7: Research
- Page ID
- 133556
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)At some point in your college career, a teacher may throw a research project in your face. The teacher might assign the topic to be researched – “Your question is: Where did the electoral college come from?” – or it might be open-ended, and in that case, you almost have free reign as to what you dive into.
THE STEPS
Step 0: Background
So, what does it really mean to do research?\(^{166}\) Research is a three-stage process: (1) seeking information that is new to the researcher, (2) interpreting, evaluating, and organizing that information, and (3) reporting that information to others to affect some action.
A more useful approach to teaching students about research, and how to do research, begins with re-thinking how we define research and research skills. If research is the process by which a researcher seeks new information, makes sense of that information, and then reports that information to someone else, then research ought to begin with a question, not an answer. Students need to be taught not to look for answers, but to look for problems that need solving and for questions that need to be answered.
Rather than limiting the conception of research to a search for certain facts or pieces of evidence or to a trip to the library, it needs to include the processes of primary research\(^{167}\)—research collected directly by the researcher using tools he or she has designed to find the information needed to answer a particular question. I am not suggesting that secondary research\(^{168}\)—the locating of previously published materials—be eliminated, but that it not be presented as the paramount form of research, as is often done in the research paper. Secondary research is a key part of the research process and usually precedes any primary research. Once a researcher has a question, it’s logical to see if and how others might have answered the same question. To be successful, students, and any researchers, must have a working knowledge of the question they are investigating. However, that information serves as a starting point for researchers, who then ask further questions to spur and design their own primary research.
Step 1: Why Does this Matter?
The focus of college composition\(^{169}\) is the types of writing students will encounter in college and their careers. Most of the majors students choose require them to conduct extensive research all the way through college. So, the students’ job is to learn how to do it so as to demonstrate their researching skills and increasing knowledge.
An introduction to college writing is based on understanding that the primary underlying skill of academic writing at the college level lies within analysis and the ability to synthesize information into one’s own words, citing sources as needed, with the confidence of one who feels part of a given community. The skills needed for good research-based writing involve reading the work of experts, assimilating that information with one’s own brilliant (and evolving) ideas, possibly mirroring some of the writing that suits each individual student, and becoming a clear, creative, and confident writer in his or her own right.
Step 2: What is Your Topic?
If the research project is open-ended, brainstorm with classmates, friends, tutors, or your teacher to figure out what your topic will be. Will you try to answer what vegans eat and why? Will you look up all the reasons behind teen suicides? Or will you research ways to start your own business?
Step 3: Who is Your Audience?\(^{170}\)
Are you writing for the classroom and your teacher OR are you writing for the public? If you are writing for a general audience, what is the best way to capture a wide range of readers’ interests? Should you provide background information that general readers would not necessarily know?
Step 4: What Types/Kinds of Research Are Required?
After nailing down a research topic, decide whether to use primary or secondary sources. When it comes to secondary, instructors may want a combination of popular and scholarly. And, lastly, sometimes, your instructor will push you to consider both primary and secondary that come from both popular and scholarly areas.
Types of Research
- Primary Research
- This is conducted first-hand and includes interviews, blogs and forums, surveys and question groups, etc. The key to conducting primary research is accuracy and privacy.
- Secondary Research
- This is the gathering of information that has previously been analyzed, assessed, or otherwise documented or compiled including: sources (print or electronic) such as books, magazine articles, Wikipedia, reports, video recordings, correspondence, etc.
Step 5: Finding Quality Secondary Research.
If the research project calls for secondary research, then you’ll need to seek out some quality pieces to use. If the research project calls for only primary research, then you’ll seek out experts to interview, create surveys for people to take, etc.
KEYWORD SEARCHING\(^{171}\): DO IT BETTER!\(^{172}\)
If you start by searching on good old regular Google (seeking out some popular sources), accurate terms or punctuation changes should be used to signal a more specific search or topic and lead to better results. Here are a few helpful tips:
- Searching a phrase? Put it in quotation marks: “textbook affordability” will get you results for that exact phrase.
