Ryan Tanner-Read

1. Schedule: Writing a research paper takes more than one evening during study hall. You need a plan to succeed. Take a look at how much time you have to produce your paper and then make a schedule (i.e. Find all sources by next week, Make notes on half of sources by Tuesday, etc). This will help you get everything done on time.
2. It’s Okay to Start With Wikipedia: Wikipedia can provide a good overview of information on your topic and it is helpful because it provides you with links to sources and other articles. However, you should never cite Wikipedia in your essay because you can’t always trust the information. Instead, use Wikipedia to help you find other sources for your research (look at the links and citations on Wikipedia to find other places to look) and make sure you check these sources for their accuracy.
3. Use Sources from Institutions: You should use many kinds of sources including books, websites and articles. The wider range of sources you have, the better your paper will be. However, the best sources are academic books or items published by Institutions (i.e. web pages or articles from museums, universities, colleges, etc). If you look at a web page and you can’t tell who the author is associated with, it may not be reputable. If you are looking at a source with an author, look to see what institutions the author is associated with or if others have reviewed this source who are associated with reputable institutions. (Online, a .edu or .org or .si website may be a good indication your information is more reputable.)
4. Mine Bibliographies: If you are looking at a book or an article on your topic, you should find a bibliography for this item. This is your best friend. Use it to find other sources related to your topic. If they were used by a reputable source, they are probably reputable and good sources for you to use.
5. Use Indices: When you are researching, the Index is the most important part of any book you look at. Remember that you probably don’t have time to read every page of a book you want to use. Instead, you should look at the index of the book to find keywords related to your topic. Check the pages that are listed in the index. This is just like Google for books, but you will actually find true information this way.
6. Use JSTOR: You should always be using JSTOR for your research. This database includes articles and books on academic subjects and is an invaluable resource. If it is in JSTOR, the information has been checked for accuracy by historians or other scholars so you know it is trustworthy! To log in to JSTOR visit www.jstor.org (visit your class page to see your username and password). Try searching for many different keywords associated with your topic and don’t just look at the first page of results. The more you look, the more information you will find.
7. Use Books: Information in books is almost certain to more reliable than much of the internet. I have many, many books in my classroom including some on your topic. The Library also has books on your topic. I will also help you find books from other sources if necessary.
8. Don’t just Google: The absolute worst thing you can do is just google your topic. This is the best way to find information created by crazy people who are just totally wrong. If you must Google (which you rarely should need to do) use the criteria in step 3. If the information is from someone’s blog, don’t trust it. If it is from a News organization you don’t immediately recognize, don’t trust it. If the information comes from a website that has a name like www.coolhistoryquotes.com, don’t trust it. Googling should be your last last last last last resort when researching.