The document provides guidelines for a research paper assignment, including: - The paper should be 8-10 pages excluding cover and reference pages, with a minimum of 8 references from 2002 or later. - APA style is required for citations and references. Plagiarism should be avoided by properly citing sources. - The paper should have an objective, third-person tone and include an introduction, body, and conclusion sections separated by main headings. - At least 3-4 citations per page are expected, with a balance of paraphrased material and direct quotes. Opinions and experiences should be minimized.

1. The Research Paper and Citation Methodology The Basics

2. The Details of the Research Paper 8-10 pages of text Cover page and reference page are not included in 8-10 page count; your paper needs to be 10-12 pages in total. Minimum of 8 references. (The paper must cite at least 8 different references from 2002 or later, including articles from current journals and at least five scholarly, peer reviewed articles). APA citing of sources is required – footnotes are not accepted. Proper spelling and grammar is required Appropriate main headings are required. Due Week 7 Please carefully review the assignment detail in the week 7 course material section.

3. Your Writing Voice (Hint – It’s different from an essay) Use a research voice throughout your paper. Use third person words, i.e., he, she, it, one or they or “this author” or “this researcher”. Do not use first person words like me, us, I, or our. Minimize your presence in the paper. Avoid words like should and must, and be objective in tone. Let the reader decide how to feel about the material you’re presenting.

4. What is APA? APA citation style refers to rules that were developed by the American Psychological Association for documenting sources used in a research paper, in order to enhance reading and comprehending the material and making understanding the original sources easier. APA style requires both in-text citations and a reference list. For every in-text citation there should be a full citation in the reference list, and there should be no sources on the reference list that are not referred to in the text.

5. Avoiding Plagiarism One thing that characterizes academic research papers is the citing of sources of information used within the paper. Failure to cite sources is considered plagiarism, or stealing the intellectual property of a writer. Plagiarism can result in serious consequences – anything from an “F” on the paper to an “F” in the course, to expulsion from college. You should cite your source when: You are making an important statement or using a unique idea from something you read. The citation should include the author(s) and year of publication. You are using direct quote, in which case you also cite the page number(s). You are citing specific statistics, dates, or numbers (also cite page numbers).

6. Since it is a research paper, most of the material must be either paraphrased or presented as a direct quote. However if you are a subject matter expert, you will need to introduce yourself as such in the beginning of the paper – and then you can provide some of your own ideas – but you still need to have the appropriate number of sources. You should strive to have a balance of quoted and paraphrased material. Citations

7. Citing Basics Because this is a research paper – you must give credit to the original author for any information that you learn through your research process and then share with your reader. You can do this in two different ways. You can either use a sentence that introduces the author, (signal phrase) or you can add the author’s name at the end of your sentence.

8. Citing Examples Regardless if you quote or paraphrase, you need to provide the last name of the author, the year of publication, and if you quote material – the page or paragraph number. Paraphrased Signal Phrase According to Smith (2004), the cost of treating alcoholism is increasing dramatically. Direct Quote “ The cost of treating alcoholism is exceeded only by the cost of treating illnesses from tobacco use, and is increasing exponentially” (Smith, 2004, p. 9).

9. Citing Examples, cont. In the paraphrased example, the page number is not required. In the quoted example it is. If there is no page number you need to use the paragraph number. If there is no name of an author you need to provide the name of the article, organization or website. If there is no date – you need to use the letters n.d. to represent no date. You need to provide appropriate information within the text that lets the reader identify your source on the Reference Page in case the reader wants to learn more, and check out your source.

10. Quoted Material Examples Critser (2003) noted that despite growing numbers of overweight Americans, many health care providers still “remain either in ignorance or outright denial about the health danger to the poor and the young” (p.5). Or it can be written as follows: Many health care providers still “remain either in ignorance or outright denial about the health danger to the poor and the young” despite the growing numbers of overweight Americans (Critser, 2003, p.5). The examples are from Hacker (2006, p. 714).

11. Period Placement Notice in the previous examples that the period is placed after the right parenthesis. A good way to remember this is to consider the information in the parenthesis and the actual parenthesis as part of the sentence.

12. Long Quotes – Over 40 words Long quotes need to be typed in indented block form. This formatting lets the reader know that the material is quoted. In long quotes, the period gets placed before the information in the parenthesis.

13. Main Headings Your research paper needs to be structured in a logical manner. Main headings act like a road map for both you and the reader and they help you to outline or structure the piece. Sub headings allow you to provide even more structure within main heading sections. Main headings are a required element in the research paper.

14. Your Introduction section (beginning) lets the reader know what the topic is, and what question or questions you as the researcher will answer. It should also provide some history or background of the topic, provide some statistics if available, and discuss the importance of your research. If you provide this information – it usually makes the reader interested in reading more. Main Headings – The Beginning

15. Main Headings – The Middle The middle section is referred to as the “Body of Literature” which means that you are providing more information that answers your research question and that elaborates on your topic by providing examples of main points. You can have the main heading for this section be called Body of Literature, or you can name it something that is more relevant to your actual paper’s topic. You can have several unique main headings in this section. You can also have sub headings within a main heading.

16. Wrapping it up – The End The Conclusion section (ending) wraps up your discussion. It can re-introduce the research question and can discuss researched findings for the future, or recommendations for further research . Don’t end your paper with cliché’s or with preaching. Consider what your most important point was and summarize it. Avoid repeating phrases word for word from other parts of your paper.

17. Objective Examination of a Topic The objective in this assignment is to see how well you can select a topic, narrow it down, find appropriate academic source material (at least 8 references), decide on the scope of your paper, collect information and then put it all together in a document that educates the reader. Since it is a research paper, it is expected that most of the material will either be paraphrased or presented as a direct quote. You should strive for a balance of quoted and paraphrased material. You should have at least 3-4 citations (either paraphrased material or direct quotes) per page. You should keep your opinions and your experiences to a minimum – although they are important, and valued, in a research paper you must provide an objective examination of your topic. This is accomplished by presenting facts.

18. References References need to be in alphabetical order: by author last name, and if that’s not available then by article name, organization name or website name. The second line and each subsequent line within a single reference should be indented. Please review the Ottawa University APA Writing Style Guide and the other APA related sites available in the Resource Room for details about reference formatting for specific types of sources .