The MLS Student Handbook

C. B. Crawford, Ph.D.

©2003

I. Preface

Writing a final term paper is a very typical requirement in most liberal arts graduate classes.  The final paper is a great way for a professor to gauge the level of understanding that a student has on a topic.  In many cases the final paper carries as much weight as the exams, so its importance is not to be minimized.  On the contrary, given the importance of the final paper in most classes it should be a top priority for every graduate student to excel on this particular task.  Final term papers may be referred to as any of the following:

    research paper

    theme

    thesis paper, or

    term paper

The goal of every student should be to demonstrate that they have mastered the subject matter at hand through their superior coverage of a topic either assigned to or chosen by the student.

Even though the term paper is commonly required in most graduate courses, the specifics of each requirement are as unique as the individual professor teaching that particular class.  In other words, even though this document attempts to point out some common elements of great paper writing, there will always be more specific directions that are included in the course syllabi. 

The purpose behind the final term paper is varied and subject to curricular demands.  In many cases it can be condensed into just a few compelling reasons:

1. A term paper helps a student put structure to an unorganized collection of information to improve the educational experience,

2. A term paper allows a student to get practice in performing original (or archival, in most conditions) research in a controlled situation,

3. A term paper facilitates advanced integration and synthesis learning.

If YOUR personal goal is to organize your thinking, to perform quality research, and to integrate and synthesize theory, then you will be far ahead of other students just rushing to get the paper done before the deadline passes.

II. Research Process

1. Define your Topic or Problem

Clarify your information needs

Organize your thoughts

Develop an overview of the topic

Become familiar with the terminology

Keep notes and record

2. Plan a Research Strategy

Consider the scope of the project

Know the level of the project

Think about managing the project

Plan data collection

Draw a conceptual framework

Plan research questions and hypotheses

3. Locate and Retrieve Information

Know what type of information you need for your literature review

Determine the likely and unlikely sources of information

Over research

Acquire materials from other libraries/sources early

Assess if you have enough information to write the research paper, Rule 10-2-20 (10 to 20 pages of source text for every page you write)

4. Evaluate the Information

Establish credentials of the authors

Read and highlight the materials

Determine the purpose and results of the individual works early

Evaluate the methods, accuracy, and relevance

Recognize theoretical orientation, bias, and perspective

5. Determine if You Have Enough Information

Get more information than you can use

Finalize the organization of the paper, fill in the information you have, then look for areas that are weak

Seek to find multiple sources to support every major point

Do any significant questions seem to be inadequately addressed?
 

6. Planning Data Collection (quantitative research only)

Know the research variables and how to operationalize them

Pilot test the instruments, learn from the trial

Expect the unexpected in data collection

Build a code book

Gather the subject pool

Identify key statistical tests to be run

7. Collecting Data (quantitative research only)

Find more subjects than you’ll need

Observe the participants for possible intervening variables or possible questions to ask for the next study

Consider the theoretical implications of what you are researching

Push on to the end – get a target number of cases and achieve it

Don’t cut corners, do data collection the right way

8. Data Analysis (quantitative research only)

Review the instruments for error and artifacts

Build a database of the cases

Once data has been entered, scrub the data free of error

Compute and print basic descriptive statistics

Review descriptive statistics for accidental findings

Compute and print the inferential statistics

Place the statistics in context, interpret their meaning

9. Synthesize and Present the Information

Determine the best presentation format

Cite sources completely

Know when is “good” and when is “good enough”

Write the paper in sections

Spell check and proofread your draft

Write an abstract, make final changes, “dress it up”

Address the theoretical component

10. Evaluate the Project

Evaluate the results

Evaluate the process

Keep feedback on the project

III. Preparing to Write Your Paper

Four Ts (Time, Tools, Texts, Techniques)

No writing gets done if one of the four Ts is missing.  Each is critical in preparing to write the best possible paper. 
 

1.      Time

To a large extent, writing is limited by the amount of time you have to complete the task. 

