Assignment: 209 Research Methodology

 Name – Janvi Nakum 

Paper No - 209

Paper Name : Research Methodology 

Roll no- 11 

Enrollment no –4069206420210020 

Email id – janvinakum360@gmail.com 

Batch- 2021-2023(M.A. Sem – 4) 

Topic : Methods of Note- Taking and Outlining

Submitted to – S.B. Gardi Department of English Maharaja  Krishnkumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

1.7.1. Methods of Note-Taking

Although everyone agrees that note-taking is essential to research, probably no two researchers use exactly the same methods. Some pre- fer to take notes by hand on index cards or sheets of paper. Using a computer might save you time and should improve the accuracy with which you transcribe material, including quotations, from your notes into the text of your paper. However you take notes, set down first the author's full name and the complete title of the source-enough information to enable you to locate the source easily in your working bibliography. If the source is not yet in the working bibliography, record all the publication information you will need for research and for your works-cited list (see 1.5.3-4), and add the source to the working bibliography.

1.7.2. Types of Note-Taking

There are, generally speaking, three types of note-taking

•  Summary: Summarize if you want to record only the general idea of large amounts of material.
•  Paraphrase: If you require detailed notes on specific sentences and passages but do not need the exact wording, you may wish to para- phrase-that is, to restate the material in your own words.
•  Quotation: When you believe that some sentence or passage in its original wording might make an effective addition to your paper. transcribe that material exactly as it appears, word for word, coming for comma. Whenever you quote verbatim from a work, be sure to use quotation marks scrupulously in your notes to distinguish the quotation from summary and paraphrase. Using electronic mate- rials calls for special vigilance. If you download a text and integrate quotations from it into your paper, check to see that you have. placed quotation marks around words taken from the source.

1.7.3. Recording Page or Reference Numbers

In summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting, keep an accurate record of the pages or other numbered sections (e.g., numbered paragraphs in an electronic text) that you use. When a quotation continues to an- other page or section, carefully note where the page or section break occurs, since only a small portion of what you transcribe may ultimately find its way into your paper.

1.7.4. Using a Computer for Note-Taking

Using a word processor to store notes is handy, but while you are doing research, you may find yourself in a situation-for example, working in the library-where you do not have access to a computer. Then you will need to write your notes by hand and transfer them into a computer later. Strategies of storing and retrieving notes vary (see 1.9 for using note files during writing). A few common strategies follow

💥For a short paper for which you have taken few notes, you may place all notes in a single file and draw material from it whenever you want.

  💥For a longer paper that makes use of numerous sources, you may create a row file for each source.

  💥Another strategy is to write out summaries and paraphrases of the source by hand and to enter into computer files only quotations, which you can electronically copy into your text as you write. At the least, this strategy will eliminate the time and effort and, more important, the possibility of error involved in transcribing quoted words more than once.

 By downloading quotations from a database to your computer, you of course do not need to transcribe them at all.

When you use a computer for note-taking, be certain to save all note files and to keep copies of them on paper and in a backup location.

1.7.5. Amount and Accuracy of Note-Taking

In taking notes, seek to steer a middle course between recording too much and recording too little. In other words, try to be both thorough and concise. Above all, strive for accuracy, not only in copying words for direct quotation but also in summarizing and paraphrasing authors' ideas.

1.8. OUTLINING

1.8.1. Working Outline

A Useful Intermediate Activity

Some withers like to work from an outline: others do not. For research papers, nutlining can be a particularly useful intermediate activity be- tween research and writing In fact, some instructors require student to hand in an outline with the final draft. Others require a draft outline earlier, asking the student to submit not only a topic for the paper but also a tentative list of subtopics for research. They then suggest that this working outline be continually revised-items dropped, added, modified-as the research progresses. Instructors who require submission of a research project portfolio (see 1.9.4) sometimes ask that at least one version of the working outline be included in the portfolio in addition to the final outline (see 1.8.3).

An Overall View of the Paper

You may find a series of outlines helpful, whether or not your instructor for requires them, especially if you are a beginning writer of research papers An outline will help you to get an overall view of your paper and, perhaps more important, to figure out how each section of the paper relates to the others. Thus, developing an outline can help you to see the logical progression of your argument. A working outline will also make it easier to keep track of all important aspects of your subject and to focus your research on relevant topics. Continual revision of the working outline, moreover, will encourage you to change your thinking and your approach as new information modifies your understanding of the subject.

Creating a Computer File for Each Version

Word-processing programs commonly have an outlining feature that offers several formats with automatic numbering and lettering. It is probably best to create a different computer file for each version of an outline. For example, when you save the first version, give it a name like "outline 1." When you are ready to revise the outline, open the Best version, choose Save As to save a copy of the file, and give the copy a new name (e.g., "outline 2"). The open file is now the copy. which you can revise. The first version remains unchanged. If you become dissatisfied with the way the second draft or a subsequent one is progressing, you can discard it. return to an earlier draft, which is stored untouched on the disk, and begin revising in another direction. Printing out each new version will let you compare it more easily with other versions.

