anderson, "In Defense of Distraction"
You should also keep track of your intellectual response to the r

eading: Are you skeptical of some of the ideas or arguments pre
sented? Doessome way of approaching a problem or object of an
alysis seem particularly interesting or puzzling? Is something co
nfusing or suddenlyparticularly clear? Write it all down. Keep tr
ack of the questions, ideas, problems, potential forwards/counte
rs, and personal experiences thatpercolate in your brain as you r
ead. These will be the foundations on which you come to terms
with the piece.
When you are finished reading, immediately write a healthy par
agraph right on your printout (or on the first or last page of you
r chapter, rightin the book if you own it) documenting both the
basic substance of the writer's contribution to the conversation a
nd your initial intellectualresponses to it. Record the essential i
deas, concepts, or claims that you want to forward or counter, a
nd explain how and why. Describe howreading this text changed
your thinking (furthered it? nuanced it? redirected it? complicat
ed it? confused it?).
Transfer your margin notes to a word-
processing program or note-
taking program (such as Evernote) after reading. We recommend
transferringnotes only after you read, rather than as you go, bec
ause the act of transferring your notes from the page to the word
processor helps solidifyyour encounter with the text. You will r
emember more of what you read and develop a deeper, more sop
histicated response to the text byrevisiting your margin notes in
the act of transfer.
You do not need to transfer everything. In fact, you want to be s
elective to start winnowing important stuff from trivial (even if
interesting)stuff. Start by transferring everything that went into
your "healthy paragraph." When you wrote that paragraph, you s
tarted to develop yourown response to the material. You began t
o integrate new ideas and information with old, and started to th
ink about how your own projectwill be impacted by engaging thi
s particular text in conversation. As you revisit your notes in lig
ht of other readings and further work on yourown piece of writi
ng, you will add to, revise, rethink, and respond to this initial re

sponse (so be sure to record the date of your initial reading,and
each time you revisit your notes). By tracking the development
of your thought as you revisit and rethink your response to a rea
ding inlight of further readings and thinking, you will have a his
tory of your engagement with the ideas and lines of thought that
are the substance ofthe conversation you and all the other write
rs are having. When you write your paper, you will rely on the h
istory of your encounter with otherconversationalists to formula
te your own entry into the conversation.
After transferring that first "healthy paragraph," transfer only th
e most important concepts (especially ones named with specializ
ed terms),conversation-
changing insights, passages, examples, and lines of thought you
might want to emulate or deploy in your own writing projects. D
onot worry about capturing data or statistics—
they are on paper and easily retrievable. If you need one or two
specific pieces of information, goback and make a note on the fi
rst page of the reading indicating where exactly in the essay the
data is (page number) and—here is the crucialstep—
explaining the meaning and implications of the data. Unless you
write down what the data means to you, you will surely forget
what youfound interesting, useful, or troubling about the data.
This intensive approach to reading is necessary because you are
not just reading to understand a fact, remember it, and select the
right optionon a multiple choice exam. You are reading to resp
ond to this text (and others) in writing. You need to cultivate an
d record a complexintellectual response to the text in order to w
rite about it in an interesting and compelling way.
Synthesizing
Once you implement this reading process and do some initial re
ading in your source set, you should start to see connections bet
ween yoursources. Likely they will be pursuing some of the sam
e questions, using similar kinds of exhibits or illustrations, and
circling around a small setof explanations. When you read for re
search purposes, it is important not to treat each text in isolatio
n. Instead, try to understand how thetexts are talking back and f

orth to one another on a small set of issues.
In order to demonstrate one way to systematically represent the
structural relationships in a conversation, let's review a visual r
epresentationof the research conversation represented in Sam A
nderson's New York magazine piece "In Defense of Distraction"
(2010). In it, Andersonreviews the scientific literature on distra
ction and multitasking with the purpose of challenging the notio
n that we are mired in a "crisis ofattention." While Anderson ad
mits that opportunities for distraction abound in our media-
saturated society, he argues that mindful distractioncan be a sou
rce of creativity and insight. Anderson's article discusses 10 diff
erent writers' views on the subject. That means he has condense
d10 or more different articles and books into several paragraphs
of text to arrive at his own synthesis of their ideas. No research
er, not even aprofessional like Anderson, can hold the details of
10 complicated texts in mind. So as you learn more, it becomes
important to develop someefficient means of representing a lot
of material in a clear efficient way. One way to do this is to cre
ate a synthesis table, where the views ofseveral different writers
on a single topic are entered. Table 4.3 illustrates part of one A
nderson might have made.
Table 4.3: Synthesis table
Writer Name
Question: What are the causes and characteristics of the "attenti
on crisis," and whatcan be done about it?
Herbert Simon
We live in a society where we have access to too much informat
ion. Too muchinformation "consumes the attention of its recipie
nts. Hence a wealth of informationcreates a poverty of attention,
and a need to allocate that attention efficiently"(Anderson, 201
0, para. 3).
David Meyer
Multitasking is a myth. Our brains process information across m
any different channels.When we "multitask" we're rapidly switc
hing between channels. When a channel getsoverloaded, our bra
ins become "inefficient and mistake-

prone" (Anderson, 2010, para.12).
Linda Stone
The prevalence of networked mobile computing/communication
devices means that weare frequently in a state of "continuous pa
rtial attention," which makes it hard to sustainfocus (Anderson,
2010, para. 14).
Winifred Gallagher
While the world constantly intrudes on our attention, paying att
ention is an act of will.We should be able to choose to focus (A
nderson, 2010, para. 15). Because the capacityof our attention is
limited to 110 bits of information per second, we must choose t
ospend our attention on worthwhile things (para. 21). When we
do not choose to spendour attention wisely, we should blame ou
rselves (para. 22).
While a synthesis table enables you to see the divergent views o
f the concept at a glance, it does not easily capture the relations
hips amongthe views. A concept map does a much better job. Fi
gure 4.1 shows what a concept map based on Anderson's synthes
is might look like:
Figure 4.1: Concept map of Anderson's synthesis
Thinking creatively about concepts and questions—
including using concept maps—
helps to sort out yourideas and notes and synthesize the informa
tion in a useful way.
Concept maps are designed to answer single questions—
in this case, "What is the ‘poverty of attention' thesis?" The tho
ughts of each writerare color coded so that you can easily see w
hich ideas belong to each writer, and where their ideas overlap.
As you review the concept map,you will see how much detail it
conveys, as well as gaining a sense of which writers agree with
one another, and which dissent from the others.
To better understand how to create concept maps, visit the Instit
ute for Human and Machine Cognition website athttp://cmap.ih
mc.us/docs/conceptmap.html. For now, remember this: However
you decide to take notes on your reading, when it comes timeto