More time does not always guarantee a better product, but less time typically does guarantee reduced quality.

Abundance of time can create complacency and procrastination. 

No one has the ability to control or extend time, even when deadlines are flexible you are stealing time from something else.

            The best way to control time is to prioritize, budget, and schedule.  There is no quick fix, and writing that is put off tends to suffer.
 

2.      Tools

Tools relate to the various technologies that people use to assist their writing. 

Mastering the tools of writing are also critical since a mastery of those tools means more time to put into creation and proofreading.

Tools can be “hi tech” or not.  Some of the most dependable tools are pen, paper, a dictionary, or typewriter. 

Be aware that if you use more “hi tech” tools like computer word processors or spreadsheets then you will be forced into a learning curve that can be lengthy and steep. 

Use tools that are most appropriate for the assignment.  If the assignment is extensive then a complex word processor may be the most useful tool, if the assignment requires less work then you may be able to use less complex tools to convey the point.

            Understanding the basics of the technology is your responsibility, so it may be in your best interest to invest in some basic training on the tools you’ll be
                 commonly using.
 

3.      Texts

Writing without source texts inevitably shows ignorance.  Even the most basic position is strengthened through adding the support of relevant source materials.

Follow the 10-2-20 rule.  Collect, read, process, and understand at least 10 to 20 pages of relevant source text for every page of text you are writing.  There is no substitute for having source text, not even secondary texts (textbooks) are as effective as original studies or seminal works.

Collect as much source text as you can before you begin, but be prepared to collect more after your writing project starts based on directions the work takes.

There are rarely situations where you are disadvantaged by knowing too much about what you are writing about.

4.      Technique

The technique is the most personal element in preparing yourself to write.  Technique is simply your own personal writing style. 

Your personal writing style is something unique and cannot be reproduced by anyone else.  Analysts can identify people based on their vocabulary and grammatical habits. 

Understanding your personal technique is important to improving writing style.  If you know that you bend certain grammatical rules, then knowing that will make you more attentive to that as you proofread your documents.

            Word processors (remember, the tool) often contain elaborate spell checking and thesaurus based assistants.  The use of these is highly recommended,
                  but do not allow the word processor to take the technique out of your writing.  Let it assist your writing.
 

IV. Writing a Qualitative Research Paper

1. Introduction

Begin with a point of interest

Introduce the basic research focus

Relevance of the study

Audience of the research results

Discuss the expectations of the research

Discuss the criteria for evaluation of the research

Proposal overview

2. Theoretical Foundation

Discuss the research paradigm (naturalistic, qualitative, hermeneutic)

Review authors that have used the same research type on the same basic research issues

Discuss the assumptions made in developing your research project

3. Literature Review

Discuss what have others said in relation to this research issue

What methods have been used?

Discuss the research that has been conducted 

Elaborate on what is known about the research question you seek to answer

Keys to success

Thorough and complete

Logical and organized

Recent

Original primary research

Critical and analytic appraisal

Build a case for a new study (yours!)

4. Research Questions

Discuss the questions that you seek to find some answers for in your data collection

Discuss any subsequent findings that may emerge from investigation into the primary research question

Defend your research questions by discussing lesser relevant questions in contexts outside the parameters of your research

5. Research Method

Identify and describe your research methods

Discuss the procedures followed for your research

Discuss the sample used

Describe the type of data collected

Discuss the role you played in the data collection (neutral, collaborative, objective)

Discuss how you kept track of the data

Describe how confidentiality was maintained

Discuss data analysis

Explain how you maintained a valid and reliable research method

Explain what responsibility you have to share your data with the study group

6. Results

Present the research results

Include results from both quantitative and qualitative methods

Include quotations and other language sources as helpful

Use simple charts and graphs to simplify the results

Avoid blatant interpretation and discussion, stick to the findings

7. Interpretation

Present the research results

Discuss the analysis that will be provided and what will not be provided in the final product

V. Writing a Quantitative Research Paper

1. Introduction

Begin with a point of interest

Introduce the basic research focus

Relevance of the study

Audience of the research results

Discuss the expectations of the research

Proposal overview

2. Theoretical Foundation

Discuss the research paradigm (heuristic, qualitative, positivistic)

Review authors that have used the same research type on the same basic research issues

Discuss the assumptions made in developing your research project

“How has this theory driven your research interest?”

