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Research Tools & TemplatesClick on headings to view resources on these topics. Links to a variety of databases are available from the DBC Research Guide. Follow link on left nav bar or here: Research QuestionsReal research starts with a question. A good research question will focus your research and writing. But a research question is not the same as a thesis statement. A research question is an open-ended beginning, not an already determined endpoint. Research LogsResearch logs prove invaluable at every stage of the research process from locating and evaluating sources, to composing your paper or literature review, to documenting sources and compiling a works cited list or bibliography. Start your research log as soon as you begin your search for information sources. Do your online research in one window of your computer; keep your research log open in a second window. As you conduct your research, use your log to keep an informal yet detailed record of your research process. Include the full, formatted citations for all sources found; key words leading to the various sources; evaluative comments about each source, and brief summaries of important points as well as potentially useful quotations from them. The notes you make here will easily translate into your later review of the literature and discussion of your research topic. Source EvaluationSource evaluation means that you assess print and online publications for information relevancy, accuracy, and reliability. What is the type of source (e.g. an Internet Website or a scholarly article from an academic journal)? Why were these particular sources chosen? How do the sources work together to produce a response to your research question? How do the sources relate to one another and to your research question. A Google search for source evaluation turns up 6,740,000 links. Most of them have the same basic information asking you to evaluate sources from Internet Search engines for accuracy, objectivity, validity, and creditability. Websites vary greatly in quality and stability. Many are maintained by academic institutions, professional organizations, and individual scholars that uphold rigorous and carefully documented standards. However, any individual or organization can create a Web site without having to be reviewed by an editor or a publisher. Remember that the Library Online Databases have already been evaluated for some criteria.
Source Citation & DocumentationVarious disciplines rely on various styles of documentation when citing sources. Writers in the arts and humanities usually follow the forms of the Modern Language Association (MLA); social scientists typically adhere to the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines; many writers in the natural sciences as well as mathematics follow the Council of Science Editors (formerly the Council of Biology Editors or CBE) style. Historians traditionally follow a fourth guide, The Chicago Manual of Style, often referred to as “Turabian” for Kate Turabian, dissertation secretary at the University of Chicago from 1930 to 1958. Some book and journal editors produce their own individual style guides as well. We ask all members of the Dean’s Book Course community to accept the conventions of MLA style. It suits our tasks, represents a widely recognized style, and allows us all to “speak” a common documentation language.You may be asked to use other styles in other courses. No one style is absolutely better than the rest. The sites below provide MLA citation information, models and helpful tools to supplement "Advice to Authors":
Abstracts for Papers and PresentationsAn abstract is a short statement about your paper or presentation designed to give the reader a complete, yet concise, understanding of your research and findings. The Commonwealth College Undergraduate Conference website provides helpful guidelines for composing an abstract. Literature ReviewsWritten in essay style, a literature review describes, classifies, and evaluates the sources of information published on a given topic. Effective Poster Design
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Poster Presentation by |
Poster Presentation by |
The Fall 2007 Selection
Terror in the Name of God
by Jessica Stern
(click book jacket for more)
The Spring 2008 Selection
A Primate's Memoir
by Robert Sapolsky
(click book jacket for more)
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A poster-board display containing words and images, tables, graphs, maps, etc. can effectively support an oral presentation if it is done right. Four or five key points represented visually can organize, synthesize, and focus your research findings for you as well as your audience.
