INTRODUCTION

Undertaking research and writing research papers or reports are integral tasks

of university training as students are often required to submit research

works/assignments during their graduate/post-graduate studies. It is, therefore, crucial

for every student to understand some concepts related with methodology and research

so as to be able to ‘produce’ works that are up to higher education standards.

With regard to first-year BA level, and because methodology as a subject is

introduced for the first time, it is necessary for such students to fully grasp what

concepts, such as methodology, research, an research process, etc., refer to. To reach

this objective, basic knowledge about the aforementioned concepts is delivered

throughout the two semesters, beginning with some definitions of the word

‘methodology’ and ending with the different steps of the research process.

I- Definitions of Methodology

Methodology is defined in a number of ways. For example, the Merriam-

Webster dictionary defines ‘methodology’ as “... a body of methods, rules, and

postulates [i.e. something taken as self-evident, a fundamental principle] employed by

a discipline; a particular procedure or set of procedures; the analysis of the principles

or procedures of inquiry in a particular field.” Methodology is also defined as “... the

system of methods and principles used in a particular discipline.” (Collins York

Concise Dictionary) It is “the set of methods and principles that are used when

studying a particular subject or doing a particular kind of work.” (Longman)

II- What is Research?

The word research is composed of two syllables, ‘re’ and ‘search.’ ‘re’ is a prefix

meaning again, anew or over again; ‘search’ is a verb meaning to examine closely

-6-
and carefully, to test and try, or to probe. The word ‘research’ refers to the careful,

systematic, and patient study and investigation in a given field of knowledge,

undertaken to establish facts or principles. It is a structured enquiry that utilizes

acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems and create new knowledge that

is generally applicable. Scientific methods consist of systematic observation,

classification and interpretation of data. In other words, research is the process of

collecting, analyzing and interpreting information to answer questions.

When you undertake a research work, there are two important decisions to make:

1. What you want to find out about or what research questions (problems) you want to

find answers to;

2. How to go about finding their answers.

There are practical steps through which you must pass in your research

journey in order to find answers to your research questions. The path to finding

answers to your research questions constitutes research methodology. It has often

been stated that “... the mark of a good education is not how much you know, but how

good you are at finding out what you need to know.”(B. A. Chin, How to Write a

Great Research Paper , 2004, p. 2)

III- What is a Research Paper?

A research paper is a piece of writing that provides information about a particular

topic that you have researched. Generally, you do research on a topic about which

you are not an expert, but you can learn about it by reading the work of experts, i.e.

by doing research. In the end, you can communicate in writing what you have learned

in a clear and interesting way.

-7-
 Writing a research paper can be a daunting task. It requires persistence, attention

to detail, and a willingness to read, revise, and perfect what was written – many times

if necessary.

IV- Is It Important to Write a Research Paper?

Very often students wonder whether it is worth writing a research paper. In other

words, they usually ask what they will gain from doing research and writing a paper.

The answer to this question depends on the purpose of writing a research paper, but in

general this will give the students experience in doing research and writing research

papers as there are great chances that the process will be done more than once.

Moreover, the student will learn a great deal about a topic that interests him/ her. This

means that the student might end up an expert in a given subject. Finally, the most

important thing is that the students will gain the experience of taking on a task from

the very beginning to the end, and experience the pride of having accomplished

something.

V- Steps in Research Process

1. Formulating/ identifying the research problem (i.e. deciding what you want to find

out about. In other words, you need to find a topic)

2. Reviewing literature extensively (i.e. looking for similar studies that have been

done) and collecting the data (i.e. gathering sources in the form of questionnaires,

through observations, from the literature, etc.)

3. Taking notes

4. Outlining the paper

5. Creating the first draft

6. Revising and editing the draft

-8-
7. Presenting the paper (i.e. informing the others what has been done, what has been

discovered, and what conclusions have been drawn from the findings.)

