Internet Research Skills

Refer to www.igs‐bracu.ac.bd

Section 1

Jstor

General Tips for Searching

Carefully Select Your Search Terms

Broad or general terms will return thousands of possible sites. Try to use terms that are more specific to
your topic. To narrow your terms, look at sites that you already have found and that are relevant to your
topic. Identify possible search terms from those sites. You also can combine terms, using Boolean
Operators.

Use Boolean Operators

Boolean operators are words that allow you to combine search terms in most search engines.

AND
AND tells the search engine to find both terms on the same site. For instance, entering "business AND
ethics" would instruct the search engine to find web pages that contain both words, "business" and
"ethics."

OR
OR instructs the search engine to find one term or the other. Entering "business OR ethics" would cause
the search engine to look for web pages that contain either the word "business" or the word "ethics," but
not necessarily both words. As you can imagine, if you use OR, the search engine could return
thousands of sites.

OR is most useful when the same term may appear in two different ways. For instance, you could
use "national football league"* OR NFL to find web pages about the national football league.

*If you want your search engine to search for an exact phrase, put quotation marks around the
phrase e.g. “caretaker government”

NOT
NOT tells the search engine to find pages that contain the first word but not the second. This limitation is
helpful when you know your search term is likely to appear with another term that does not interest you.

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NEAR

NEAR only appears in some search engines, but it tells the search engine only to return web
pages in which the terms are near each other. Usually the terms are within a few words of each
other.

Symbols

For many search engines, you can use "+" as a substitute for AND and "‐" as a substitute for
NOT. You can also use quotation marks to indicate that you want to find an exact phrase.

Sort by…

1. Most recent to oldest

2. Oldest To Most Recent
3. Journal title

Save citations…

These citations can be sent to a number of individuals. There are two options under this field:
1. All citations can be saved (click ‘Save all citations on this page’)
2. Individual citations can be saved (click on the article click ‘Save citation’)

• In order to look at the list of all the citations click ‘View saved citations’.
• Under ‘Export Options’ click on the drop‐down menu under citation format select ‘printer
friendly’ version.

Article Information Click here to read the abstract for the article. However, not all articles will
provide an abstract.
Download This will provide two options: ‘High Quality PDF’, ‘Economy PDF’ & ‘TIFF
Format’. Use the ‘Economy PDF’ option. Click on this option and wait to
download. This is the fastest option.

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Google Scholar

How do I search by author?

Enter the author's name in quotations: "amartya sen". To increase the number of results, use
initials rather than the full first name.

If you're finding too many papers which mention the author, you can use the "author:"
operator to search for specific authors. For example, you can try [author: sen], [author:"a
sen"], or [author:"amartya sen"].

Click on ‘Advanced Search’ for detailed searches

How do I search by title?

Put the paper's title in quotations: "governance in Bangladesh" Google Scholar will
automatically find the paper as well as other papers which mention it.

How do I find recent research on a particular topic?

Just click on "Recent articles" on the top of any results page, and your results will be re‐
sorted to help you find newer research more quickly. The new ordering considers
factors like the prominence of the author's and journals previous papers, as well as the full
text of each article and how often it has been cited.

What does the Related Articles link do?

For each Google Scholar search result, the site automatically determines which articles
in the index are most closely related to it. One can see a list of these articles by
clicking the "Related Articles" link that appears next to many results.

The list of related articles is ranked primarily by how similar these articles are to
the original result, but also takes into account the relevance of each paper. Finding sets of
related papers and books is often a great way for novices to get acquainted with a topic.
However, we've found that even experts can sometimes be surprised to discover related
work in their area of expertise.

How do I search by category?

From the Advanced Search page, you can search for scholarly literature within seven
broad areas of research. Simply check the boxes for the subject areas you're interested in
searching.

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Why are there author names on the left hand side of my results page?

We automatically suggest authors related to your query – just click on an author's name and you'll
see their papers. Finding authors who publish on the topics you're interested in is often a excellent
method to get better acquainted with a field and discover related work you may not have found
otherwise.

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Maximising the potential of the Web
Houghton Mifflin
http://college.hmco.com/english/resources/research_guide/2e/resources.html

Building an argument with web research

The term argument has certain negative connotations in everyday use. However, argument in its
academic sense is very different. Academic argument involves taking a position on a subject and then
defending the position you've taken with certain kinds of evidence. Academic arguments should always be
made for or against ideas, not for or against people.

