Preparing and Preparing and BuildingBuilding

Data SearchData Search

Taking Notes for Taking Notes for ResearchResearch• Helps you read with more

understanding, save time and frustration.

• Know what kind of ideas you need to record or exclude.

• Read with a purpose in mind.• Sort out relevant ideas.• First review common known facts in

texts and encyclopaedias.

continuation….continuation….• Prepare list of sub-topics.• Look for facts, theories and people’s

opinion that help answer your question.• Don’t write too much notes• Ensure your research paper be an

expression of your own thinking and not a patchwork of borrowed ideas.

• Learn your sources and integrate them into your own thinking.

Why do we take notes?Why do we take notes?• To help us remember what we read.• To keep a permanent record of it.• To re-order ideas for generating

further.• To help us to concentrate while

reading.• To help others to learn from our

notes

Before taking notes RATE the Before taking notes RATE the sourcesource

• Is this RELEVANT to my focus?•On what AUTHORITY is this

based?•Have I already TAKEN this?

What’s new?•Do I need EVERYTHING or just

part?

What is “good note What is “good note taking”?taking”?

It includes:- facts- statistics- paraphrases- summaries- personal ideas

Steps on Note TakingSteps on Note Taking

1. Read entire section FIRST!

2. Think about what you’ve read, what you already know, & how

to say it another way.

3. Shrink it down to a fraction of its original size; use abbreviations,

bullets, phrases, etc.

4. Re-word or PARAPHRASE only main ideas, important facts, keywords, etc.

Note Taking helps you avoid Note Taking helps you avoid plagiarismplagiarism

• Helps figure out which ideas are original and from the research.

• Keeps ideas organized.• Gives other people proper credit.• Helps you cite the sources you

use.

Strategies of Note Strategies of Note TakingTaking

1. Quoting1. Quoting

Quotations – must be identical to the original. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.

Good Reasons to quote:Good Reasons to quote:• Source author has made a point too clearly

and concisely that it can’t be expressed more clearly.

• A certain phrase or sentence in the source is particularly vivid or striking.

• An important passage is sufficiently difficult, dense or rich.

• A claim you are making is such that the doubting reader will want to hear exactly what the source said.

Rules for QuotingRules for Quoting• Quote only what you need or what is

really striking.• Keep your quotations under a sentence

whenever possible.• Usually announce a quotation in the

words preceding it.• Choose your announcing verb carefully.• Construct your own sentence so the

quotation fits smoothly into it.

Technical Rules for Using Technical Rules for Using QuotesQuotes

• Don’t automatically put a comma before a quotation.

• Punctuate the end of a quotation embedded in your sentence with whatever punctuation your sentence requires.

• Quote verbatim.

2. Paraphrasing2. Paraphrasing• Your own rendition of essential

information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form.

• One legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a source.

• A more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.

Paraphrasing is a valuableParaphrasing is a valuableskill because…skill because…• It is better than quoting information

from an undistinguished passage.• It helps you control the temptation to

quote too much.• The mental process required for

successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.

Steps in Effective Steps in Effective ParaphrasingParaphrasing

• Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.

• Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card.

• Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.

Continuation…Continuation…• Check your rendition with the original to

make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form.

• Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.

• Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

3. Summarizing3. SummarizingA summary is much shorter than the

original text. It should communicate the main idea of the text and the main supporting points – written “in your own words” – in a very brief form. It should give someone who has not read the original a clear and accurate overview of the text.

To summaryTo summary• Record the author, title, year of publication

and source of the text.• Skim the text.• Read the text carefully.• Pay special attention to the first and last

paragraphs.• Identify the topic sentence in each

paragraph.• Identify the main support for the topic

sentence.• Write the topic sentence of your summary.

4. Précis Writing4. Précis Writing

It is a process of extracting the maximum information and then conveying it into minimum of words. The goal is to preserve the core essence of the original report in a manner which is both clear and concise.

Writing a précisWriting a précis• A précis is a condensed restatement of an

article, roughly ¼ the length of the original or less.

• In contrast to a summary, a précis should preserve the article’s logic and emphases, and include main examples where relevant.

• A précis of a primary literature scientific paper should follow the standard format: background/hypothesis, methods, results, and conclusion.

Continuation…Continuation…• The précis should be written from the

original author’s point of view, without editorializing.

• A précis demonstrates that you have assimilated the key information provided in an article.

• Précis can be used as “briefs”, but are also very similar to the first section of manuscript reviews for peer-reviewed journals.

Process in Writing Process in Writing PrécisPrécis• Identify the reader and purpose of the

précis.• Read the original document’s• Underline the key ideas and concepts• Write a not-form summary of each

paragraph• Write a précis• Review and edit

Do’s and Don’ts of Précis Do’s and Don’ts of Précis WritingWriting

• Start your précis by creating context (setting) and stating the main idea of the pieces.

