Essay Writing Guide for Social Sciences: Research and Referencing, Lecture notes of Social Sciences

Download Essay Writing Guide for Social Sciences: Research and Referencing and more Lecture notes Social Sciences in PDF only on Docsity! School of Social Science Essay Guide Planning, Research and Writing Table of Contents 1. Planning Your Time ............................................................................................................... 2 2. Understanding the Question ...................................................................................................... 2 3. Understanding Criteria Sheets .................................................................................................. 3 4. Research ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Reading and Researching Critically ................................................................................................ 5 Understanding Peer Review .............................................................................................................. 6 Avoiding Internet Sources .................................................................................................................. 6 5. Writing ............................................................................................................................................... 7 Planning and Structure ........................................................................................................................ 7 Defining Key Terms ............................................................................................................................... 8 Making Arguments ................................................................................................................................ 8 Writing ........................................................................................................................................................ 9 Proof Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 9 6. Referencing ....................................................................................................................................10 Referencing paraphrased ideas ..................................................................................................... 12 Referencing direct quotes ................................................................................................................ 12 Reference List ....................................................................................................................................... 13 7. Formatting ......................................................................................................................................14 8. Submitting ......................................................................................................................................14 In Hard Copy ......................................................................................................................................... 14 Via Turnitin ............................................................................................................................................ 14 Due Dates and Extensions ............................................................................................................... 15 9. Academic Misconduct .................................................................................................................16 What is Plagiarism? ............................................................................................................................ 16 10. Further Assistance ................................................................................................................17 Author: Amy McMahon January 2017 School of Social Science Essay Guide 2 1. Planning Your Time  Ensure you have a clear plan at the beginning of semester regarding when each piece of assessment is due, for each course, written in a calendar or diary. For each piece of assessment, work backwards to allocate time for:  Reviewing and understanding the question  Research  Writing  Referencing  Proof-reading  Seeking feedback from your tutor, lecturer or peers.  While some parts of the process will overlap, ensure you have left sufficient time for each phase, and do not leave your research and writing until the last minute.  See Student Services for advice and tips on time management. 2. Understanding the Question  When you are set an assignment or essay, carefully review the question or topic to be addressed. An initial review of the question will help you to understand when you need to do, what research is needed, and how to approach writing.  Break the question into parts if necessary. If there are multiple parts be sure to answer all of them in your essay.  Examine the question to identify:  Key words and concepts: Identify key words or concepts which must be considered and defined and incorporated into your essay. Often these key words and concepts need to be defined in the context of the essay topic.  Problem or issue set by the question/topic: Essay topics and questions in the social sciences often have an issue (or conflict) which you need to address, explore and adopt a position on. Exploring a topic or question allows you to be more analytical and successful in your writing.  Determining instructional words: Look for words which direct what you need to do in the essay. They will determine how you will research and structure your essay and argument. School of Social Science Essay Guide 5 4. Research  Once you have identified the goal for the essay, begin research with resources that have been set for the course. This will usually include key concepts, theories and topics relevant to your essay. Do not reference lectures – you have to seek the original sources.  Then, you must also go beyond material set for the course, in order to conduct comprehensive research. Most essays will have a distinct criterion related to research – ensure you read the criteria (see section on Understanding Criteria Sheets), and consult with your tutor or lecturer, to see what is expected, such as:  A minimum number of sources required.  Sources and references of a particular kind, such as first-hand accounts or peer-reviewed work.  Based on the criteria and requirements, begin your literature search, using the key words you identified in the question analysis.  