1.8.2. Thesis Statement

An Answer to a Question or Problem

As you get closer to writing, you can begin to shape the information you have at hand into a unified, coherent whole by framing a thesis statement for your paper: a single sentence that formulates both your topic and your point of view. In a sense, the thesis statement is your answer to the central question or problem you have raised. Writing this statement will enable you to see where you are heading and to remain on a productive path as you plan and write. Try out different possibilities until you find a statement that seems right for your pur- pose. Moreover, since the experience of writing may well alter your original plans, do not hesitate to revise the thesis statement as you write the paper.

Purpose and Audience

Two factors are important to the shaping of a thesis statement-your purpose and your audience: 

• What purpose will you try to achieve in the paper? Do you want to describe something, explain something, argue for a certain point of view, or persuade your reader to think or do something? 

• What audience are you writing for? Is your reader a specialist on the subject? someone likely to agree or disagree with you? someone likely to be interested or uninterested in the subject?

The answers to these questions should to a large extent give your research the appropriate slant or point of view not just in your thesis statement but also in the final outline and the paper itself.

Requirements and Assistance of the Instructor

Many instructors require student to submit thesis statements for approval some two or three weeks before the paper is due. The statement is often included in a research project portfolio (soe 1.9.4). If you have difficulty writing a thesis statement, talk with your instructor about the research you have done and about what you want to say: given this information, your instructor can probably help you frame an ap- propriate thesis statement

1.8.3. Final Outline

From Working Outline to Final Outline

After you have a satisfactory thesis statement, you can begin trans- forming your working outline into a final one. This step will help you organize your ideas and the accumulated research into a logical. fluent, and effective paper. Again, many instructors request that final outlines be submitted with papers or included in a research project portfolio (see 1.9.4).

Deleting Irrelevant Material

Start by carefully reviewing all your notes to see how strongly they will support the various points in the working outline. Next, read over your working cutline critically and delete everything that is ir- relevant to the thesis statement or that might weaken your argument. Eliminating material is often painful since you might have an understandable desire to use everything you have collected and to im- press your readers (especially teachers) with all the work you have done and with all you now know on the subject. But you should resist these temptations, for the inclusion of irrelevant or repetitive material will lessen the effectiveness of your paper. Keep your thesis statement and your audience in mind. Include only the ideas and in- formation that will help you accomplish what you have set out to do and that will lead your readers to care about your investigation, your presentation, and your conclusions.

Shaping a Structure for the Paper

As you continue to read, reread, and think about the ideas and information you have decided to use, you will begin to see new connections between items, and patterns of organization will suggest themselves. Bring related material together under general headings, and arrange these sections so that one logically connects with another Then order the subjects under each heading so that they, too, proceed logically. Finally, plan an effective introduction and a conclusion appropriate to the sequence you have worked out.

Organizing Principles

  💫Common organizing principles include 

  💫chronology useful for historical discussions-eg, how the Mexi We developed) 

  💫cause and effect (eg, the consequences a scientific discovery will have)

  💫process (eg. How a politician got elected) 

  💫deductive logic, which moves from the general to the specific (e.g.. from the                          problem of violence in the United States to violence in-volving handguns)

  💫inductive logic, which moves from the specific to the general (e.g.. from violence                involving handguns to the problem of violence in the United States)

Methods of Development

As you choose an organizational plan, keep in mind the method or methods you will use in developing your paper. For example, which of the following do you plan to accomplish? 

  💢to define, classify, or analyses something 

  💢to use descriptive details or give examples 

  💢to compare or contrast one thing with another

  💢to argue for a certain point of view

The procedures you intend to adopt will influence the way you arrange your material, and they should be evident in your outline.

Integrating Quotations and Sources is also a good idea to indicate in the outline, specifically and precisely, the quotations and sources you will use. All this planning will take a good deal of time and thought, and you may well make several preliminary outlines before arriving at the one you will follow. But the time and thought will be well spent. The more planning you do. the easier and more efficient the writing will be.

Types of Outlines

If the final outline is only for your use, its form will have little importance. If it is to be submitted, your instructor will probably discuss the various forms of outline and tell you which to use. Whatever the form, maintain it consistently. The two most common forms are the topic outline (which uses only short phrases throughout) the sentence outline (which uses complete sentences throughout)

Labeling Parts of an Outline

The descending parts of an outline are normally labeled in the following order:

1.

    A.

         1.

              a.

                  (1)

                        (a)

                         (b)

                    (2)

                2.

       B

II.

Logic requires that there be a II to complement a 1. a B to complement an A. and so forth.

Creating Computer Files for Major Topics

If you have stored your notes in your computer, a helpful intermediate activity between outlining and writing is to incorporate your notes into your outline. Using this strategy, you should create a separate file for each major topic of your outline and shift relevant material, in ap- propriate order, from note files into the various topic files. Then, as you write, you can call up the topic files one by one and blend mate- rial from them into the text of the paper. Be sure to save and to back up your outline files.

Work Cited

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Modern Language Association of America, 2009. Accessed 30 March 2023.

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