The definitive research paper guide, Writing Research Papers combines a traditional and practical approach to the research process with the latest information on electronic research and presentation. This market leading text provides students with step-by-step guidance through the research writing process from selecting and narrowing a topic, to formatting the finished document. Also, Writing Research Papers backs up its instruction with the most complete array of samples of any research writing guide on the market. The text continues its extremely thorough and accurate coverage of citation styles for a wide variety of disciplines. The eleventh edition maintains Lester's successful approach while detailing the uses of new computer technologies that are changing the face of research. Available in two formatsùperfect and spiral-bound with tabs (a handier format at a slightly higher price)ùLester's text is one that students will keep throughout their college careers.

Table of Contents:
Most chapters conclude with “Your Research Project.” Preface to the Instructor. Preface to the Student. 1. Writing from Research. 1a. Why Do Research? 1b. Learning Format Variations. 1c. Understanding a Research Assignment. Understanding the Terminology. 1d. Establishing a Schedule. 2. Finding a Topic. 2a. Relating Your Personal Ideas to a Scholarly Problem. Connecting Personal Experience to Scholarly Topics. Speculating about Your Subject to Discover Ideas and to Focus on the Issues. 2b. Talking with Others to Refine the Topic. Personal Interviews. Internet Discussion Groups. 2c. Using the World Wide Web to Refine Your Topic. Using an Internet Subject Directory. Using an Internet Keyword Search. 2d. Using the Library's Electronic Databases to Find and Narrow a Subject. 2e. Using the Library's Electronic Book Catalogs to Find a Topic. 2f. Expressing a Thesis Sentence, Enthymeme, or Hypothesis. Your Research Project. 2g. Drafting a Research Proposal. The Short Proposal. The Long Proposal. 3. Finding and Filtering Internet Sources. 3a. Beginning an Internet Search. 3b. Reading an Internet Address. 3c. Using a Search Engine. Subject Directory Search Engines. Robot-Driven Search Engines. Metasearch Engines. Specialized Search Engines. Educational Search Engines. Educational Search Engines Maintained by Libraries. 3d. Searching for Articles on Journals and Magazines. Online Journals. Online Magazines. 3e. Searching for Articles in Newspapers and Media Sources. 3f. Accessing eBooks. 3g. Using Listserv, Usenet, and Chat Groups. E-mail News Groups. Real-time Chatting. 3h. Examining Library Holdings via Internet Access. 3i. Finding an Internet Bibliography. 3j. Conducting Archival Research on the Internet. Go to the Library. Go to an Edited Search Engine. Go to a Metasearch Engine. Use Search Engine Directories. Go to a Listserv or Usenet Group. Go to Newspaper Archives. 4. Gathering Data in the Library. 4a. Launching the Search. 4b. Developing a Working Bibliography. 4c. Finding Books on Your Topic. Using Your Library's Electronic Book Catalog. Using the Library's Printed Bibliographies. 4d. Finding Articles in Magazines and Journals. Searching the General Indexes to Periodicals. Finding Indexes by Discipline in Appendix B. Using the H. W. Wilson Indexes. Searching for an Index to Abstracts. Searching for Abstracts of Dissertations. 4e. Searching for a Biography. 4f. Searching for Articles in the Newspaper Indexes. 4g. Searching the Indexes to Pamphlet Files. 4h. Searching for Government Documents. 4i. Searching for Essays within Books. 4j. Using the Microforms. 5. Conducting Research Outside the Library. 5a. Investigating Local Sources. Interviewing Knowledgeable People. Writing Letters and Corresponding by E-mail. Reading Personal Papers. Attending Lectures and Public Addresses. Investigating Government Documents. 5b. Examining Audiovisual Materials, Television, and Radio. 5c. Conducting a Survey with a Questionnaire. 5d. Conducting Experiments, Tests, and Observation. 6. Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism. 6a. Using Sources to Enhance Your Credibility. 6b. Placing Your Work in Its Proper Context. 6c. Honoring Property Rights. 6d. Avoiding Plagiarism. Common Knowledge Exceptions. Borrowing from a Source Correctly. 6e. Sharing Credit in Collaborative Projects. 6f. Honoring and Crediting Sources in Online Classrooms. 