Academic arguments must always be well thought out and well constructed. Consider how you want to
build each argument you make. Often, the basic parts for any argument you might build are the same. It is
how you choose to put those parts together that gives each argument its particular look.

Claims and supports

The basic parts of an argument are a claim and a support. These terms are often exchanged with others
(like position/assertion and evidence/reason), but their functions remain basically the same. A claim is
simply a statement of opinion, implicitly your opinion, since you are the writer. A support, as the term
suggests, supports, proves, or backs‐up, the claim you've just made.

The web is very good for finding up‐to‐date information to support (or dispute) your claim. Do not use the
Internet to find or borrow claims that others have made and use them as your own in your research
projects. Of course, research may shape the kinds of arguments you eventually make in your papers, but
do not start off by surfing the web to find an argument to borrow. Your paper should be original to you,
rather than derived from someone else's thinking.

Bias
Bias refers to prejudice on the part of an author or source; it can be overt and easy to spot, or it can be
much more difficult to identify. In many cases, an author or source may be biased without being entirely
aware of it. It is your job as the critical reader—part of being a successful researcher—to identify bias.

Beyond that, you will have to decide what to do with the source that is biased. Do you simply not use it at
all? It falls to you to decide whether the bias is so overt and obvious that the facts or opinions really cannot
be trusted, or whether to present the source as credible, but highlight the bias so your reader is well aware
of it too. Often, biased sources can be used in pairs if the biases seem to offset each other.

Note how often bias and disputable facts go together in sources. thesis. Think back to this case study from
Part 1, about disputed facts:

Gun‐deaths per year in the United States: a fact‐counteract case study

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Plagiarism and documentation

Plagiarism means, quite simply, stealing from the writings or ideas of another. It is one of the most
important issues students must contend with as they learn to conduct research. The trouble comes
when you face an assignment that requires you to find the writings and ideas of another and
incorporate them into your own work. On the surface, some assignments may seem like invitations to
plagiarize, especially if they require the use of secondary sources. However, research should never be
plagiarism. Research should function only to support ideas of your own.

The key to avoiding plagiarism is to understand the concepts behind academic documentation.
Documentation involves citing sources you use in order that ideas and words that are not yours
are clearly attributed to their rightful owners.

Quoting and paraphrasing

Quoting
One method of incorporating research into your own work is through direct quotation. This means
including another person's ideas word‐for‐word in your document. Direct quotation may be used to
import the ideas, facts, or authority of another author into your own work.

You don't want to rely too heavily on quotation, however, since you can often end up surrendering your
own voice to those you've quoted. Also, always be sure to quote exactly. When you quote directly, you
need to choose only limited passages to include. In a four or five page research paper, you do not want to
include an entire paragraph of quoted material. From that paragraph you would need to choose a
sentence or couple of sentences that best say what you want to say in the least amount of space.

Always introduce your quotation to give your reader some sense of where it comes from, what the
authority of the source is, or perhaps some context. For example:

Following the last round of international trade talks, Leslie More, of the U.S. Delegation on Trade, noted
that "Canada's supply management structure makes it difficult for U.S. farmers to compete in the world
market" (56).

Notice that the example names an author, a source, or qualifications instead of simply giving the
quotation. Now your reader has a good sense of why these people are worth quoting.

Paraphrasing
Sometimes it is more useful to paraphrase information than to quote it directly, especially if you need to
cover a lot of ground but do not have a lot of space in your own paper to do so. Paraphrasing involves
putting another author's ideas in your own words. Paraphrasing still requires that you document
the original source. Otherwise you've crossed the line from paraphrasing to plagiarism.

Also, paraphrasing should not just be a process of taking another author's sentences and replacing each
key word with a synonym and then calling it your own. You need to reshape entirely the passage you are
paraphrasing. This means rewriting from top to bottom, and can be an opportunity for you to rephrase a
long‐winded paragraph down into one or two high‐impact sentences.

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Citations from the web…
Internet citations, MLA style

MLA style requires in‐text citations in which you give the author and page number for information you have
quoted or paraphrased: Northrop Frye describes his book The Great Code as "a study of the Bible from the
point of view of a literary critic" (xi).

