How do I get started on the RESEARCH PAPER?
General Information and Resources to Help You Get Started
This guide is designed for high school and college students who have been assigned a research paper. English teachers frequently assign research papers, but you may be required to write one in other subject areas such as Marketing, Social Studies, Sociology, Economics, etc. There are many guides that walk you through the process of gathering sources and writing the paper. This guide will give you resources to help you get started on your research and general information resources for writing the research paper. You've chosen your topic - how do you start finding sources?
Background Research
If you're researching an in-depth topic, you may want to start with general background information. Such information can be found in reference sources such as encyclopedias. You can find general encyclopedias in the nonfiction section beginning with numbers 031 in the McCracken County Public Library. For subject-specific encyclopedias, look in the area around your topic.
General Encyclopedias available at the McCracken County Public Library
World Book Encyclopedia
Chicago : World Book, 2005.
Library Call Numbers: JR 031 WOR & REF 031 WOR
According to the publisher, this source is "an encyclopedia designed especially to meet the needs of elementary, junior high, and senior high school students."
Subject Encyclopedias & Dictionaries available at the McCracken County Public Library
Search Terms:
To find a comprehensive listing of the encyclopedias available on different subjects, search the card catalog by subject for "Encyclopedia" or "Dictionary." You can browse to find the subject encyclopedia or dictionary in which you are interested.
Here are a few examples of our selection (All of these items are Adult Reference sources and can only be used inside the library.):
Dictionary of Literary Symbols
Ferber, Michael. Uk : Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Library Call Number: REF 809.915 FER
Two hundred main entries clearly explaining and illustrating literary symbols.
Dictionary of Literary Characters
Sollars, Michael D. Oxford, New York : Facts on File, 2010.
Library Call Number: REF 809.9270 SOL
This 5 volume set covers more than 40, 000 literary figures found in novels, short stories, and plays from the United States, Great Britain, and all over the world.
A New Handbook of Literary Terms
Mikics, David, New Haven. : Yale University Press, 2009.
Library Call Number: REF 803MIK
Lively informative guide to words and concepts that every student of literature needs to know.
A New Literary History Of America
Marcus, Greil, ed. Cambridge: Harvard University Press 2009.
Library Call Number: REF 810.9 MAR
“With more than two hundred original essays, this work brings together the nation’s many voices."
The American Heritage Student Grammar Dictionary
Boston, MA. : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2012
Library Call Number: REF 423.1 AME
250 terms and concepts –easy to understand definitions
Types of Topical Encyclopedias & Dictionaries in the Reference Collection
Encyclopedia of Global Warming
Dutch, Steven I. ed., Green Bay. : University of Wisconsin , 2010
Library Call Number: REF 551.603 ENC
3 volume comprehensive coverage of global warming & climate change
Encyclopedia of Philosophers on Religion
Verkamp, Bernard J., Jefferson. N.C. : McFarland & Company , 2008
Library Call Number: REF 180.291 VER
Religious affiliations & beliefs of 152 prominent philosophers
Oxford Dictionary of Modern & Contemporary Art
Chilvers, Ian, New York. : Oxford University Press , 2009
Library Call Number: REF 709.0303 CHI
Biographical entries for artists worldwide
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology 2nd edition
Darvill, Timothy, New York. : Oxford University Press , 2008
Library Call Number: REF 930.103 DAR
Archaeological resource with over 4,000 entries
Historical Dictionary of Native American Movements
Leahy, Todd, & Wilson, Raymond, Lanham. M.D. : The Scarecrow Press, 2008
Library Call Number: REF 323.1197 LEA
Hundreds of cross –referenced dictionary entries on important people, places, events & institutions; as well as significant political, economic, social and cultural aspects.
The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference
Wagner, Margaret, & Gallagher, Gary, Finkleman. Paul. New York: Simon Schuster , 2009
Library Call Number: REF 973.7 LIB
Hundreds of cross –referenced dictionary entries on important people, places, events & institutions; as well as significant political, economic, social and cultural aspects.
General Encyclopedias and online tools
Search over 100 encyclopedias & dictionaries
www.encyclopedia.com. Features premier titles like The Columbia Encyclopedia, Oxford’s World Encyclopedia, and the Encyclopedia of World Biography
www.bartleby.com
Thousands of free online classics of Reference, literature and non-fiction.
CIA: The World Factbook
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
The Central Intelligence Agency lists facts about countries around the world, including flags, population, life expectancy, geography, religions, and political information.