6g. Seeking Permission to Publish Material on Your Web Site. 7. Reading and Evaluating the Best Sources. 7a. Finding the Best Source Materials. 7b. Selecting a Mix of Both Primary and Secondary Sources. 7c. Reading All or Part of a Source. Reading the Key Parts of an Article. Reading the Key Parts of a Book. Reading the Key Parts of an Internet Article. 7d. Outlining a Source. 7e. Summarizing a Source. 7f. Preparing an Annotated Bibliography. 7g. Preparing a Review of the Literature on a Topic. 8. Organizing Ideas and Setting Goals. 8a. Charting a Direction and Setting Goals. Using a Basic, Dynamic Order to Chart the Course of Your Work. Using Your Research Proposal to Direct Your Note-Taking. Listing Key Words and Phrases to Set Directions for Note-Taking. Writing a Rough Outline. Using Questions to Identify Issues. Setting Goals by Using the Modes of Development. Using Approaches Across the Curriculum to Chart Your Major Ideas. Using Your Thesis to Chart the Direction of Your Research. 8b. Using Academic Models (Paradigms). A General All-Purpose Model. Paradigm for Advancing Your Ideas and Theories. Paradigm for the Analysis of Creative Works. Paradigm for Argument and Persuasion Papers. Paradigm for Analysis of History. Paradigm for a Comparative Study. 8c. Writing a Formal Outline. Using Standard Outline Symbols. Writing a Formal Topic Outline. Writing a Formal Sentence Outline. Using a Research Journal to Enrich Your Organizational Plan. 9. Writing Notes. Gathering Printouts, Photocopies, Scanned Images, and Downloaded Data. Writing Notes of High Quality. 9a. Creating Effective Notes. Honoring the Conventions of Research Style. Using a Computer for Note-Taking. Developing Hand-Written Notes. 9b. Writing Personal Notes. 9c. Writing Direct Quotation Notes. Quoting Primary Sources. Quoting Secondary Sources. 9d. Writing Paraphrased Notes. 9e. Writing Summary Notes. 9f. Writing Précis Notes. Use the Précis to Review Briefly an Article or Book. Use the Précis to Write an Annotated Bibliography. Use the Précis in a Plot Summary Note. Use the Précis as the Form for an Abstract. 9g. Writing Notes from Field Research. 10. Drafting the Paper in an Academic Style. 10a. Focusing Your Argument. Maintaining a Focus on Objective Facts and Subjective Ideas. 10b. Refining the Thesis Sentence. Using Questions to Focus the Thesis. Adjust or Change Your Thesis During Research if Necessary. 10c. Writing an Academic Title. 10d. Drafting the Paper from Your Research Journal, Notes, and Computer Files. Writing from Your Notes. 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. 10e. Avoiding Sexist and Biased Language. 10f. Drafting Electronic Research Papers. Creating a Plan for Your Research Paper. Designing Your Electronic Research Paper. Creating a Web Page. Delivering Your Electronic Research Paper to Readers. 11. Blending Reference Material into Your Writing by Using MLA Style. 11a. Blending Reference Citations into Your Text. Making a General Reference without a Page Number. Beginning with the Author and Ending with a Page Number. Putting the Page Number Immediately After the Name. Putting the Name and Page Number at the End of Borrowed Material. 11b. Citing a Source When No Author Is Listed. Citing the Title of a Magazine Article. Citing the Title of a Report. Citing the Name of a Publisher or Corporate Body. 11c. Citing Nonprint Sources That Have No Page Number. 11d. Citing Internet Sources. Identify the Source with Name or Title. Identify the Nature of the Information and Its Credibility. Omitting Page and Paragraph Numbers to Internet Citations. 11e. Citing Indirect Sources. 11f. Citing Frequent Page References to the Same Work. 11g. Citing Material from Textbooks and Large Anthologies. 11h. Adding Extra Information to In-text Citations. One of Several Volumes. Two or More Works by the Same Writer. Several Authors in One Citation. Additional Information with the Page Number. 11i. Punctuating Citations Properly and with Consistency. Commas and Periods. Semicolons and Colons. Question Marks and Exclamation Marks. Single Quotation Marks. 11j. Indenting Long Quotations. 11k. Citing Poetry. Quoting Two Lines of Poetry or Less. Quoting Three Lines of Poetry or More. Indenting Turnovers for Long Lines of Poetry. Retaining Internal Quotations within a Block. Providing Translations. 