Pre-gaming: gathering sources - Preparing for conflict: source engagement - Practicing safe cites: writing and citing sources

APA style and citations for dummies - Joe Giampalmi 2021

Pre-gaming: gathering sources
Preparing for conflict: source engagement
Practicing safe cites: writing and citing sources

IN THIS CHAPTER

Gathering research tools

Signaling sources

Creating a linguistic symphony

Fact-checking real news

Picture this: You just aced a test you thought you failed — a common occurrence among nerds. You’re back working on your research paper and you have at least a week before it’s due. You’re continuously researching and asking yourself what’s the most productive part of your paper to do next. You asked the right question, and the answer is engagement — critical thinking, also known as critical engagement. It’s like your first time sitting at the adult table and participating in conversation, but it’s the conversation of the academic world, called discourse.

Chapter 10 discusses strategies for citing, formatting, and evaluating sources. In this chapter, the discussion of researching continues and sources get a workout as they transition into evidence that supports your argument. You add new insight to the academic community. This chapter, similar to annotating in Chapter 9, requires a conversation with yourself. It requires that you create interaction among your sources to support your argument. When you complete this chapter, the heavy lifting will be history, and only your reference list and formatting will remain.

Pre-gaming: gathering sources

Your sources determine the success of your argument. If you think of scholarly sources as money in the bank, then you can think of lack of scholarly sources as a form of bankruptcy. Chapter 10 examines locations of scholarly sources and how to evaluate them.

You’re writing an argument and justifying the importance of that argument. You aren’t trying to impress your professor with data overload, which is a strategy for an unsuccessful high school research paper. You’re presenting a position (claim), arguing that position with scholarly sources, refuting the opposition, and offering reflection on the argument.

In addition to researching scholarly sources, continue researching library materials on the topic: books, journals, newspapers, PowerPoint, and multimedia. Research the implications of your topic, such as economic, social, legal, and cultural. To help focus your search, convert your claim into a question. Search with keywords that identify topics that support your claim. Table 11-1 shows some examples.

Identify eight to ten sources that support your argument, one or two sources that take a contrary approach, and one or two sources that add background.

TABLE 11-1 Topic questions and keyword searches

Sample Topic Questions

Sample Keyword Searches

Does distance learning result in an inferior education for most students?

Distance learning and special populations

Distance learning and disadvantages

Distance learning and economics

Do plagiarism policies punish unsuspecting students?

Plagiarism and unintended consequences

Plagiarism and discrimination

Is the Electoral College outdated?

Electoral College and the popular vote

Electoral College and relevancy today

Electoral College and economics

Is workplace bullying common in large retail companies?

Bullying and the workplace

Bullying and large retail chains

Bullying and cultural influences

You can use a source for a variety of argument purposes, including background, support, rebuttal, comparison, contrast, illustration, and opening and closing.

Create an outline of sources that builds your argument. Here’s what an outline would look like arguing that the World Health Organization (WHO) should create a worldwide pandemic response team:

· Naomi (2020) argues that preparation for COVID-19 was insufficient and that organizations have a moral obligation to take a leadership role.

· Coffman (2019) supports all nations investing “medical capital” into a worldwide pandemic response team.

· Isabel (2020) explains how uncoordinated international COVID-19 approaches cost tens of thousands of lives worldwide.

· McCann (2020) compares 1918 pandemic approaches with 2020 pandemic approaches.

· Gallo (2019) analyzes pandemics and politics.

· Radson (2020) explains the challenge of discerning various strains of influenza.

When you write your argument, organize your evidence from weakest to strongest. Save the best for last.

Include one or two rebuttal sources with your outline:

· Blick (2020) questions the ability of the international community to create the synergy necessary for an effective worldwide response.

· Preston (2019) opposes attempts at a worldwide response, saying that past models of cooperation were unsuccessful.