Research Writing and College Life » Research Paper Tips

Graduate Research Is Changing

Karen — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:31:34 +0000

Graduate research is a fundamental part of science world and a staple of many university and government research departments. However, several factors have brought about a change to the way funding and appropriations are made for scientific research. Namely, collaboration through technology has spurred on the level of graduate research to a new high as the ability of mentors to work closely with students excels results and depth of study. According to Frederick Grinnell, author of Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and Passion Meet Objectivity and Logic , scientific research is no longer the grunt work of graduate students but rather, could possibly be lucrative and productive if private funding were allowed to be introduced into Graduate Research Programs.
The ubiquitous nature of the internet and the ability of departments and researchers to stay in close contact has spurred on a far more cohesive research experience. An example of the trend in collaborative research can be witnessed in the publication of research studies. Years ago, one and two author studies were the norm. However, the majority of studies today contain many authors and can delve far deeper than in the past due to the ease of collaboration.

What this means for graduate students is that more freedom is a distinct possibility for research ideas. Depending upon funding, departmental flexibility and mentor availability, technology has opened the door for reassessment on how graduate research takes place. At the heart of the matter is funding. It has been suggested that private funding could be utilized to promote unique projects that graduate students come up with but universities do not have the time or funding to support.

A large stumbling block to allowing private funding was the liability of the university for programs not sponsored by them but done by their students. Technology allows monitoring of these types of programs between the university and private funding resources better than ever before. Graduate students need to change their thinking on future projects and embrace the notion of collaboration to reach their full potential.

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Using a Wiki to Organize Research Paper Notes

Karen — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:09:04 +0000

Wikis help organize College Research Papers

The Internet is one of the greatest educational tools to come along since one room school houses put up the first blackboards. On the internet, there are endless ways to help college students in their studies. One of the best organizational tools to come along for college research papers is a Wiki. Many students find that using a Wiki to organize information gathered on a research paper is a great way to keep notes all in one place and access them easier.

The word Wiki comes from the Hawaiian word for “quick”. A Wiki is created with software that can be quickly edited, changed and adapted to a conversational style of information management. Since information found on the internet can change frequently, the ability to update and change the information in the Wiki is important for the college student tracking a story, news item or adding to and subtracting sources.

Wiki’s can also be used for collaborative projects. Say several students are working on one research paper or term paper project. The Wiki can be used as a central storage for information. It also can contain written research that may be added to or changed by anyone that has permission to access the Wiki. It is a terrific idea for Professor’s to encourage the use of Wikis in their classes for collaborative projects.

One Wiki I found that illustrates the terrific use of this medium for college students comes from a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon, Sean McLaughlin. Check it out and notice how Sean has his research papers stored on the Wiki along with working drafts of the ones he is gathering information for and still writing.

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Romantic Love the Best?

Karen — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:41:23 +0000

So a Twitter friend of mine has a research paper on whether or not Romantic Love is the best kind of love. Tough subject but not impossible. She’s having a hard time getting it started so, I want to illustrate how to get a tough research paper topic started. I began thinking “who in history can answer this question for me?”. Well, right away Mark Antony and Cleopatra came to mind as the ultimate couple in love. So I look up their story and here is what I find…Seems that Cleopatra was a bit of a hussy and really wasn’t that into Mark Antony. She completely used him. So here is my opening paragraph as to whether Romantic love is the best kind of love, based on historical fact:

Romantic love is one of the greatest feelings one can have but it is not the best kind of love there is. Romance can cloud the mind and even change the course of history, as Mark Anthony discovered when taken in by the Cleopatra VII of Egypt. Cleopatra VII of Egypt was the most powerful woman in the world eclipsing all of her namesakes that had come before her; no small feat since her name was commonly used by her Ptolemaic ancestors, who were originally Macedonians. Born in Egypt in 69 B.C. the third of six children, she and her five siblings were in a life-and-death competition for the throne of Alexandria. To spare her life, she made the Great Caesar fall in love with her and ruled Egypt with him. When Egypt was threatened by Octavian and Mark Antony, Cleopatra worked her romantic majic on Mark Antony and, intuitively knowing how easily impressed he could be, she answered his summons to appear in Turkey by assembling the most splendid display of wealth possible, making the most fashionable entrance of the history of the civilized world. Romance novelists could not possibly have written a story more passionate or tragic. Upon seeing her entourage, and passing some time in her company, Antony fell completely in love with her, so in love that he fathered three children with her and bequeathing parts of the Roman Empire to her kingdom to split among their children. Romantic love led these men into the spider web of Cleopatra; romantic love clouds the mind and falls short of purity and goodness of true love.

