Chapter

Unraveling the research process: social bookmarking and

collaborative learning
Instructional purpose
The research paper is a common rite of passage in the academic world. While students are
typically successful at amassing information sources, many grapple with new conventions of
academic discourse and the synthesis of these foreign concepts into their own writing.
Furthermore, research assignment guidelines that focus on the number or type of sources can
lead students to view information as an object, and to conceive of research as a bounded, static
product rather than grasping the dynamic and collaborative nature of inquiry.
Social bookmarking sites such as Diigo can help shift the focus from a final product to the
experience of inquiry, as well as repositioning research as active dialog. First, Diigo enables the
quick and easy bookmarking of the various informal conversations that lead to formal
scholarship. Students’ exposure to conversation in context (blogs, tweets, discussion) breaks
down academic barriers by helping their understanding of research as an active conversation.
This focus on the context also means that students can provide much more purposeful critical
evaluation of sources rather than following teacher-imposed criteria. Second, the participatory
nature of social bookmarking in the class Diigo library mimics the interconnected nature of
research and the social construction of knowledge. By enabling students to work collaboratively
and draw on other students’ work and expertise, research becomes more active and meaningful.
Finally, the social nature of Diigo means that students are curating a set of topical resources
within a community as one would in civic, social, or academic environments. This provides an
audience beyond the teacher, making research activities more authentic.
View chapter

Book
2013, The Plugged-In Professor
Caroline Sinkinson, Alison Hicks
Chapter
A New Course on R&D Project Management in Computer
Science and Engineering: Subjects Taught, Rationales Behind,
and Lessons Learned
9 Part 8: Learn How to Write SCI Journal Papers of the Research Type
A research paper is not that easy to generate and definitely not in one semester. Consequently,
only a precise template for writing research papers is elaborated down to details, and students are
asked to bring their previously concluded research rewritten according to the template just
described. Students without previous research experience are given an opportunity, in a follow-
up research-oriented course, to do a research project and to write a research paper from scratch.
In the course described here, one can only teach theoretical issues (see Refs. [9,10]), and one can
encourage students, for extra homework credit, to write a research paper about their research
conducted before the course started, using the formalism taught, step by step. Therefore,
homework #8 is optional, for extra classroom credit.
View chapter