-9-
 STEP 1: FORMULATING/IDENTIFYING THE RESEARCH
PROBLEM
(Finding a Topic)

Choosing a topic for a research paper is the first, and probably, most difficult step

in the research process. This step is sometimes done by the teachers when they

choose a topic for their students, especially when giving them assignments. But many

teachers leave this job up to the students. Although choosing your own topic means

more work and more thinking, it allows you to find a topic you are truly interested in

and will enjoy learning and writing about.

I- Conditions for Choosing a Topic

Choosing one’s own topic is, therefore, a difficult step that can be facilitated by

considering a number of guidelines. First of all, you need to choose a topic that really

interests you. This will motivate you all the way through your research work, because

the more you learn about your topic, the more enthusiastic you become in finding out

new details. Some students may think that the best way to formulate a topic is by

choosing an ‘easy’ one. It is, however, worth noting that by doing so, these students

will spend weeks or even months thinking, reading, and writing about a topic that

they find totally boring.

Secondly, choose a topic that you can handle. Some topics are hard to handle

because they are too large, or too broad. These are topics that no single person can

cover every aspect of them. For instance, you can never handle a topic as broad as the

French colonization in Algeria. It is better for you to narrow the scope of your topic

to facilitate your job. Even very narrow topics can sometimes change into broad ones

- 10 -
as you start reading and finding out more about them. On the other hand, some topics

can be too limited. Accordingly, you might have trouble writing more than a few

pages about a topic of this kind. In this respect, two questions may come to mind:

When do we know a topic is too broad? And when do we know a topic is too narrow?

In general, you know that a topic is too broad when:

► you find too many information sources, so it is difficult to decide what to

include or exclude, or what the most important sources are;

► you find information that is too general, so it is difficult to develop a clear

framework for examining the research problem and the methods needed to analyze it;

► general statements are all you can write about it.

While you know a topic is too narrow when:

► it can be discussed in great detail in less than the required size of your paper;

► you do not find enough information and what you do find is irrelevant;

► you find information that is so specific that it cannot lead to any significant

conclusions;

► your sources cover so few ideas that you cannot expand them into a significant

paper.

Consider the pyramid below:

- 11 -
 History
of my House
( )

History of my Town
( )

History of my Country
( )

Thirdly, choose a topic about which you can find enough information and

documents. After you chose a topic that seems neither too broad nor too narrow, ask

yourself whether you will find enough information to tackle it. You may choose a

topic that appears fascinating and can even be the basis of a great research paper, but

the only information about it is one or two articles. Another example is that you may

choose a topic that is interesting to very few people; therefore, only a few experts

have written about it. In both cases, such topics cause the students more work and

trouble than expected.

To make sure you will be able to find enough information about a given topic, it is

necessary to do some preliminary research. This can be done in several ways:

1- Look up your topic in an encyclopedia. If you find a good-sized article with a list of

related subjects at the end, this is a sign that you are more likely to find enough

information about your topic.

- 12 -
2- Check out the library (in department, school, university, city, etc.) catalogue. Finding

at least three books is an encouraging sign. These books may direct you to other

books which are listed inside.

3- Use search engines on the Internet to do a keyword search. Visit some of the sites

suggested to you and see if they provide reliable information that you can later use in

your research.

If after following these steps you do not find enough information about your

topic, or the sources you find are beyond your level, it is time for you to choose a

new topic!

II- Techniques of Choosing a Topic

As mentioned earlier, choosing the right topic for a research paper (one which you

find interesting, which is neither too broad nor too narrow, and about which you will

be able to find enough documents) is an important and difficult step. There are,

however, some ways that are likely to help the student choose the right topic to be

dealt with.

1. An Idea Web

A web is a kind of graphic organizer that helps you organize your ideas visually.

An idea web is based on the principle that one idea leads to another until the student

comes up with the final idea that will constitute the starting point for a research paper.