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Amazon’s Kindle 2 for Research

Karen — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:11:32 +0000

Two weeks ago, Amazon released its second version of its eBook reader, the Kindle 2. Our staff purchased two of them and we have been using them for about a week. At first, all of us were skeptical as to the value of the Kindle 2 for writing research papers and doing research. However, after I read the cool things you could do with the Kindle 2 in the extended user’s manual in the Kindle, I have been completely sold! The Amazon Kindle 2 is a fabulous resource for writing research papers. Here’s why we love it…

The Kindle 2 works well for reading eBooks, is convenient and compact. It’s overall coolness aside, the Kindle 2 has perfect features built in for researching. Students will find the ability to make notes, highlight and upload the notes to their computer an excellent way to organize research for writing a research paper.

First let’s look at the Kindle 2’s ability to make notes. While the keyboard is a bit small for typing, the Kindle 2 allows the reader to type short notes (even a paragraph or two) very easily. While reading, the user can insert a small icon and bring up a notepad and write reminder or notation concerning the material. The note can be viewed later when you come back to that page (which you can bookmark or search via your searchable notes) or you can download the note to your computer.

Better than taking notes in the Kindle 2, the highlighting feature works terrific for underlining important material in the book. The highlighted material can be viewed when the book is read again or it can be downloaded to your computer. Absolutely perfect for reviewing the high points of a book for a test. For example, Moby Dick is downloadable free for the Kindle. Imagine being able to underline the important passages in the book as you are reading it and then downloading all the passages to a document on your computer for easy review before a test! The Kindle 2 makes this study method simple. Better yet, if you have a Moby Dick term paper, you have all the important quotes from the book, right there in front of you, ready to be organized and explicated for your term paper!

The drawbacks of the Kindle 2 are that it is expensive, especially for a student. Also, the selection of academic books are slim. However, judging by the Kindle 2’s popularity, the number of books Amazon will offer in the future will grown tremendously. Keep in mind that the classics have outlived their copyright restrictions and many books you will use for Literature term papers are downloadable free! All in all, I highly recommend the Kindle 2 for students looking to make researching and note taking a breeze.

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10 Tips for Writing College Term Papers

Karen — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:42:09 +0000

The average college student hates to write term papers. They take a large amount of time, topics are often vague and confusing, and formatting standards are complicated. However, with 8 simple tips, we can help make term paper writing simple and straight-forward. Just relax and print out the following suggestions to help make writing college term papers a breeze.

8. Choose a term paper topic you like. Be certain you are interested in the topic and can get excited about learning more about it.

7. Get suggestions from your professor. Professor’s like to know you are interested in their course. Ask him or her for advice on where to find research.

6. Do your reading and research someplace you like. Pick a favorite coffee house, a park or secluded spot on campus to get comfortable and dive into the term paper topic.

5. Make each research/writing session for small, incremental periods of time. Short, concentrated periods of time devoted to the topic keep the research and writing fresh.

4. Take a friend with you for a term paper writing session. Invite a friend or someone else from your class and write your paper together. Read the term paper to each other to make sure it flows, make sense and has a clear thesis.

3. Visit the writing lab. Take your project to the writing lab when you are half way through it. Have them check grammar, spelling and overall sentence structure.

2. Show your professor a rough draft. Generally, professor’s are glad to overview rough drafts of term papers in order to get the student on the right track with the assignment.

1. Order a term paper sample on your exact topic. Custom writing companies will produce a term paper exactly as you need it written. Give them your topic and they show you how it should be written.

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Plagiarism in College Term Papers

Karen — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:55:16 +0000

Plagiarism in academia is a misrepresentation of the authorship of someone else’s work. As for written work, Copyright law allows that once original text is written, copyright protects it. This allows an author to sell, lease or use her original material in any way she deems appropriate. Any writer, who willingly copies or uses another’s written work in any way without proper acknowledgement, puts himself at risk of dire consequences. He may also jeopardize the original author’s credibility and/or financial opportunities. Another cultural phenomenon that has rivaled the increase of student body populations in terms of the significance of the challenge to academic integrity has been the widespread advent of the Internet. Never before has such a wealth of data been available to be accessed by the general public. Although the implications of the Internet as an academic research tool are extremely beneficial, the inevitable downside of the Internet resources being exploited in various ways that defy the spirit of university academic misconduct policies.

The penalties for infractions against academic integrity can vary depending on the severity of the offense, ranging from a written warning placed in the student’s permanent school file to expulsion from the University. Plagiarism rides a razor’s edge that doesn’t always make a clean distinction between what plagiarism is and what it isn’t. Therefore it is up to individuals to discover the parameters of plagiarism in their institution or profession. The Internet offers over 500,000 sites on plagiarism and over 100,000 on plagiarism and the law, so ignorance of plagiarism’s consequences in inexcusable.