Book series
2017, Advances in Computers
Veljko Milutinović, ... Danilo Furundzic
Chapter
Writing a research paper
Research paper format
The research paper format varies according to the discipline and the professor’s instructions, but
below is one example of the required format for an analytical paper.
[Research paper title page format: an appropriate title for the paper should be centered with
major words capitalized.]
Research Paper Title
Student Name
E-mail address
Course Number
Date
[Research paper body format: distinguish between topic headings and subtopics/subheadings; for
example, center main topics or headings, left-align subtopics/subheadings.]
Introduction
Background information about the topic of the study and importance of the study. (The
importance of the study may come at the beginning or the end of the introduction section.)
Purpose of the study
Clear, concise and focused purpose of the study: the problem statement including sub-problems.
Research questions or hypotheses
Clearly state the specific research questions or hypotheses. Choose one but not both. Use
the present tense and number appropriately: R1, R2, etc. for research questions; H1, H2, etc, for
hypotheses.
Definitions
List relevant terms or acronyms and their definitions. Properly cite the source(s) of the
definitions.
Limitations and delimitations of the study
State what is included in the study and what is excluded from the study.
Assumptions
State the assumptions embedded in the research design.
Importance of the study
End the introduction section with a statement about the importance of the study unless this is
addressed in the introductory paragraphs.
Literature review
The literature review paints the background for the research, creating a frame of reference and
context. Research builds upon previous research so it is important to recognize and credit
previous studies that are similar in topic and methodology.
Use subtopics if appropriate. Some topics have a previous body of research that is related to the
topic and methodology but students may find research related to the topic and other studies that
use the same or similar methodology but few or no previous studies that use the same
methodology to study the same topic. In this instance, it is appropriate to have a subtopic on
studies related to the subject or topic of the study and another subtopic related to studies that use
the same methodology as this study on similar topics.
Subtopics should follow a logical flow. For instance, when reviewing the studies that use a
particular methodology, it would be useful to put them in chronological order within that
subtopic to indicate a progression of the research that leads up to this research.
Each review of a scholarly study should include a summary of the methodology and results. It
should be clear to the reader how each study reviewed is related to this study. End with a
concluding paragraph about how this study is similar to or different from the studies reviewed.
Methodology
Begin the methodology section with a description of the methodology used in this study. Include
details of data sources, how appropriate data are identified, and data collection
procedures (detailed enough so that it could be replicated by others). State how data are compiled
and analyzed, including software used such as Word tables or Excel. (For a research
proposal, the methodology should be written in the future tense; for a final research report, the
methodology should be changed to the past tense).
Results
Restate each research question or hypothesis (these may be used as subheadings), then the results
of the data analysis. Research questions are answered or addressed; hypotheses are tested and
supported or not supported by the data (do not use the word ‘prove’). It is desirable to use tables
(data in columns and rows) and figures (charts, graphs, images) to illustrate data analysis. Each
table or figure should be appropriately titled and numbered and referenced in the text (‘see Table
1’). Tables or figures longer than three-quarters of a page may be placed at the end of the paper
as an appendix and referenced appropriately in the text (‘see Appendix’). If the study is a survey,
include the survey instrument as an appendix. Number appendices if there is more than one
(‘see Appendix 1’). Data in tables or figures may be single-spaced or 1½ spaced. Journal or book
titles in tables or figures should be italicized or underlined just as in the text.
Discussion
Summarize and discuss the research results. Compare the results with the results of previous
studies reviewed in the literature review. Discuss possible general conclusions (using cautious
language) that may be drawn from the study results. End with a concluding paragraph that
suggests further research related to this study.
Bibliography (or References or Works cited)
List citations of works referenced in the paper in chronological order by author. Use the required
citation style (or the style of your choice if permitted) and be consistent.
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View chapter