It consists in beginning by drawing a circle in the middle of a sheet of paper inside

which you write the first topic that comes to your mind. Write other related topics you

can think of in smaller circles around the first circle. After that, draw lines to link

between the original circle and the smaller ones. The topics in the small circles may

produce more ideas that you can put in even smaller circles. Continue in this way as

- 13 -
much as you can. In the end, there will undoubtedly be an idea that clicks for you (as

shown below):

The pattern you get will eventually look like:

- 14 -
2. Brainstorming

It is a group creativity technique through which a group of people generate as

many ideas as they can to find a solution to a specific problem or a final idea for a

project. Brainstorming a topic for a research paper works exactly in the same way,

except that the student does it alone. This consists in writing down topics that come to

the student’s mind. To be able to do this, you need to free your mind and let the ideas

flow. Even if some ideas may seem totally inappropriate in the beginning, this does

not matter because the purpose is to generate the maximum of ideas. One idea at least

will eventually constitute a good topic for a research paper.

The difference between an idea web and a brainstorm is that all the ideas in an

idea web flow from one related topic to another; however, the ideas in a brainstorm

are not necessarily connected to one another.

3. Freewriting

Freewriting is very similar to brainstorming. According to this method, you start

writing down the thoughts that come to your mind without stopping. As one thought

flows freely into another, you will begin to make connections to ideas that interest

you. Eventually, you may come up with ideas that are appealing. Review your

freewriting and underline the most interesting ideas for you. Write more about these

ideas until you find the topic you can develop into a research paper.

Here is an example of a student using this technique to find a research topic:

Help! I can’t think of a topic. Everything I can think of seems stupid,

but I’ll just write it down anyway. OK, here goes. I could write about,

uh, rabbits! That’s the first thing I thought of. Maybe because I just

read that book about rabbits called Watership Down. The rabbits in the

- 15 -
 book could talk. Rabbit communication—I don’t think I’ll find much

on that. But what about other animals? Forget that—animal

communication is much too big a topic. What about dog

communication? I am interested in dogs. I know my dog

communicates in lots of ways. I’d like to know more about what she’s

trying to tell me. I think I’ve got my topic!

III- Narrowing a Topic

If a topic is too broad, it should not be discarded altogether just because of this

reason. There are a few strategies that students need in order to narrow a topic down

to a size that they can handle. Some of these strategies are as follows:

1- Asking Questions

One way of narrowing a topic is by asking Wh-questions (who, what, where, why,

which, when and how) to find out more information about it. For instance, a topic

about ‘plants’ is too broad, so you can narrow it by asking the following questions:

► How do plants grow?

► What do plants need?

► How do plants survive in the desert?

► Which plants grow in the Algerian desert?

Such questions may give birth to topics like “Plant Life in the Desert” or “Plants in

the Algerian Desert”.

Here is another example:

A topic about ‘health’ is too broad and needs to be narrowed. This can be done by

asking some questions as follows:

- 16 -
 ► What specific issues am I interested in – careers in health care, trainings in

health care, specific disorders or diseases, the state of health care in the country,

etc.?

e.g.: autism, cancer, depression, eating disorders, health care, etc.

► In which aspect(s) of this topic am I particularly interested?

e.g.: business, history, legal, physical, psychological, social, etc.

► What period of time do I want to cover?

e.g.: 1980s, 1990s, current, etc.

► Which geographic region or population do I want to focus on?

e.g.: men, women, teenagers, babies, South, North, etc.

Such questions may lead us to formulate an interesting and more specific topic, such

as:

“Does the media’s portrayal of the ideal female body contribute

to eating disorders among women?”

2- Making a Pyramid Diagram

A pyramid diagram is a graphic organizer that can be used by students who are

more comfortable with organizing their ideas in a visual form.

Consider the example below:

- 17 -
 Dangerous
Diseases

Organic Mental
Diseases Diseases

Cancer AIDS Schizophrenia Paranoia

3- Making a Target Diagram

A target diagram is another type of graphic organizer which is used when you

want to generate more than two ideas from the preceding idea (as in the pyramid

diagram). This diagram gives you more freedom in terms of the ideas that flow from

one another.