- Searching for two terms that you think are related? Use AND (or +) to connect them: education AND racism, or: education + racism, will only bring up results that include both terms
- Using “OR” retrieves articles with an of the terms and broadens the search.
- Example: children OR juveniles
- Searching for a term that’s commonly associated with a topic you don’t want to learn about? Use NOT (or -) in front of the keyword you don’t want results from: articles NOT magazines, or: articles – magazines, will bring up results that are about articles, but exclude any results that also include the term magazines.
- Want to get back as many results on a topic as possible? Use * at the end of a word for any letters that might vary: smok*, will bring up results that include the term smoke, smoking, and smokers.
Search Engines
Choosing the appropriate search engine for scholarly sources is simple—if one is assigned or you have already become well versed in online research. However, if you are a newbie in the field of research, the following list of electronic search engines may ease some of your research stress.
- College Libraries:
- The NDSCS Library is called the Mildred Johnson Library. To hit up their search engines, go to ndscs.edu then Library then Resources.
- Populated by the U.S. Department of Education, the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a great tool for academic research with more than 1.3 million bibliographic records of articles and online materials.
- Google Scholar was created as a tool to congregate scholarly literature on the web.
Step 6: How Do I Check My Sources For Quality?
Option 1: the CRAAP Test\(^{173}\)
The CRAAP test is a test to check the reliability of sources across academic disciplines. CRAAP is an acronym for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. Due to a vast number of sources existing online, it can be difficult to tell whether these sources are trustworthy to use as tools for research. The CRAAP test aims to make it easier for educators and students to determine if their sources can be trusted. By employing the test while evaluating sources, a researcher can reduce the likelihood of using unreliable information.
- Currency means that the information found is the most recent. That said, students and educators may ask where the information was posted or published.
- When looking at sources, the relevance of the information will impact a well-rounded research endeavor. One question in this category to ask is how does the topic relate to the information given in a source? More importantly, the writers of the references should focus on the intended audience.
- Student researchers will look to see who the author, publisher, or sponsor is before they can trust the information. Their education level and the author's affiliations are important because this can help the readers know if the author is qualified to write on the topic. There should also be a contact information of the publisher or author.
- The accuracy of the contents in the source must connect back to the origin. Evidence must support the information presented to the audience. Evidence can include findings, observations, or field notes. The report must be reviewed or referred. It must be verifiable from another source or common knowledge.
- The questions that arise when looking for the purpose range from informing, teaching, selling, entertaining, research or even self-gaining purposes. Also, the author's intentions should be clear. Certain aspects should be taken into consideration whether the information given is fact, opinion, or propaganda as well as political, personal, religious, or ideological bias.
Option 2: the “IF I APPLY” Strategy\(^{174}\)
I – identify emotions attached to a topic
i. What are your honest opinions regarding the topic?
ii. Have you addressed your internal biases?
iii. Make an all-inclusive list of counter-opinions or counterarguments.
F - find unbiased reference sources that will provide a proper and informative overview of the topic
i. Conduct a general knowledge overview.
ii. Search for information in: encyclopedias, wikis, dictionaries, etc.
I - intellectual courage is needed to seek authoritative voices on the topic that may fall outside your comfort zone or thesis
i. Identify credible materials for all the viewpoints - yours and the additional you identified
ii. Reject unsound arguments - have the courage to accept that not all viewpoints are valid
A – authority
i. Who is the author (may be individual or organization) and/or publisher?
ii. What are the credentials and affiliation or sponsorship of any named individuals or organizations?
iii. How objective, reliable, and authoritative are they?
iv. Have they written other articles or books?
v. Do they specialize in publishing certain topics or fields?
P – purpose/point of view of source
i. Does the author have an agenda beyond education or information?
ii. What can be said about the content, context, style, structure, completeness and accuracy of the information provided by the source?
iii. Are any conclusions offered? If so, based on what evidence and supported by what primary and secondary documentation?
iv. What is implied by the content?
v. Are diverse perspectives represented?
vi. Is the content relevant to your information needs?
vii. Why was the information provided by the source published?
viii. What are the perspectives, opinions, assumptions, and biases of whoever is responsible for this information?
ix. Who is the intended audience?
x. Is anything being sold?
