2. Research: What It Is
A research paper is the culmination and final product
of an involved process of: research, critical thinking,
source evaluation, organization, and composition.
The research paper is like a living thing, which grows
and changes as the you explore, interpret, and
evaluate sources related to a specific topic.
Primary and secondary sources are the heart of a
research paper, and provide its nourishment; without
the support of and interaction with these sources, the
research paper would morph into a different genre of
writing (e.g., an encyclopedic article).
3. Research: What it is not
A research paper is not simply an informed summary of a
topic by means of primary and secondary sources. It is
neither a book report nor an opinion piece nor an
expository essay consisting solely of one's interpretation of
a text nor an overview of a particular topic.
Instead, it is a genre that requires one to spend time
investigating and evaluating sources with the intent to offer
interpretations of the texts, and NOT unconscious
regurgitations of those sources. The goal of a research
paper is not to inform the reader what others have to say
about a topic, but to draw on what others have to say about
a topic and engage the sources in order to thoughtfully
offer a unique perspective on an issue. Your
voice/argument needs to be present in the paper!
4. Goal of your Research
Paper
1) Ask a question worth answering.
2) Find an answer that you can support with good
reasons.
3)Find reliable evidence to support your
reasons/argument.
4) Draft a report that makes a good case for your
answer or perspective.
5) Revise that draft until readers will think you met the
first four goals.
5. Argumentative Research
Paper
The argumentative research paper consists of an
introduction in which the writer clearly introduces
the topic and informs his audience exactly which
stance he intends to take; this stance is often
identified as the thesis statement. An important
goal of the argumentative research paper is
persuasion, which means the topic chosen
should be debatable or controversial.
6. Analytical Research Paper
The analytical research paper often begins with the
student asking a question (a.k.a. a research
question) on which he has taken no stance as of yet.
Such a paper is often an exercise in exploration and
evaluation. For example, perhaps one is interested
in the Old English poem Beowulf. He has read the
poem intently and desires to offer a fresh reading of
the poem to the academic community in light of a
particular issue that relates to the poem.
7. Three Kinds of Questions:
There are generally three types of
questions that can guide Research
Papers.
As we begin research we will move
from a topic of “noun phrase” to
describe your research paper to a
paper guided by a question of
hypothesis.
8. Conceptual Questions:
What should we think?
A Question is conceptual when your answers
to “So what?” doesn’t tell readers what to do,
but helps them better understand some
issue. Before we solve a practical problem
we have to do conceptual research to better
understand it.
(ie) How did Shakespeare’s political environment
influence his plays?
9. Practical Questions:
What should we do?
When your answer to “So What?” tells
readers what to do to change or fix some
improvable situation.
* This is the least likely question you will ask
in your research paper. You are unlikely to
do enough research over the next weeks to
“solve” a problem or offer a plausible solution
to a large issue, but you can help the reader
but understand a problem. *
10. Applied Questions:
Often we know we must do something to solve a
practical problem, but realize before we can
know what that is, we must do research to
understand the problem better.
11. What is your purpose in
writing?
There are many "correct" things to write about for
any subject, but you need to narrow down your
choices. For example, your topic might be "dorm
food." At this point, you and your potential reader
are asking the same question,
"So what?" Why should you write about this, and
why should anyone read it? Do you want the
reader to pity you because of the intolerable food
you have to eat there? Do you want to analyze
large-scale institutional cooking? Do you want to
compare Purdue's dorm food to that served at
Indiana University?
12. How Are You Going to
Achieve This Purpose?
How, for example, would you achieve your
purpose if you wanted to describe some movie
as the best representation of disability issues
you’ve ever seen? Would you define for yourself
a specific means of doing so? Would your
comments on the movie go beyond merely telling
the reader that you really liked it?
13. Who is your Audience?
The concept of audience can be very confusing.
Should the student's audience be her instructor
only, or should her paper attempt to reach a
larger academic crowd? These are two extremes
on the pendulum; the former is too narrow of an
audience, while the latter is too broad. Therefore,
it is important for the student to articulate an
audience that falls somewhere in between.
14. Audience related
Questions:
Who is the general audience I want to reach?
Who is most likely to be interested in the research I am
doing?
What is it about my topic that interests the general
audience I have discerned?
If the audience I am writing for is not particularly interested
in my topic, what should I do to pique its interest?
Will each member of the broadly conceived audience
agree with what I have to say?
If not (which will likely be the case!) what counter-
arguments should I be prepared to answer
