• 6-7 pages (2400-2800)
• Minimum three (3) scholarly references within the last 10 years
  • Can be scholarly articles, book chapters, books
  • Include more than three references
• 15% use of AI is acceptable
• Maximum of 2 quotes

Today's Class:

• Review assignment
• Discuss scholarly article requirement
• What is the best use of AI and how will you determine 15%?
  How your content helps build AI systems like Grammarly 
• Research Question
• Search strategy
• Searching
• Use of quotes

Defining the Research Paper

Narrow your topic:

• Start with a broad topic: Increasing motivation in the classroom
• Narrow to an age group: young children, teenagers, elementary, secondary
• Narrow to one or several aspects of the topic: academic achievement, grades
• Search databases and scan the literature for a topic of interest
• Focused question: How do grades influence motivation in elementary school? 

Evaluate your research question using the following (adapted from George Mason University's Writing Centre  Guide - How to Write a Research Question):

• Is your research question clear? With so much research available on any given topic, research questions must be as clear as possible in order to be effective in helping the writer direct his or her research.
• Is your research question focused? Research questions must be specific enough to be well covered in the space available.
• Is your research question complex? Research questions should not be answerable with a simple “yes” or “no” or by easily-found facts.  They should, instead, require both research and analysis on the part of the writer. They often begin with “How” or “Why.”
• Is your question unbiased? Questions should be open to exploration without an embedded or biased answer.

Your research should result in more questions

Need more information about writing a research question? Check Thompson Rivers University's site Creating a Research Question

Phrase your topic in the form of a research question:

Use this Padlet whiteboard to record your research question. Click on the T or sticky note on the right hand side and start typing 

Use key words from your question to develop a search strategy 

Search different spellings and plural/singular

An asterisk (*) or truncation symbols means I don't care how it ends  e.g. behav*

• In this example, the database would search "behavior" and "behaviour" in both their singular and plural forms

Search phrases

Use quotation marks " " to search for a particular phrase  e.g. "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder"

ERIC (Educational Resource Information Centre)

Education Research Complete

Google Scholar  Google Scholar provides searching of scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources. This MRU specific link connects users to items available full text via MRU.

Consider your sources and how they assist you in addressing your question

Avoid over quoting- limit to 2 quotes

Using Generative AI:

• You may find sites like Grammarly assist you with spelling and possible grammatical errors. In the process of correcting these errors, your voice or writing style may be erased.
• Make sure your paper reflects your understanding of and your passion for, your topic
• Once you've completed your research and read the articles, you can bring your understanding of your question to your final paper

APA Guide

In all academic assignments:

• You must properly cite all ideas and work that are not your own
• Citations ensure the integrity of your work
• Citations strengthen your work because they reflect the effort you have put into doing research
• Citations strengthen and add context to your argument.