P – publisher
i. Does the publisher have an agenda?
ii. When was the information published?
iii. Publication date is generally located on the title page or on the reverse side of the title page (copyright date).
iv. Is the information provided by the source in its original form or has it been revised to reflect changes in knowledge?
v. Has the publisher published other works?
vi. Is this information timely and is it updated regularly?
vii. Is the publisher scholarly (university press, scholarly associations)? Commercial? Government agency? Self (“vanity”) press?
L – list of resources
i. Where else can the information provided by the source be found?
ii. Is this information authentic?
iii. Is this information unique or has it been copied?
Y – year of publication
i. What makes information “current” or relevant?
ii. Is this information current? Can you find more current or relevant information?
iii. Is the cited information current? Make sure work is not based on outdated research, statistics, data, etc.
iv. Is the information routinely updated?
Step 7: How Do I Cite Sources in My Text?
Okay, so now you have the research completed and you know which quotes and parts you want to use in your project/paper. And perhaps you have put your sources through the CRAAP test or the “IF I APPLY” strategy, etc. It’s time to put the information you found into your project/paper. You’ll decide first if you are going to paraphrase or summarize that information, or quote it. After that, you’ll figure out how to give credit – with either MLA or APA (or Chicago Style; there are many citation formats).
Quoting and Paraphrasing/Summarizing:
QUOTATIONS\(^{175}\)
1. All quoted material should be enclosed in quotations marks unless set off from the rest of the text. Typically, quotes should be 3+ words in a row. If more than 4 lines (MLA) are quoted or 40 words (APA) are quoted, a block quote should be used.
2. Quoted material should be accurate word-for-word. If anything was changed, brackets or ellipsis […] marks should indicated where the changes/omissions took place.
3. A clear signal phrase should alert your readers for each quotation and tell them why the quotation is there. Each quotation must be put in context.
4. A parenthetical citation should follow each quotation.
SUMMARIES (PARAPHRASING)
1. Any summaries of the text should not include plagiarized wording.
2. Summaries must be followed by parenthetical citations.
3. A signal phrase should let your readers know where the summarized material begins as well as tell them why the summary is included in your paper.
STATISTICS & FACTS
1. Any facts that are not common knowledge must have a parenthetical citation included in your paper.
2. Use a signal phrase to help your reader understand why the facts are being cited, unless it is clear enough without one.
MLA and APA Style
Typically, your teacher will require either MLA or APA style (they are the most common). Here are some basics to both styles:
Modern Language Association Style
- MLA does not require a title page, asks that the margins be 1” all the way around, requires double-spacing, and sometimes instructors will ask that a student’s last name and page number pop up at the top of each page on the right margin after the first page.
- MLA’s in-text/parenthetical citations ask for the author’s last name, most of all. If that’s not available, then throw the article title in there, etc.
- To be considered a block quote (also called long quotations) in MLA, you must have more than four typed lines that you want to quote.
American Psychological Association Style
- APA does recommend a title page, asks that the margins be 1” all the way around, requires double-spacing, and sometimes instructors will ask that a student’s title pop up in the upper left corner with the page number on the right margin.
- To be considered a block quote (also called long quotations) in APA, you must have more than forty words that you want to quote.
Also:
- Indent each paragraph when using MLA or APA style, as well as block quotes (a.k.a. long quotations).
- There is more to these styles – like how to use visuals and headings – so look online or in an updated handbook for more information on those specific writing situations.
