The Essential Guide: Writing Research Papers Across the Disciplines,based on Lester’s best-selling Writing Research Papers, is the ultimate brief research reference. Pocket-sized and inexpensive, this research guide is priced to work as a supplement in any research-oriented course.   Designed to be a guide for writing research papers both in all courses in all disciplines, the text features advice on the judicious handling of research materials as well as extensive coverage of electronic research. It remains rooted in the fundamentals of thorough library research but encourages and equips students to use the Internet as well as field research where appropriate. Numerous student samples and excerpts model different types of research papers from across the disciplines. Comprehensive coverage of the four most common documentation systems, reflecting the most current guidelines from both MLA and APA,  increases the text’s usability beyond the composition classroom.

Table of Contents:
CHAPTER 1 WRITING FROM RESEARCH 1a Generating Ideas and Focusing the Subject Relate Your Personal Ideas to a Scholarly Problem Developing a Research Journal Asking Questions Using Key Terminology Talking with Others to Find and Refine the Topic Using Electronic Sources Using Textbooks and Reference Books 1b Writing a Thesis, an Enthymeme, or a Hypothesis Thesis Enthymeme Hypothesis 1c Using Your Thesis to Chart the Direction of Your Research Arrangement by Issues Arrangement by Cause/Effect Arrangement by Interpretation and Evaluation Arrangement by Comparison 1d Drafting a Research Proposal Writing a Short Research Proposal Writing a Detailed Research Proposal 1e Establishing a Schedule CHAPTER 2 GATHERING SOURCES IN THE LIBRARY 2a Launching the Library Search 2b Using the Library’s Electronic Resources Catalog Books Journals Internet Sites Reference Books Archives Bibliographies 2c Searching the Library’s Electronic Databases General Databases Databases by Discipline 2d Searching the Printed Bibliographies Searching in General Bibliographies Searching in the Specialized Bibliographies and Reference Works 2e Searching the Printed Indexes Starting with a General Index to Periodicals Searching Indexes to Topics in the Humanities Searching Indexes to Topics in the Social Sciences Searching Indexes to Topics in the Physical Sciences Searching Indexes to Discipline-Specific Information 2f Searching Biographies 2g Searching Newspaper Indexes 2h Searching the Indexes to Pamphlet Files 2i Searching Government Documents 2j Searching for Essays Within Books 2k Building Your Research Journal CHAPTER 3 GATHERING SOURCES ONLINE 3a Beginning an Online Search Using General Search Engines 3b Using Search Engines Devoted to Academic Disciplines Humanities Social Sciences Sciences 3c Accessing Online Sources Internet Home Pages Internet Articles on the Web Journal Articles on the Web Magazine Articles on the Web News Sources Books on the Web E-mail Discussion Groups Archives CHAPTER 4 CONDUCTING FIELD RESEARCH 4a Conducting Research Within a Discipline The Social Scientists The Physical Scientists The Applied Scientists The Humanists 4b Investigating Local Sources Interviewing Knowledgeable People Writing Letters and Corresponding by E-mail Reading Personal Papers Attending Lectures and Public Addresses Investigating Government Documents 4c Examining Audiovisual Materials, the Internet, and Television 4d Conducting a Survey with a Questionnaire 4e Conducting Experiments, Tests, and Observation CHAPTER 5 UNDERSTANDING AND AVOIDING PLAGIARISM 5a Using Sources to Enhance Your Credibility 5b Identifying Bias in a Source 5c Honoring Property Rights 5d Avoiding Plagiarism Common Knowledge Exceptions 5e Sharing Credit in Collaborative Projects 5f Seeking Permission to Publish Material on Your Web Site CHAPTER 6 READING AND EVALUATING SOURCES 6a Understanding the Assignment Primary and Secondary Sources Guide to Academic Sources 6b Identifying Reliable Sources Scholarly Book Biography Scholarly Article Sponsored Web Site Interview Experiment, Test, or Observation Trade Book Encyclopedia Popular Magazine Newspapers E-mail Forum Posting Individual Web Site Internet Chat Conversations 6c Evaluating Sources Relevance Authority Accuracy Currency CHAPTER 7 ORGANIZING IDEAS AND SETTING GOALS 7a Using the Correct Academic Model (Paradigm) A General, All-Purpose Model Academic Pattern for the Interpretation of Literature and Other Creative Works Academic Pattern for the Analysis of History Academic Pattern for Advancing Philosophical and Religious Ideas Academic Pattern for the Review of a Performance Academic Pattern for Advancing Your Ideas and Theories Academic Pattern for Argument and Persuasion Papers Academic Model for a Comparative Study Academic Pattern for a Laboratory Investigation or Field Report Academic Pattern for Scientific Analysis Academic Pattern for a Report of Empirical Research 7b Using Your Thesis to Control the Outline Argument Cause and Effect Evaluation Comparison 7c Writing an Outline Topic Outline Sentence Outline CHAPTER 8 WRITING EFFECTIVE NOTES Honoring the Conventions of Research Style 8a Writing Personal Notes 8b Writing Direct Quotation Notes Quoting the Primary Sources Quoting the Secondary Sources 8c Writing Paraphrased Notes 8d Writing