Infoplease
www.infoplease.com
“All the knowledge you need” This free database contains an encyclopedia, almanac, atlas, dictionary and thesaurus.
Biographical - available online
A&E Television Networks: Biography
http://www.biography.com/
You can use the search tool on this site to search for biographies on celebrities, politicians, and historical figures.
Issue Research
Once you have found background information on your topic, you can begin looking for the opinions of others to include in your research paper. To find a variety of sources, you will probably want to search for newspaper articles, popular journal articles, scholarly journal articles, and books on your topic. You can search databases for articles. The location of books on your topic will vary.
Newspaper Articles available at the McCracken County Public Library
**you will need a valid library card number to access the databases
Search Terms:
When searching databases, begin by typing your subject into the search box. For example, if you're writing about gun control, use that phrase. You may see that your search needs narrowing. Instead of "gun control," you may want to narrow the search by using the keyword terms "gun control Kentucky" if you're focusing on a particular state. It's a good idea to begin by using broad terms, and then narrow your search when necessary.
Current Regional Newspapers
We subscribe to many regional newspapers and some national newspapers, and we generally keep issues for one month. Some of our subscriptions include The Memphis Commercial Appeal, The St. Louis Post Dispatch, USA Today, The Western Kentucky News, The Louisville Defender, The Cadiz Record, and others. To ask about specific newspapers, ask the librarian at the Information desk or contact us at mclib@mclib.net.
Select Back Issues of Western Kentucky Newspapers on Microfilm
We have issues of The Paducah Sun and several other local newspapers on microfilm. The collection of newspaper is not indexed by subject, so you will need to know what issue for which you are searching. To find a complete listing of all newspapers that are available, click here.
Popular Magazine Articles available at the McCracken County Public Library
** you will need a valid library card number to access the databases online
EBSCO Host database - MAS Ultra School Edition & MasterFILE Premier**
You can search EBSCO's MAS Ultra School Edition database by subject. This database offers "full text for more than 700 popular, high school magazines." MasterFILE Premier offers "full text for more than 1,700 general reference publications with full text information dating as far back as 1975." For instructions on using the databases, click here.
Current Popular Magazines
We subscribe to many popular magazines, including People Weekly, The Sun, Reader's Digest, Architectural Digest, National Geographic, and many others. We generally keep issues of popular magazines for one year, and you can check out old issues with a valid library card. To ask about specific popular magazine subscriptions, ask the librarian at the Information desk or contact us at mclib@mclib.net.
Interlibrary Loan Service
We offer a free service to our patrons - Interlibrary Loan. If you find an article from a magazine to which we do not subscribe, we may be able to borrow the article or obtain a copy from another library. Contact the Circulation Desk for more information about this service (270 442-2510 ext. 10) or click here to fill out an Interlibrary request form online.
Scholarly Journal Articles available at the McCracken County Public Library
** you will need a valid library card number to access the databases online
We do not subscribe to many scholarly journals at the McCracken County Public Library. You are more likely to find peer-reviewed journals, considered "scholarly journals" at local academic libraries. Most academic libraries will allow users to read and copy articles from journals (contact the individual library to ask about usage and copying policies).
EBSCO Host database - Academic Search Premier**
You can search EBSCO's Academic Search Premier database by subject. This database offers "full text for nearly 4,650 serials, including full text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed titles." For instructions on using the databases, click here.
Kentucky Virtual Library database - ArticleFirst
According to the description, "This database contains bibliographic citations that describe items listed on the table of contents pages of journals in the areas of science, technology, medicine, social science, business, the humanities, and popular culture." Kentucky residents with a valid library card can access this database with a password. For instructions on using the KYVL databases, click here.
Interlibrary Loan Service
If you find an article from a journal to which we do not subscribe, we may be able to borrow the article or obtain a copy from another library. Contact the Circulation Desk for more information about this free service (270 442-2510 ext. 10) or click here to fill out an Interlibrary request form online.
Articles available at Murray State University's Library
http://www.murraystate.edu/msml/msml.htm
Online access to MSU's journals and databases is restricted to students. To search for a journal that the library has in its own collection that you can physically visit, you can search the catalog.
Articles available at West Kentucky Community and Technical College's Library (WKCTC)
http://www.westkentucky.kctcs.edu/Academics/Library.aspx
Online access to WKCTC's journals and databases is restricted to students. However, you may be able to find scholarly journals that are held in the library and available for research. The library's available periodicals, including many scholarly journals, are listed above.