A target diagram might take the following form:

- 18 -
Pictures of the desert trees cited above

- 19 -
IV- Broadening a Topic

Sometimes you may find that there is not enough information on a topic that will

allow you to develop it into a research paper. If this happens, do not immediately give

up your intention to investigate the idea because it could very well be an excellent

topic for a research paper. One way of broadening your topic is to look for parallels

and opportunities for broader associations that apply to the initial research problem.

A good strategy for doing this is to ask yourself basic Wh-questions (who, what,

where, when, how, and why). Reflecting upon these questions during your initial

review of the literature can help you formulate ways to expand your initial research

problem. Once you have identified additional directions in which to proceed with

your topic, you can try narrowing it down again, if needed.

You can also broaden your topic by including related subjects. In other words,

your initial narrow topic can be broadened by including related aspects identified

during your initial research. You can also do that by expanding your topic

geographically, i.e. select a larger geographic area. You can expand your topic

chronologically by selecting a less specific timeframe, i.e. a broader period of time.

Finally, you can broaden your topic by examining a larger problem or multiple

concepts or issues.

V- Scheduling Your Work

After you have succeeded in defining the topic of your paper, you can move to the

next step: start your research work. However, it is very important to schedule your

work right from the beginning in order to hand your work on time. This consists in

estimating the time you will need to finish each task. Since the date you will present

your paper does not change, stick to your schedule as much as you can.

A scheduling form may look as follows:

- 20 -
 Task Planned date to Date
finish finished

Finding a topic

Preliminary research

Collecting data

Extensive reading

Creating an outline

Writing first draft

Revising and editing first draft

Preparing the presentation

Final due date:

- 21 -
 STEP 2: LITERATURE REVIEW & COLLECTION OF DATA

Some early research has already been done by some students to find a topic for

their research papers. The sources used need to be explored again but with more

attention, focus, and seriousness.

I- Literature Review

1- What is meant by ‘literature’?

The word ‘literature’ is used here in its broad sense to mean a collection of all the

scholarly writings on a topic. These writings can be in the form of scholarly articles

(in scholarly/academic journals), books, and other sources like conference

proceedings. The literature may also include dissertations written by other students.

2- What Does the Literature Look Like?

Generally, the literature forms like a chain of works. There are major works that

have been written on a topic, and then other, later, works build on them. Often, these

later works tend to be extending or responding to the original papers. Therefore, the

literature is a continuously evolving network of various academic/scholarly works

that interact with each other. Your job as a researcher in the literature review is to see

where all the loose ends (incomplete parts) are in the various fields that are most

closely related to what you want to do and to figure out what needs to be done next.

3- Purpose of Literature Review

The two most important functions of a literature review are:

- It helps you understand a research topic;

- It helps you develop your own perspective on a problem.

- 22 -
II- Exploration of Your Topic

1- Where to Begin

Encyclopedias and the Internet are the best means to get basic information about a

topic.

A. Encyclopedias

General encyclopedias are very good means to begin the exploration of one’s

topic. They generally do not delve deeply into topics, but they give the broad

overview one needs. It is, however, preferable to avoid one-volume encyclopedias as

they do not provide enough information. A general encyclopedia that has separate

books for each one or two letters is better. In addition, there are encyclopedias that

focus on a single topic which might have been chosen by a student. In this case, the

student will find it much easier to get the information they need to start their research

(see pictures of different types of encyclopedias on next page).

- 23 -
General Encyclopedia

Multi-Volume General Encyclopedia

Multi-Volume Single-Topic Encyclopedia

- 24 -
One-Volume Single-Topic Encyclopedias

- 25 -
 B. The Internet

Thanks to the extensive range of information resources and services it carries, the

Internet has become the most used means of research throughout the world. Billions

of users around the world surf the Net to explore and use the information provided by

millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks. Search

engines (such as Google, Yahoo!, excite, Bing, WebCrawler, etc.) can be used to do a

keyword-search that will lead to a list of websites related to a given topic. The student

can then decide which ones are to be consulted to gather information about their

topic. However, not all websites contain reliable information, so the student should be

careful and selective. For instance, website addresses ending in ‘.edu’ (standing for

‘education’) mean that the sites are connected to a college, university, school, or other

educational institution; therefore, the information they provide is often good.

