About the I-Search

Overall Description

The subject of the search will be, we hope, of great interest to you, and must be explored
■ using libraries 
■ using databases 
■ interviewing experts 
■ using the dialectical process (that is, opposing viewpoints)

The process of exploring the subject is at least as important as the paper you produce. The process must be
■ deliberate
■ rational
■ recorded for verification

The product of your investigation will be
■ a 2000+ word research paper, with Works Cited page
■ a 500+ word narrative about the research process (based on periodic freewrites)
■ a “talk” or other project teaching the class about your topic

Choosing a subject

You are developing a twelve+-page research paper that will occupy much of your time over the next two months. It requires a lot of work, whether you are interested in your subject or not. If you are interested, however, the burden is infinitely lighter because you want the answer. So take your time to settle on something you really want to know. Settle on a topic that's rich enough for you to live with for quite a few weeks, and one that will lend itself to thinking, not just compiling "facts." Formulate your topic as a question, not as a word or phrase.

Getting Information

Information for your research paper must come from two kinds of sources -- recorded materials (primarily books, magazine and newspaper articles, and online sources, but this might also include audio and video materials) and interviews (in person or by phone). Magazines are often more up-to-date on a subject than books; real people are often most up to date of all. The balance you strike between books and interviews will depend on the nature of your subject, but you must do both.

Dialectic (opposing viewpoints)

The dialectical process is how we describe a research project that uses information from sources which disagree with each other. The easiest way to picture this for most students is to think of a topic as "controversial." That is, there are different sides to the issue, and your research process must represent the thinking of both sides and come to a conclusion about them. Your topic does not really need to have this for and against quality, however. Experts are not for or against heart attacks, for instance, yet there is quite a bit of disagreement among them over exactly what causes heart attacks and how to prevent them. As long as your paper reflects differences in thinking among experts, it will fulfill the dialectic requirement.

Process

The process you use must be deliberate because it is impossible to discover anything meaningful about a large subject just a few days before the paper is due. A good investigation takes a lot of time, not just in the actual working out of the problem, but in the simmering that will go on in the back of your head. To be blunt, you've got to make constant progress on your research paper; you can't put it off just because the final deadline seems so far away.

The process must also be rational. That is, you follow a plan, search for material and take notes methodically -- with a goal in mind of what you expect to learn. You record the story of your search (in periodic freewrites) so that you can reflect on and evaluate the learning process you went through in a quarter's worth of reading, thinking, interviewing, discovering, and writing about your subject.

Writing the Research Paper

Your final product is a paper, in five parts:

1. What I Know & Why I Investigated This Subject: First, it is important to record what you knew, and did not know, about your subject before you started your research. This helps to insure that you are quite clear in your own mind what you are looking for, and helps to measure, at the end of your search, the distance you have covered. There is no need to research what you already know about. The point is to increase your knowledge, not repeat it. Second, by exploring the reasons you are drawn to this area of investigation and what you hope to find out from it, you will establish clear goals for your project.

You will be required to draft part 1 and type a final copy before you have advanced too far with your research. (Minimum 200 words)

2. The Outline: A detailed and specific outline is written as a checkpoint, but must be revised and turned in with your final paper.

3. The Paper: This is the formal presentation of the knowledge that you have at the end of your search, the conclusions that you have drawn. This section is organized along the lines of a formal research paper. Its topic is not you but the question you explored. It uses the conventional expository methods of supporting assertions as well as the conventional bibliographic methods of crediting others with their ideas or words. A successful Part 3 can be read in isolation from Parts 1 and 2, and will convey to the reader what you know about the subject. (Minimum 3000 words)

4. Works Cited: This is the list of the sources of information that ultimately became part of your paper. (Minimum 10 print sources and 1 interview)

5. The Reflective Narrative: This is the part you'll write last, but you'll prepare for it in the meantime through a journal (freewrites). "The Narrative" is the story of how you went about this project. You'll tell about your successes and your frustrations, the lucky breaks and the efficient methods you have discovered. You'll describe what your interviews were like, and reflect on your strengths and weaknesses as a learner of the research process. You'll tell this story chronologically, looking back over the quarter from the perspective of being just about done. (Minimum 500 words)

6. The Project: This is the presentation that you give to the class, sharing your findings and knowledge. It may take the form of a “talk”, a standalone project, a video, or other format you discuss with me. Class presentations need to be 8-12 minutes in length and do not consist of reading large chunks of your paper.

Your final results must be word-processed and in MLA format. Google Docs & NoodleTools will be our primary applications.