• Always state the name of the article/document, the author and source.

• Do not use the word “in this article”.• When writing about history, use the past

tense.• Do not use abbreviations or contractors.

Continuation…Continuation…• Avoid words like big, good, bad, little

and a lot, also do not use cliché.• Titles of texts should be put in italics

or underlined.• Make sure there is a clear “impact to

the organization” mentioned.• Give a recommendation required.• Run a spell check.

PlagiarismPlagiarism

Plagiarism is:Plagiarism is:•The act of stealing the ideas and/or work of someone else and passing them off as your own.

•The act of committing “literary theft.”

Plagiarism Plagiarism = =

Two types of Two types of PlagiarismPlagiarism

a. Intentionala. Intentional• Copying a friend’s work• Buying or borrowing papers• Cutting and pasting blocks of text from

electronic sources without documenting• Media “borrowing” without

documentation• Web publishing without permissions of

creators.

b. Unintentionalb. Unintentional

•Careless paraphrasing•Poor documentation•Quoting excessively•Failure to use your own

“voice”

How to avoid How to avoid plagiarism?plagiarism?• Plan well.• Write down all sources.• Read and take notes by

paraphrasing and summarizing. Never write directly from sources.

• Use many sources and organize information by subject.

Continuation…Continuation…

• Whenever you use exact words, use quotes and footnote.

• Don’t cut and paste from internet sources. Try reading and minimizing.

• Try the paper folding method.

Why should we use the Why should we use the strategies on note takingstrategies on note taking??

• Provide support for claims or add credibility to your writing.

• Refer to work that leads up to the work you are now doing.

• Give examples of several points of view on a subject.

• Call attention to a position that you wish to agree or disagree with.

Continuation…Continuation…• Highlight a particularly striking

phrase, sentence, or passage by quoting the original.

• Distance yourself from the original by quoting it in order to cue readers that the words are not your own.

• Expand the breadth or depth of your writing.

How to use them?How to use them?• Read the entire text, nothing the key

points and the main ideas.• Summarize in your own words what

the single main idea of the essay is.• Paraphrase important supporting

points that come up in the essay.• Consider any words, phrases, or brief

passages that you believe should be quoted directly.

Sources of Sources of DataData

Citing your SourcesCiting your Sources

Citing sources make you and your research project more creditable. Having facts and figures to back up your ideas makes them more believable and makes you look like an expert.

BibliographyBibliography

It literally means “list of books”. It is a list of all the materials that you used to help you write a paper. This may include books, articles, websites, communication, television or radio programs, film or video recordings, etc.

Why should you write Why should you write a a Bibliography?Bibliography?

Anytime you use the words, ideas, data or research of others, you must acknowledge where you got that information from. If you do not acknowledge where you got the information from, you may be accused of plagiarism.

What should you What should you include?include?• Articles, Websites, books or other

research materials that you used to help you write a paper.

• Names of people that you interviewed or gave you help with your paper.

• Any other materials that you used to help you with your paper including movies, radio shows, TV shows, etc.

What should you not What should you not include?include?

You don’t have to include common knowledge.

Citation Format Citation Format on how to write on how to write a Bibliographya Bibliography

BooksBooksLast name, First name. Title of book.

Location: Publisher, year.

Example:

Lipson, Charles. Doing Honest Work in College. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004

Article in a MagazineArticle in a MagazineLast name, First name. “Title of Article”.

Title of Magazine” day month year: pages

Example:

Weintraub, Arlene, and Laura Cohan. “A thousand Year Plan for Nuclear Waste.” Business Week 6 May 2002: 94 – 96.

Website, with authorWebsite, with authorAuthor(s). “Title.” Website. Edition or

version. Website Publisher, Date. Web. Date accessed <link>

Example:Stolley, Karl. “MLA Formatting and Style Guide.”

The OWL at Purdue. Purdue University Writing Lab, 10 May 2006.

<http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Owl/resource/557101/>

Website, with no Website, with no authorauthor“Title”. Website, Date. Website Publisher.

Date accessed <link>

Example:

“Mr. Darcy.” Jane Custen Information Page. N.p., 6 September 2000. Web.15 June 2002 <http://pemberly.com/janeinfo/janeinfo.html>

Website, with corporate Website, with corporate authorauthor

Corporate Author. “Title”. Website. Website Publisher. Date accessed <link>

Example:Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“Fingerprint Identification: An Overview.” FBI Website. US Department of Justice, N.D. Web. 17 July 2009

<http://www.fbi.gov/hg/cjusd/ident.htm>

Slide Show Created By:Slide Show Created By:

•Maryleigh P. Castillo

•MS MATHEMATICS

• mot_1204@yahoo.com