Book
2010, Information Literacy in the Digital Age
Teresa S. Welsh, Melissa S. Wright
Chapter
Writing a research paper
How does one begin to write a formal research paper?
The first step in writing a formal paper is to determine the type of paper and the topic. There are
two basic types of research paper:
■
 In an argumentative research paper the author writes a thesis statement then text that
builds a case for the thesis in a persuasive manner.
■
In an analytical research paper an author uses research questions or hypotheses to
investigate a research problem in an objective manner.1
Topic selection
The next step is topic selection. Some factors to think about are:
■
What interests you?
■
What topic would be useful in your future career?
Another strategy is to browse some scholarly journals in the relevant field, browse a scholarly
database, or talk to a subject specialist such as an academic professor or a reference librarian.
Selecting sources
Once the topic is selected, it is time to search for scholarly sources. Typically, an
academic research paper should use several types of sources including journals, books,
encyclopedias, newspapers, and perhaps some websites.
■
Reference works, particularly subject encyclopedias and dictionaries, can
provide background information for the introduction.
■
Peer-reviewed research articles from scholarly academic journals can provide the most
reliable sources for the paper.
■
Scholarly books may provide in-depth information.
■
Websites may provide statistics, organizational information and other information.
Search terms
■
Once the topic is identified, list the terms and concepts that describe the topic.
■
These terms will become the keywords used to search library catalogs, indexes, and
databases for information on the topic.
Research topic example
As stated in Chapter 5, it is advisable to have at least one source for every page of content in the
paper. For example, for a 20-page paper, you would want to have at least 20 sources. You may
not use all of your sources, but it is better to have a few too many sources than to have too few
and have to scramble to find more at the last minute.
■
Topic: Alzheimer’s disease in women.
■
Keywords: dementia, cognition disorders, brain, senior citizens.
Outlining the paper
Once you have located and read the relevant sources gathered for the paper, think about the
various subtopics or areas that will be included in the paper. First brainstorm and list all the
subjects related to the topic of the paper, then use this list to construct an outline of headings and
subheadings for the paper. This will help you organize the paper in a logical manner. After the
outline is done, work on one section at a time. When the paper is complete, proofread for errors
and to check for logical flow and consistency. This is a good time to re-read the paper
instructions to be sure they were followed and to have a friend or colleague proofread the paper
and give you feedback.
Grammar checklist
1.
Do not use contractions in formal or scholarly writing, especially when writing formal
reports or research papers.
2.
Possessive its is not a contraction and does not contain an apostrophe.
3.
Do use bulleted lists in scholarly writing to improve readability.
4.
Be sure that items in a bulleted list or a listing in a sentence all begin with the same part
of speech, e.g. noun, verb, adjective, adverb. Using this method is an example
of parallelism.
5.
Use two spaces after periods, colons, and question marks when writing scholarly letters
and documents.
 6.
Be sure an independent clause precedes a colon. However, lists introduced by
a verb should not have a colon.
7.
Personal pronouns may be used in reflective, informal writing but avoid using first-person
or second-person pronouns in scholarly or formal documents. These documents should
have an objective tone and use third-person pronouns.
–
First person pronouns include the words I, me, my, we, our.
–
Second person pronouns include the words you, your.
–
Third person pronouns include the words he, she, they, their, him, her, it.
8.
Avoid ending sentences with prepositions, e.g. ‘Where is the meeting at?’
9.
Use a comma with the word which in a sentence as this word introduces non-essential
information; do not use commas with the word that as this word introduces essential
information.
10.
Capitalize proper nouns that are names of specific persons, places, or things. Do not
capitalize words that are not proper nouns. Use italics or underlining for placing special
emphasis on words.
11.
Within the text of a document, enclose article titles in quotation marks; book or journal
titles should be underlined or in italics. Acronyms of journal titles should also be
underlined or in italics (JASIS).
12.
Internet is now a proper noun and should be capitalized; e-mail and e-journal are not
capitalized.
13.
Use an en dash (not a hyphen) to denote the term through, e.g. (1999–2000).
14.
 The words thank you should be hyphenated when followed by a noun, e.g. thank-you
note. (Rule: Two adjectives preceding a noun are hyphenated, e.g. all-important fact.)
15.
Use appropriate in-text references; include page number(s) for a direct or indirect quote.
16.
Be careful about subject–verb agreement, particularly with Latin words: datum is singular,
data are plural; medium is singular, media are plural; analysis is singular, analyses are
plural; criterion is singular, criteria are plural; thesis is singular, theses are plural;
hypothesis is singular, hypotheses are plural.
17.
Tables (data in columns and rows) and figures (charts, graphs, images) should be
appropriately numbered and titled (capitalize major words in title) and should be
referenced in the text (Table 1).
18.
When creating tables, remember that numbers are right-aligned and text is left-aligned. 2
Research paper format
The research paper format varies according to the discipline and the professor’s instructions, but
below is one example of the required format for an analytical paper.
[Research paper title page format: an appropriate title for the paper should be centered with
major words capitalized.]
Research Paper Title
Student Name
E-mail address
Course Number
Date
[Research paper body format: distinguish between topic headings and subtopics/subheadings; for
example, center main topics or headings, left-align subtopics/subheadings.]
Introduction
Background information about the topic of the study and importance of the study. (The
importance of the study may come at the beginning or the end of the introduction section.)
Purpose of the study

Clear, concise and focused purpose of the study: the problem statement including sub-problems.
Research questions or hypotheses
Clearly state the specific research questions or hypotheses. Choose one but not both. Use
the present tense and number appropriately: R1, R2, etc. for research questions; H1, H2, etc, for
hypotheses.
Definitions

List relevant terms or acronyms and their definitions. Properly cite the source(s) of the
definitions.
Limitations and delimitations of the study

State what is included in the study and what is excluded from the study.
Assumptions

State the assumptions embedded in the research design.