McCracken County Public Library, www.mclib.net, offers many electronic resources from scholarly journals to maps to online dictionaries & encyclopedias.
The Credo Reference database provides full text online versions of 551 published reference works in every major subject area. Features include cross reference, video clips and useful citation guides. Entries may be bookmarked and shared i.e., email, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Scroll over Online Research Tools in the left-side navigation bar on the library's website and selected the database you need.
Books
The best way to find books on your topic is to begin by searching the library's card catalog. You can search by title, author, subject, or keyword. Begin with a broad subject search and narrow your choices when appropriate. Keyword searches are also useful for finding even more books on your subject. Click here to search our catalog.
Interlibrary Loan Service
If you find a book that is not in our collection, we may be able to borrow it from another library. Contact the Circulation Desk for more information about this service (270 442-2510 ext. 10) or click here to fill out an Interlibrary request form online. Remember - this service is free to those with a valid library card!
Newspaper Articles available online
New York Times Index
This source includes abstracts of articles appearing in The New York Times. According to authors Richard E. Bopp & Linda C. Smith in Reference and Information Services: An Introduction, "The New York Times Index can be used to identify the date of an event, and the corresponding issue of the local newspaper can be consulted for its discussion of that event" (518). For example, you cannot search The Paducah Sun by topic because all issues are not indexed; you can find the date of the event to search microfilm of local papers for information on the topic. Murray State University has a copy of The New York Times Index.
American Journalism Review
http://www.ajr.org/Newspapers.asp?MediaType=1
The American Journalism Review site provides links to thousands of newspapers, including daily and college newspapers. Once you access the newspapers, depending on their subscription requirements, you may be able to access articles online. By clicking on the link on the left of the page, you can also access "News/Wire Services" such as the Associated Press. Also available is a "Media News Online" link that provides web news sources.
Find Articles
http://www.findarticles.com/PI/index.jhtml
This web source offers thousands of free articles, including newspaper articles.
Popular Magazine Articles available online
American Journalism Review
http://www.ajr.org/Newspapers.asp?MediaType=4
The American Journalism Review site provides links to hundreds of magazines. Many magazines linked through this site will offer the ability to search past issues by subject.
Find Articles
http://www.findarticles.com/PI/index.jhtml
This web source offers thousands of free articles, including popular magazine articles.
Scholarly Journal Articles available online
Directory of Open Access Journals
http://www.doaj.org/
According to the site, "This service covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals." You can search thousands of articles on a variety of subjects.
Find Articles
http://www.findarticles.com/PI/index.jhtml
This web source offers thousands of free articles, including scholarly journal articles.
Google Scholar
http://www.scholar.google.com
According to the website, "Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature." The results are weighed based on "the full text of each article, the author, the publication in which the article appears, and how often the piece has been cited in other scholarly literature."
Supporting Facts
By now you have sources that give background information about your topic and offer other opinions about your topic. You may want to use facts in your research paper, possibly including statistics.
Supporting facts available at the McCracken County Public Library
(Click directly on the links to see if the item is available to check out. Remember, if an item is located in "Adult Reference," it can only be used in the library.)
Search Terms:
To find a list of items, you can search the catalog by keyword for "almanac." Based on the subject, these almanacs will be located in different areas of the nonfiction section.
The World Almanac & Book of Facts 2010
New York : Infobase Publishing, 2010.
Library Call Number: REF 031 WOR
This source offers political, economic, scientific and educational statistics and information.
The African –American Almanac 10th ed.
Narins, Brigham, ed. Detroit: Thomson Gale 2008.
Library Call Number: REF 973 AFR
This 1468-page source offers information about prominent African Americans, and "includes bibliographical references and index."
The Old farmer's Almanac
Dublin, NH: Yankee Pub., 2011.
Library Call Number: REF 051 OLD
Updated each year, The Old Farmer's Almanac is a well regarded reference source for predictions, weather, and historical information.
Time Almanac 2011
King, Thad, ed. New York: Time Inc., 2011.
Library Call Number: REF 317.3 TIM
This source is updated annually, and the publishers claim it is the "world’s fastest fact-finder."
Statistical Abstract Of The United States The National Data Book 130th edition
Washington: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census, 2011
Library Call Number: 317.3 UNI
This reference tool, updated annually, contains statistical information on population, economics, and more.