Following the ‘literature trail’: Start with the textbook and readings set for your course, but go further. Textbooks will always have a list of references at the end, or Further Reading sections at the end of relevant chapters. Also look at the reference lists at the end of any books or articles you find useful.  Searching UQlibrary search for books and articles: The library provides useful ‘search techniques’ guides to assist in finding quality information effectively. There is also LIBRARY 101, a self-paced online tutorial that will guide you through all the things you should know about locating, using your Library and researching for your assignments.  Journal Databases: The library subscribes to many journals electronically. The library provides a range of guides to identify key databases with Subject Guides and also assistance with your search techniques. For the social sciences, start with Sociological Abstracts, JStor, Scopus, Proquest. You can find these here.  Google Scholar: Google Scholar indexes a large range of scholarly literature, but please remember to still evaluate your sources. Reading and Researching Critically  You need to ensure that the work you are reading, researching and referencing is valid, relevant and up-to-date. Read ‘critically’ – assessing arguments, possible bias and the validity of an argument. To begin, ensure the work you read and reference is: School of Social Science Essay Guide 6  Relevant to the topic  Relevant to the context (eg, if a question asks you to look at an issue from an Australian context, ensuring that the research you read is also from Australia).  Relevant to the discipline (sociology, criminology, anthropology, archaeology)  Fairly up-to-date.  For more information, see Student Services’ section on Beginning Research and Critical Analysis. Understanding Peer Review  Articles that are ‘peer reviewed’ of ‘refereed’, have been submitted to a journal, and evaluated for quality, value and credibility, by a panel of experts. This process helps to ensure the quality and accuracy of research.  Most journal articles have been peer-reviewed.  The library website allows you to focus your searches to only include peer- reviewed articles.  Watch this tutorial by the UQ Library for a description of peer review. Avoiding Internet Sources  Sources from the internet – Wikipedia, blogs, forums, think tanks - are often dumbed down, badly researched, not peer-reviewed, or have particular ideological objectives. You cannot always properly gauge the quality or intention of what you read online.  Think Tanks such as the Australia Institute (progressive, Green, welfarist) and the Institute of Public Affairs (libertarian, free market) and any number in the US and Europe, while often containing papers that seem tailor made for your essay, must be treated with caution. Few of these think tanks do not have an explicit political agenda and funding base, and unless you recognise and acknowledge this, you should not use them.  Information drawn from Wikipedia or similar sources cannot be referenced School of Social Science Essay Guide 7 in academic work, as the accuracy of this information cannot be ensured. You can always find the kind of details you find on Wikipedia in academic sources.  If you decide to reference material found via a general web search, it will be clear to the marker that you have not conducted thorough research. 5. Writing Planning and Structure  Before you start writing, and as you research, draft an essay plan – which concepts or ideas will go where and in what order. Work out the main ideas or key points you wish to make before starting to write. It is often helpful to draw a diagram or flow chart so you can visualise what you are going to write. Good essays will introduce each concept or argument in a logical order.  The structure of your essay will depend upon the topic and question, however, essays usually follow the following structure: Introduction –Introduces the topic, outlines the question, and how you will answer the question. Tell the reader what you are going to be discussing, and the key arguments that will follow. Body – Include your key arguments as separate paragraphs. The number of paragraphs will vary based on the length of the essay, the number of arguments you have and the required depth of analysis. For each paragraph, include a clear topic sentence that outlines what the paragraph will say, and how this links to the question. Conclusion – Draw together your key arguments. Demonstrate how you have sufficiently answered the essay question. Avoid introducing new information or ideas here.  As essay map, such as this, might help with your planning: School of Social Science Essay Guide 10 before proofreading.  It is also helpful to ask a classmate or peer to read your work, but make sure you have proof-read first, to develop skills as an independent scholar.  Student Services have useful tips for editing and proofreading. Checklist for Writing  Does your essay have a clear, logical structure, with an introduction, body and conclusion?  Does your essay clearly answer the essay question and align with the criteria?  Does your essay use up-to-date and relevant literature and evidence?  Is your essay within the word limit?  Have you proof-read your essay? School of Social Science Essay Guide 11 6. Referencing  ‘Referencing’ describes acknowledging other authors when you use their ideas in your essay, using their name and date of publication to identify a particular publication. Your essays MUST include in-text references, and a reference list at the end. You will see different referencing styles in the articles and books you read for your course.  The purpose of using referencing is to acknowledge the work and ideas of other people as used within your own written work. Referencing conventions should be followed when you are:  quoting the exact words of another author;  closely summarising a passage from another author; or  using an idea or material which is directly based on the work of another author.  Referencing conventions are used to:  assist a reader’s further research in the same area of study;  add an expert’s authority to your claims; and  give credit to the work of others.  There are different styles that have different directions for formatting. In the School of Social Science we use the author-date style of referencing, as opposed to footnote and endnote referencing. There are two common styles - APA and Harvard – that differ according to order and punctuation. Your lecturer will tell you which style they want you to use. Review the library guides (APA and Harvard) in detail.  