Importance of the study

End the introduction section with a statement about the importance of the study unless this is
addressed in the introductory paragraphs.
Literature review
The literature review paints the background for the research, creating a frame of reference and
context. Research builds upon previous research so it is important to recognize and credit
previous studies that are similar in topic and methodology.
Use subtopics if appropriate. Some topics have a previous body of research that is related to the
topic and methodology but students may find research related to the topic and other studies that
use the same or similar methodology but few or no previous studies that use the same
methodology to study the same topic. In this instance, it is appropriate to have a subtopic on
studies related to the subject or topic of the study and another subtopic related to studies that use
the same methodology as this study on similar topics.
Subtopics should follow a logical flow. For instance, when reviewing the studies that use a
particular methodology, it would be useful to put them in chronological order within that
subtopic to indicate a progression of the research that leads up to this research.
Each review of a scholarly study should include a summary of the methodology and results. It
should be clear to the reader how each study reviewed is related to this study. End with a
concluding paragraph about how this study is similar to or different from the studies reviewed.
Methodology
Begin the methodology section with a description of the methodology used in this study. Include
details of data sources, how appropriate data are identified, and data collection
procedures (detailed enough so that it could be replicated by others). State how data are compiled
and analyzed, including software used such as Word tables or Excel. (For a research
proposal, the methodology should be written in the future tense; for a final research report, the
methodology should be changed to the past tense).
Results
Restate each research question or hypothesis (these may be used as subheadings), then the results
of the data analysis. Research questions are answered or addressed; hypotheses are tested and
supported or not supported by the data (do not use the word ‘prove’). It is desirable to use tables
(data in columns and rows) and figures (charts, graphs, images) to illustrate data analysis. Each
table or figure should be appropriately titled and numbered and referenced in the text (‘see Table
1’). Tables or figures longer than three-quarters of a page may be placed at the end of the paper
as an appendix and referenced appropriately in the text (‘see Appendix’). If the study is a survey,
include the survey instrument as an appendix. Number appendices if there is more than one
(‘see Appendix 1’). Data in tables or figures may be single-spaced or 1½ spaced. Journal or book
titles in tables or figures should be italicized or underlined just as in the text.
Discussion
Summarize and discuss the research results. Compare the results with the results of previous
studies reviewed in the literature review. Discuss possible general conclusions (using cautious
language) that may be drawn from the study results. End with a concluding paragraph that
suggests further research related to this study.
Bibliography (or References or Works cited)
List citations of works referenced in the paper in chronological order by author. Use the required
citation style (or the style of your choice if permitted) and be consistent.
Additional formatting requirements
■
Insert page numbers but do not number the first, title page.
■
Generally, double-space or single-space with an extra space between paragraphs (be sure
to follow specific instructions).
■
Parenthetical references should be within the sentence, before the ending punctuation
(Welsh, 2009).
■
 Include page number when referencing direct or indirect quotes. Use n.p. (no page) if
there is no page number (Wright, 2009, n.p.).
■
A research proposal includes the Introduction section, Literature Review section, and
Methodology section written in the future tense. For the completed research report,
change the tense in the Methodology to past tense, and add the Results section and
Discussion section.
■
Be sure there is consistency and logical flow to the research report. Do the methodology,
results and conclusion ‘match’ or address the introduction and problem statement? Is it
clear to the reader what research this study builds upon and how it builds upon that
research? Could the reader replicate this study?
■
Avoid using superlative, overly definitive language, such as best, most, very, etc.; instead,
use cautious language; for example, ‘results indicate’ … or ‘data indicate.’
■
Review the ‘grammar checklist’ for correct grammar usage in formal scholarly papers.
For examples of scholarly bibliometric research papers, see Appendices 2, 3, and 4.
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Book
2010, Information Literacy in the Digital Age
Teresa S. Welsh, Melissa S. Wright
Review article
DevOps and software quality: A systematic mapping
3.6 Research paper screening
After it has been decided that the secondary method of research is being used for the
research it is important that the research papers of the other researchers are looked into
and also the relevant papers are reviewed. After a good quantity of research paper has
been obtained the research paper are further classified into relevant categories. The
filtered papers are screened thoroughly and the best papers are selected for the further
research into the subject. The papers for research are finalized in this process.
View article