synthesize, be sure to capture areas of disagreement as well as
agreement. Being able to acknowledge that there are alternative
ways ofthinking about your questions and responding to them fa
irly and thoughtfully is a prerequisite for joining the conversati
on of researchers inyour essay.
Once you understand who is saying what in the conversation, yo
u can use your synthesis table or concept map to write a sequen
ce ofparagraphs in which you synthesize what you have learned
from the literature. As we explained in Chapter 1, writers of syn
theses weavetogether significant strands of previous research to
create a bigger more useful picture of what the research commu
nity knows. More thansummary, synthesis is an interpretive acc
ount of the literature. By "interpretive account," we mean that a
s you explain what other writers havewritten, you also explain
what you think is the significance of the meaning of the literatu
re. Here is an example of what a synthesis might looklike in Em
ma's essay. Notice that while much of the first two paragraphs a
re straightforward description of other writers' ideas, the final t
woparagraphs evaluate the utility of the pieces of research discu
ssed. Paragraph 3 explains what Emma thinks her sources have
gotten right.Paragraph 4 details what she thinks they have gotte
n wrong.
Para. 1: There has been a lot of hand-
wringing going on in the last 5 years about what "kids these day
s" are doing on theInternet, and what the Internet is doing to kid
s. Parents, teachers, clergy, and a host of commentators fear tha
t the generationtechnology writer John Palfrey (2008) deems "b
orn digital" is categorically different from previous generations
because of howdeeply their lives are intertwined with communic
ations technologies. Tethered to one another via mobile phones,
Facebook, andIM/texting, well-
equipped teenagers are undeniably what linguist Naomi Baron (
2008) calls "always-
on," inseparable both fromtheir gadgets and one another (p. 8).
Para. 2: For Baron, Palfrey, and Emory University English profe
ssor Mark Bauerlein, the fact that teens live at least partially in

avirtual world is troubling. Baron worries that all this online wr
iting that teens do is weakening their ability to use writtenlangu
age effectively. Palfrey is concerned that the sometimes risqué t
races of Digital Natives' personal lives posted on Facebook,in f
orums, and other public places online expose them to both humi
liation and danger (2008, p. 7). Bauerlein thinks provocativelyth
at today's online teens are "the dumbest generation" yet, precise
ly because their online connections to one another wrap themin
a growth-stunting "generational cocoon" (2008, p. 10).
Para. 3: It is undeniable that today's teens (well, those with the
financial wherewithal to afford pricey smartphones and dataplan
s) live in a media/technology–
rich environment that is shaping who they are, how they think, a
nd what they see as theirpurpose in life. Bauerlein is correct tha
t teens' virtual activities reflect their powerfully absorbing inter
est in the dynamics andculture of teen life. John Palfrey gets it r
ight when he writes that "new digital technologies—
computers, cellphones, Sidekicks—
are primary mediators of human-to-
human connections. They have created a 24/7 network that blen
ds the human with thetechnical to a degree we haven't experienc
ed before, and it is transforming human relationships in fundam
ental ways" (2008, pp.4–
5). What is more, their digital connectedness is transforming ho
w knowledge is created and distributed, and how teaching andle
arning happen.
Para. 4: But Baron, Palfrey, and Bauerlein are wrong to view thi
s moment of admittedly transformative change in humancommu
nications as a historic cusp, a moment threatening the collapse o
f reason, economy, and civic virtue. Despite what Palfreywrites,
we are not "at a crossroads." There are more than "two possible
paths before us—
one in which we destroy what is greatabout the Internet, and on
e in which we make smart choices and head towards a bright fut
ure in a digital age" (2008, p. 7).While Palfrey is almost right th
at the "choices we are making now will govern how our children

and grandchildren live their livesin many important ways," it is
important not to think about the transformations that come with
our move into the digital worldin the either/or terms of moral p
anic (2008, p. 7).
When you write your synthesis, remember to attribute ideas to t
he researcher from whom you borrowed them. In the four paragr
aphs above,notice how many times the names Baron, Palfrey, an
d Bauerlein are repeated. Also, notice how the credentials of ea
ch researcher arepresented at least once in the sequence. You wi
ll also want to use the specialized language that you find in text
s you are synthesizing.Whenever possible, weave the quoted pas
sages into sentences of your own, as Emma does throughout her
synthesis. If you use thesestrategies, your reader should be able
to easily distinguish between the views and ideas of other writer
s and yours.
Using Research to Answer Supporting and Essential Questions
With her project definition, well-
designed set of sources, reading notes, and synthesis maps, Em
ma is ready to begin to try tentativelyanswering her supporting
questions using the ideas, concepts, cases, and interpretive fram
eworks she finds in her sources. Her first step is touse these res
ources to formulate specific answers to her supporting questions
. She should try to answer her questions as definitively aspossib
le, presenting supporting data and analysis to be persuasive. She
must also convey the full range of informed opinion represente
d in theconversation—
including divergent points of view, alternative explanations, and
areas of controversy, as well as the data and analysis supportin
gthese alternative views. As she is answering her supporting qu
estions, she should also start thinking about what these tentative
answerssuggest about elements of her essential question. Period
ically, she should try to answer her essential question by writin
g a holistic account ofher research and the conversation to whic
h she has listened.
As Emma tries to explain what she thinks is happening when tee
n girls use Facebook within the context of their friendships and