3. Literature Review

Comprehensively discuss what others have said in relation to this research issue

What methods have been used? What samples have been accessed? In what context?

Discuss the research that has been conducted 

Elaborate on what is known about the research question you seek to answer

Keys to success

Thorough and complete

Logical and organized

Recent

Original primary research

Critical and analytic appraisal

Build a case for a new study (yours!)

4. Research Questions

Discuss the questions that you seek to find some answers for in your data collection

Discuss any subsequent findings that may emerge from investigation into the primary research question

Identify any hypotheses that will be tested

5. Research Method

Identify and describe your research methods and the basic research design

Discuss the procedures you’ll follow for your research

Discuss the sample you have chosen and how they will be treated (confidential, ethical)

Discuss how the variables will be operationalized, the type of data you’ll collect, and from what instruments

Describe how you’ll insure confidentiality

Discuss how you’ll analyze the data

Explain how you’ll maintain a valid and reliable research method

Explain what responsibility you have to share your data with the study group

Discuss how you will organize and present your data and the necessary level of significance for statistical tests

6. Expected Results and Summary

Elaborate on how research results will be presented

Describe how you’ll use a statistical package to analyze the data

Discuss the analysis that will be provided and what will not be provided in the final product

Describe the tables and graphs that will be included

Discuss the limitations of the expected findings

VI. Writing Style Guidelines: Basics and Beyond

 The formality of the writing is largely dependent on the goal of the paper.  For more academic works, a formal, contemporary style (called formal academic writing) is normally most appropriate.  Formal style refers to several general conventions that are adopted when writing in this manner.  Consider some of the following norms of formal writing:

Avoid the use of first or second person (I, you, we, me, him, her, mine, etc).

Expectation that quoted materials from primary and secondary sources will be used.

Structured arguments based on effective evidence and reasoning and avoidance of personal opinion as the basis for conclusions.

Avoidance of “prosaic” or “fluffy” language, seeking more scientific terms

Attention to structure of both sentence and paragraph.

Avoid passive voice and seek descriptive verbs.

Understand that the function is more important than the form; that the ultimate use and outcome is more important than the writing.  Writing is simply a tool to increase understanding or reporting findings.

Every research paper that you write is an argument of some sort.  Obviously, it is not the same type of verbal disagreement that happens between people with conflicting views, but it is a rhetorical argument that you present to an audience implicitly (or perhaps explicitly) requesting change.  Every argument has component parts that are essential to its effectiveness.  First, every argument has a claim.  The claim is above the level of disagreement – in other words, both parties do not agree on the claim.  If both parties did agree, then no argument would need to be posed, right?  Second, every argument has evidence.  Evidence relates to the supporting proofs relating to the claim.  Common forms of evidence might include the following:

Artifacts/objects

Scientific facts

Statistics

Expert opinion

Testimony

Opinion

Note the ordering of the above items.  Perhaps the most compelling evidence is the existence of an object or artifact that reflects proof of the claim (in a traffic accident skid marks are often measured; in a homicide trial the existence of the murder weapon and fingerprints is compelling evidence).  Likewise, evidence at the lower end of the list (opinion, testimony) are likely less compelling because it is based on human credibility.  Evidence must be related to the claim through reasoning, the third component, otherwise it is irrelevant in supporting the claim.  Several different forms of reasoning exist including the following:

Reasoning from sign

Reasoning from analogy

Reasoning from generalization

Reasoning from cause

Reasoning from authority

Forms of reasoning are less relevant in this discussion; suffice it to say that evidence that is not linked to the claim is worthless.  The final aspect of every argument is the context in which argument occurs.  This aspect may be outside the control of the rhetor.  But, to the extent that you control the argument and submit your work in an exceptional manner (meeting and exceeding all assignment parameters), the context has been as controlled for as much as possible. 