This chart uses MLA style.\(^{176}\)
SITUATION | SAMPLE |
Using something word-for-word from another source? |
Put quotation marks around the excerpt, use a signal phrase, and include a parenthetical citation with the page number: McGuffin and Cross have said, “No one should ever eat cake without frosting” (22). |
Using something word-for-word from another source but changing word forms or adding words to improve clarity and flow? |
Put quotation marks around the excerpt, and put brackets around the segments you have changed. Include a signal phrase and a parenthetical citation with the page number: McGuffin and Cross seem to think that “…eat[ing] cake without frosting” should never be allowed (22). |
Paraphrasing or summarizing the author’s ideas without using the author’s exact words? |
Use a signal phrase and include a parenthetical citation with the page number: According to McGuffin and Cross, cake is one of those special foods that require an additive to be properly enjoyed, like frosting (22). |
Using something from a source but substituting in some synonyms? | PLEASE DON’T. This is plagiarism, even if you use a signal phrase and include a parenthetical citation. |
MLA SIGNAL PHRASES
Keep things interesting for your readers by switching up the language and placement of your signal phrases.
- In the words of professors Greer and Dewey, “…”
- As sociology scholar Janice Kinsey has noted, “…”
- Creative Commons, an organization that helps internet users understand and create copyright for materials, reports that “…”
- “…,” writes Deidre Tyrell, “…”
- “…,” attorney Sanderson claims.
- Kyles and Sanderson offer up a compelling point: “…”
A Full Paragraph Example Using MLA Format
The definition of the word "controversy" is tough to nail down, sometimes. For me, it's not those people who find ways to push everyone's buttons on a constant basis. No, those people are just mean. Instead, things that are "controversial" to me are things that are more hidden. Eric Haverty covers those people in his online post, but he also had definitions that fit my idea better. For example, he stated that people who "wear clothes reversed and inside out or none at all" are controversial. I agree. He also states that controversial people park where they shouldn't! Keeping with the traveling concept, he also states that controversial people bike wherever they want to, too (Haverty).
This chart uses APA style.
SITUATION | SAMPLE |
Using something word-for-word from another source? |
Put quotation marks around the excerpt, use a signal phrase, and include a parenthetical citation with the page number, year, and author if not already mentioned: Stephen Hawking (2013) describes the climate at Oxford while he was studying there as “very anti-work” (p. 33). OR The climate at Oxford during his studies is described as “very anti-work” (Hawking, 2013, p. 33). |
Using something word-for-word from another source but changing word forms or adding words to improve clarity and flow? | <sample needed> |
Paraphrasing or summarizing the author’s ideas without using the author’s exact words? |
Use a signal phrase and include a parenthetical citation with the page number, year, and author if not already mentioned: Stephen Hawking (2013) describes the climate at Oxford while he was studying there (p. 33). |
Using something from a source but substituting in some synonyms? | PLEASE DON’T. This is plagiarism, even if you use a signal phrase and include a parenthetical citation. |
APA SIGNAL PHRASES
Keep things interesting for your readers by switching up the language and placement of your signal phrases.
- In the words of Peterson (2012), “…”
- As Johnson and Allen (2006) have noted, “…”
- Einstein and Yvanovich (1956), researchers in physics, pointed out that, “…”
- “…,” claimed Carter (1998).
- “…,” wrote Dietrich (2002), “…”
- Linguists McAllen et al. (2015) have compiled an impressive amount of data for this argument: “…”
- Harrison (2007) answered these criticisms with the following rebuttal: “…”
A Full Paragraph Example Using APA Format
Americans are boastful and Japanese are reserved. These are widely held national stereotypes (Madon et al., 2001), but is there any truth to them? One line of evidence comes from cross-cultural studies of the better-than-average (BTA) effect – people's tendency to judge themselves as better than their peers at a variety of traits and skills (Alicke & Govorun, 2005). The BTA effect tends to be strong and consistent among American participants but weaker and often nonexistent among Japanese participants (Heine, Lehman, Markus, & Kitayama, 1999).
Questions:
- What might be the citation of the fake source used in “A Full Paragraph Example Using MLA Format”? Use Step 8 to create one.
- What are the full citations of the sources used in “A Full Paragraph Example Using APA Format”?
- What signal phrases – or connecting statements – are used in both full paragraph examples?