romanticrelationships, she will develop ideas of her own and be
gin to recognize gaps in her research. For example, Emma has n
o peer reviewedresearch explaining the developmental dynamics
underpinning teen girls' formation of friendships and romantic
relationships. While Emma hasmuch research remaining, from h
ere on out, the research work of Phase II is to repeat the process
detailed above as her ideas evolve and gapsappear. Eventually,
as she refines her stock of ideas, cases, and interpretive concept
s; tests varying explanations; and develops her set ofsources, sh
e will arrive at a conviction that she knows why, in developmen
tal terms, teen girls use the Internet to socialize with peers andr
omantic interests. She will be ready, that is, to formulate a thesi
s-driven argument. You will learn much more about thesis-
driven researcharguments and the characteristics of good theses
in Chapters 5 and 6, but to begin it is sufficient to understand th
at a thesis must do morethan prove a point. It must be formulate
d as a response to one or more researchers' positions on issues d
riving the existing conversation.
Formulating a Thesis
In order for Emma's thesis to be responsive to the discussion, he
r work must be situated in the arguments of others. So far, Emm
a has decidedthat the "addiction" explanation of teen social net
work site usage obscures more than it reveals. She has also deci
ded that a multidisciplinaryexplanation rooted in teen psycholog
y and sociality and the affordances of social network sites revea
ls a lot about why and how teen girls usesocial network sites su
ch as Facebook to seek status, try on identities, and mediate rela
tionships. Her thesis paragraph would need to capturethese elem
ents of her thinking. Here is what the lead-
in to her thesis might look like.
Lead-
In: While early researchers and popular articles understand teen
use of the Internet in terms of addiction, recent studies bysociol
ogists danah boyd [sic], Sonia Livingstone, and others have pro
posed an explanatory model that suggests that theaffordances of
social network sites such as Facebook are enabling teens to me

et developmental needs. The value of this researchis that, unlike
previous research, it is based on surveys, interviews, and direct
observation of teens.
Now that she has declared her dissent from the addiction model,
and her consent for a developmental model, the next step is for
Emma toestablish how her own line of inquiry responds to an ac
tive question in the literature. It might look something like this:
Line of Inquiry: Since empirical research on teen use of the Inte
rnet is relatively new, most studies treat both teen boys and girl
s.In order to better understand the specific nuances of teenage g
irls' use of social network sites, I will synthesize the currentliter
ature on teen girls' developmental imperatives and the affordanc
es of social network sites to explain how girls use theaffordance
s of social network sites to navigate the challenges of teen frien
dships and romantic relationships.
With this, Emma narrows her focus, establishes her method of r
esearch, and forges a key connection between the technology an
d teen girls'developmental imperatives. Next is to issue her thes
is statement:
Thesis: Whereas parents and journalists explain teen girls' Inter
net use in terms of addiction, I argue that the multimediaafforda
nces of Facebook (Timeline, status updates, links, photo posting
, and tagging) feed into a gender-
specific imperative forteen girls to "compose" an image of them
selves that responds to their own needs and the expectations of t
heir peers. Further, Iargue that this image both reflects an ideal
image of themselves and the way individual girls are seen by th
eir peer group.Finally, I argue that parents who view their daug
hters' images misinterpret this online self-
image, seeing them as documentaryimages instead of peer-
negotiated projections.
The last part of the paragraph is to explain the significance of th
e thesis.
Significance: If my arguments are correct, then we can better un
derstand the gender-
specific challenges teen girls face as theyseek to establish an e

merging adult identity for their peer group, and work to separate
from the self rooted in the family setting.Moreover, we can bett
er help parents interpret their daughters' Timelines in light of th
e developmental imperatives they express.
Having reviewed the literature well enough to formulate such a
thesis, Emma is ready to begin using her project description; an
swers toessential and supporting questions; and her reading note
s, synthesis tables or concept maps, to draft an essay. Later cha
pters in this book willtrack Emma's progress through the draftin
g, revision, and editing stages of the project.
How to Write a Thesis Paragraph
1.
Establish the part of the conversation you want to work in with
"lead-in" sentences.
2.
Establish your own line of inquiry as a response to the conversa
tion.
3.
Articulate your thesis as a response to conventional wisdom and
established research.
4. Explain the significance of your thesis—
why does it matter if you are right?
By the end of this phase of the research project, you will have e
quipped yourself to be a knowledgeable participant in discussio
ns on yourtopic. You should have well-
formed questions, plenty of examples and cases to draw on as ev
idence, multiple partners-in-
inquiry (includingthose who may disagree with you), and an inte
rpretive framework to help you determine the significance and
meaning of your analysis.Chapter 5 will go much more into dept
h about theses and their structures.
Previous section
Next section

3.1 Distinguishing Between Scholarly, News, Trade, and Popula
rSources
As you start the work of the second phase of your research, it is
important to understand the difference between two major types
of sources:scholarly sources and news, trade, and popular sourc
es. While each kind of source can contain useful information an
d interesting perspectives,they have different kinds of authority,
which determine how you can use them in academic research.
Scholarly Sources
Scholarly sources are produced by professional researchers seek
ing to advance or evaluate knowledge, who submit their work fo
r peer review.As you learned in Chapter 1, peer review certifies
the rigor of the research process and the reasonableness of the r
esearcher's argument andinterpretations. In order to be scholarly
, both journal articles and books need to be peer reviewed. Most
databases of sources will provide youwith the option to restrict
your searches to scholarly sources. But if not, you can recogniz
e scholarly sources by asking yourself the followingquestions:
© National Geographic Society/Corbis
Try to seek out reliable sources, such as those written by schola
rs orexperts in a given subject area. Sir Isaac Newton's work in
physics andmathematics has been a reliable source for many im
portant scholars inthe scientific field.
1.
Is the writer of the source a credentialed professional researcher
writing inhis or her field of expertise?
2. Has the source been successfully reviewed by peers?
3.
Is the purpose of the source to advance or evaluate knowledge?
4.
Does the source use an extensive citation system to document it
s ownsources of evidence and its engagement with other researc
hers?
5.
Is the source published in an academic journal or by an academi

c oruniversity press?
If you answered "yes" to the questions on this list, then it is like
ly that thesource is scholarly. If not, then likely you have a new
s, trade, or popular source.
News, Trade, and Popular Sources
News, trade, and popular sources are produced by journalists, fr
eelance writers,columnists, magazine writers, or practitioners of
a trade. Unlike scholarlysources, they are not subject to scholar
ly peer review by credentialed experts,although they may be sub
ject to editorial review or review by other industrypractitioners.
News sources tend to be published in newspapers or magazines
such as the Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, or U.S. News
&Weekly Report. Written by journalists, their purpose is to repo
rt and analyze current events. Trade sources tend to be publishe
d in journals ormagazines intended to be read by executives or p
ractitioners working in a specific industry. For example, the tra
de magazine R&D is read byresearch and development executiv
es, project managers, scientists, and engineers. While trade sour
ces provide useful information to theirreaders, they tend to refle
ct the perspectives of the industry they serve, rather than seekin
g to advance or evaluate knowledge. Popularsources are written
to educate or entertain, by writers who often are not experts in t
he field. They tend not to use specialized language orrequire an
y previous knowledge to read. Magazines such as People and Re
ader's Digest are examples of popular sources.
Types of Sources
There are hundreds and millions of websites. They can becatego
rized as popular, scholarly, or trade. Information comesfrom pri
mary, secondary, and tertiary sources.
1.
In your own words, how would you define what comprises ascho
larly source as opposed to a popular source?
2.
Considering your potential paper topic, what are thebenefits and
/or drawbacks of each source type?

