10 Tips for Choosing Good Sources for Your Research Paper

Completing an in-depth research paper at both the high school and college levels can be a stressful, daunting test. Here are 10 tips for choosing good sources for your research paper.

School research tip #1 - Choose a variety of mediums for your sources; a mixture of Internet research, professional journals, books, and newspaper articles work well.

When completing your research paper, you do not want to rely solely on one type of source. If you have a wide-variety of research material that supports your position and discredits the opposing point of view or thesis, you case will be much stronger.

School research tip #2 - Know the difference between primary and secondary sources; use as many primary sources as you can find.

Secondary resources rely heavily on the research and experiences of others while primary sources include first-hand research and experiences. Use primary sources as much as possible.

School research tip #3 - Make good use of references you might find in professional journals, books, or other articles.

Most articles in professional journals and/or peer-reviewed research publications will normally include long lists of references. Often, these references are primary sources.

School research tip #4 - Keep your research organized.

Using index cards and highlighters to organize your research efforts will help the actual writing of your paper go much more smoothly. In addition, the more organized your research, the easier it will be to compile and then present the information in a coherent manner.

School research tip #5 - Realize that you will have to go to the library at some point.

As tempted as you may be to try and do all of your research on-line, it isn̢۪t a wise decision. Breakdown and realize that you will have to go to the library at some point in order to flesh out your research.

School research tip #6 - Know the difference between acceptable and unacceptable Internet research.