Using Sources Properly in a Research Paper
You would find an astonishing number of articles, reports and books focusing the basics of writing a research paper. They highlight its demands and pre-requisites to educate the society about how to approach a research paper. These sorts of ‘how-to’ articles and books are considered as a life saver among the students and researchers. If you ever go through these literary pieces, you are likely to observe what they lack. Most of them do not speak or tend to miss out on the most key requirement for writing a research paper. That is how to efficiently use your sources in your paper without entering the territory of plagiarism.
Imagine for an instance that you are given a job of writing a research paper and you have given the freedom to choose the topic yourself. Where would you start from? The answer seems simple. You will obviously go for a topic that carries significant appeal to you. However, that’s not enough. Before finalizing the topic, you need to go through deep research to ensure that enough sources are available for you to write on such a topic. In short, it’s all about utilizing your sources efficiently. If you can play well with the sources, figuring out the right ones and leaving out the irrelevant material, more than half of your work is done.
Keeping in mind that you would have to visit library regularly and go out of your way to make the availability of authentic sources possible. Compile a list of sub-topics that you feel require research and analyzing. You need to find out appropriate sources for every sub topic and analyze it. Be sure the source is valid and authentic. Using unauthentic sources for your work can put serious question marks on your work. Your research paper should exhibit a modern touch. The facts and statements that your paper is going to put forward mustn’t be obsolete. For that matter, get in touch with recent articles and discoveries related to your topic. Keep giving the signal to your readers that you have up to date information regarding what’s happening around the globe relevant to your topic. Going through all the stuff available in the library that may be of your interest is a lengthy and tiresome task. However, the results are amazing. Give enough time to yourself to conduct research for your work and it will show in your paper. Research can’t be done hurriedly near the date of submission. It should take some weeks the least. While you are in research phase, do not forget to take notes and organize them according to every sub-topic that you need to write on. It will make life look like a heaven when you’d finally sit down to write your own paper. Do not go through the sources hastily or improperly. It won’t serve the purpose. First decide if it is credible enough to give a read. Then jot down the important points and critical aspects that you think are worthy of including in your paper. Always mention the source if you are using the exact words of any source. Otherwise, just grasp the basic idea and wrap it in your own words logically.
Using sources properly can be mastered if the writer is has the potential to practice it regularly and correctly.
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Category: Education
Keywords: term papers, essays, research papers, thesis, dissertation, book report