You will be able to recognize whether you are working with a n
ews, trade, or popular source by asking yourself the following q
uestions:
1.
Is the writer a journalist, a freelancer, a columnist, a practitione
r of a trade, or a magazine staffer?
2.
Is the purpose of the source to report news or opinion; to earn m
oney; to advertise a product or service; to educate a general aud
ience;to persuade readers to hold an opinion, support a policy, o
r make a judgment; or to entertain?
3.
Does the source make assertions without providing readers with
a way to verify its sources for themselves?
4.
Is the source a publication dedicated to news and opinion? A tra
de magazine or journal? A popular magazine?
If you answered "yes" to the questions on this list, then it is like
ly that the source is a news, trade, or popular source. Table 3.1
summarizes themain characteristics of each type of source.
Table 3.1: Scholarly and popular sources
Scholarly
News, Trade, or Popular
Writer
A credentialed professional researcher writing inhis or her field
of expertise.
A journalist, a freelancer, acolumnist or pundit, a practitionerof
a trade, or a magazine staffer.
Peer reviewed
Yes
No
Purpose
To advance or evaluate knowledge.
To report news or opinion; to earnmoney; to advertise a product
orservice; to educate a generalaudience; to persuade readers toh

old an opinion, support a policy,or make a judgment; to entertai
n.
Citation system
Extensive. Used to document evidence andengagement with othe
r sources.
Absent or minimal. Readers haveno or minimal ways of verifyin
gassertions.
Publication type
Academic journal. Book published by anacademic press.
News or opinion. Trade magazine.Popular magazine.
Keep in mind that if you misidentify what type of source you ha
ve, you will undermine your credibility as a reliable researcher,
you may misuseyour source, and your arguments will be less per
suasive.
Using Scholarly and Popular Sources
Now that you know how to distinguish between scholarly source
s and popular sources, it is important to understand how to use e
ach kind ofsource in your research. Whether scholarly or popula
r, sources need to be credible to be used in your research. Credi
ble sources, as wediscussed in Chapter 1, offer relevant evidenc
e for their claims and are offered by well-
informed people motivated to pursue the truth. Sincescholarly s
ources are designed to be credible from the start, you are on fir
m ground using them in a variety of ways in your research. Be s
ure,however, to determine whether the researcher is writing abo
ut his or her field of special expertise. Someone who holds a Ph.
D. in history, forexample, likely does not have the expertise to
produce scholarly research on the environmental causes of Hone
ybee Colony Collapse Disorder.We will explore more sophistica
ted ways to use scholarly research later in this chapter. But for
now, you should understand that they canprovide you with:
· Authoritative information and data;
·
Important concepts and methods to use to analyze and interpret
data;
·

Credible, valid, and reliable arguments to consider and to which
to respond;
·
Names of other scholars working in the fields and the titles of t
heir publications; and
·
Criticisms and evaluations of other researchers' published work.
In order for popular sources to be credible, you must assess whe
ther they are biased or motivated by something other than pursu
it of the truthbefore you use them. You should not use sources t
hat are written primarily to advertise a product or service or to e
ntertain. Likewise, youshould not use sources written by writers
whose deeply held beliefs are affecting their ability to meet the
scholarly standards of fairness,accuracy, open-
mindedness, and, therefore, their ability to consider alternative
explanations and points of view. If you do determine thatpopula
r sources are credible, you can use them in limited ways in your
research, mostly at the beginning of your project, when you are
tryingto get up to speed in a new area of learning.
You can reasonably use popular sources to:
·
Represent the conventional wisdom or popular view of a topic,
which your research will evaluate and replace with a more schol
arly view;
·
Get a provisional overview of the issues involved in your topic,
with the expectation that as you learn more, you will replace thi
s overviewwith a better one drawn from your reading in scholarl
y sources;
·
Get a provisional overview of any history or context that might
be relevant to your topic, with the expectation that you will repl
ace thisoverview with a better one drawn from your reading in s
cholarly sources;
·
Locate the names of some expert researchers working in fields r

elevant to your topic;
·
Learn which fields of study or academic disciplines are relevant
to your topic;
·
Learn some of the specialized vocabulary that researchers use to
discuss your topic;
·
Help you ask questions about your topic and determine what els
e you need to learn; and
·
Provide you with ideas about what kinds of statistics, data, or c
ases you might need to find to be qualified to write on the topic.
A final word on scholarly and popular sources: For the research
project on which you are working, you will need to work extensi
vely andcritically with scholarly sources. As you learn more abo
ut your topic and start to think more carefully about the questio
ns to which you areseeking answers, you should spend more tim
e working with scholarly sources and less with popular sources.
Previous section
Next section
3.2 BEAM: A Commonsense Way of Thinking About Sources
In order to design the most useful set of sources for your project
, you must have sources that will meet your needs as a writer, as
well as onesthat meet your information needs. Traditionally, st
udents have been taught that they need "primary" sources and "s
econdary" sources. But, asBoston University writing professor J
oseph Bizup (2008) argues, the traditional "primary" source/"se
condary" source language is too abstract totell new researchers
very much about what to look for in sources. Bizup replaces pri
mary and secondary source types with everyday terms thatdescri
be how writers use sources in their texts: to provide background
, offer exhibits, engage in arguments, and describe methods. Biz
upcollects these uses in the mnemonic BEAM, shown in Figure
3.1.

