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Organizing
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Doing research is an ongoing process of collecting information until you decide you have enough. The problem is that there
is no simple way of knowing when to stop.
Good organization is the best tool to have to help you decide.
Documentation
The idea of research is to integrate the ideas of others with your own.
If you quote, paraphrase, or otherwise borrow someone else's idea, you must document it by citing your source.
Failure to document them properly is plagiarism.
Not every thing you find from your sources has to be documented. If you discover facts that are common knowledge, you do not have to credit them to anyone. It is rare, for example, to document facts that are found in general encyclopedias, since these reference sources are known primarily as compilers of common knowledge, not original research. When in doubt, however, if it is not your idea, acknowledge it, and err on the side of documenting too much.
Bibliographic citations require a special format. Citations in a bibliography or on a works cited page will look different than a footnote. They are very different in appearance than the way they might have appeared in an indexing service citation or the catalog. As ironic as it may sound, there are dozens of different style
manuals that have been written to standardize bibliographic formats. Two of the
most frequently used for courses at Ithaca College are Kate Turabian's
A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations and
the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Thinking and Synthesizing
Once you have gathered enough information, you need to combine your ideas into a logical, coherent form.
You need to sort through your materials, pick out the main ideas and separate them into the different sections and subsections. If you started with a clear focus and were well organized while note taking, sorting through the bits of information should be a simple process now. When you write you will need to turn your work into something new. Even though your information has come from many sources, the final result must be based on your own ideas and written in your own words. You will be borrowing ideas,
but should be giving them your own perspective. You may compare and contrast viewpoints, but should be linking them in new ways. The facts you have collected may be old and opinions often quoted, but what you are creating are your own conclusions, arguments, or evaluations.
This is the synthesis part. It can be the exciting part of research.
Outlining
Some people find that in order to put all the different bits of information together in a logical fashion or to organize your thoughts, it helps if you have an outline. An outline can take many forms. The important thing is to be clear and logical, to follow in a sensible order, and to make sure the different parts fit together and connect with each other.
When all these steps are done you should be in good shape to begin writing.
This page maintained by: Library Webmaster ,
Ithaca College Library.
Author: John R. Henderson
Last modified: 7/30/02