Step 8: How Do I Cite Sources at the End?\(^{177}\)
Once you begin to wrap up your writing – or this can be done while you are adding to your research paper – you’ll create Works Cited Page entries according to the format required. Essentially, you’ll want to find all the pieces you can that identify the source you used: author, title, dates, URLs. There are many websites that can assist you in this effort.\(^{178}\)
WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR A CITATION?\(^{179}\)
This is a general list of the information you might need to create a complete citation. Depending on the citation style you are using, different information may be required for each of these sources.
FOR BOOKS
• Author(s)
• Editors/translators
• Edition (if not first)
• Name, date, and city of publication/publisher
MLA Example:
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York, Penguin, 1987.
APA Example:
Gleick, James. (1987). Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin.
FOR ARTICLES
• Author(s)
• Title and Subtitle
• Name of source (magazine, journal, newspaper, etc.)
• Date of publication
• Volume, issue, and page numbers
• Date source retrieved
MLA Example:
Harlow, H.F. “Fundamentals for Preparing Psychology Journal Articles.” Journal of
Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55, 1983, 893-896.
APA Example:
Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing psychology journal articles. Journal of
Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55, 893-896.
FOR THE WEB
• Author(s)
• Editors/Creators
• Title of source
• Title of site
• Publication information
• Date of publication or latest update
• Site sponsor
• Date source accessed
• Source URL
Facebook Post:
SAP Books. “It’s Officially Live on Amazon.” Facebook. 30 Nov 21.
Tweet:
Priebe, Sybil. “Create the things you wish existed.” Twitter. 06 Dec 21.
https://twitter.com/ihaveabug/status...00812839649280
\(^{180}\)
Sample Research Paper Using MLA Format\(^{181}\)
Student’s Name
Teacher’s Name
Class Title
06 Nov 2001
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh of Homer
"Don't you ever, EVER talk that way about television." - Homer Simpson
Is it ONLY a cartoon?
Only in our culture of today would you find such a question. And only in our 21st century way of thinking could you find such an answer.
As many people around the world take in, view, breathe the pop culture that is created and thrown at us on a daily basis by technology, by television, by magazines at a frightening pace, it is hard to take any of it for something more than what we see - what we can suck in from its material presence in front of us. But with an animated show called The Simpsons that has proven otherwise.
From the show, a book has evolved. Many college students around the country now own this book, The Simpsons and Philosophy. However, it isn’t for recreational reading as you may think. It is a required compilation that accompanies other more ancient books in philosophy classes at various universities. In fact, the very man that edited the series the book appears in, Popular Culture and Philosophy, is an assistant philosophy professor at Kings College in Pennsylvania.
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Our friendly neighbor country to the north had good things to say as well. Jason Holt's review in Canadian Dimension said:\(^{182}\)
In this way, the show is a useful discussion-point. It draws attention to important issues often marginalized or ignored in today's cult of the quick-fix. In addition, it illustrates how, in certain cases, it is ordinary folk, not philosophers, who have gotten things right.
On another note, only one review found the book to be full of itself. Timothy Yenter's review for RealMagazine.com of The Simpsons and Philosophy said, "Each essay takes a unique approach, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses.... (but) Not all the essays are so successful. Some never deliver the package they claim to offer, or they suffer from oversimplifying philosophical ideas or Simpson characters."
Mainly every reviewer and/or critic had nothing but great hoots and hollers for the book, if not the show as well. It IS a great springboard into philosophy for those not well equipped or versed in the discipline. William Irwin currently uses the book as an incredibly helpful addition to the books required in his class titled: Fundamentals of Philosophy. He, and other philosophy professors from around the United States, find the book an essential contemporary text that allows students and their professors an outlet into a better understanding of how philosophy is interwoven in our American pop culture and daily lives.