Examples: mit.edu

stanford.edu

harvard.edu

educause.edu

See pictures of different search engines home pages on next page:

- 26 -
Examples of most commonly used internet search engines:

- 27 -
 2- Asking Questions

Once the student has got a broad overview of their topic, he/she knows enough to

start asking questions – an important step in any research work. Having specific

research questions to answer all along the research process helps the student find the

sources that are most helpful. Moreover, the questions help the student focus on what

information they want their paper to contain and how to organize it.

The Wh-questions (what, where, when, why, which, who, and how) are likely to

guide students in developing their list of research questions which will help them find

out the kind of information they need. The research questions can also give the

student an idea of how the paper might take shape (number of sections, chapters,

divisions, etc.)

III- Collection of Data

Collection of data constitutes one of the most important tasks in the research

process which will definitely determine the quality of the research work.

1- The Library Catalog

An important part of a student’s exploratory research is identifying the

specific sources to use when they begin taking notes for their paper. The best place to

start is the library catalog which includes a list of all the books in the library. Today,

many library catalogs are online and this makes search much quicker and easier. The

student can search the library catalog in three ways: by subject, by title, or by author.

In all cases, the student will get a list of all the books in the library, including the

author, the title, and the call number. This latter is very important because it allows

the student or the librarian to find the book easily on the shelves where books are

placed in numerical order according to the call number (See illustrations below).

- 28 -
Example of an Online Library Catalog

Example of a Search Result

- 29 -
Traditional Index Catalog

Index Card

- 30 -
 2- The Periodical Index

A periodical (or serial) is a paper which is published periodically on a regular

basis, i.e. weekly, monthly, annually, etc. It includes academic journals, magazines,

and newspapers. A single copy of a periodical is called an issue, and a defined

number of issues make one volume.

An academic/scholarly journal contains articles written by scholars, i.e.

professors, experts, and researchers. It is usually free from any advertising and is

generally available by subscription only.

A magazine/popular journal is intended for the general public. In other words, it

is designed to appeal to a broad population. It contains short articles generally written

in non-technical language by staff writers, by people having deep knowledge about a

given topic, by professional writers, or by reporters. It aims at reading the level of an

average person and provides information about current issues and events.

Periodicals contain useful information which is often more up-to-date than what

you find in books. The articles in periodicals are sometimes just a few weeks or days

old, so they are more recent than many books.

See example pictures on next pages:

- 31 -
Examples of Foreign Academic/Scholarly Journals

- 32 -
Examples of Algerian Academic/Scholarly Journals
(University of Adrar)

- 33 -
Examples of Magazines/Popular Journals

- 34 -
 A periodical index helps you locate articles related to your research topic. It

includes the author’s name (when available), title of the articles, name of the journal,

the volume, the issue, and the pages on which the article appears. Some indexes

include even article abstracts (i.e. summaries) or the full article.

Periodical indexes are available for different subject areas. Each index covers a

defined number of journals in a specific area, such as history, literature, phonetics,

linguistics, philosophy, etc.

Example of a Record from a Periodical Index

- 35 -
 3- Other Sources

In addition to books and periodicals, other sources can be very useful to your

research and provide you with up-to-the-minute (i.e. latest) information to enrich your

work.

A. Newspaper Articles & Articles on the Internet

The Internet can be used to find newspaper articles. Today, many newspapers are

available on the Net and have websites that offer an indexed list of all the articles they

have published for years.

Examples of Newspapers Online:

www.nytimes.com (The New York Times)

www.chicagotribune.com (Chicago Tribune)

www.theguardian.com/international (The Guardian)

www.thesun.co.uk (The Sun)

www.echoroukonline.com/ara/ (Echorouk)

www.liberte-algerie.com (Liberté)

- 36 -
Examples of Renowned National and Foreign Newspapers

- 37 -
 B. Television and Radio

These can also constitute a reliable source of information for your topic. If the

student listens to some programs as part of their research, they have to note down the

name of the program, the station, the date and time of the broadcast.

