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How to Write a Research Paper

A step-by-step guide to writing a research paper.

Research

"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"

 

--Albert Einstein

 Image source:  Public domain.  Wikimedia Commons.

Source Types

Research typically involves using a variety of sources:

Articles  (newspapers, magazines, journals, found in library databases)

Books or eBooks

Dissertations

Encyclopedias

Proceedings or Papers

Statistical sources

Websites

 

The video to the left  provides an overview of the type of information you can find in sources such as books, encyclopedias, journal and magazine articles.

Your professor may also ask for primary or secondary sources (or both).  The video to the left, below,  will help you to distinguish between the two.