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Geography 105: World Regional Geography: Planning For Your Research Paper

Check Your Knowledge: The Importance of "WHERE" In Research

Different research sources are best accessed through various types of databases. For example, books are best located through a library catalog and academic articles are best located in scholarly databases. LITS Tips: Where you search matters! 

For example, searching in JSTOR, which is an interdisciplinary database will only bring up articles in JSTOR, so you might be missing a good article in ProjectMuse (another database). These sources are not cross-searchable. Also, you can't search everything with one search box (even Google has limits---check out the deep web page to learn more) so utilizing various research tools will help you with locating the most suitable research materials.

Determine If An Article Is Peer Reviewed Or Scholarly

Scholarly journals are also called academic, peer-reviewed or refereed journals. These are journals that academics submit articles to for other scholars, experts or academics peers in the field to review and comment. These reviewers must agree that the article represents properly conducted original research or writing before it can be published.

What to look for:

  • abstract (descriptive summary)
  • footnotes or bibliographies
  • institutions author(s) are from, ex. universities, research institutions, think tanks 
  • main point is to report original research or experimentation

Examples of scholarly journals: 

American Economic Review

Applied Geography

Archives of Sexual Behavior

JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association

Journal of Theoretical Biology

For more information, check out this helpful guide from Cornell University: Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from Other Periodicals

Check Your Knowledge: What Are Primary and Secondary Sources?

Primary sources provide first-hand testimony, direct evidence or knowledge concerning a topic under investigation. Some examples: 

  • Original documents such as diaries, speeches, letters
  • Interviews, focus groups, transcripts, survey data
  • Creative works such as poetry, music, art 
  • Relics or artifacts such as pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings

Secondary sources interpret or conduct analysis on primary sources

  • Peer reviewed scholarly articles
  • Peer reviewed scholarly books
  • Creative non-fiction, novels, other literary works 
  • References Books such as atlases, encyclopedias, and dictionaries (please note: you can use these types of secondary sources for your research paper only if they are in addition to the four scholarly sources that you primarily draw upon).
  • Periodicals such as magazine or newspapers that contain articles (that interpret or provide analysis i.e. literary and cultural criticism) 

LITS Tip: In the sciences, a primary source is the published result of experimental or observational research.

Speaking, Arguing, and Writing Center (SAW)

 

Image Credit: https://twitter.com/mhcsaw 

Located on the main level of Dwight in the Mediated Educational Work Space (MEWS), the SAW Center is a place where students work together with SAW Mentors who are trained to assist students with essays, lab reports, creative writing, presentations, speeches, senior theses, reflection responses, personal statements, analytical papers, and more. While SAW Center mentors help with speaking, arguing, and writing, LITS Liaisons help with locating research materials, citing and finding sources, using bibliographic software such as Zotero, and talking through your research ideas/topics. 

                 SAW Center Hours               

Monday and Tuesday: 3pm - 9pm
Wednesday and Thursday: 9am -12pm and 3pm - 9pm
Friday: 9am -12pm 
Sunday: 12pm - 9pm

Schedule Your Appointment Online: 

To schedule a session with a SAW mentor, please make an appointment online.

Drop-In Hours | No Appointment Required
 Evenings | Sunday - Thursday: 7pm - 8pm 
 Mornings | Wednesday - Friday: 10am - 11am

Research Proposal

In preparation for your research, address the following four points:

1) The topic you would like to research

2) Why you are interested in this topic

3) How the topic connects to World Regional Geography

4) Full citations for three sources that you intend to use in your paper.

Annotated Outline

"An annotated outline includes the bullet points for the main topic you plan to explore in each paragraph and the evidence you intend to use to substantiate your argument. It also includes a short narrative summary for each paragraph that describes in more depth what you anticipate writing about in each paragraph. An annotated outline should include your working thesis statement as well. You need to know what you plan to argue, what evidence and sources you will use to support your points, and the order in which you intend to build your case.

Writing An Annotated Bibliography:This link offers information on how to construct an annotated bibliography from Cornell University. 

LITS Tips: Writing Tools

MHC Accessibility Barriers Form