The final aspect of formal writing style relates to a few writing conventions that may be helpful if applied.  Since every paper is an argument, this fact must be conveyed in the manner in which you write.  The fact is that every research paper is likely to have multiple arguments (many claims which need reasoned support).  As you begin to actually write the paper these many claims may serve as the basis for an organizing strategy for your paper.  You know that certain claims rely on other claims for support, so it is smarter to put those preliminary claims first, and their secondary claims later.  Additionally, it is has been said that each paragraph serves as a claim all by itself.  If this is the case (and it probably should be) then every paragraph ought to be organized according to the following guidelines:

Paragraph Sentence 1 – THESIS SENTENCE – Describes the basic point of the paragraph or what the reader is trying to impart in that paragraph

Paragraph Sentence 2 – MAJOR SUPPORT – Summarizes a good reason why the thesis sentence is correct, serves as a link between the thesis sentence and the minor support.

Paragraph Sentence 3 – MINOR SUPPORT – Provides key evidence supporting the truth of the major support and ultimately the thesis sentence.

Paragraph Sentence 4 – MINOR SUPPORT -  Provides key evidence supporting the truth of the major support and ultimately the thesis sentence.

            Paragraph Sentence 5 – MAJOR SUPPORT – Summarizes a good reason why the thesis sentence is correct, serves as a link between the
            thesis sentence and the minor support.

Paragraph Sentence 6 – MINOR SUPPORT – Provides key evidence supporting the truth of the major support and ultimately the thesis sentence.

Paragraph Sentence 7 – MINOR SUPPORT -  Provides key evidence supporting the truth of the major support and ultimately the thesis sentence.

                        Paragraph Sentence 8 – SUMMARY/RETHESIS – In this final sentence the argument is brought full circle by suggesting that at least two
                        reasons support the truth of the thesis.  Also provides persuasive “bite” for the reader in support of the position.

Anyone following the above will write well more developed, distinct, and persuasive papers (claims) than those who write in a journalistic style, a “stream of thought” style, or an organized style.
 

VII. Bibliographic Style Guidelines: Basics and Beyond

Bibliographic style refers to the manner in which references will be used and referenced within the work.  Like writing style, one of the assumptions made of graduate students centers on their ability to use a bibliographic style guide to reference their works.  The important thing is that you use a consistent style.  My suggestion is to find the most common style that is used in your field.  Among the more popular styles guides used are the APA (5^th edition) and the MLA style.  Many others exist, and some fields reject submissions that are in a style guide that is not familiar, so do your homework. 

NOTE: One way to tell the style guide of your field is to look at the references at the back of journal articles.  Many journals tell you the style that is acceptable. 

The APA style uses the author-date method of citation.  For direct quotations, a page number is also given within the parentheses.

The APA format calls the list of books, periodicals, print and non-print materials "References." Some Guidelines for preparing the "References" list:

• Use a separate page and type References, centered, at the top. Double-space all entries.
• Include only sources cited in the text. [4.01]
• For second and subsequent lines, use the Hanging Indent style. [4.03]
• Alphabetize by author's (or editor's) last name, or by the first significant word in the title if there is no author or editor. [4.04]
• Invert all authors' (or editors') names, using surnames and initials only, for up to and including six authors. For more than six authors, name the first and use et al. for the rest. [4.08]
• Use the ampersand (&) rather than "and" in the author (or editor) entry. [4.08]
• The date of publication (in parenthesis) follows the author's (or editor's) name or title if there is no author (or editor). [4.09]
• Titles of books are in italics. The first word of the title or subtitle (if any) and any proper nouns are capitalized. [4.12]
• Titles of journals and magazines are italicized, and the above rules for capitalization are used. [4.11]
• After the title of the journal or magazine, give the volume number in italics. [4.11]
• For page number in periodicals, only use "pp" before page numbers in reference to newspapers but not in references to magazine or journal articles. [4.11]
• Additional information for a book, such as editions or volumes, is in parenthesis immediately after the title of the book. [4.12]