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Business Writing Skills

Karen — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:44:33 +0000

The importance of business writing skills learned in college cannot be underestimated. Once a student graduates and obtains a job, employees who possess superior writing skills help the organization achieve its goals, create high customer satisfaction levels, and lower the costs associated with business communication. The evidence indicates graduating students do not possess the depth of business writing skills needed. Therefore it is highly recommended that if a student does not have proper business writing skills, they obtain assistance in business writing from a professional term paper service.

Educators have long promoted the benefits of effective writing skills in personal and professional settings. Recently, accrediting agencies, advisory groups, and employers have stressed the importance of writing skills in attaining and maintaining employment, securing promotions, and for succeeding in one’s chosen career.

During the past six years the amount of written documents that crosses the average workers desk has increased by 600 percent. To get the attention of the reader the document must be clear, concise and professional. It must convey the main point within the first paragraph. The most important points must be made with the least number of words possible. Additionally, the tone of the document must match the needs of the intended audience. Business documents that do not conform to these guidelines put the organization at risk of lawsuits caused by ambiguous language and increase communication costs when written documents do not serve their intended purpose.

The importance of business writing becomes even more evident when the documents created are directed at outside stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, and investors. The evidence indicates the content of email communications can make the difference between satisfaction and dissatisfaction on the part of customers. Currently, a majority of an organization’s customer communications is by way of email. It is firmly believed customer satisfaction levels increase if employees are taught the benefits of clear and concise written communication when in college.

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The Perfect Gift for the College Student

Karen — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:46:47 +0000

College students are sometimes difficult to buy for because they are at an age when toys are out of the question (unless it’s a wii) yet socks and underware don’t cut it either. Paper Masters offers the perfect solution to gift buying for the college student. Why not get a college student help with time management, a guide to learning that is invaluable for any class and a garanteed step towards an A in any class?!? Who wouldn’t want to buy this Christmas present for any college student?

Visa, Master Card, American Express or PayPal!

Paper Masters has term paper gift certificates available that are transferable to any student and can be used at any time during the next semester. Good now through June of 2009, you can buy a term paper gift certificate for the college student in your life and get him or her on the road to success. Trust us, when its the week before a term paper is due and he is stuck trying to get the topic sentence started, you will be the hero of his universe when he can simply log onto Paper Masters, put in his term paper order, and receive a sample term paper, custom written exactly to his specifications!

Call Paper Masters today to learn more about our term paper gift certificates.

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Research Papers Gone Wild!

Karen — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:10:06 +0000

It is a very busy time of year for college students and sometimes research papers get pushed aside until the last minute. There just isn’t enough time in the day! Time mismanagement can lead to academic failure when trying to schedule in a research paper. In the short term, semesters where mismanagement of time is prevalent enter what researcher Leslie Perlow calls the “vicious time cycle”. Some students constantly function in a crisis mentality, continuously engaged in putting out fires and never having the time to retrench and work to prevent future crises. Perlow has found that in cases “personal heroics” prevail; health and welfare suffers as students refrain from helping each other and focus mostly on trying to get their own research papers pushed through.

Researchers cite numerous practices that are common sources of time-waste for students. Technology – email, the internet, MySpace.com, cell phones and laptops, among others – now make friends accessible literally anytime, anywhere. Such technology has had a significant impact on the number of interruptions and distractions students must contend with during the day. Wasted downtime has also become a major time sink. Time management and organizational skills are typically poor, and students lack a sense of focus or the motivation or capability to prioritize.

Effective time management skills are perhaps the most important determinant of student success in completing a research paper. Proper time management can also be critical to the success of an individual for the rest of his/her life. In scheduling time to complete major projects such as research papers, time management over the entire semester keeps life from “going wild”.

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Term Papers for Sale!

Karen — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:29:45 +0000

Term papers for sale! You see it all over the internet. Websites offering cheap term papers, college term papers, high school term papers and even graduate student term papers. No topic is too strange and nothing is too sacred for these term paper services to sell. And they sell them, the same papers, over and over and over. Originality is not the specialty of many internet term paper services.

Getting a term paper is pretty simple these days and professors know it! You have probably heard all the scare lectures from your professors that tell you they have access to all the term papers on the internet through the university and anti-plagiarism software. It’s true, they do and no longer can websites just post term papers for sale without being scrutinized by universities and software like TurnItIn.com.

Paper Masters has been doing the “term papers for sale” business right for over 10 years. We don’t have a website with term papers posted for professors and software bots to browse through. Paper Masters custom writes each paper and they NEVER appear online or in a database! Our term papers go straight from our writer to you, and nowhere else! Don’t buy something that has been sold over and over. Get an original term paper that is custom written and avoid getting stung by term papers that are old and recycled.

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