AN INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH

If you're reading this, it is a good bet that your teacher assigned you a project in which research is involved. You now have two choices:

1. move to Canada quickly
2. learn how to write a research paper.

Good. You have made the right choice. Your sister will help you pack. Actually, since you HAVE to do this (free will does not enter into the picture in education, as you know), you might as well do this the correct way. We here at CHIRP (Columbia High Institute for Research Procedures) will help you with your project. And maybe, just maybe, you will have a little fun along the way. (If you believe that, go to Canada.

This manual is a guide to help you through any form of research project you may have been assigned. After this introduction, you will find chapters on the research process in the order that you would complete the steps. Following the chapters on the research process is an MLA (Modern Language Association) style guide for works cited and citing sources (all to be explained later). We have also included a glossary of terms for your edification (look it up).

For those of you unfamiliar with research, a quick review of the basics is in order. A real research paper, no matter the length, is different from a report. A report simply compiles facts on a topic with no controlling idea or thesis, while giving credit to the sources used. A research paper does have a controlling idea or thesis which governs the entire work, whether a page or 20 pages. A thesis is a statement that requires proof, and the proof in a research paper is a combination of your own knowledge and the facts, statistics and comments of a group of sources on the topic. Most of your assignments will be research papers rather than reports here at Columbia.

The main purpose of a research paper is to prove an idea about your topic, preferably something new. This may be as straightforward as stating that cloning is wrong or that cloning needs more research before we can make a judgment about it. No matter what the thesis or what the assigned length is, the end result is still an ESSAY. The difference between an essay and a research paper is that you use SOURCES to help support your ideas in a research paper instead of just using your own knowledge. Sources used could be books, articles, diaries, TV shows, experiments, or even letters. Using ESP with those departed is generally unacceptable, and as yet there are no rules for citation.

How do you go about tackling a research paper? (Don't you like the words we use for difficult assignments? "Tackle." It IS better than, say, "nudging" a paper, though.) The key is to be logical and methodical. What follows are chapters on the research process. Some teachers may require all of the steps to be followed; others just some. Some of you may need just to use the style guide at the end.

Remember, we here at the Institute are with you all the way, unless, of course, you have a problem. Actually, there MIGHT be something we didn't cover in this guide, and for that, you should ask a teacher.

Good luck, and may the 'source' be with you.