Summary Notes Use the Summary to Review Briefly an Article or Book Use the Summary to Write an Annotated Bibliography Use the Summary in a Plot Summary Note Use the Summary to Create an Abstract 8e Writing Notes from Field Research 8f Using Your Notes to Write an Annotated Bibliography 8g Using Your Notes to Write a Review of the Literature CHAPTER 9 DRAFTING THE PAPER IN AN ACADEMIC STYLE 9a Writing for Your Field of Study Academic Style in the Humanities Academic Style in the Social Sciences Academic Style in the Physical and Medical Sciences 9b Focusing Your Argument Persuading, Inquiring, and Negotiating Maintaining a Focus with Ethical and Logical Appeals Focusing the Final Thesis Statement or Hypothesis 9c Writing an Academic Title 9d Drafting the Paper Writing with Unity and Coherence Writing in the Proper Tense Using the Language of the Discipline Using Source Material to Enhance Your Writing Writing in the Third Person Writing with the Passive Voice in an Appropriate Manner Placing Graphics Effectively in a Research Essay Avoiding Sexist and Biased Language 9e Creating an Introduction, a Body, and a Conclusion Writing the Introduction Writing the Body of the Research Paper Writing the Conclusion of the Paper 9f Revising the Rough Draft Editing Before Printing the Final Manuscript Using the Computer to Edit Your Text Participating in Peer Review Proofreading CHAPTER 10 USING MLA STYLE 10a Blending Sources into Your Writing Identifying the Author and Page Number Citing a Source When No Author Is Listed Citing Nonprint Sources That Have No Page Number Citing Internet Sources Citing Indirect Sources Citing Material from Textbooks and Large Anthologies Adding Information to In-text Citations 10b Punctuating Citations Properly and Consistently Indenting Long Quotations Citing Lines of Poetry Citing Drama Changing Initial Capitals Using Ellipsis Points to Omit Phrases Using Brackets to Alter Quotations 10c Writing the Works Cited References in MLA Style Works Cited Form–Books Bibliography Form–Periodicals Bibliography Form–Newspapers Bibliography Form–Government Documents Bibliography Form–Electronic Sources (Internet, E-mail, Databases) Bibliography Form–Databases Bibliography Form–Artistic Works and Performances 10d Formatting the Paper in MLA Style Title Page or Opening Page Outline The Text of the Paper Content Endnotes Page Appendix Works Cited 10e Writing a Literary Paper in MLA Style Sample Research Paper CHAPTER 11 WRITING IN APA STYLE 11a Meeting the Demands of the Assignment Writing Theoretical Articles Reporting on Empirical Research Reviewing Articles and Books 11b Establishing a Critical Approach 11c Writing in the Proper Tense for an APA-Styled Paper 11d Blending Sources into Your Writing Citing a Block of Material Citing a Work with More Than One Author Citing More Than One Work by an Author Citing Indirect Sources Abbreviating Corporate Authors in the Text Citing an Anonymous Author Citing Electronic Sources 11e Preparing the List of References Bibliography Form–Books Bibliography Form–Periodicals Bibliography Form–Nonprint Material Bibliography Form–Internet Sources 11f Formatting a Paper in the APA Style Title Page Abstract Text of the Paper References Appendix 11g Sample Paper in APA Style CHAPTER 12 THE FOOTNOTE SYSTEM: CMS STYLE 12a Blending Sources into Your Writing Introducing the Sources Inserting a Superscript Numeral in Your Text Writing Full or Abbreviated Notes 12b Formatting and Writing the Footnotes Book Collection or Anthology Journal Article Magazine Article Newspaper Article Review Article Nonprint Source: Lecture, Sermon, Speech, Oral Report Encyclopedia Government Documents Television Film on DVD Musical Work on VHS Biblical Reference 12c Writing Footnotes for Electronic Sources Article Online Magazine Article Reproduced Online Journal Article Reproduced Online Article Online with No Author Listed Article Accessed from a Database Through the Library System Book Online CD-ROM Source Electronic Mailing List, Archived E-mail 12d Writing Subsequent Footnote References 12e Writing Endnotes Rather than Footnotes 12f Writing Content Footnotes or Content Endnotes Related Matters Not Germane to the Text Literature on a Related Topic 12g Writing a Bibliography Page for a Paper That Uses Footnotes Book Journal Article Newspaper Internet Article 12h Sample Research Paper in the CMS Style CHAPTER 13 CSE STYLE FOR THE NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES 13a Writing In-text Citations Using the CSE Citation-Sequence System 13b Writing a References Page Book Article in a Journal Internet Articles and Other Electronic Publications Magazine and Newspaper Article Proceedings and Conference Presentations Article from a Loose-Leaf Collection 13c Sample Paper Using the CSE Citation-Sequence System CHAPTER 14 CREATING ELECTRONIC RESEARCH PROJECTS 14a Using Word Processing to Create Electronic Documents 14b Building a Slide Show 14c Creating Pages with Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) Using a Web Page Editor to Create Web Pages Citing Your Sources in a Web Research Paper 14d Using Graphics in Your Electronic Research Paper Creating Your Own Digital Graphics 14e Delivering Your Electronic Research Paper to Readers APPENDIX: GLOSSARY OF MANUSCRIPT STYLE Credits Index