The research paper represents one of the most daunting tasks for any college student. This past week, I guided 3 foreign-exchange students through the process of researching, outlining, and writing a research paper on primary sources in History. It was not easy for them, because they come from countries whose educational assessments all center on test performance. Even though they were college students, they had never written any kind of paper before. This is often the case with many beginning college students. In the past decade, as more and more public schools focused on test performance based on the No Child Left Behind educational reform of 2001, teachers began to have to teach to the test more than anything else in order to secure federal funds for their schools.This meant that teachers no longer had the time to teach anything that could not be used to pass the state's standardized tests, even such valuable skills as research and writing. As a result, student scores on reading are lower than they should be, and, as the Atlanta cheating scandal has shown, some teachers feel so much pressure to produce high test results that they will even change test scores. This leaves students holding the bag, because they then have to start college and complete writing assignments for which they have no training. Inevitably, the resulting struggle will be demoralizing, frustrating, and often results in failure of the course and failure or abandonment of college. But research can be one of the most personally rewarding of all academic activities, because it allows the student to focus on one interesting topic, delve deeply into it and discover diverse opinions and information, and create something entirely new. It's much more interactive than filling out a bubble test, listening to a lecture, or reading a dry textbook. As I always tell my students, the research paper is the chance you get to create your own world of knowledge, to explain how you interpret information, and present a new vision of a field of knowledge. Once you get past the intimidation factor, the world is at your fingertips. While there are many good online writing guides sites available to help students through the writing process, how can you tell which internet sites are good for providing accurate, thorough, and academic research information? Students at traditional brick-and-mortar schools can always consult a professional reference librarian on their campus for help finding reliable research sources. And most online colleges offer library websites, such as Kaplan University's Online Library, which offers access to such important academic search engines as LexisNexis, Academic Search Premier and ERIC, and provides virtual assistance from qualified librarians. But there are so many research possibilities on the internet that for all college students, both traditional and online, limiting research to only those avenues offered through their college libraries would be like seeing through only one eye. The full picture might be best obtained through sources from all over the place, not just those available through the college. The best place to expand your research beyond your college library is to conduct your own search on the internet, but it's easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer number and great variety of resources available. While you can conduct a general search through such useful sites as the Search Engine List,here is a list of some of the most useful research sites on the internet:
- Internet Public Library:When I was growing up, the old guys in the town used to spend hours every day at the public library, reading the newspapers from across the country. Today, all you have to do is bookmark a site like the Internet Public Library, and you can click onto any number of national and international newspapers. The Internet Public Library is pretty much what it says it is: A free, online resource organized much like your own public library but with access to a vast number of resources. Set up like a library, you click on the category of information you are looking for, and IPL provides a list of links to search engines and websites where you can find valuable information. For example, I typed the term "China"and was directed to various government reports, PBS documentaries, maps, and articles. And,like your local library, the information available on this site ranges from across professional and personal interests, such as health, finance, government resources, reference resources like encyclopedias and almanacs.
- Library of Congress is the "research arm of Congress," which means that it supports all the information needs of the legislative branch of the federal government. But it is so much more than that! Through its search engine,THOMAS (named for Thomas Jefferson, whose vast library at Monticello is an inspiration to all researchers), you can look up legislative information; through its American Memory online collection, you can learn about American history and life; and the different Sound, Maps, Historic Newspapers, and Manuscript collections all provide plenty of opportunities for the adventurous scholar to delve into primary sources.
- Project Gutenberg was the first producer of free books online, and offers over 36,000 free eBooks to download onto your computer or personal electronic device. Created over the years by volunteers who have typed them into electronic documents and proofread them to ensure quality, the range of books offered is impressive. I searched for a book I often assign my students, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,and there it was: free and easy to read online.Students can save a lot of money by checking Project Gutenberg to see if their assigned books are available free online.
- Infomine is the Scholarly Internet Resource Collection. If you are searching for expert articles on biology and the medical sciences, this is the place to look. Students, independent scholars, and faculty can use this site of over 100,000 links to look up electronic journals, databases, online card catalogs, to help you locate physical copies of material, and other useful resources.Unlike Internet Public Library, this site is truly geared to the academic audience, so relies on more sophisticated university-level materials, which is exactly what college students should be using for their research.
- Megalaw calls itself the "Lawyers'Window to the Web," but that doesn't mean that only lawyers can use it.Of immense value to Criminal Justice , Paralegal, or Law students as well as non-students who want more information on a legal issue, this site is divided up into topic pages such as Family Law, Constitutional Law, Intellectual Property Law, Criminal Law, Environmental Law, Landlord-Tenant law, and many others. When you click on the law topic page you want, you are provided with an extensive list of links to resources on that topic, including the texts of local, state and federal statutes, and court decisions, including those of the Supreme Court.
These are just a few of the many useful and comprehensive research sites available online to students or anyone who needs information. However, students will find it useful because they can consult with multiple sources that may not be offered by their college libraries.This will enhance your research and allow you to produce quality papers. Please submit your suggestions for useful academic research resources online!
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