APA "References" Examples [4.16]

Electronic Sources

Taken from http://www.bridgew.edu/Library/apa.htm

The reference list should be arranged alphabetically by author surname. The APA format requires book and journal titles etc. to be italicized, although you can underline instead in a handwritten list.

The details needed for a book can be found on the front and reverse of the title page. Make sure you locate the name of the publisher rather than the printer or typesetter. You need the name of the publisher in your reference list. The Library Catalogue gives the publisher's name if you are in any doubt.  Ignore any reprint dates; you need the date when the first, second, third edition etc. of the book was published according to which edition of the book you are using.  The details needed for a journal article can usually be found on the contents list, front cover or article itself.

Printed publications

Book

American Psychological Association. (1994). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (4th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author.

Encyclopaedia of psychology. (1976). London: Routledge.

Gardner, H. (1973). The arts and human development. New York: Wiley.

Moore, M. H., Estrich, S., McGillis, D., & Spelman, W. (1984). Dangerous offenders: the elusive target of justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Strunk, W., & White, E. B. (1979). The elements of style (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan.

Note: List up to 6 authors. The 7th and subsequent authors are abbreviated to et al.

Edited book

Maher, B. A. (Ed.). (1964-1972). Progress in experimental personality research (6 vols.). New York: Academic Press

Article in edited book (Chapter)

Vygotsky, L. S. (1991). Genesis of the higher mental functions. In P. Light, S. Sheldon, & M. Woodhead (Eds.), Learning to think (pp. 32-41). London: Routledge.

Encyclopaedia entry

Lijphart, A. (1995). Electoral systems. In The encyclopaedia of democracy (Vol. 2, pp. 412-422). London: Routledge.

If the entry has no author, begin the reference with the entry title followed by the date of publication.

Government publication

Great Britain. Command Papers. (1991). Health of the nation (Cm 1523). London: HMSO.

Great Britain. Home Office. (1994). Prisons policy for England and Wales. London: HMSO.

Report

Birney, A. J., & Hall, M. M. (1981). Early identification of children with written language difficulties (Report No. 81-502). Washington DC: National Educational Association.

Conference paper in published proceedings

Borgman, C. L., Bower, J., & Krieger, D. (1989). From hands-on science to hands-on information retrieval. In J. Katzer, & G. B. Newby, (Eds.), Proceedings of the 52nd ASIS annual meeting: Vol. 26. Managing information and technology (pp. 96-100). Medford, NJ: Learned Information.

Journal article

Noguchi, T., Kitawaki, J., Tamura, T., Kim, T., Kanno, H., Yamamoto, T., & Okada, H. (1993). Relationship between aromatase activity and steroid receptor levels in ovarian tumors from postmenopausal women. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44(4-6), 657-660.

Popper, S. E., & McCloskey, K. (1993). Individual differences and subgroups within populations: the shopping bag approach. Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine, 64(1), 74-77.

Weekly magazine article

Barrett, L. (2001, August 23). Daewoo's drive to survive in the UK.
Marketing Week, 22-23.

Newspaper article

Caffeine linked to mental illness. (1991, July 13). New York Times, pp. B13, B15.

Young, H. (1996, July 25). Battle of snakes and ladders. The Guardian, p. 15.

Two or more works by the same author(s) with the same publication date

Where an author (or particular group of authors) has more than one work in a particular year, list them in title order and follow the date with a lower case letter a, b, c, ... For example:

Harding, S. (1986a). The instability of the analytical categories of feminist theory. Signs, 11(4), 645-64.