It isn't just a cartoon. And it does have many deep meanings. It has influenced us enough to have professors writing essays for a book about it; it has influenced other professors to use it in their very curriculum; it has us talking and laughing about each episode with co-workers, friends, and family. There MUST be more to it then the two-dimensional characters and absurdness that radiates from it into our living rooms. "[It] has managed to be the only consistently funny, consistently smart source of political humor in mainstream American culture," asserted essayist David Kamp in GQ magazine (“Satire Still Superior On The Simpsons.”). Absurdness, yes; satire galore, yes; pop cultural influence in every 30-minute session, yes. And insanely enough, we learn from ourselves more each time we witness Homer and his family living their lives as we do. D’oh!
“Let’s go home kids.”
“We are home, dad.”
“That was fast.”
Works Cited
Holt, Jason. Rev. of The Simpsons and Philosophy. Canadian Dimension. 34.6. (2001):
45.
Kamp, David. “Satire Still Superior on The Simpsons.” GQ. 25 Sept 1998. 11 Oct
2001. <http://www.gq.com/writings/>.
LaCoe, Jean. “The Simpsons Give Philosopher Food for Thought.” Times
Leader. 14 Oct 2001. <http://www.timesleader.com/>.
“Simpsons Quotes.” Life Is A Joke.com. 19 Oct 2001.
<http://www.lifeisajoke.com/simpsonspeak/>.
The Official Simpsons Web Site. 10 Oct 2001. <http://www.thesimpsons.com/>.
Yenter, Timothy. Rev. of The Simpsons and Philosophy. RealMagazine.com.
14 Oct 2001. <http://www.realmagazine.com/new/>.
Sample Research Paper Using APA Format\(^{183}\)
*Note: APA Uses a Cover Sheet
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh of Homer
"Don't you ever, EVER talk that way about television." - Homer Simpson
Is it ONLY a cartoon?
Only in our culture of today would you find such a question. And only in our 21st century way of thinking could you find such an answer.
As many people around the world take in, view, breathe the pop culture that is created and thrown at us on a daily basis by technology, by television, by magazines at a frightening pace, it is hard to take any of it for something more than what we see - what we can suck in from its material presence in front of us. But with an animated show called The Simpsons that has proven otherwise.
From the show, a book has evolved. Many college students around the country now own this book, The Simpsons and Philosophy. However, it isn’t for recreational reading as you may think. It is a required compilation that accompanies other more ancient books in philosophy classes at various universities. In fact, the very man that edited the series the book appears in, Popular Culture and Philosophy, is an assistant philosophy professor at Kings College in Pennsylvania.
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Our friendly neighbor country to the north had good things to say as well. Jason Holt's review in Canadian Dimension (2001) said\(^{184}\):
In this way, the show is a useful discussion-point. It draws attention to important issues often marginalized or ignored in today's cult of the quick-fix. In addition, it illustrates how, in certain cases, it is ordinary folk, not philosophers, who have gotten things right.
On another note, only one review found the book to be full of itself. Timothy Yenter's review for RealMagazine.com of The Simpsons and Philosophy said, "Each essay takes a unique approach, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses.... (but) Not all the essays are so successful. Some never deliver the package they claim to offer, or they suffer from oversimplifying philosophical ideas or Simpson characters" (2001).
Mainly every reviewer and/or critic had nothing but great hoots and hollers for the book, if not the show as well. It IS a great springboard into philosophy for those not well equipped or versed in the discipline. William Irwin currently uses the book as an incredibly helpful addition to the books required in his class titled: Fundamentals of Philosophy. He, and other philosophy professors from around the United States, find the book an essential contemporary text that allows students and their professors an outlet into a better understanding of how philosophy is interwoven in our American pop culture and daily lives.
It isn't just a cartoon. And it does have many deep meanings. It has influenced us enough to have professors writing essays for a book about it; it has influenced other professors to use it in their very curriculum; it has us talking and laughing about each episode with co-workers, friends, and family. There MUST be more to it then the two-dimensional characters and absurdness that radiates from it into our living rooms. "[It] has managed to be the only consistently funny, consistently smart source of political humor in mainstream American culture," asserted essayist David Kamp in GQ magazine (“Satire Still Superior On The Simpsons,” 1998). Absurdness, yes; satire galore, yes; pop cultural influence in every 30-minute session, yes. And insanely enough, we learn from ourselves more each time we witness Homer and his family living their lives as we do. D’oh!
