Their Ideas - COMPOSING YOUR ESSAY - Essential Writing Skills for College and Beyond

Essential Writing Skills for College and Beyond (2014)

Part II. COMPOSING YOUR ESSAY

Chapter 4. Their Ideas

WHAT IS RESEARCH?

At the beginning of this book we addressed the three crucial components of the college essay:

1. Your Ideas

2. Their Ideas

3. The Connections or Intersections of Your Ideas and Their Ideas

We have addressed how to develop and present your own ideas; now we will move on to finding, understanding, and including “their” ideas within your paper. Finding and understanding their ideas requires research.

In academia, to “research” is to deeply investigate the facts, conversations, and evidentiary support on a topic or text. When you research, you find and read articles, books, or other publications on your chosen topic or text. Then you must incorporate this information into your paper so that it supports and enhances your own ideas.

WHY CONDUCT RESEARCH?

You may wonder why conducting research is valuable. Aside from the obvious reason (because instructors assign research papers and you want to receive a good grade on your papers), to answer this question, consider for a moment why you enrolled in college.

Probably, you attend college classes for one of two reasons:

1. To increase your own knowledge and understanding of the world

2. To get a stable, well-paying, and rewarding career

Knowing how to conduct research is essential to accomplishing either of these goals. You cannot possibly extend your own knowledge without conducting research, and most well-paying and rewarding careers require some form of research. So if you look at research as a tool for helping you achieve your life goals (rather than a tiresome, pointless task you’re being forced to do), it will be more enjoyable for you—and you will be more successful at it as well. You have to do it, so you might as well enjoy it!

WHO ARE “THEY”?

Think of finding your sources as finding “them,” the people whose ideas you will address in your essay. However, before you can find valid sources, you must understand whom your instructor expects you to cite.

Who “they” are depends on the course for which you must write a research paper. In a biology class, “they” will likely be other scientists, doctors, or researchers. In an English class, “they” will likely be writers, poets, or literary critics. In an art history class, “they” may be artists, painters, sculptors, or art critics.

However, if you follow one simple rule, you will likely be safe:

Cite only the work of scholars.

What makes a person a “scholar”? A scholar is a specialist, an expert, a distinguished professional, or an academic with credentials to prove her knowledge, expertise, and experience. Scholarly sources always provide these credentials. Look at the book’s sleeve or jacket for information on the writer’s background, or flip or scroll to the end of an article to read about the author’s professional experience or academic affiliation.

The form in which information is presented also provides you a clue about whether it is scholarly or not. In academia, you will find that essentially two source types are safely agreed upon as “scholarly”: books and journal articles.

This is not to say that every book ever published is considered scholarly; clearly, this is not true. Celebrities write gossip-bearing tell-all books, and athletes regularly employ ghostwriters to record and share their exploits. You probably already recognize these example as popular texts, not academic ones.

However, if you can answer yes to the question below, then you likely have a safe, scholarly source to use for your essay:

Can you find the book or article in a college or university library?

Academic librarians take ordering library materials very seriously, and rarely will you find nonscholarly sources on the shelf. Any popular sources that you do find will be clearly labeled as “popular” or “leisure” reading. The same goes for accessing materials through an academic library’s online services. If your library pays for a subscription to a database in which you find an article, you can probably cite it in your essay.

SCHOLARLY VS. POPULAR

This chart details examples of scholarly and popular sources.

SCHOLARLY

POPULAR

SOURCE

Journal articles, books (depending on source), newspaper articles (depending on source)

Most online articles, most magazines, most newspapers, most (if not all) blogs

AUTHOR

Proven experts in the field, with credentials and the basis of expertise on the subject clearly cited (such as degrees or equivalent professional experience in the field). Examples: professors, doctors, economists, or scientists

Self-proclaimed “experts” or “gurus,” such as columnists, bloggers, or celebrities; so-called credentials come from popular acclaim, based on appearances in film or popular television program(s).