The parenthetical roman numeral at the end of the sentence constitutes the MLA in‐text citation in this
case. Note that if you name the author in the sentence, you do not need to repeat the name in
the citation. Also, do not write "page" or "pg" or anything aside from the page number itself. If you do not
name the author in your own sentence, put the last name only in the citation: (Smith 32).

Since there are so many possible sources you may deal with, it is best to get a recent writer's handbook
which describes how to do citations for many different circumstances including books, articles, CD‐
ROMs, web pages, newspapers, and so forth. Also, check the MLA web site for up‐to‐date information on
citation style.

In addition to the in‐text portion of MLA citation, you also need to construct a Works Cited page that
includes entries for all the sources you've paraphrased or quoted. Do not include entries for material
you just read but did not incorporate into your own work. For every author or source you mention in your
in‐text citation, there must be a corresponding Works Cited entry.

The Works Cited begins on a new page at the end of your paper. Entries are alphabetical. As with in‐text
formatting, since there are so many possible sources, you need to have a reference book handy which
shows you how to format each source you've used.

Web site citations are generally formatted as follows:

Author. "Article Title." Web Site Title. Retrieval date. URL (date).

Associated Press. "Stock Markets on the Slide." Netscape Home. 3 May. 2004. www.netscape.com (15
May. 2004)

Note that there are two dates included. The first is the date of the web site's latest update or revision (if
you can find it); the second is the date you visited the site and found the information. Note also that the
name with which you identify the source in your in‐text citation and in your Works Cited entry must
match. That is, if I am reading your paper and come across an in‐text citation for (Associated Press), then
the works‐cited entry for that source should be listed by Associated Press instead of Netscape, or "Stock
Markets Slide", for example.

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Internet citations, APA style

APA requires that in‐text citations include author name and year: (Smith, 1998). You must include
a page number for directly quoted material only, not for information you've paraphrased. Use the
abbreviation p. to indicate a single page number and pp. to indicate multiple page numbers as in the
example (Smith, pp. 24‐26, 1998).

Where MLA style requires a Works Cited page, APA requires a References page. Because of the variety of
sources you might be dealing with, you need to find an adequate resource that explains the
formatting for many different entries. Check the APA web site for recent style information.

APA style for web sites is as follows:

Author. (Posting date). Article title. Web Site Name. Retrieved date from URL.

Associated Press. (2004, May 3). Stock markets on the slide. Netscape Home. Retrieved May 15, 2004
from http://www.netscape.com

Remember, the idea of a citation is to provide enough information for the next person who comes along to
follow the same trail of clues that you did. Think of a Works Cited or References page as the
"methods" section of your paper, explaining how you found the sources you did.

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 Section 2

Writing skills

Ask Oxford

www.askoxford.com

Better writing (http://www.askoxford.com/betterwriting/?view=uk)

This website will help students when writing the theses for the Masters programme. It provides
guidance on spelling & grammar and the use of Plain English. It also provides useful information
on letter writing and effective email communication.

Cite example from Grammar & spelling tips

Writer’s Resource Centre

http://www.poewar.com/essay‐articles/

This website provides guidelines on essay writing. I would suggest that everyone print the
following documents from the website:

• Perfecting Your Essay Writing Skills

• A List of Essay Writing Don’ts

Citations

Harvard System

In this method of referencing you indicate the author, publication and page number of the
source within brackets after the information cited. Full details of publications are given in
a bibliography at the end of the essay.

In the case of a book by a single author, first write the author’s surname, the author’s
first name or initials (the year of publication of the edition used, in brackets) the full title of the
book including any subtitle emboldened, the place of publication: the publisher (and it is also good
practice, if the edition used is not the first to indicate this in brackets). Example:

MacIntyre, A (1985) After Virtue: a study in moral theory, London: Duckworth (2nd ed.)

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If the book is written by two or more people please follow the example below:

Okin, SM (1989a) ‘Humanist Liberalism’, in Nancy L Rosenblum (ed.), Liberalism and the
Moral Life, Cambridge: Massachusetts: Harvard University Press

Okin, SM (1989b) Justice, Gender, and the Family, New York: Basic Books

Note that essay titles (unlike book or journal titles) are indicated by single inverted commas and
that the name and function of editor(s) of books should always be cited. Essays in journals
should be cited in the same way, except that editors, location and publishers should not
be cited but volume and issue numbers should be:

Benhabib, S (1993) ‘Hannah Arendt’s concept of public space’, History of the

Human
Sciences, Vol. 6 no. 2

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