Research Tips and Tools

Research Project Calculator Use this calculator to help you make the best use of your time. Put in your start date and when your paper is due and it will generate a timeline for you to follow to have your paper completed on time. ​ ​Assignment Calculator (Univ.of Minnesota) Will help you set up a timeline for yourself whether you are doing a research paper, lab report, oral presentation or creating a powerpoint. Background Knowledge​ Background research is essential for understanding concepts, terms, events, places and people who shape your topic.  This knowledge base needs to be built before you start your formal research.  Use this information to broaden or narrow your topic, formulate research questions, and build keywords. ​Use Encyclopedias, Database articles or Reference books to help you fill in your background knowledge of your topic. Here is a link to our online databases

Pre-Research Strategies Brainstorming : Brainstorming can help you choose a topic, develop an approach to a topic, or deepen your understanding of the topic’s potential. (UNC Chapel Hill) Begin the Pre-Searching Analysis: Handout for picking your topic, choosing synonyms and narrowing or broadening your topic. (Univ. of CA - Berkley) Thesis Generator Use this tool to help you develop a thesis statement.  Always get input and approval from your teacher.  Thesis Statement Checklist (Dartmouth Writing Center) See if your thesis statement answers these questions.

Need an Idea for a Research Topic? Need an idea for a research topic? Look at the suggestions on these sites. Old Dominion - Idea Generator: Selecting a Research Topic Fort Lewis College - Research Topics Northwest Missouri State : Hot Topics for Research Papers and Speeches Creating your own Outline How to Write an Outline (Univ. of Albany SUNY) Provides instruction at each step. How to Write an Outline (WriteExpress) Provides directions and an example. Cambridge Rindge & Latin School : Improved Outline Maker Scroll down below the instructions to start using the outline form. Follow the directions in the video to save your information. Online Storage Tips​

Looking for Books When looking for print books remember to write down the call number to locate them on the shelf. Our library uses the Dewey Decimal system.  Find eBooks either in Destiny OPAC or on FollettShelf.

Note-taking Taking Notes Using Note Cards www.pikeschool.org Study Guides and Strategies : Note Card Creator : Create online notecards Google Keep: create notes and use with Google Drive ​ ​Summarizing, Paraphrasing and Quoting from Sources Summarizing, Paraphrasing and Quoting (Eastern Illinois University Writing Center) OWL Online Writing Lab Hints for quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing. Agnes Scott College Center for Writing and Speaking Writing Handouts Includes handouts on writing a thesis statement, research paper, essay, lab report, literature review and many others. Annotated Bibliographies : An Illustrated Guide

It is Important to back up your files in multiple places if possible when doing research. Computers can crash and flash drives get lost. Make use of the following tips to keep you from panicking if you lose your flashdrive.  Google Drive : Make use of your school Google account  Dropbox : Use Dropbox to upload your documents you want to save and also your powerpoints.   Delicious : Use Delicious to save bookmarks of web pages you want to reference again.  Symbaloo : Use to save bookmarks.

Annotated Bibliography HandoutThe handout provides definitions and example of creating an annotated bibliography citation. Condensed from Annotated Bibliographies  https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/614/Annotated Bibliographies : UNC Writing Center ​Explains why annotated bibliographies are useful for researchers, provides an explanation of what constitutes an annotation, describe various types of annotations and styles for writing them.