Glossary for Academic Research TCC D. Reiss atndpart.htm

Selected Glossary for Academic Research

Primary and Secondary Sources
- A primary source is the original writings of a person whose thinking, investigation, discovery, life, or imagination is the basis for the material, for example, research reports, philosophical discourses, autobiography, fiction, poetry, analysis of an issue.
- A secondary source is a work written about someone else's thinking, investigation, discovery, life, or imagination, usually a response to someone else's writing, for example, analysis of a poem, interpretation or explanation of a research project by someone other than the researcher, biography, literary criticism, book review
Bibliographies in general are lists of works on a particular subject, alphabetized according to the last name of the author or editor of the work and may be an entire book listing works on a subject such as Shakespeare's comedies, further subdivided by special areas of concern or may be a list at the end of a book or an article or media indicting sources used in preparation of the work.
- Works Cited
- Works Consulted
- Selected or Selective Bibliography or References
- working bibliography: list of potential sources that may or may not be useful to a researcher—usually more than the number of sources actually used in the final research project. These are the sources whose titles have been identified during preliminary research
- annotated bibliography: list of works on a particular subject, alphabetized, with each entry accompanied by a summary and short evaluation--sometimes assigned instead of a research paper
- bibliography of bibliographies: work, usually a bound book, that identifies book-length bibliographies and indexes on various subjects
Indexes to Periodicals and Media
- index: list of works that are parts of larger works on a particular subject (for example, articles or chapters or specific items within a book)--alphabetized by subdivision and/or by author's name--including page numbers where the information can be located. Many scholarly books have detailed indexes to help researches locate precise information.
- periodical(s) index: list of articles that have appeared in selected periodicals during particular time periods, alphabetized by subject and including page numbers
- periodical: work published more than once a year, usually at regular, fixed intervals
- newspaper: periodical characterized by cheap paper, disposable, daily, weekly, monthly--emphasizes current events
- magazine: periodical written for a general audience, usually with undocumented articles written by journalists and with considerable general advertising
- journal: periodical written for a specialized professional or scholarly audience, with carefully documented articles that have been reviewed by a panel or experts in the field--usually more reliable and more depth than magazine articles on same subjects
- database: computer listing of sources, often encompassing many years
Outlines
- Preliminary Outline: an informal outline (unlike the formal outline that you will write later) that helps you to focus your reading and research and saves time so that you don't read material you don't need.
- Topic Outline
- Sentence Outline
- Paragraph Outline
Notetaking and Citation Methods
- Summary: a brief restatement of all major, significant points, usually reducing the original by at least half or more. For note cards, a summary may be written in abbreviated formats such as outlines and fragments; however, all other summaries are written in paragraph and essay form.
- Paraphrase: Usually about the same length or same number of words as the original source, a paraphrase is a restatement of an author's words in a simplified version or in the vocabulary of the person writing the paraphrase. Think of it as a type of translation from a technical or highly specialized vocabulary to a more familiar and more accessible style. Paraphrases are especially helpful for dealing with some journal articles.
- Quotation: Direct quotations should be used sparingly in your paper. In fact, no more than ten-to-twenty percent of the paper should be quotations of your sources.
Plagiarism: Like experienced scholars, novice scholars are expected to uphold the standards of academic honesty and to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism, or academic dishonesty (cheating), is the accidental or intentional misuse of source material, particularly the failure to attribute and document sources properly and most serious, presentation of the words or ideas of another as if they were your own. To avoid plagiarism and the appearance of plagiarism, attribute (credit, document) all ideas, opinions, information, data, and statistics from sources.
- Scholars are scrupulous about giving credit to sources for the following reasons:

Gives credit to your own writing and ideas by distinguishing clearly which words and ideas are yours and which are not
Is a courtesy to credit to earlier researchers and thinkers
Follows scholarly convention and thus includes you in the community of scholars
Aids future scholars who might benefit from the same sources you used and who might want to cite you
Avoids the appearance of plagiarism

Common knowledge need not be documented, except when that common knowledge is itself rather specialized (even if half a dozen sources mention the findings of a particular study, only readers in the field will be familiar with it and a general audience will require documentation)