Notes On Chapter 4

Start scholarly writing with sources. This helps us:

• verify whether or not our work will be something new
• collect information
• provide context for our investigation
• guide methods of investigation or provide a theoretical framework
• identify views, assumptions, or conclusions to build on or disagree with

Neither the research report nor the opinion paper is a good scholarly model, but rather a combination of the two. Use sources to develop thinking and support a well though-out position. Craft an argument based on your investigation of a topic.

Choose your sources carefully. Everything depends on the particular audience, purpose, and context.

A research process that moves from large (books) to small (scholarly articles) will serve you the best in your investigation. Get some background first.

Summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting. Page 92.

Take notes. Keep meticulous records.

You take notes and organize your research right on the wiki or in zotero or another bibliography program

Using sources to generate ideas.

• play the believe and doubting game (p. 76)
• find a source with which you strongly disagree
• create a table to compare and contrast your sources
• pair two sources in conversation with each other
• look at one source through the lens of the other