C. Personal Interviews

Interviewing experts on a given topic may yield precious information that will

enrich a paper and add more interest to a research. However, interviews may be left to

the end of the research, for the student may not know what questions he/she wants to

ask until he/she has completed the work. Interviews can be used to answer questions

the student still has.

- 38 -
 STEP 3: TAKING NOTES

Now that the sources have been identified, the researcher can start taking notes on

the information. This is also one of the most important steps in the research process,

because good notes may determine the quality of the paper.

I- Using the Sources Efficiently

While articles and some short books can be read in a reasonable amount of time,

other books may be too long and may cover much more than the student’s topic.

Therefore, they take more time to be read. To save time, the students can use the table

of contents and the index in longer books to find the parts or pages that contain the

information they need for their topic. By doing this, the students can skip the parts

that do not relate to their research work and get the needed information as quickly and

efficiently as possible.

Consider the examples on next page:

- 39 -
Examples of contents pages

Examples of Index pages:

- 40 -
II- Taking Notes on Note Cards

One of the biggest mistakes some students make is to start reading a book and

writing down information on a sheet of paper. By doing this, the student will end up

with a lot of disorganized scribbling that may be totally useless when they outline

their paper and write a first draft. To avoid this, it is recommended to take notes on

index cards.

When you start reading your sources, use index cards (3”x5” or 4”x6”) to write

down information that might be used in the paper. It is, however, important to write

only one idea and all the notes about it on one card. After you have completed a note

card, write the source and the number of the pages from which you took the

information. Finally, in the upper corner of the note card, write one or two words that

describe the specific subject of the card so that you know exactly what information

each card contains.

Consider the sample note card below:

Source: Book/Periodical/documentary/etc. Types of Desert Plants

Thyme is a multipurpose herb which is botanically known as Thymus Vulgaris. It has
been used for treating indigestion, respiratory infections, and spasms.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………

p. 23 (or pp. 23-24)

III- Effective Note Taking

Knowing what to write on the note cards is very important because strong notes

constitute the backbone of a good research paper.

- 41 -
 1- What to write

While undertaking your research, you may come across a lot of interesting pieces

of information. Nevertheless, it is important to limit yourself to information you can

use in your paper. Taking notes on every single detail will lead to a huge amount of

notes that you will not be able to handle. Therefore, always remember that the notes

you take are supposed to help you answer your research questions. On the other hand,

you can save time by taking notes in shorthand which is a quick way of writing that

uses signs to represent words to avoid writing them in full. For instance:

≠ : does not equal, is not the same as, does not result in
+ : and, also, plus
– : minus, without
>< : between
= : equals, is the same as, results in
≈ : is approximately equal to, is similar to
↑ : increase, rise, growth
↓ : decrease, fall, shrinkage
: therefore, thus, consequently
: because
→ : leads to, produces, causes
x : no, not, incorrect
: yes, correct
? : uncertain, possibly, unproven
# : number
: special, important
: change
etc. : etcetera, and so on
i.e. : that is
w/ : with
w/o : without
e.g. : for example
ppl : people
ntl : national
- 42 -
 ltd : limited
gvt : government
dpt : department
diff : difference/different, difficulty/difficult
imp : important
lge : language
Q : question
A : answer
stdt(s): student(s)
v : very
vs : against

Examples:

❖ ↑ of # of stdts in dpt of Eng is v this yr

The growth of the number of students in the Department of English is very

important this year.

❖ of ↓ of oil price in intl markets gvt decided its ntl dvpt policy

Because of the fall of oil price in international markets the government decided to

change its national development policy.

❖ A r smts diff 2 find w/o help from other ppl

Correct answers are sometimes difficult to find without help from other people.

