Social Work: Writing Tools

All schools have policies on plagiarism or academic honesty. The consequences are real and could result in a failing grade for the class, or expulsion from the class or college/university. It is paramount that you read and understand the policy of your institution.

ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY

There are several accepted ways to cite the resource you used to write your paper. If you are wondering which to use, ask your professor. The library also has copies of the style manual, a book that gives detailed instructions on how to cite references.

Ask the Information Desk for copies to use in the library. You can also click links to guides listed below.

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) GUIDE FROM PURDUE
MLA Style manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing
by J. Gibaldi
MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA) GUIDE FROM PURDUE
Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations
by K. Turabian
TURABIAN QUICK GUIDE

To avoid the potential for plagiarism, a good rule of thumb is to provide a citation for any idea that is not your own. This includes:

• > Direct quotation
• > Paraphrasing of a quotation, passage, or idea
• > Summary of another's idea or research
• > Specific reference to an obscure fact, figure, or phrase

You do not need to cite widely-accepted common knowledge (e.g. "George Washington was the first President of the United States."), proverbs, or common phrases unless you are using a direct quotation.

When in doubt, avoid the possibility of plagiarism and cite your source.

Further information can be found in the So, Cite Your Sources panel on the far right. Or visit CITATION & WRITING STYLE GUIDE.

This guide gives you helpful strategies on how to start and finish your research paper.

Navigate below or DOWNLOAD PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION ▸

Recipe for Research (from EbscoHost)
A 9-Step Process for Acquiring and Organizing Information for Your Research Assignment

1. Write an Overview 2. Define Your Task 3. Formulate Questions

4. Set Goals 5. Select Resources 6. Gather Information

7. Evaluate Resources 8. Coordinate Resources 9. Produce Final Product

 

Before you start

1. WRITE A TOPIC OVERVIEW

What do you already know about your topic? Write it down. All of it. This will give you a place to begin and an idea of how much work is ahead of you.

 

2. DEFINE YOUR TASK(S) 

What are the requirements of the project? In other words, what are the necessary ingredients for you to achieve success? Examples may include one or more of the following:

A. Fact Finding (gathering and presenting information)

B. Information Analysis (examining, interpreting and explaining information)

C. Persuasion (influencing your audience to view information as you do)

D. Problem Solving (presenting information about a crisis and its resolution)

 

3. FORMULATE QUESTIONS

A. Make a list of research questions that will give your project direction.

Examplee: "What are the primary causes of global warming?"

B. Use your questions to make a list of keywords. These can be used later when you start your research, especially with online resources.

Note: Use your key words to make a list of synonyms as well as related, broader, and narrower search terms.

Example: The key word or term in the example question is global warming. A synonym would be greenhouse effect and a related term might be ozone depletion.

 

4. SET GOALS

Keeping your tasks and questions in mind, determine what you hope to accomplish with your project or paper.

A. What do you want your audience to learn from the information you are presenting?

B. What is the best way to present that information?

Using your keywords and research questions, develop a thesis statement. You will refer back to this statement throughout the process of completing your project.

Example: A study of global warming shows that the causes are both naturally occurring and man-made.

 

Research

5. SELECT YOUR RESOURCES

Figure out which materials are going to work best for your project. Options include: Online research databases like those offered by EBSCO (MAS Ultra, History Reference Center, Science Reference Center) as well as books, reference books, dictionaries, magazines, newspapers, audio and video files and search engines.

• Determine the pros and cons of your resource choices. Things to think about include:

I. Which include the most information?

II. Which are the most accurate?

III. Which are easiest to use?

IV. Which are fastest?

Example: Search engines are fairly simple to use, but results often lack accuracy and finding reputable sources can be difficult and time consuming.

 

6. GATHER INFORMATION

Read, watch and/or listen to everything you’ve collected.

 

7. EVALUATE YOUR INFORMATION

This is the time to make sure your information meets the requirements you defined in steps 2 through 4.

A. Will it help you to complete your tasks?

B. Does your research answer all or most of your questions?

C. Will your research allow you to attain your goals and prove the points in your thesis statement?

Note: If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” you may need to do more research, review your information to find more answers, or weed out information that will not be helpful.

 

8. ORGANIZE YOUR INFORMATION

A. Organize and repackage your information in an outline.

B. Write a rough draft.

C. Ask someone you trust to help edit your draft. A second pair of eyes is invaluable.

9. PRODUCE YOUR FINAL PRODUCT

Whether the final product is a research paper, editorial, dramatic presentation, audio/video production, art project, oral report, debate or any other project, if you carefully followed steps 1 through 8, you have already improved your odds of success!

Guide source:

EBSCO Publishing. (2008). Recipe for research. Ipwich, MA: Author.