Harding, S. (1986b). The science question in feminism. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

When referred to in the text these letters are also used (see last page section b).

Anonymous works

If a work is signed "Anonymous", your reference must begin with the word Anonymous, followed by date etc. as normal.

If no author is shown, put the title in the normal author position.

Note on page numbers

Use pp. for page range only for encyclopedia entries, multi-page newspaper articles and chapters or articles in edited books. For articles in journals or magazines use the numbers alone.

Interviews

Because an interview is not considered recoverable data, you do not give details in your reference list. You should, however, cite an interview within the body of your text as a personal communication:

…and this point was conceded (J. Bloggs, personal communication, August 22, 2001)

The details shown below have been compiled according to the guidelines available on the APA Website (http://www.apastyle.org) in August/September 2001. Check this Website and the 5th edition of The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association which is available in the Frewen Library for further guidance.

The basic pattern for a reference to an electronic source is:

Author, Initials. (year). Title. Retrieved month, day, year, from Internet address.

Banks, I. (n.d.). The NHS Direct healthcare guide. Retrieved August 29, 2001, from http://www.healthcareguide.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/

• If no date is shown on the document, use n.d.
• If the author is not given, begin your reference with the title of the document.
• If a document is part of a large site such as that for a university or government department, give the name of the parent organization and the relevant department before the Web address:

Alexander, J., & Tate, M. A. (2001). Evaluating web resources. Retrieved August 21, 2001, from Widener University, Wolfgram Memorial Library Web site: http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/webevaluation/webeval.htm

Deciding your future. (2000). Retrieved September 5, 2001, from University of Portsmouth, Careers Service Web site: http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/careers/ plancareer/deciding-your-future.htm

Electronic journal articles which are duplicates of the printed version

Use the same reference format as for a printed journal article but add "Electronic version" in square brackets after the article title:

Lussier, R. N., & Pfeifer, S. (2001). A crossnational prediction model for business success [Electronic version]. Journal of Common Market Studies, 39(3), 228-239.

If you are referencing an online article where the format differs from the printed version or which includes additional data or commentaries, you should add the date you retrieved the document and the Web address (URL).

Articles in Internet-only journals

Korda, L. (2001, July). The making of a translator. Translation Journal, 5(3). Retrieved August 21, 2001 from http://accurapid.com/journal/17prof.htm

• Use the complete publication date shown on the article
• Note that page numbers are not given
• Whenever possible, the URL you give should link directly to the article itself
• Break a URL that goes onto another line after a slash or before a full-stop. Do not insert a hyphen at the break.

Articles retrieved from a database

Use the format appropriate to the type of work retrieved and add a retrieval date, plus the name of the database:

McVeigh, T. (2000, July 9). How your gestures can do the talking. The Observer, p.7. Retrieved September 10, 2001, from The Guardian and The Observer on CD-ROM database.

Citing references in the text

Taken from http://www.libr.port.ac.uk/support/BR_APA.html
 

VIII. Feedback and Learning

When writing for an assignment, learning takes place at every step of the process.  Some learning occurs as you do the research, some occurs as you organize your materials, and a great deal of learning occurs as you compose your paper.  But, the learning does not stop there.  Most people learn a great deal more about their papers by receiving feedback on it.  Feedback comes at three different stages:

        Your own self-evaluation as you proofread your paper for errors.

         A peer-evaluation when you give your paper to a peer for them to review prior to you submitting it.

        The instructor evaluation is very important because the grade is often assigned based on the instructor’s expert evaluation.

It is absolutely natural to be concerned about evaluation outside your control.  Your self-evaluation should be as thorough as possible to make sure you catch simple errors before you give it to a peer for further review.   As you receive peer-evaluation and your instructor’s evaluation, it is easy to be fearful of the result.  The ego involvement of research, organizing, and writing a paper is naturally very high.  Critical comments are often difficult to take and likely cause much defensiveness.  One should try to receive the critical comments as objectively as possible and the result must always be based on what makes the paper better.