Prepared by Jane Lenz Elder,
Reference Librarian, Bridwell Library

 

Pick a topic that interests you.  If you do not like it at the beginning of the semester, you will hate it at 2:00 a.m. the day before the paper is due. When considering a particularly large project, such as a thesis or dissertation, exercise the same care you would when selecting a spouse. You will live with it just as intimately and possibly just as long.

 

Start broad and shallow.  Explore the topic in a superficial way using tertiary sources such as encyclopedias, subject-specific dictionaries, text books, popular articles, etc. Browsing through a reference room is an excellent way to start. Note what strikes you as interesting and pay particular attention to any specialized terms or turns of phrase. These will come in handy later on. If you are looking at an encyclopedia article, note the bibliography at the end, which usually provides titles of the standard works in that field (be mindful of publication dates, which indicate just how old the cited scholarship is).

 

Once you are interested, begin to dig deeper. Using keyword and keyword Boolean searches (this is where those specialized terms/turns of phrase come in handy), explore Poni (SMU's online catalog), citation databases like ATLA, and full-text databases like EbscoHost's Philosophy & Religion. Keyword searching allows you to cast a broad net to catch any likely material suitable for your project. As you explore, watch for frequently recurring authors, so you can begin to get a feel for people prominent in this subject area and later search by their names. In Poni, take note of the subject headings of books that seem most appropriate. Subject headings are created by the Library of Congress in controlled, rather than natural, language. So when you find a good one, write down the wording and dashes in the exact order they appear. If keyword searching allows you to throw out a broad net in which to catch everything that swims by, then subject headings are like spear fishing. They allow you to narrow your focus and search with great precision.

 

Evaluating sources.  Just as you do not (or at least should not) get into cars with people unknown to you, do not get into books and articles with strange authors. Always evaluate your sources. A book's presence in a library or an article's presence in a database does not guarantee that it is a worthy or worthwhile source for your topic. This is particularly important to bear in mind when looking at web sites.

 

Taking notes and plagiarism. As Pulitzer-prize winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin has recently discovered, sloppy note taking is no defense against accusations of plagiarism. Take notes carefully. If you are quoting directly from your sources BE SURE TO USE QUOTATION MARKS, or some other equally-obvious indicator. You will never remember six weeks from now that any given sentence was a direct quote or your own paraphrase. The penalities for plagiarism are severe, so it's better to play it safe.

Perkins School of Theology:
Statement on Academic Responsibility

 

Each student at Perkins is expected to adhere to rigorous standards of academic honesty. Plagiarism and other acts of academic dishonesty are regarded as serious offenses and are treated accordingly. The faculty has adopted a statement on academic responsibility for the general guidance of students in these matters; a copy is furnished to each student upon matriculation. Students are advised to consult with their course instructors if they have any questions about expectations and procedures in this regard.

 

Outlines. Yes, they are a drag.  Yes, they remind you of your 9th grade English teacher. Yes, they waste precious time if you have left everything until the last minute. BUT, outlines are your friends.  They organize you.  They allow you to map out where you are going, and they help you to get there. They highlight the holes in your research and they keep you from straying too far off the point.  And like your 9th grade English teacher, they make you think.  About the material.  About the most logical way to present it.  And about connections you might otherwise overlook.  They also remind you of the points you may inadvertently omit in a last-minute effort to get the paper done.

 

Steps to writing an outline:

• Ask yourself what is the purpose of your paper; what is your thesis
• Read and take notes with that thesis in mind (it will evolve as you go)
• List the ideas you believe your paper should include
• Group related ideas and arrange them in a logical order (general to specific)
• Create headings for each of these groups, which can evolve into topic sentences for the sections of your paper

Thinking and Writing. Note this did not say "writing and thinking." Before you begin writing, think about what you want to say and how you want to say it. (When you are stuck or stumped, it often helps to simply ask yourself, "What am I trying to say here?" Then answer yourself.) Outlines help tremendously in this process. Be sure to begin with a clearly stated thesis that the paper will prove, and conclude with a summary of the paper's main points as they relate to the thesis. A tip from Ernest Hemingway: never walk away from your writing when you are feeling frustrated with it. It makes it twice as hard to come back. Try instead to break off at a point when you know exactly where you are going next, so you can approach that blank sheet of paper or blank computer screen with confidence and perhaps even eagerness.

 

Proofreading. Dew knot depend one spell czech to ketch miss steaks. Certainly the spell check feature helps cut down on errors, but nothing beats going over a paper with your own eyes. Except perhaps going over a paper with a fresh set of eyes. Got any friends with good grammar and a lot of free time? Treat them to a chocolate éclair or a six-pack of the liquid refreshment of their choice in return for reading your paper. You will be amazed at the number of mistakes that can get by you when your eyes are tired.

 

For further assistance, see:
Nancy Jean Vyhmeister's Your Indispensable Guide to Writing Quality Research Papers for Students of Religion and Theology.  Bridwell Call Number: BL 41 .V94 2001.

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