GUIDELINES for DOCUMENTED RESEARCH PAPERS
Be sure to read all of this.
There is a lot of information here that you need to know in order to write a good research paper.
Contents of this web page:
1. Basic requirements of your research paper
2. Basic requrements of your reserch presentation to the class
3. How to do research in the computer lab
4. A sample of a research paper with full documentation
5. Grading rubrics for the research paper and the presentation
BASIC RESEARCH PAPER REQUIREMENTS
· You must have at least- 5 references
- Go to this website for specific help in doing APA documentation: http://citationmachine.net/
· Reference Page
- List all references with complete documentation on a separate page attached as the last page of the paper
· Referencing within the text (as part of the paper)
- use the author's last name and the date published (Jones, 2004)
- put this after any section where you use that person's material as part of your paper
- do this whenever you use information that you got from that resource
- do this for both direct quotes as well as general information use
· The paper should be 2 to 3 pages long
· The paper must be typed using font size 12
· Use Times New Roman font
· Print on white paper with black ink
· Paper will be graded based upon
- Content
- Mechanics
- Referencing
· Paper is worth 100 points
THE PRESENTATION
· Teach the rest of the class about your topic
· You may use note cards, but you may not just read your paper
· You must have a visual aid to use as part of your presentation
· Presentation is worth 100 points and will be graded based upon:
- knowledge of material
- preparation
- effectiveness
RESEARCH IN THE COMPUTER LAB
DO NOT print without permission
Print only what you are actually going to use
Instead of printing, try this:
- Copy and paste the information you want to use to a separate disk or personal file for use later when you begin writing your paper
Keep records of the websites you use and the following information:
- The author
- The title
- The date of publication
- The name of the website or publication (if it has one)
- The date the information was retrieved (looked up) from the web
- The actual web address used to get to this site
Follow this link to using proper form for documenting research papers (I require APA format)
A SAMPLE OF A DOCUMENTED RESEARCH PAPER
(a brief paper to show how to do documentation)
Combat Illness: Then and Now
A new study reveals that a large number of Civil War veterans suffered major health problems after the war was
concluded. (US Civil War, 2006). That conflict in United States History began on April 12, 1861 and lasted until May 26,
1865. (Ritchie, 1999). Professor Roxane Cohen Silver said that the new research data from the Civil War era reveals
objective information that "horrific war experiences are associated with a lifetime of increased physical disease and mental
health difficulties." (US Civil War, 2006).
Major Brett Schneider served in the ongoing Iraq conflict, having returned to the United States over a year ago. He has
been working at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. since that time to help Iraq War veterans adjust
and cope with the stresses of war. Schneider said "he saw plenty of people with the 'thousand-yard stare.' " (Carmichael,
2006). He also reports that many soldiers seek out psychological help both while in Iraq and upon their return home.
Schneider adds that at no time did he ever see one soldier giving a fellow soldier a hard time about going for help from a
counselor. According to Carmichael, similar psychological problems were reported in previous conflicts such as Somalia
and the first Gulf War. (Carmichael, 2006). However, returning soldiers from the 1991 Gulf War reported unexplained
physical illnesses, which have not been reported by veterans of the current Gulf War. (Shapiro, 2006).
War is obviously mentally and physically difficult for all soldiers, however, comparisons between the Civil War and modern
wars must be approached carefully. A spokeswoman for a Gulf War health association in the United Kingdom said these
parallels are hard to draw because ill-health reports by today's soldiers are often caused by modern vaccines or by the
effects of chemical and biological warfare as opposed to those soldiers who fought in the 19th Century. (US Civil War,
2006).
Progress in dealing with the mental stress of combat has been made. In World War II, General George S. Patton
slapped a soldier who was suffering from battle fatigue. (Adkins, n.d.) Today we recognize the need to help our young men
and women cope with the pressures of combat.
Reference Page
Adkins, N. (n.d.). Patton. MU Online historical journal. Retrieved February 8, 2006, from the World Wide Web: http://www.marshall.edu/pat/journal/adkins2.htm
Carmichael, M. (2006). Combat stress teams and telemedicine. PBS Frontline. Retrieved February 8, 2006, from the World Wide Web: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heart/readings/telemedicine.html
Ritchie, D. & Broussard, A. (1999). American History: The early years to1877. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.
Shapiro, J. (2006). Latest Iraq vets don't have Gulf War syndrome. National Public Radio. Retrieved February 7, 2006, from the World Wide Web: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5161903
US Civil War led to ill health. (2006). BBC News. Retrieved February 7, 2006, from the World Wide Web:
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4686656.stm
NOTE:
Notice how references in the text take you to the reference page
Use the author's last name and the publication date, OR
Use the title of the article and the date (n.d. means "no date")
Follow this format for documenting your sources from the internet:
- Last name of author if available and the date
(Title of article if no author name available)
- Title of article (in italics)
- Source of the article if available
- Retrieval date from the World Wide Web
- Complete web address
GRADING RUBRIC FOR THE PAPER
Research Report Grading Rubric
____ Content (50)
Report covers the topic
Report is complete and informative
Report is presented in an understandable, concise manner
Report shows use of quality research
Report puts research material into student's own voice
____ Mechanics (25)
Spelling
Grammar
Punctuation
Capitalization
Vocabulary
Sentence and Paragraph structure
Line spacing, font size and style
Other mechanics
Direct Quotes use quotation marks in proper format
Other information in student's own words based upon research
____ References (25)
Five references (minimum) on separate reference page
Proper form used for documentation
Citations noted in text
_________ TOTAL
GRADING RUBRIC FOR CLASS PRESENTATION
Class Presentation Grading Rubric
____ Information was accurate, sufficient and delivered well (40)
____ Visual was effective (30)
____ Presentation was long enough to be effective (15)
____ Presentation was ready when called (15)
_____ TOTAL