A research paper is a piece of academic writing that requires a more abstract, critical, and thoughtful level of inquiry than you might be used to. But not to worry, you'll gradually pick up that mindset the more you envelop yourself in tutorial discussions and lectures at the college level, and of course, the more you write. Not just research papers but any paper, period.
Writing a research paper involves (1) first familiarizing yourself with the works of "experts"--for example, reading their research articles, research articles they cite, and even material from their webpage (2) think about material. If there is lots of jargon, start a small glossary defining each new word and writing it out once. New areas are only hard to understand until you figure out the language.
After reading information form these different sources, you have started down the path to becoming an expert on a particular topic. Then, as our subsequent steps will outline, the final product will be a unique and appropriate integration of evidence you have located outside yourself and personal insights generated from your own internal think tank! What, university is about thinking...who knew?
|
The final product will be a unique and appopriate integration of evidence you have located outside yourself and personal insights. |
Often to the surprise of many a first and second year student, it is the latter that your professors are most interested in. The inclusion of sources isn't just some arbitrary can-you-use-the-library? test in disguise, but complements your own ideas by providing academic context and credibility to what you are asserting. No professor will be marking what the published experts have to say, only how well you use what the experts have to say to advance your paper's purpose.
Note: A mere review of the academic "literature" in a field--i.e. a summary of the existing body of knowledge on your subject--does not make a research paper. If you think about it, it's indeed reminiscent of those high school reports on Japanese culture or papyrus mentioned earlier except that instead of using encyclopedias, you'd be consulting academic journals. By itself then, such a review is not often assigned because it wouldn't test your capacity for critical thinking. That doesn't mean you won't see or write these kinds of summaries though, but usually only as part of longer write-ups for actual research studies in the social or physical sciences.