All references cited within the body of your essay must be acknowledged in an accompanying reference list which should be alphabetically listed on a separate page, attached to the back of your assignment. It is not a convention in this School to do bibliographies. Only sources cited in your essay should be included in your reference list.  There is no set number of references, however, for an essay up to 2000 words you would usually be expected to have consulted approximately eight to ten works. Be sure to keep a record of the works you consult as you are researching. School of Social Science Essay Guide 12 Referencing paraphrased ideas  When you find important and relevant information in a source, you can paraphrase or re-phrase this work, re-writing using your own words, expression and sentence structure. You then need to acknowledge the original author/thinker/researcher using an in-text reference.  Two styles of in-text referencing for paraphrasing are presented here. Referencing direct quotes  Where appropriate, you can also include direct quotes from sources. Use direct quotes sparingly – it is preferable to use your own words, to demonstrate your research and comprehension.  Ensure your quotes aren’t ‘floating’ – this describes when quotes are incorporated as stand-alone sentences. You need to incorporate direct quotes into your own work.  If the citation is a direct quote of an author’s work, double quotation marks should be inserted around the words used.  If the quotation is 3 lines or more in length, than the whole quotation is separated from the main text by a line, indented on both sides and single- line spaced. Quotation marks are left out. School of Social Science Essay Guide 15 Due Dates and Extensions  Due dates for submission of written work are designed to allow you to budget time and to prepare in advance. You must adhere to due dates.  If you are unable to meet a due date you must seek an extension from the course coordinator or tutor well before the due date. Any extensions asked for on, or close to, the due date will require a medical certificate. Find the form to apply for an extension here.  Work submitted late without an authorised extension of time may attract penalties (see each course outline for details).  Any student with a disability who may require alternative academic arrangements, including assessment, in the course/program is encouraged to seek advice at the commencement of the semester from a Disability Adviser at Student Support Services. Please refer to:  UQ Policy for Students with a Disability  Disability Action Plan  Disability Services Checklist for Submission  Have you saved the most up-to-date version of your essay for printing/uploading?  Have you proof-read your essay?  Have you correctly formatted your essay? School of Social Science Essay Guide 16 9. Academic Misconduct  Academic Misconduct can happen when students:  Plagiarise authors they have read  Work together with other students and submit the same work independently  Copy another student’s work  Buy, are given, or steal essays  Take notes into exams, or have someone else sit the exam  Make up references or data  Hide library books, cut out pages or delete texts  Lie about medical conditions to get extensions  Have someone make major editing and proof reading corrections to assignments What is Plagiarism?  UQ has adopted the following definition on plagiarism (UQ, 2012):  Plagiarism is the act of misrepresenting as one's own original work, the ideas, interpretations, words or creative works of another. These include published and unpublished documents, designs, music, sounds, images, photographs, computer codes and ideas gained through working in a group. These ideas, interpretations, words or works may be found in print and/or electronic media.  The following are examples of plagiarism if appropriate acknowledgement or referencing of the author or source does not occur:  Direct copying of paragraphs, sentences, a single sentence or significant parts of a sentence;  Direct copying of paragraphs, sentences, a single sentence or significant parts of a sentence with an end reference but without quotation marks around the copied text;  Copying ideas, concepts, research results, computer codes, statistical tables, designs, images, sounds or text or any combination of these;  Paraphrasing, summarising or simply rearranging another person's words or ideas without changing the basic structure and/or meaning of the text;  Offering an idea or interpretation that is not one's own without identifying whose idea or interpretation it is;  A ‘cut and paste' of statements from multiple sources;  Presenting as independent, work done in collaboration with others;  Copying or adapting another student's original work into a submitted School of Social Science Essay Guide 17 assessment item  Plagiarism can be include:  Unintentional plagiarism - Careless or inadequate referencing, or failure to reference and intentional plagiarism.  Intentional plagiarism, which will be treated as academic misconduct.  To ensure academic integrity, ensure you correctly and fully reference ideas and quotes in your essay, by following the reference guides and keeping track of your research.  Complete the Academic Integrity Tutorial via siNet.  Review the policy on Student Integrity and Misconduct. 10. Further Assistance  Consult with your tutor or lecturer. They will have standard consultation hours, or in some cases you can make appointments, or discuss over email. While tutors are lecturers cannot read drafts of essays, they can give advice on structure and arguments.  Student Services offer regular workshops in study, research and writing skills.  Student Services also have a range of online resources and tutorials for learning skills.  The Library offers a range of research support, in person and online. Assistance and advice is also available via the ASKUS service in person or online via Chat  Student Help on Campus (SHOC) provide support for students regarding misconduct.  For further essay tips, exemple assignments, and contact with your Social Science HaSS Peer Mentors, visit the Faculty’s ‘Knowledge-Making in the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences’ Blackboard site, and click on Social Sciences (site to be released in Oweek). All students enrolled in HaSS first year courses will have access to the site via the Blackboard homepage https://learn.uq.edu.au (click on the site title under the ‘My Communities’ heading).