2- Plagiarism and Paraphrasing

One of the most common problems with research papers is plagiarism. A paper

bought, borrowed, or stolen from another person/student or downloaded from the

Internet constitutes plagiarism. The latter means also representing other people’s

work and ideas as your own. In other words, it is copying someone else’s words and

claiming them as your own. Very often, this problem starts at the note-taking step

when the student copies the exact words from a source. Though not always deliberate,

- 43 -
this act is a serious offense in school, and it can result in different penalties, including

expulsion.

One way to avoid plagiarism is to paraphrase. This means writing down ideas in

your own words rather than copying them. Paraphrasing involves putting a passage

from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to

the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage,

taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.

Consider the examples below:

❖ Original passage:

Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a

result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably

only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly

quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of

exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.

❖ Legitimate paraphrase:

In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep

quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually

originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material

recorded verbatim.

❖ Plagiarized version:

Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes,

resulting in too many of them in the final research paper. In fact,

probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly

- 44 -
 quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source

material copied while taking notes.

3- Quoting

Copying the exact words of an author is acceptable when quotation marks are put

around the author’s words and his/her work is mentioned. In this way, a credit is

given to the real writer of the words. Quoting from a source is perfectly permissible

though it should not be done frequently. Quotations are used only to support the

researcher’s idea(s); therefore, they can in no way replace it/ them (ideas). A

quotation should be used only when it provides very interesting information that

readers will find very instructive. However, the best quotations lose their effect if too

many of them are used. If a paper contains so many quotations, one after another, the

readers may wonder where the part written by the researcher himself/herself is! In

this respect, Dawn Rodrigues and Raymond J. Rodrigues state:

Use quotes when a writer says something so well that you could

not possibly capture the idea as well by paraphrasing or summarizing.

Quote when your paraphrase would end up being longer or more

confusing than the original. Quote when the original words carry with

them some importance that helps make a point, such as when the

writer is an absolute authority on the subject….

Do not, however, fill your research paper with quote after quote. If

you do, your reader is likely to conclude that you really have few or

no ideas of your own on the subject or that you have not studied and

understood the subject well enough to begin to form your own

opinions.” (The Research Paper: A Guide to Internet and Library

Research, 3rd ed. Prentice Hall, 2003)

- 45 -
Consider this example of quoting:

❖ The following passage is from an essay called “United Shareholders of

America,” by Jacob Weisberg:

The citizen-investor serves his fellow citizens badly by his inclination to withdraw

from the community. He tends to serve himself badly as well. He does so by focusing

his pursuit of happiness on something that very seldom makes people happy in the

way they expect it to.

❖ A quotation of this passage might look like this:

In his essay, “United Shareholders of America,” Jacob Weisberg insists that “The

citizen-investor serves his fellow citizens badly by his inclination to withdraw from

the community. He tends to serve himself badly... by focusing his pursuit of

happiness on something that very seldom makes people happy in the way they expect

it to.”

IV- Organization of Notes

After having used all the sources and taken all the notes, an organization of

the note cards is necessary to turn them into a powerful tool that helps you outline and

draft your paper.

The advantage of using index cards to take notes is that you can organize them

in any way you want, and you can lay them out where you can see them all at once.

The first thing to do is to sort all the cards with the same headlines into the same pile

(since they are all about the same basic idea). After that, arrange the piles in an order

that makes sense to you. Experts have suggested six types of order. You can either

use one order or a combination of several ones.

- 46 -
 1- Chronological (or Time) Order

This covers events in the order in which they happened. This kind of order is

usually used in papers that deal with historical or biographical topics.

2- Spatial Order

This organizes the information by its place or origin. This order works best for

papers about geography.

3- Cause and Effect

This discusses how one event or action leads to another. This kind of organization

can work for papers which explain a scientific process or historical events.

4- Problem/Solution

This explains a problem and one or more ways to solve it. This kind of order can

be used in papers dealing with environmental issues (like global warming).

5- Compare and Contrast

This deals with similarities and differences between people, things, events, or

ideas.

6- Order of Importance

This explains an idea, starting with its most important aspects and ending with the

least important ones (or the other way around).

- 47 -
Examples of note cards organization:

- 48 -