11l. Handling Quotations from a Play. 11m. Altering Initial Capitals in Some Quoted Matter. 11n. Omitting Quoted Matter with Ellipsis Points. 11o. Altering Quotations with Parentheses and Brackets. Parentheses. Brackets. 12. Writing the Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. 12a. Writing the Introduction of the Paper. Provide the Thesis Statement, Enthymeme, or Hypothesis. Provide the Enthymeme. Provide a Hypothesis. Relate to the Well Known. Provide Background Information. Review the Literature. Review the History and Background of the Subject. Take Exception to Critical Views. Challenge an Assumption. Provide a Brief Summary. Define Key Terms. Supply Data, Statistics, and Special Evidence. 12b. Writing the Body of the Research Paper. Relate a Time Sequence. Compare and Contrast Issues, Critical Views, and Literary Characters. Develop Cause and Effect. Define Your Key Terminology. Explain a Process. Ask Questions and Provide Answers. Cite Evidence from the Source Materials. Use a Variety of Other Methods. 12c. Writing the Conclusion of the Research Paper. Restate the Thesis and Reach Beyond It. Close with an Effective Quotation. Return the Focus of a Literary Study to the Author. Compare the Past to the Present. Offer a Directive or Solution. Discuss Test Results. 13. Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting the Rough Draft. 13a. Conducting a Global Revision. Revising the Introduction. Revising the Body. Revising the Conclusion. Participating in Peer Review. 13b. Formatting the Paper to MLA Style. Title Page or Opening Page. Outline. Abstract. The Text of the Paper. Content Endnotes Page. Appendix. Works Cited. 13c. Editing Before Typing or Printing the Final Manuscript. Using the Computer to Edit Your Text. 13d. Proofreading on the Screen and on the Printed Manuscript. Short Literary Research Paper. Long Research Paper. 14. Works Cited: MLA Style. 14a. Formatting the Works Cited Page. 14b. Bibliography FormùBooks. 14c. Bibliography FormùPeriodicals. 14d. Bibliography FormùNewspapers. 14e. Bibliography FormùGovernment Documents. 14f. Bibliography FormùInternet Sources 14g. Bibliography FormùSources Found on CD-ROM. 14h. Bibliography FormùOther Electronic Sources. 14i. Bibliography FormùOther Sources. 15. Writing in APA Style. 15a. Writing Theory, Reporting Test Results, or Reviewing Literature. Theoretical Article. Report of an Empirical Study. Review Article. 15b. Writing in the Proper Tense for an APA Paper. 15c. Using In-text Citations in APA Style. 15d. Preparing the List of References. Book. Periodical. Abstract. Review. Report. Nonprint Material. Internet Sources. World Wide Web Sites. CD-ROM. 15e. Variations on APA Style for Other Disciplines in the Social Sciences. Linguistics. Sociology and Social Work. 15f. Formatting an APA Paper. Theoretical Paper. Report of Empirical Research. Review Article. 15g. Writing the Abstract. 15h. Sample Paper in APA Style. 16. The Footnote System: CMS Style. 16a. Inserting a Superscript Numeral in Your Text. 16b. Formatting and Writing the Footnotes. Book. Collection or Anthology. Journal Article. Magazine Article. Newspaper Article. Review Article. 16c. Writing Footnotes for Electronic Sources. Scholarly Project. Article Online. Magazine Article Reproduced Online. Journal Article Reproduced Online. Journal Article Online with No Author Listed. Article from the DIALOG Database. Article Accessed from a Database through the Library System. Book Online. CD ROM Source. Electronic Bulletin Board. E-mail. 16d. Writing Subsequent Footnote References. 16e. Writing Endnotes rather than Footnotes. 16f. Writing Content Footnotes or Content Endnotes. 16g. Using the Footnote System for Papers in the Humanities. 16h. Using the Footnote System for Papers in the Fine Arts. 16i. Writing a Bibliography Page for a Paper That Uses Footnotes. 16j. Sample Research Paper in the CMS Style. 17. CBE Style for the Natural and Applied Sciences. Guide by Discipline. 17a. Writing In-Text Citations Using the CBE Number System. 17b. Writing a Cited References Page. 17c. Writing In-Text Citations with Name and Year. 17d. Using Name and Year with Bibliography Entries. 17e. Sample Paper Using the CBE Citation-Sequence Numbering System. Appendix A: Rules and Techniques for Preparing the Manuscript in MLA Style. Appendix B: Finding Reference Works for Your General Topic. Credits. Index.