English 12

RESEARCH PAPER

How to Research & Find Worthwhile Sources

I. What is research & why do we do it?

  • Research is “the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources to establish facts and reach new conclusions” (Oxford English Dictionary)
  • The purpose of theresearch paper is:

1. To develop the researching skills that will serve you in other areas or subjects as well.

2. To meet the Common Core Standards:

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.7
    Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.8
    Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.

II. Resources for researching?

  • School Library (the Learning Commons) Sources

1. School Sources: World Book Encyclopedia: Through the CCAMedia Centerlink, on the school’s homepage you can access the World Book. (login: CCAHS / password: library).

  1. Library Catalog: Although we do have a small library collection, there are many texts available for a variety of topics. Using the search function, you can search by author or title. Or ask Ms. Glausser in the Learning Commons. She’s a wealth of information!
  • Local Sources
  1. County Library: Seriously, go to SDCL.org. There are branch libraries all over the county and they have most books you could hope to find. They can do an inter-library loan with other public libraries or university campuses. That’s literally millions of books. Also: GET A LIBRARY CARD!!!—OUR LIBRARIAN HAS TEMPORARY LOG-Ins you can use while at school
  2. Gale General One File & Student Research Center: These are databases of research articles that are incredibly accurate and helpful. This is probably your best tool.
  3. Go to sdcl.org
  4. Click on “Research and Homework” on the left hand side.
  5. Select “Articles and Research”.
  6. At the top menu, select “Homework Help”.
  7. Look at both “Student Research Center” and “Gale General OneFile”.
  8. Catalogs: The site has several different “catalogs” of what the library has. You can search by a particular branch, the whole system, or what they can get on loan.
  • Google Scholar: A product from Google allows you to search academic and professional journals and publications to find articles. Oftentimes, they will not give you the full article, but with the citation information, you can access it from the county library. The website is: google.scholar.com
  • Newspaper Websites: Major daily newspapers like The New York Times ( The San Diego Union-Tribune ( and The Los Angeles Times ( often provide articles for free on their site. They do tend to address current events but if your topic still affects us today, then it is not a bad place to start.
  • Google: I know by now this is obvious, but you can find a variety of materials on a simple web search. There is a reason I have listed this resource last—accuracy of information is most questionable here. Three things to remember:
  • Do not only do simple web searches. You will not find enough adequate information.
  • Search using a variety of engines – Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. – and you will find more information.
  • Look at JSTOR in our Learning Commons as another great option for your research. JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books and primary sources.
  • Always check the legitimacy of the result. Just because it’s on the internet does not make it legitimate.

IV. What are you looking for in your research?

  1. When you research a topic, you are looking for patterns, sections, subtopics, periods, timeframes, etc. that divide up the evidence you gather neatly. If you are researching and you find zero correlation between evidence, then take a minute and see what similarities you can think of.
  2. When you research, try and find people who are often cited as experts. By making note of these names, you can shortcut a lot of extra research. Start researching those experts along with the topic. Basically, this is what expert researchers do.
  3. When you research, try to be flexible with your “thesis.” You will come up with information that changes the direction or exact scope of your project.

V. How to evaluate worthwhile sources?

By following this easy checklist, you should be able to find only the most legitimate and authoritative sources***

1. Does it have an author? Who is he/she?

2. Is the website from an institution or is it a personal page?

3. Can you find the date, title, and other information about the publication?

4. Does the information correlate with information found other places?

5. Does the page appear legitimate? That is, no ugly GIFs or cute animals?

VI. Remember to cite, otherwise – plagiarism!

  • Plagiarism is using someone else’s information, research, writing, or ideas without giving credit to the author. When you do this, it is passing off their ideas as your own. This is NEVER okay. We will discuss the difference between citing, direct quotation, paraphrase and when/how to include your own commentary about a source. When in doubt always ASK for guidance on how to deal with a particular source.
  • More will be said about this but for now, keep a running document of ALL sources you use and their authors, titles, web address if electronic, publisher, date published, and publishing city. You will cite sources IN THE TEXT OF YOUR RESEARCH PAPER and in a WORKS CITED PAGE.