“Let’s go home kids.”
“We are home, dad.”
“That was fast.”
Works Cited
Holt, Jason. (2001) Rev. of The Simpsons and Philosophy. Canadian Dimension.
Kamp, David. (1998, Sept. 25). “Satire still superior on The Simpsons.” GQ.
Retrieved from http://www.gq.com/writings/.
LaCoe, Jean. (2001, Oct. 14). “The Simpsons give philosopher food for
thought.” Times Leader. Retrieved from http://www.timesleader.com/>.
“Simpsons quotes.” Life Is A Joke.com. Retrieved from
<http://www.lifeisajoke.com/simpsonspeak/>.
The Official Simpsons Web Site. (2001, Oct. 10). Retrieved from
<http://www.thesimpsons.com/>.
Yenter, Timothy. (2001, Oct. 14) Rev. of The Simpsons and Philosophy.
RealMagazine.com. Retrieved from http://www.realmagazine.com/new/>.
Questions:
- What’s “wrong” with the block quote in these two research paper samples?
- What are the sources used in the research samples? Books? Articles? Web sites? How can you tell by looking at the end citations?
\(^{166}\)Snippet from = Witte, Alison C. “Research Starts with Answers.” Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Libraries, Digital Publishing Institute, 2017. CC-BY.
\(^{167}\)Primary research is research conducted by the researcher like first-hand interviews and surveys.
\(^{168}\)Secondary research is sites like Wikipedia that have the primary sources linked or listed, but they provide an overview of the primary research that has already been conducted.
\(^{169}\)Contributed by Ann Inoshita, Karyl Garland, Kate Sims, Jeanne K. Tsutsui Keuma, and Tasha Williams: Professors at University of Hawaii. Sourced from University of Hawaii OER. This story has been licensed under CC-BY 2.0. Updated Sept 9, 2019.
\(^{170}\)Contributed by Ann Inoshita, Karyl Garland, Kate Sims, Jeanne K. Tsutsui Keuma, and Tasha Williams: Professors at University of Hawaii. Sourced from University of Hawaii OER. This information has been licensed under CC-BY 2.0. Updated Sept 9, 2019.
\(^{171}\)These Search Tricks (also called Boolean and/or Proximity Searching) allow you to specify how close a search term appears in relation to another term contained in the resources you find.
\(^{172}\)Jeffrey, Robin. About Writing: A Guide. Revised Edition. OpenOregon. CC-BY.
\(^{173}\)Information gathered from Wikipedia. This page was last edited on 18 August 2019. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.
\(^{174}\)https://libguides.marshall.edu/IFIAPPLY
\(^{175}\)Jeffrey, Robin. About Writing: A Guide. Revised Edition. OpenOregon. CC-BY.
\(^{176}\)Jeffrey, Robin. About Writing: A Guide. Revised Edition. OpenOregon. CC-BY.
\(^{177}\)Most teachers do not expect students to memorize these formats. Just try your best. Use web sites like Easy Bib or Citation Machine if you feel really lost with all of this.
\(^{178}\)Here is one such website: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_...resources.html
\(^{179}\)Jeffrey, Robin. About Writing: A Guide. Revised Edition. OpenOregon. CC-BY.
\(^{180}\)Yes, sometimes using silly footnotes might work!
\(^{181}\)For another student essay example (argument) in both MLA and APA, head to this webpage =
https://roughwritersguide.pressbooks...say-example-1/
\(^{182}\)This is a block quote, which is used to emphasize information. Typically, one should have THREE sentences’ worth of information in a block quote, but this one has two. Oh well. Just breaking some rules over here!
\(^{183}\)For another student essay example (argument) in both MLA and APA, head to this webpage =
https://roughwritersguide.pressbooks...say-example-1/
\(^{184}\)This is a block quote, which is used to emphasize information. Typically, one should have THREE sentences’ worth of information in a block quote, but this one has two. Oh well. Just breaking some rules over here!