Figure 3.1: Joseph Bizup's BEAM
The BEAM method of employing sources.
Source: Adapted from Bizup, J. (2008). BEAM: A rhetorical voc
abulary for teaching research-
based writing. RhetoricReview, 27(1), 72–86.
BEAM is useful because it can help you assess your set of sourc
es to see how well they meet your needs as a writer. Writers of r
esearch essaysseek to persuade readers of the truth of a proposit
ion by offering context-sensitive, evidence-
supported claims, careful analysis, and plausibleinterpretations.
You will need to assure your reader that:
·
You understand the larger context in which your work is situate
d,
· Your claims are well-supported by evidence,
·
You have interpreted your evidence reliably using sound method
s and relevant concepts, and
·
You have considered the views, analyses, and interpretations of
other researchers working in the field.
The "B" in BEAM: Background Sources
Because you will not be the first researcher working on your top
ic, you will need sources that enable you to formulate your rese
arch questionsagainst a background of significant facts and prev
ious ideas on the subject. According to Bizup, background sourc
es provide "materials whoseclaims a writer accepts as fact, whet
her these ‘facts' are taken as general information or deployed as
evidence to support the writer's ownassertions" (p. 75). Backgr
ound sources enable you to provide context, show how other res
earchers and public commentators have seen theproblem or issu
e under study, and summarize the current state of research on yo
ur topic.
A writer relies on backgroundsources to provide context and toh
elp delineate an initiating puzzleor question. Writers expect rea

dersto accept them as authoritative.
They also enable you to prepare your reader to understand wher
e your specific line of inquiry fitsin the larger research conversa
tion. By demonstrating that you have read and understood theexi
sting literature, they also help you establish your qualifications
for writing about your topic. Inthe following passage from her r
esearch project description, Emma is deploying her sources asba
ckground. In just two sentences, she establishes the scholarly fo
undation on which herresearch stands:
Recent work by sociologists of technology argues that teens' use
of social network sitessuch as Facebook has much more to do w
ith their developmental needs as emergingadults. According to r
esearchers such as boyd (2008), Livingstone (2008), and Stald (
2008), teens use social network sites to seekstatus, experiment
with identities, and separate from parental influence.
At this point in her essay, Emma expects readers simply to acce
pt the views of these researchers as authoritative. That is why s
he providestheir credentials ("sociologists of technology") and r
eferences to their scholarly papers.
The "E" in BEAM: Exhibits
Because readers of research essays expect your claims to be sup
ported with evidence, you will need to illustrate your ideas and
judgmentsusing concrete data, cases, or examples. Bizup calls t
hese materials "exhibits" (p. 75). The term "exhibit" is most oft
en heard in the world ofcourtrooms. In criminal courts, prosecut
ors offer exhibits (evidence) to a jury in order to make a case th
at a particular perpetrator is guilty. Inorder to persuade the jury
to see the exhibit as evidence of guilt, the prosecutor will need t
o analyze and interpret the exhibit to help the juryunderstand its
larger significance, or to enable them to see it as suggestive of
motivations.
Writers analyze and interpretexhibits to make them significanta
nd meaningful to readers. Writersexpect readers to think along
withtheir analysis and interpretation,with the understanding that
readers will think critically andskeptically about the writer'sana
lysis and interpretation.

Like prosecutors, research writers offer exhibits to readers as su
ggestive objects to think with andabout on their way to drawing
a conclusion. Because exhibits do not speak for themselves, and
different viewers might see them differently, writers must analy
ze, explain, and interpret themfor their readers.
To help you better understand what an exhibit is and how resear
chers use them in their writing,consider an example from a piec
e of research Emma found on how young adults relate to theirm
obile phones. Researcher Gitte Stald (2008) asked 16-year-
old students to write essays called"My Mobile and Me." Then sh
e analyzed the essays as exhibits in support of her thesis thatmo
bile phones are more than just communications tools—
they are also personal developmenttools. Here is the passage wit
h Stald's thesis underlined, her exhibit marked in bold, and hera
nalysis and interpretation double-underlined:
Weshouldconsiderthemeaningof"mobile"as...beingreadyforchang
e,readytogoinnewdirections. One of the sixteen-year-
old participants . . . had been considering the ontological meani
ng of "mobile" andlooked it up in her mother's dictionary. . . . S
he found that it said: "Movable, agile, able to be moved or trans
ported easilyand fast; ready to march, ready for battle." She was
somewhat surprised by the last two translations of "mobile," an
dconcluded that in fact that is exactly what she is with her mobi
le [phone] at hand: "I am easily accessed and I am movable; Iam
agile and transport myself easily and quite fast; I am always re
ady to receive a message or a call; but best of all I amready to
march, ready for battle! . . ."Thisgirlinterpretsmobileasmorethan
amatterofphysicalmovementbetweenlocations,shethinksofherself
asphysicallyonthemove,supportedbyhermobile[phone],butatthesa
metimesheappliesthemilitaryterminologytoherownsituationandhe
rinterestinmovingforwardinlifeandbattlingforherselfinmorethanp
hysicalterms.Themobile[phone]facilitateshersocialmobilityandre
adinesstocommunicate.Exchangebetweenfriendsisanimportantpa
rtofthedevelopmentofidentity....Inthiscontext,beingmovable,agil
eandreadytomarchmeansbeingreadytomoveasaperson,too. (Stald,
2008, pp. 145–146)

Stald's exhibit is presented in enough detail so that a reader can
quickly see its relevance to her thesis. Notice also that she does
not assumethat the girl's essay speaks for itself. Stald follows h
er exhibit with analysis and interpretation, calling readers' atten
tion to the keywords andsignificant aspects of the exhibit.
The "A" in BEAM: Argument Sources
Throughout this book, we have asked you to see research as a co
nversation. When you read and write research, you are in dialog
ue with otherresearchers, with whom you must agree or disagree
, and on whose work you build or refute. So when you look for s
ources, you need to lookfor sources that offer you a perspective
on the topic. Such sources are called argument sources. Argume
nt sources provide you with "claims . .. [to] affirm, dispute, refi
ne, or extend" (Bizup, 2008, p. 76). Commenting on the usefuln
ess and limits of other researchers' claims (instead ofjust borro
wing their data) not only helps you refine your own view as you
account for the views of others who may disagree with you; it a
lsohelps you anticipate potential criticisms of your interpretatio
n, and to develop the sophistication of your claims.
Writers engage the arguments(claims, support, and reasoning) o
fother writers. Readers test,evaluate, and consider theimplicatio
ns of a writer's argument.
In the following passage from Emma's emerging essay, she want
s to criticize and refine the ideasof John Palfrey, a writer who b
elieves that today's technologically connected teens arecategoric
ally different from the teens of previous generations. Emma star
ts by conveying Palfrey'sidea in a fair and balanced manner, and
at the same time signals her disagreement, which ishighlighted
in bold:
Even John Palfrey (2008) admits that teens today "establish and
communicate theiridentities simultaneously in the physical and
digital worlds" (p. 20). Unfortunately inboiling things down, Pa
lfrey misplaces the emphasis, writing "the net effect of the digit
alage—paradoxically—
is to decrease [a girl's] ability to control her social identity and
how others perceive her" (pp. 19–