Supporting facts available online
American FactFinder
http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en
"Your source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data." You can search "profiles the U.S. economy, information about the people and housing of the United States," and other information collected by the US Census Bureau. One of the available tools is a "Fact Sheet" for your community.
Refdesk.com
http://www.refdesk.com/
According to the mission statement, "Since 1995, Refdesk is a free and family-friendly web site that indexes and reviews quality, credible, and current web-based resources." The site offers a wide variety of sources and information, which you can search by topic.
CIA: The World Factbook
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
The Central Intelligence Agency lists facts about countries around the world, including flags, population, life expectancy, geography, religions, and political information.
The Internet Public Library - Reference
http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref00.00.00/
The Internet Public Library offers information on a variety of topics including almanacs, trivia, geography, and others. The IPL is a valuable tool for finding facts and locating resources.
FedStats
http://www.fedstats.gov/
Offers statistical information "from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies." You can search for statistics by topic or governmental agency.
**note: this source shows the most recent update in 2005
Kentucky State Data Center
http://ksdc.louisville.edu/1a_to_z.htm
City and County profiles, Rankings, Maps and Reports.1a_to_z
Writing the Essay
Once you are ready to begin writing your paper, there are many guides available. These guides offer help on conducting research, planning the research paper, writing the research paper, and using style guides for citations.
Guides available at the McCracken County Public Library
Search Terms
To find a list of items, you can search the catalog by subject for "report writing." You can find writing guides in the nonfiction section beginning with numbers 808 in the McCracken County Public Library.
The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 7th edition
Gibaldi, Joseph, ed. New York. : The Modern Language Association of America , 2010
Library Call Number: REF 808.027 MLA
MLA Documentation
A Manual For Writers of Research Papers, Theses and Dissertations 7th edition
Turabian, Kate L., Joseph, Chicago. : The University of Chicago Press , 2007
Library Call Number: REF 808.02 TUR
Comprehensive guidelines for proper paper format
The Chicago Manual of Style 16th edition
Chicago. : The University of Chicago Press, 2010
Library Call Number: REF 808.027 CHI
Comprehensive guidelines for documentation including electronic, web based and production processes.
Cite Right
Lipson, Charles, Chicago. : The University of Chicago Press , 2010
Library Call Number: REF 808.027 LIP
Information for preparing citations in every discipline
The American Heritage Student Grammar Dictionary
Boston, MA. : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2012
Library Call Number: REF 423.1 AME
250 terms and concepts –easy to understand definitions
Guides available online
IPL A+ Research & Writing Guide
http://www.ipl.org/div/teen/aplus/
This guide offers step-by-step advice for writing the research paper, including "links for writing."
IPL - Style and Writing Guides
http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref73.00.00/
This page offers a long list of "resources for proper grammatical usage, citation formats, or paper writing."
Purdue University's Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
This site offers help in all areas, including research and writing, citations, style guides, etc. Click on the links on the right side of the page to get valuable handouts.
Cornell University Library
http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill28.htm
Tips to prepare an annotated bibliography
Gale Cengage Learning
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/term_paper/index.htm
How to write a term paper
Find Antonyms and Words
thesaurus.com
Professional associations and groups of interest
National Council of Teachers of English - Students page
http://www.ncte.org/
"Since 1911, NCTE has worked to advance teaching, research, and student achievement in English language arts at all scholastic levels. The "Students" page offers tips for students, writing contests for students, and lists of writing topics.
Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC)
http://www.ncte.org/cccc/resources
The CCCC resources page offers position statements on writing education and students' rights, among other resources.
Modern Language Association (MLA)
http://www.mla.org/
The MLA site offers resources for students, including explanations of "MLA Style" and "Frequently Asked Questions" about MLA style.
National Writing Project
http://www.nwp.org/
“The National Writing Project focuses the knowledge, expertise, and leadership of our nation's educators on sustained efforts to improve writing and learning for all learners.NWP envisions a future where every person is an accomplished writer, engaged learner, and active participant in a digital, interconnected world.”
Kentucky Writing Project
http://www.kywritingproject.org/
Official site of the KWP network, with 8 member sites who are affiliated with the National Writing Project and co-sponsored by their university sites and the Kentucky Department of Education.
This guide was created by Michelle Martini with help from Dr. Lorri Mon and sources provided by the Internet Public Library. Creation date: November 2006
Updated 8/17/2011 –Bobbie Wrinkle, Adult Services Librarian
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