• What is a Research Paper?--explanation

  Review of the Literature in a Field Analysis in Research Papers Argument in Research Papers Essay

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"Research paper." What image comes into mind as you hear those words: working with stacks of articles and books, hunting the "treasure" of others' thoughts? Whatever image you create, it's a sure bet that you're envisioning sources of information--articles, books, people, artworks. Yet a research paper is more than the sum of your sources, more than a collection of different pieces of information about a topic, and more than a review of the literature in a field. A research paper analyzes a perspective or argues a point. Regardless of the type of research paper you are writing, your finished research paper should present your own thinking backed up by others' ideas and information.

To draw a parallel, a lawyer researches and reads about many cases and uses them to support her own case. A scientist reads many case studies to support an idea about a scientific principle. In the same way, a history student writing about the Vietnam War might read newspaper articles and books and interview veterans to develop and/or confirm a viewpoint and support it with evidence.

A research paper is an expanded essay that presents your own interpretation or evaluation or argument. When you write an essay, you use everything that you personally know and have thought about a subject. When you write a research paper you build upon what you know about the subject and make a deliberate attempt to find out what experts know. A research paper involves surveying a field of knowledge in order to find the best possible information in that field. And that survey can be orderly and focused, if you know how to approach it. Don't worry--you won't get lost in a sea of sources.

In fact, this guide is designed to help you navigate the research voyage, through developing a research question and thesis, doing the research, writing the paper, and correctly documenting your sources.

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Review of the Literature in a Field

A review of the literature in a field requires you to research information and then summarize and paraphrase. The purpose of a review is to show that you can find and understand the important professional literature in a particular field of study.

A literature review differs from a research paper. A research paper adds another step to the finding, understanding, and rewording of the information that you do in a literature review. A research paper adds the step of synthesizing the information and developing your own insight or analysis or argument on a topic or issue that the information presents.

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Analysis in Research Papers

To analyze means to break a topic or concept down into its parts in order to inspect and understand it, and to restructure those parts in a way that makes sense to you. In an analytical research paper, you do research to become an expert on a topic so that you can restructure and present the parts of the topic from your own perspective. For example, you could analyze the role of the mother in the ancient Egyptian family. You could break down that topic into its parts--the mother's duties in the family, social status, and expected role in the larger society--and research those parts in order to present your general perspective and conclusion about the mother's role.

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Argument in Research Papers

An argumentative research paper needs to support your stand on an issue. An argumentative research paper is analytical, but it uses information as evidence to support its point, much as a lawyer uses evidence to make his case. For example, you might try to find research to back up the stand that ancient Egyptian women were the first feminists. Notice that this is a very different focus than an analytical focus on the role of the mother in ancient Egyptian society--argument uses evidence to take a stand on an issue whereas analysis uses evidence to support a perspective on a topic.

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Essay

The essay is an art form with a long and powerful tradition and recognizable qualities. The most important element of an essay is your thinking. Unless you write honestly, with the conviction that comes when using your own voice, you are not writing an essay. An essay generally addresses one central question and develops a thesis--the answer to the question. Usually you explain or defend your thesis with reasons and evidence gained from your own personal experience; often you are expected to include new thinking gained from your reading or research. Generally, you will need to settle on some organizational strategy, often including an introduction, body, and conclusion.

For more information, see Building the Essay Draft.