20).However, while the Internet has made the adolescent matura
tion process more public, it has done little to change how muchc
ontrol adolescents have over the essential process of how they e
stablish and manage their identities. Teens have always hadto n
egotiate their identities in a dynamic social environment where
how they are viewed by others shapes their sense of self.
By using transition tags, such as "unfortunately" and "however,"
Emma alerts her reader to see her perspective as an argument th
at countersPalfrey's view.
The "M" in BEAM: Method Sources
"Writers follow methods" (Bizup,2008, p. 76). Readers assess th
eutility and influence ofmethods.
Some of the persuasiveness of a research essay rests on the assu
rance that the researcher hasfollowed a reasonable method of fin
ding, analyzing, and interpreting exhibits. Researchersdevelop r
eliable ways of working with data and cases to draw reasonable
conclusions. Accordingto Bizup, method sources "can offer a se
t of key terms, lay out a particular procedure, or furnisha genera
l model or perspective" (p. 76). They ensure that the researcher'
s general approach andfoundational concepts are sound. When y
ou want to know whether another researcher's claim isstatistical
ly significant, you are asking about his or her methods. When y
ou analyze a researcher's survey to see which populations it repr
esents,and which it does not, you are assessing his or her metho
ds. As a researcher, you should not only adopt and follow a met
hod for analyzing andinterpreting data, but you should also refle
ct on the implications of your own methods, and assess the utilit
y and influence of otherresearchers' methodological choices on t
heir conclusions.
For the purposes of your research, your method is a systematic c
ritical synthesis of previous research called a literature review.
As you use BEAM to choose a set of sources that will enable yo
u to meet your needs as a writer, keep in mind that you may nee
d multipleexamples of all four kinds of sources, and that any sin
gle source likely provides you with more than one kind of mater
ial for your project.

Previous section
Next section
3.3 Finding Sources
In our experience, student researchers who struggle to find sour
ces do so because:
1.
They are searching somewhat randomly for "general information
" about a topic, and/or
2.
They are not aware of the important differences between searchi
ng web portals such as Google and searching the subscription da
tabasesfound in most academic libraries.
In this section, you will learn how to overcome these problems
and find the sources you need.
Starting Research in a New Field
Starting research on a topic in an entirely new field presents res
earchers with a significant problem—
namely, they do not know enough aboutthe topic or field to kno
w what they need to learn. In other words, they do not yet know
the questions that other researchers have asked.They do not kno
w the specialized vocabulary that has evolved. They do not yet
know what aspect of the topic on which they want to work. Itis
very likely that as an undergraduate, you are facing the same pr
oblem with your current project. It seems natural that the first t
hing that youshould do is to fire up your browser, log in to a dat
abase, and search away to find something, anything, to get your
feet wet. But that is acounterproductive way to start acquiring t
he basic knowledge that you will need in order to find a useful s
et of sources and frame a set ofquestions.
Blend Images/SuperStock
Sources can be found in various ways, such as searching for key
wordsonline or using databases provided by an academic library
.
Instead, you need to look for a short overview of the topic that

will orient youto some of the driving concerns of the field. If yo
u are conducting research fora college course, it is likely that so
me of your course materials can provide youwith at least some o
f what you need. Course textbooks are especially goodresources
for surveying the breadth of a subject and acquiring the speciali
zedlanguage of the field. Mining them for concepts and exhibits
can provide youboth with search terms you can use right away
and clues for developing others.Also consult lecture notes, hand
outs and slides, and assigned or recommendedreadings. If your r
eadings are scholarly, review the sources listed on theirreferenc
es pages to locate the names of researchers working in your fiel
d andkey concepts. Once you are searching the databases, try a f
ew searches thatinclude the term "review of the literature" with
your topic to see if you can findan article that summarizes and e
valuates recent research in the field.
Besides looking at course materials, you can also consult specia
lizedencyclopedias, subject-
specific dictionaries, and topic bibliographies. Thereference sec
tions of most academic libraries stock a wide range of thesehelp
ful orienting texts. Many libraries also provide librarian-
prepared subject guides to often-
used fields to help you identify the most usefulorienting texts, b
ibliographic tools, and databases. Fields with subject guides inc
lude anthropology, company/industry research, criminal justicea
nd law enforcement, early childhood education, heathcare admin
istration, and literature. You can find these and more subject gu
ides intutorials on your university or local library websites. Oft
en, you can also call, email, or chat online with a librarian for h
elp deciding which onesmight be of most use to you.
Assessing Your Research Needs
Once you have a basic overview of your topic, the first step in f
inding a coherent set of useful sources is to assess your research
needs. WithBizup's BEAM mnemonic, you know that you will n
eed (a) background sources, (b) exhibit sources, (c) argument so
urces, and (d) methodsources. That is useful as far as it goes, bu
t it does not go far enough to help you choose the right database

s for your specific project or tosearch them effectively. If you h
ave completed the project design work in Chapter 2 (gathering a
n overview of your topic using coursematerials, subject-
specific encyclopedias and dictionaries, and topic-
specific bibliographies), you have already performed some of th
epreliminary steps necessary to assess your research needs. In p
articular, the initial set of questions you wrote will be a primary
resource foryour first targeted foray into the literature. If you a
re still in the design phase of your project, do not worry. This s
ection will help you get yourproject started well.
Developing a Set of Research Questions
The key to finding useful sources for your project is to approach
a database session with good questions in hand. In Chapter 2, y
ou learned thatresearch projects tend to have two different types
of questions: essential questions that prompt you to investigate
perplexing phenomenon orsolve complex problems, and supporti
ng questions that guide you to find the material you need to ans
wer your essential questions. You alsolearned that good questio
ns should have a specific scope, which means they should clearl
y specify which populations, locations, time periods,subtopics,
and theories are relevant to your question. If you have not writt
en any essential or supporting research questions, you will need
todo so before approaching the database. Go back to Section 2.3
and work through the activities to develop your project definiti
on, topic, andresearch questions.
Constructing Effective Search Queries
Once you have good research questions, you must learn how to
use them to query the database. If you have a lot of experience s
earching theInternet, you likely use natural language—
language that looks and sounds like the language we use in ever
yday situations—
to search for whatyou want to find. The following search querie
s are written in natural language:
· "What is the best Chinese restaurant in St. Paul?"
· "How can I catch more fish?"
·