PURPOSE/
MOTIVATION OF PUBLICATION

To evaluate knowledge within a given field, theory, or topic; to criticize or challenge a position or theory; to share research findings; to present documented discoveries with other professionals and experts

To entertain, frighten, advertise to, or thrill readers—but above all to make profit and/or deliver the reader/customer to advertisers (who probably paid for the publication)

QUALITY

Use of highly polished scholarly or technical language: free of grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors; includes proper citation and use of other credible academic sources; readers usually need knowledge of the field and its vocabulary to understand the material

Slang and informal, simple language is employed. May contain grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation errors (though not necessarily); does not properly use and/or cite credible sources; likely cites other popular sources as “research” or “proof”

AUDIENCE

Specialized, limited audience;academics, such as professors and students; experts in the field, such as doctors, scientists, or other researchers

Wide audience, typically with mass appeal and created specifically for mass consumption and the general public

EVALUATION PROCESS

Extensive, lengthy peer review process conducted by several experts within the field of discussion to ensure the article or book’s validity, accuracy, relevance, and timeliness

No extensive evaluation process; rarely, if ever, evaluated by anyone other than the writer and perhaps one editor

TIMELINESS

Includes clear date and place of publication, does not present itself as “latest up-to-the-minute” news or information, usually includes both historical basis and current research

Often presented as “breaking news,” stresses modernity or latest fad, publication copyright date may or may not be included

ADVERTISING

Any ads that appear are small in size and do not play a major role spatially or thematically in the publication. The material is not presented by “sponsors” who may influence or promote a certain position, perspective, or argument.

Many and/or large advertisements are included in the publication. The author or entire publication may be paid for by “sponsors” who seek press coverage for their business or product and thus heavily influence the material and conclusions presented.

THE ACADEMIC CONVERSATION: THE GREAT DEBATE

Think of academic writing as akin to entering an ongoing conversation in which different speakers have already entered and exited and new ones—like you— enter. This conversation is not a casual one; it is more accurate to think of it as a debate, and in fact it is often referred to as “The Great Debate.” Different scholars within different fields are, of course, debating different topics, and you as a student get to enter these debates.

As you can imagine, to enter this debate intelligently, you need to have an idea of what the speakers have (or have not) already said; if you don’t take the time to research this information, academics simply will not listen to you or your ideas.

Think of your essay as now including not only your ideas but also their (other scholars’) ideas, too. We focused in the prior chapters on developing your ideas; now, we will focus on finding and understanding their ideas so you can connect them to yours. Think of it this way: At this point of the writing process, your essay will include two major elements:

What you think and what they think

Of course, professors do not expect you to know every conversation that has ever occurred between any and all academics on every topic in every field. It would be impossible for anyone to gain this much knowledge, so don’t feel pressured to find every idea, theory, point, or conversation within your topic.

Focus on becoming familiar with the key scholars’ names, works, and ideas within the topic on which you are writing.

Most professors will provide you with a list of the key scholars in the field or discipline about which you must write. If you do not receive a list, consider asking for one. If the professor expects you to discover who these people are as part of the assignment, don’t panic. This is easier than it sounds.

WHERE DO I START?

To learn what scholars have (or have not) said in the larger academic conversation, you must conduct research. You can start by asking the following questions:

1. What is the field I am researching?
For example: molecular biology, Renaissance theater, twentieth-century American economic systems, nineteenth-century architecture, etc.

2. What is the specific topic within the field that I must research?
For example: gender in Renaissance theater, inequities in twentieth-century American economic systems, etc.

3. Who are the top scholars within this field or topic?
For example: Northrup Frye in literary criticism, Marshall McLuhan in media studies, Judith Butler in gender theory, Jack Zipes in fairy tales, Jackson Katz in men’s studies, and so on.

RESEARCH: THE STAGES AND STEPS

Conducting research can be a stressful, confusing experience for many students. It can feel overwhelming to find sources, read them, quote them, and then cite them. This is indeed a lot of work to accomplish, but never fear. It’s a lot less overwhelming when you break down the assignment into manageable pieces.

To get started, follow the steps listed below—in order—and you will write a strong, thorough research paper that may even prove enjoyable, rather than stressful.

Essentially the research process involves three stages, with seven steps total:

STAGE 1: PRE-RESEARCH

1. Determine your position or perspective on the research issue.

2. Prepare research questions and keyword lists.

STAGE 2: RESEARCH

1. Find sources.

2. Evaluate and understand these sources.

3. Select appropriate quotes and evidence from these sources.

STAGE 3: POST-RESEARCH

1. Incorporate the sources into your work.

2. Cite your sources using appropriate style (MLA or APA, etc.).

As you can see from the list of steps, a “research” assignment actually includes steps both before and after the actual researching. Remember, complete each step one at a time, to make the entire process easier—and less stressful.

We will go over each of these steps in the next three chapters. If you have never completed a major research project, I recommend you read the chapters in order; however, if you have written several research essays before, it may be more beneficial for you to flip forward to the areas in which you need the most help.