History 138:  Science in the U.S.

Constructing a Research Paper
Constructing a Research Paper Your task is intellectual and logistical at once.  In support of an interesting, intelligent thesis you need to marshal evidence in a well-structured essay.  This paper may be longer than your other assignments, but its challenges are not fundamentally different.  Some general guidelines apply.
Research and Writing Patrick Rael (Department of History, Bowdoin College, and a UC Berkeley History Ph.D.) has created a website on "Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students."  Work through the following two components:
Researching
Writing
If this is familiar, just skim;  if not, you may want to bookmark it.  The site may cause problems for printing, so take notes as you go.  (That is good advice anyways.)

Everything on the site is relevant, including the remarks on grammar and style.  You may want to experiment with other forms of note-taking (e.g., in a database), but the general comments are on target.  The only way your paper will be substantially different is in the formatting (heading "Formatting Your Paper" in the "Writing" component).

When finished with the site, note the following additional points:
Citations Citations are an essential part of your argument.  They make it possible for your readers to check your sources.  I take them seriously, so you should, too.  Your paper must provide both
  • in-text notes, either footnotes or endnotes (as you choose, with a slight preference for footnotes), and
  • a bibliography or list of sources cited (not included in the page limit), broken down into primary and secondary categories and including only sources that appear in the notes.
Citation format needs to make your research both manifest and transparent.  For this piece of historical research, parenthetical references are not acceptable, as they make certain kinds of citations (especially unpublished sources) awkward.  Remember, too:  Note format is different from bibliographic format;  you must get both right.  You will have a test run of bibliographic format when you submit your list of sources.

Acceptable citation formats:

Printed works:  You may use one of two formats:
    • Turabian:  Kate L. Turabian, A manual for writers of term papers, theses, and dissertations (Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1996).
    • MLA:  Walter S. Achtert and Joseph Gibaldi, MLA handbook for writers of research papers (New York:  Modern Language Association of America, 1999).  If you use MLA, you must use the note format described in the appendix section "Other systems of documentation."  Do not use parenthetical references.
      Turabian is preferable, but MLA will be accepted.


    Electronic sources:  Follow the format in MLA or the Teaching Library's introductory guide.  There is a format for citing websites.  Do not make up your own.  Review the guide if you are not familiar.

    Primary material (for instance, archival documents) not covered in MLA or Turabian:  Here there is more flexibility.  You may follow the example of the articles in the volume The scientific enterprise in America.

    For second and later references to already-cited material, you need provide only the author's (authors') last name, shortened title, and page number (no pp., pg., etc.).

Check the format even if you think you know it, as 80% of students get it wrong.  For examples you may consult:
The sample papers
The Teaching Library's introductory guide
The sample citations (in note, not bibliographic format) in the lists of reading questions in the course reader.  These sample citations include various special cases.
If these do not cover your case, look up the format in the library.  The Teaching Library guide is not comprehensive, but it gives references.  Do this before the night before.

You do not need to cite material from class lectures.
Using Other Authors' Material To lend direct quotations more effect, use them sparingly.  Save them for instances when the exact words are memorable or important.  If paraphrase is equally effective, use it.  Frame quotations with your own words to show how they fit into your argument:  no stand-alone quotations.

The Teaching Library's introductory guide and the Rael website provide guidance on avoiding plagiarism.
A Note on Tone Your paper should give a sense of why your topic is important and where it fits into a larger story.  But as the examples of successful papers show, keeping the rhetoric under control is important.  Exaggeration provokes distrust.  This is not a docudrama or a commercial, and you do not need a grand, global, "historical"-sounding introduction or conclusion:
Man has always wondered ...
The pursuit of science by humanity has led to marvelous achievements.
Over the centuries, one of mankind's greatest ambitions has been to fly like the birds.
You can spare yourself the platitudes and the pronouncements about the future of science in America.  Nor do you need a heroic story of discovery, progress, or triumph over ignorance.  Stirring narratives attract skepticism — what is the author's agenda? — and this holds for the history of science as well.

This kind of historical account is different from other familiar sorts:  newspaper articles, popular magazine stories, History Channel or other television specials.  For models of tone, examine the articles in The scientific enterprise in America.
Presentation Your paper is to be typed, double-spaced in normal-sized fonts with reasonable margins.  You may include a cover page if you choose.  In any case, provide a title.  Number your pages.
Back to:
History 138 homepage
Prof. Carson's home page
Research paper guidelines
Introduction to the research paper

On to:
Finding a topic and sources
Moving towards the final paper (assignments)
 

Copyright © Cathryn Carson 2002