"What are some ways to help my child who does not like to read
?"
On the Internet, natural language searches tend to work well eno
ugh to allow you to find what you want without too much effort.
But if youquery a research database using natural language, yo
u will likely find that you get few or no results. What is more, t
he few results you get maybe irrelevant because research databa
ses are organized using the same categories and logic that organ
ize the content of research libraries. As aresult, databases "spea
k" a language that allows you to search and find more than just t
he specific title for which you were looking. It allowsyou to fin
d clusters of related content as well. So in order to search acade
mic library catalogs and academic databases well, you have to l
earnhow to construct searches that the system can process.
Basic Research Tips
Keywords are nouns and objects related to the topic. Uniqueiden
tifiers such as names, titles, and dates yield the best results.Sch
olarly sources can be found through library databases. Searchen
gines provide sources for general queries.
1.
What are five keywords that you might search in relation toyour
potential topic(s)?
2.
What databases are available for you to search at youruniversity
or library?
Search construction involves analyzing your research question t
o identify potential search terms, refining the question by specif
ying therelationship between key terms, and finding synonyms f
or keywords that may be too imprecise to generate sources that
are relevant to yourproject. To learn how to construct effective
search queries, let us discuss each part of this process by analyz
ing the last research question onour list: "What are some ways t
o help my child who does not like to read?"
Step 1: Identify keywords or concepts in the research question.
Likely two keywords leap out at you: child, read. So you write t

hem down on a research log form like the one shown in the Sam
ple ResearchLog. While you could go directly to a multipurpose
database and enter those two terms in a keyword search, you w
ould likely get thousands ofresults. Only a few of them would b
e closely relevant to your question because there are many diffe
rent possible relationships between yourtwo keywords, and you
have not yet specified the relationship between them. Without s
pecifying the relationship between them, the databasecannot tell
if you are an elementary school teacher wanting sources on ho
w to teach very young children to learn to read for the first time
, amemoirist writing about the value of her time spent reading a
s a child, or a concerned parent wanting information on how to
motivate youradolescent boy to enjoy reading more.
Step 2: Specify the relationship between keywords.
The first thing to do is to go back to the original question and se
e whether you can find additional keywords that better specify t
he relationshipbetween child and read. Here is the question agai
n: "What are some ways to help my child who doesn't like to rea
d?" A second look at thequestion reveals two additional key phr
ases that indicate a very specific relationship between child and
read: We have a child who does not liketo read, and a parent wh
o wants ways to help him or her. Notice how this reformulation
of the question brings in a new keyword: parent. Byfinding the
additional phrases that specify the relationship between our key
words, we have arrived at a better understanding of what it is w
eare looking for. Developing and refining your question is not o
nly a key strategy for generating more productive search combin
ations; it alsohelps you better understand your research needs. I
f you are lucky, it can help you develop some other closely relat
ed research questions.
Step 3: Refine imprecise keywords by finding synonyms.
Adding new keywords and phrases to the search seems like it sh
ould help the database return sources that more specifically addr
ess yourconcerns, and to a degree it will. But you will not find e
verything written on the topic, and you may find nothing at all.
This is because two ofthe primary keywords (child and parent) h

ave multiple synonyms. Furthermore, two of the key phrases (w
ays to help and does not like) expressrelationships in everyday l
anguage that expert researchers would find too imprecise to use
in their articles. Since researchers try to uselanguage carefully a
nd precisely to represent accurately the problems, data, and solu
tions on which they are working, you will need to producea list
of more precise synonyms that researchers might use for each of
your keywords or phrases. Remember, different writers might c
hoosedifferent terms to convey the same idea. So you will need
to develop and test several different combinations of search ter
ms to locate all ofthe most relevant sources for your query.
Let us continue with our example by refining our imprecise term
s—
ways to help and does not like. You can use a dictionary or thes
aurus tohelp find synonyms, but you may get better, more effici
ent results by using the materials you found earlier during your
grounding research inspecialized dictionaries and encyclopedias
to guide your synonym development. Here is what a standard th
esaurus suggests as potentialsynonyms for ways: habits, conduct
, customs, behavior, traditions. None of these terms gets at what
you want to find out. In everydaylanguage, you are looking for
advice or techniques to motivate your child. In your grounding r
esearch, researchers call teaching techniquesmethods or pedago
gies. Here is the cluster of terms we have developed for ways to
help: advice, techniques, methods, pedagogies. By steppingthro
ugh a similar synonym development process, we can replace doe
s not like with reluctant, resistant, unenthusiastic, averse, unwil
ling.
Child might seem like a specific enough term, but there are seve
ral others that researchers might use. Youth, adolescent, teen, t
ween, juvenile,and kids are just some of the possibilities. Consi
dering that more boys than girls seem to become reluctant reade
rs, your list should probablyinclude gendered terms for child as
well: boy, son, young man, male.
Research Log

After all this question development, we can rewrite our original
question in a much more specific way:
"What methods, techniques, or pedagogies can parents use to m
otivate teenage male reluctant readers?"
With such a specific question, you will find a reasonably small
number of sources to review, and the majority of sources you lo
cate should berelevant.
Choosing Databases
Once you have identified keywords and phrases and their varian
ts, you are ready to approach a research database to do some sea
rching.Before you can search, you need to decide which databas
es to choose to search (see Figure 3.2 for factors that can help y
ou choose anappropriate database). Many libraries have made it
simpler for you to know which ones to choose by listing databas
es by subject anddescribing contents. They have also provided s
ubject guides to reliable resources for several disciplines, inclu
ding anthropology, company andindustry research, criminal justi
ce and law enforcement, early childhood education, healthcare a
dministration, and literature. These subjectguides contain useful
database recommendations as well as the names of useful subje
ct specific resources, including reference books,dictionaries, en
cyclopedias, and more.
Database Categories
For the purposes of your research project, you need to be able to
distinguish between two major categories of database. The first
, known as ageneral purpose database (or multidisciplinary data
base), is often a good place to start your research because it ind
exes many different fieldsor disciplines. But while this type of
database offers breadth, it can sacrifice depth. In order to bring
you a wide sample of research being donein so many fields, gen
eral purpose databases tend to focus on the major journals in the
field. EBSCOhost's Academic Search Premier andProQuest are
good examples of general purpose databases widely used by coll
ege students.
Figure 3.2: Choosing a database

