Page 5 Conducting Research
Completion requirements
Conducting Research
Taking Notes
As you research your topic, make notes of significant
information. Small index cards are handy when re-arranging or reordering
information. Have separate piles for each subtopic of your main topic.
If you keep your research notes online, place information in an appropriate folder.
Record the source of your information first so you do not have to search for it later!
Always paraphrase, or write information in your own words. If you copy information directly from a site to use in your project, record the source. Using unsourced information is plagiarism.
Review paraphrasing by clicking here.
If you keep your research notes online, place information in an appropriate folder.
Record the source of your information first so you do not have to search for it later!
Always paraphrase, or write information in your own words. If you copy information directly from a site to use in your project, record the source. Using unsourced information is plagiarism.
Review paraphrasing by clicking here.
When taking notes on a sentence, choose the key words in each sentence, and limit the statement in your notes to about five words. The number of notes to take per paragraph varies. Symbols do not count as words.
Key words
- answer who, where, what
- connect to the topic
- connect to the title
- are repeated
- provide understanding
Key words may also be
- nouns: names of people, places, objects, concepts
- numbers: dates, measurements, amounts
- verbs: actions by people
Record exact information about each source you use for your bibliography.
For a book or magazine article
|
For information from a website
- author's name (if given)
- title of the text
- date information was posted
- name of organization
- address of the website (URL); copy this information from the search bar in your browser window
Student Kelly has taken notes on the following paragraph. Consider both the excerpt from "The Psychology of Video Game Addiction" by Jack Flanagan in The Kernel Magazine and accompanying student notes.
Paragraph 8:
When we do anything that triggers our brain's reward system, that information gets locked into our brains. A reward system is, basically, a system that governs how the brain feels when we do something—a chore, a job, anything—that results in reward at least some of the time. If we keep getting a reward for the same task, we start to understand the relationship between the two and our brain builds the appropriate connections. It means the next time we come across the chance to do that same task, we assume we're at least a bit likely to get a gift in return. How strong the reward system is in our brains depends on how often we get the reward and how big of a reward it is.
When we do anything that triggers our brain's reward system, that information gets locked into our brains. A reward system is, basically, a system that governs how the brain feels when we do something—a chore, a job, anything—that results in reward at least some of the time. If we keep getting a reward for the same task, we start to understand the relationship between the two and our brain builds the appropriate connections. It means the next time we come across the chance to do that same task, we assume we're at least a bit likely to get a gift in return. How strong the reward system is in our brains depends on how often we get the reward and how big of a reward it is.
