How to do Library Research: The Assignment Calculator

• Read through and understand your assignment.
  • Contact your instructor (see your syllabus for how-to) with questions.
  • Meet with a tutor at the McDaniel College Writing Center for help with interpreting and planning your assignment.
• Plan ahead, and book appointments now at the library and McDaniel College Writing Center, for help with the following steps.

Percent time spent on this step: 3%

• Select a workable topic (from Colorado State).
• Conduct preliminary investigation into your topic. Aim for an overview of its vocabulary, concepts, and important issues.
  • Use Google or other web searches.
  • Get background from a digital reference collection like GVRL – Gale Virtual Reference Library.
  • Check a subject-specific research guide for specialized reference works.
  • Ask questions about your topic (who, what, when, where, why, and how ). Write down terms and concepts related to your topic, as a list or as a mind map – downloadable or digital.

Percent time spent on this step: 4%

All research involves some question you are trying to answer. Write your current version of that question and your proposed answer, which will serve as your working thesis and the basis for your research strategy. Remember that you can (and probably will) revise your thesis as you get deeper into your research.

• Move from topic to thesis statement (from Colorado State).
• See these tips and examples for stellar thesis statements.
• Get writing support at the McDaniel College Writing Center.

Percent time spent on this step: 8%

• Your search strategy involves deciding where to search and how to search.
  • In thinking about where to search, ask: Do I need information . . .
    • to provide background or context?
    • to introduce and situate my thesis within existing conversation on my topic?
    • to demonstrate the value of my working research question?
    • to support or counter an argument?
  • Develop your research strategy (video from University of RI).
  • Use your research question to create a search string you can use in Research Starter or other databases. Try different key words until you get useful results.
• Gather and read different types of sources or evidence. (See Step 5 for more on reading and evaluating sources.) Follow assignment requirements regarding number of sources, type of sources, etc.
  • Books
    • Learn how to find a book in the Hoover Library (video).
    • Check subject-specific research guides for call number ranges of books on that subject.
  • Journal articles
    • What are scholarly articles and where do I find them? (video from University of Minnesota).
    • Search for articles in many databases at once using Research Starter.
    • Choose a specific database from Hoover Library’s A-Z Database List.
    • See these tips on using databases.
  • News
    • Current news: Access World News; New York Times; Wall Street Journal
    • Historical newspapers; Middle Eastern & North African newspapers; Chinese newspapers
  • Websites
  • Specialized sources
    • Historical or primary documents; archives
    • Statistics
    • Government publications
• Gather information on your sources for your bibliography.
  • Citations are an important part of academic writing, and it is easier to collect details about each source as you conduct your research.
  • Citation generators and citation managers (such as Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote) can help you with this task.

Percent time spent on this step: 20%

• Evaluate sources based on your research question or working thesis. Is the source relevant?
  • Also, consider its authority, reliability/validity, bias/purpose, and currency .
  • Can you believe what you’ll do after watching this video?
  • Know how to spot fake news.
• Use critical reading strategies (from University of Minnesota). See also this OER text for detailed information: The Word on College Reading and Writing.
  • See how to read scholarly articles and how to read and comprehend scientific research articles (video from University of Minnesota).
  • See how to read a book .
  • Explore McDaniel College Writing Center’s handouts on reading.
  • Take notes while reading. Make notes on margins. Use digital tools to comment on or highlight PDFs.
  • Try close reading (from Harvard) and read to write strategies (from University of North Carolina).
• Conduct more research to fill in gaps as needed (see Step 4).

Percent time spent on this step: 25%

• Revisit your thesis (from Harvard), and polish or refine your arguments as a response to your research question.
• Organize your thoughts and your paper's structure. Try the following techniques:
  • Outlining (from Indiana University).
  • Brainstorming (from University of North Carolina).
  • Talking – Record yourself talking about your topic and ideas; then transcribe your thoughts.
• Review classical, Rogerian (from Purdue University) and Toulmin methods of structuring arguments.
• Get online or in-person writing support at the McDaniel College Writing Center.

Percent time spent on this step: 7%

• You do not have to begin with the introduction or write your paper sequentially. Many writers find it easier to begin with segments or chunks. As you write you will discover more of what you want to say.
• Concentrate on writing your rough ideas; revising will come later.
• Continue drafting segments, including introduction and conclusion. Use transitional devices to develop connections between segments (from University of North Carolina).
• Take breaks to keep your brain and your writing fresh.
• As you incorporate others' ideas or words into your paper, be sure to cite your sources with in-text citations. If you are unsure which citation style to use (e.g. APA, MLA, etc.), check your syllabus or ask your instructor.
  • Understand what constitutes plagiarism (from AcademicPlagiarism.com), so you can avoid it.
  • Quote and summarize or paraphrase sources.
  • Try these tips for integrating quotations from sources (from University of Minnesota).
• Get online or in-person writing support at the McDaniel College Writing Center.
• It is helpful to draft a paper, even when the final presentation mode is a slideshow or speech. See how to convert your paper into a presentation (from Duke University).
• Need a computer? Use one at the library or at a campus computer lab.
• Conduct more research to fill in gaps as needed (see Step 4).

Percent time spent on this step: 8%

• Get online or in-person writing support at the McDaniel College Writing Center.
• Use a revision checklist (from University of Minnesota).
  • See also revising drafts (from University of North Carolina) and how to be your own writing tutor (from Harvard).
  • Check the logic of your arguments to eliminate fallacies.
  • To improve sentence clarity, try the paramedic method.
• Draft your bibliography or works cited page.
  • Citation generators and citation managers (such as Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote) can help you with this task.
  • Be sure to double check the citations.

Percent time spent on this step: 20%

• Try these editing and proofreading strategies (from University of Minnesota).
  • Check style, grammar, and punctuation.
  • See editing and proofreading (from University of North Carolina).
  • Remember to write an effective title (from University of Minnesota).
• See how to convert your paper into a presentation (from Duke University).
• Resources for multilingual writers (from University of Texas Health Science Center).
• Check citations (from University of Minnesota) and formatting.
  • Citation generators and citation managers (such as Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote) can help you with this task.

Percent time spent on this step: 5%