On the other hand, subject-
specific databases (also known as field-
specific databases) aim to represent the full range of a particula
r field orsubject. If you do not find what you need in a general d
atabase, or if you suspect there is more to the topic than is cove
red in a generaldatabase, you should consult a subject-
specific database such as Westlaw (law and business), Sage Jour
nals Online (social sciences),PyschArticles (psychology), ERIC
(education), PubMED (medicine and healthcare), or the MLA In
ternational Bibliography (literature). It isimportant to understan
d that no one database can serve all your research needs. You wi
ll need to try your searches in multiple databases todiscover the
best sources for your project. Be sure to record on your research
log which databases provide you with the best results for each
ofyour searches.
Further Considerations When Choosing a Database
As you continue to consider which databases to choose for your
research, the following questions could influence your choice:
1. Does the database provide full-
text access to sources or only abstracts or citations? Full text is
obviously best, but finding an abstract orcitation can be useful.
If you find a citation or abstract of a useful article, be sure to re
cord the full citation information so you can searchfor the full t
ext in another database.
2.
How current are the publications indexed in the database? How
many years into the past does the database index? The deeper an
d morerecent the coverage the better.
3. Is access to the contents of the database free or fee-
based? Remember, many fee-
based databases that you find online are free to youwhen access
ed through your university or local library.
4.
Does the database provide for electronic delivery of sources and
citations? If not, contact a librarian to learn how to request that
anelectronic copy of a source be sent to you.

Searching Databases
Unlike search engines such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo!, which u
se keyword searches by default, academic databases work best
when you specifythe kind of search you want to conduct. There
are three major kinds of database searches you can conduct: aut
hor/title searches, keywordsearches, and subject searches. Whic
h search you choose depends on (a) whether you are searching f
or unknown sources on a topic or aspecific article or book writt
en by a specific author, (b) what you know about what you're tr
ying to find, (c) how specifically or broadly yourtopic is define
d, and (d) how field- or discipline-
specific your topic or research needs are. Table 3.2 is provided
as a reference to help youdetermine what type of search you sho
uld conduct. Each search type is discussed in more detail in the
following sections.
Table 3.2: Database search types
Use Author/Title Search when:
· You know the name of the author you want to find.
· You want to find additional articles by a known writer.
· You know the title of an article or book you want to find.
·
You know the title of a journal, periodical, or book series that fr
equently contains sources relevant to yourtopic.
Use Keyword Search when:
· You have a specific research question to answer.
·
Your topic has keywords that are distinctive, new, or field speci
fic.
·
Your topic can only be specified with multiple keywords (metho
ds AND motivate AND adolescent ANDreluctant readers).
·
You have multiple synonyms that you want to search simultaneo
usly (children OR kids OR teens ORadolescents).
·
More than one field or discipline is relevant to your topic (adole

scent psychology AND reading instruction)
Use Subject Search when:
·
Your topic is broad, you are conducting grounding research, and
you don't yet have specific researchquestions to answer.
·
You are looking for sources about a person rather than by a pers
on.
·
A keyword in your topic has different meanings in different fiel
ds or disciplines, and you want to specifywhich fields or discipl
ines are relevant.
Performing Author/Title Searches
Author/title searches are used to acquire specific sources when
you already know the author's name and title, or when you want
to survey thework of a particular researcher in hopes of finding
other relevant sources he or she has authored. Once you have on
e or two pieces in hand,consult their references pages for the na
mes of other researchers working on your topic and titles of thei
r work. Also, since academic journalstend to specialize, take not
e of the titles of journals that show up repeatedly in your source
list and search by title for those journals to findother relevant a
rticles and researchers active in your field. In her research, Em
ma found multiple references to the Journal of Computer-
Mediated Communication and New Media & Society in her resul
ts lists. When she searched for those journals by title and brows
ed their tablesof contents, she found the names of several resear
chers working in her field and candidate sources for inclusion in
her project.
Performing Keyword Searches
Although keyword searches can quickly supply you with lots of
candidate sources to assess, they often return irrelevant results i
f not carefullyconstructed using a search term development proc
ess like the one we went through earlier in this chapter. So, in o
rder to generate morerelevant results, keyword searches are best
used when you have a specific research question to answer or y

ou are seeking sources on a topicthat can be described with disti
nctive or field-
specific keywords. They are particularly helpful when your rese
arch cuts across traditionaldisciplinary or field lines. You can u
se keyword sources for grounding research, but as noted above,
you must monitor your search results fornew keywords and new
variants of keywords as you go. Otherwise, your search will ret
urn only the subset of articles that use everydaylanguage to disc
uss the topic. In order for your source set to help you go beyond
the obvious, you will have to conduct additional keywordsearch
es using the more precise terms you collect as you browse throu
gh your results list.
Keyword searches return the most relevant results when you co
mbine multiple keywords with the search term connector AND,
which narrowsyour search, returning records that include all of
your search terms. If you find that you need to broaden your sea
rch, use the search termconnector OR to return records that incl
ude any of your search terms. While the specific look of a searc
h interface will vary by provider, mostsearch interfaces provide
you with the opportunity to enter multiple keywords and to spec
ify the relationship between them. You might haveto find and cl
ick on the "Advanced Search" link to do so, but the increase in
quality of results makes it well worth the effort.
Figure 3.3: Using search term connectors
The search shown in Figure 3.3 returns all the records that inclu
de the term reading problems AND either adolescent OR teen. N
otice theasterisk in our search? It is a truncation symbol, which
can be thought of as a "wild card" character that tells the databa
se to return all resultsthat include the characters up to the trunc
ation symbol, no matter what other characters follow the last on
e.
Although truncation symbols varyby provider, typical truncation
symbols include *, !, ?, #, and $.
Because we searched for adolescent* or teen*, the database retu
rns records that include minorvariations of my terms: adolescent

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