a recipe for good research. key ingredient: strong argument strong arguments advance and support one...

A Recipe for Good Research

Key Ingredient:Strong Argument

• Strong arguments advance and support one point of view while acknowledging the legitimacy of the other side’s argument and their support for it.

Argument

Key Ingredient:Thesis

• A thesis is not a fact. • A thesis is an opinion• A good thesis

is arguable and controversial

• Good research uses facts, opinions, and logic – for support – for rebutting the other

side’s argument

http://www.godloveseveryone.org/elephant/

Key Ingredient:Question & Answer

• Your thesis is a response to a question about your opinion.

• Example:– Do you think

Alexander deserves the title “Great?”

Research Process• Inventory• Locate sources• Evaluate sources• Document sources• Distinguish facts from opinions

– Extract and categorize facts• For or against?

– Evaluate and categorize opinions• Extract and categorize evidence• For or against?

• Synthesize & Hypothesize – Preliminary Thesis

• Your 1st Draft• Reflect & Re-consider

– Thesis• Your Final Report

Starts Broad, then Narrows through Research, Writing & Revision

Beginning

End

Inventory

• What do I know?– Start by taking

stock of what you already know

– Categorize what you know in T-chart form

+ -

Identifying Sources

• Types of Sources– Primary & secondary sources– Books, Journals & Magazines– Images & other media– Personal Interviews– Etc.

• Locations for Sources– Libraries– Internet– Etc.

Evaluating Sources

• Primary, Secondary or Tertiary?

• Suitable or not?– Authoritative or not?– Biased or not?– Current or not?

• Credible or not?– Fact or Opinion?– Accurate or not?

Primary Sources

• Primary sources are original materials

• They are from the time period involved and have not been filtered through interpretation or evaluation.

• Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based.

http://www.lib.umd.edu/guides/primary-sources.html#primary

Secondary Sources

• Secondary sources are less easily defined than primary sources.

• Generally, they are accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight.

• They are interpretations and evaluations of primary sources.

• Secondary sources are not evidence, but rather commentary on and discussion of evidence.

http://www.lib.umd.edu/guides/primary-sources.html#primary

Tertiary Sources

• Tertiary sources consist of information which is a distillation and collection of primary and secondary sources.

http://www.lib.umd.edu/guides/primary-sources.html#primary

ExamplesSUBJECT PRIMARY SECONDARY TERTIARY

Art and Architecture

Painting by Manet Article critiquing art piece ArtStor database

Chemistry/Life Sciences

Einstein's diaryMonograph on Einstein's

lifeDictionary on Theory

of Relativity

Engineering /Physical Sciences

Patent NTIS databaseManual on using

invention

Social Studies /Humanities

Letters by Martin Luther King

Web site on King's writings

Encyclopedia on Civil Rights Movement

Social SciencesNotes taken by

clinical psychologist

Magazine article about the psychological condition

Textbook on clinical psychology

Performing ArtsMovie filmed in

1942Biography of the director Guide to the movie

http://www.lib.umd.edu/guides/primary-sources.html#primary

Source Resources

• http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/basic00.htm

• http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/Images/primary.swf

Documenting Sources

Documenting Sources

Distinguishing Facts from Opinions

• Facts– Have an objective reality,

an actual existence

– His father was a king – He was a student of

Aristotle– He conquered many lands – He spread Hellenic culture– He didn’t leave a successor

• Opinions– An information-

based assumption, which may be right or wrong

– Alexander was Great

Prioritizing & Organizing

• Is every fact important?

• Are some facts related?

• What do others think? – Are they looking at different facts?– Are they prioritizing differently?

Elements of Mr. Clarke’s Formula

• 1 - Support For

• 2 - Support Against

• 3 - Hypothesis/Thesis

3

1 2

1. Support For

• Here’s where you collect findings (facts and opinions) that support your argument.– Alexander spread

Hellenic culture throughout the Mediterranean.

2. Support Against

• Here’s where you collect findings (facts and opinions) that counter your argument.– Alexander’s empire

collapsed because he failed to provide for an orderly succession.

3. Synthesize & Hypothesize

• Here’s where you try to boil down all the facts and opinions you’ve collected and form a hypothesis (in other words, a preliminary thesis) that you will defend

Applying Mr. Clarke’s Formula

• Although 2 (Support Against), 3 (Hypothesis/Thesis) because of 1 (Support For)

• Although Alexander’s empire collapsed because he did not provide for an orderly succession he deserves the title “Great” because he spread Hellenic culture throughout the Mediterranean.

3

1 2

Pyramid Structure

• Ideas are related vertically and horizontally– Each level of the pyramid is

a summary of the level below

– Items on the same level have the same level of importance

– Ideas are presented in logical order

• Ideas generate questions – How?– Why?

• Ideas force the reader into a dialog

Thesis

Best Support

Detail 1 Detail 2 Detail 3 Detail 1 Detail 2 Detail 1

NextBest

Support

NextBest

Support

Audience’s Question

Constructing Your Paper …or Presentation, or Poster, etc.

• There is one, clear, central point at the core of a strong argument.

• The primary supporting elements in the argument should develop from that central point.

• Supporting elements of a strong argument should be presented in order of their importance.

• Leave weak or loosely related elements for later – or leave them off entirely.

Thesis

Best Support

Detail 1 Detail 2 Detail 3 Detail 1 Detail 2 Detail 1

NextBest

Support

NextBest

Support

Audience’s Question

Three types of groupingsTop 3

Number 1 Number 2 Number 3

Effect

Cause 1 Cause 2 Cause 3

• Classification

• Causes

• Parts of a whole Rome

Republic Empire Falll

What happens when your findings don’t support your hypothesis?

• Reflect– Not enough support?

• More research• More analysis

• Re-write your paper using old thesis & new-found support

• Reflect– Not enough support?

• More research• More analysis

• Revise hypothesis

• Re-write your paper with a revised thesis & using new-found support

A B

Your Final Paper…Presentation, Poster, etc.

• Clear– Well-written

• Coherent– Logical

• Thorough – As complete as

possible, – though possibly not

perfectly complete

• Well-documented