REF Z 5301 .B5	Biography Index   Index of biographical material in works of collective biography, others books, and about 1,500 periodicals, and to individual biographies and autobiographies.
REF Z 1219 .C95	Book Review Digest   Excerpts from reviews of many books published since 1906.   Title and subject index.  Entry  appears during the year the book was published of the following year and is listed under the name of the book’s author.
REF AI 3 .E752	Essay and General Literature Index   Indexes thousands of essays and articles   in  books and some magazines.
REF PN 1022 .G7	Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry   Poems in anthologies are indexed by title, first line, author, and subject.
REF Z 5781 .P53	Play Index Author, title, and subject index to plays in collections and plays published separately.
REF Z 5917 .S5 C62	Short Story Index   Index to short stories in collections. Author, title, and subject approaches.

SUBJECT ENCYCLOPEDIA AND DICTIONARIES

REF N 31 .D5	Dictionary of Art   This 34-volume work has more than 45,000 articles as   well as thousands of illustrations and bibliographic   citations.  There is an index with some 750,000 entries.
REF RC 41 .G35 1999	Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine   A 5-volume encyclopedia published in 1999. It includes almost 1,500 full-length articles.
REF GN 333 .W67 1998	Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life Examines over 500 culture groups worldwide. Each of the four volumes covers a different geographical region: Africa, the Americas, Asia/Oceania, and Europe.

At Miami-Dade College, many course requirements include the writing of reports and research papers. As you advance in college, you will be expected to write an increasing number of papers, some requiring extensive research.  The ability to conduct research and write reports is an essential part of your career.   Knowledge of and practice in the use of library tools and materials advances this ability.

The following steps are suggested to help organize your efforts and make the preparation of a research paper less burdensome.  Your instructor will probably give you additional suggestions as to format and style and specific directions concerning his/her requirements.

1.  Begin work on your assignment immediately.  If you wait until the last minute, you may discover that the books and periodicals you need are in use by someone else.

2.  Survey the material available in the Library before you make a final decision on the direction you will take in your research.  Make a preliminary search in the online catalog and in the various databases or print indexes to periodicals.       

3.  If you find an overwhelming amount of material on your topic, choose a single aspect of that topic and restrict your efforts to the amount of material you can handle effectively.  Preparing an outline at this point is recommended.

4.  Prepare the bibliography/works cited/reference list carefully as you find useful materials.  Keep in mind to include all the necessary bibliographic information.  For books, this includes author, title, and subtitle (if there is one), edition, place of publication, publisher, copyright date, and pages used.  It is helpful to note the call number in case you need to refer to the book again.  For periodicals, this includes author and title of the article, name of the periodical, volume and issue numbers, pages, and date. If using a library database, keep this information as well, especially including the database used and the date it was accessed.  Having the bibliographic information for your books and articles will facilitate the writing of your bibliography/works cited and will save you the time and trouble of having to look once again for the material you used in your research. 

5.  Notes should be prepared with equal care.  The notes will help you develop your outline.  Specify the source of your notes including page numbers and distinguish between direct quotations and summaries of the information.

6.  Follow a logical order in your research.  Try to get at the basic facts first.  You will find references to additional material as you go along; remember to note such references for possible future research as you progress with your paper.  Encyclopedias often contain useful bibliographies at the end of the articles.  The librarians will help you with databases or print indexes and other reference materials that will lead you to investigate sources you might not have considered before.

7. When you feel that you have gathered sufficient information on your topic, arrange your notes according to your outline to determine if there are any gaps.  This is the time to make certain that you have completed your coverage of the subject.

8.   Be critical of the kinds of materials you use, especially when using the Internet.  You will learn that some sources are more authoritative than others.  If you expect to draw considered conclusions from your research, the materials you use must be the best available.

9.  If you have all the information you need, begin to write.  Fill in your outline with complete sentences using your notes and bibliography.  If you make direct quotations, remember to properly identify them.  Document your statements showing the source of your information.  Reread and check sentence structure and spelling.

10. If you have followed a logical order in conducting research and preparing your paper, you will be pleased with the results of your efforts.  The skills and techniques you have developed will carry over to future projects.

In sum, there are TEN ESSENTIAL STEPS to be followed in preparing your research papers:

1.       Choose a subject.
2.       Read one or two articles to understand your subject.
3.       Decide if you want to write about your original point of view (thesis) or controversial proposition.
4.       Make a scratch preliminary outline.
5.       Make notes from the books and periodicals that you have selected.
6.       Organize your notes and revise your working outline.
7.       Write your first draft.
8.       Revise the text of your draft and write an introduction and conclusion.
9.       Place parenthetical notes into the draft and prepare bibliography/works cited/reference list page.
10.     Polish and finalize your draft to end up in the format required by your professor.

Sample forms for endnotes and bibliographic citation (Further detailed assistance at Reference Desk).

Handouts in the Guide Series for writing papers according to either the Modern Language Association (MLA) or American Psychological Association (APA) style are available at the Reference Desk or in electronic format under the Guide Series link on the Library webpage. 

Sample forms for works cited in both MLA and APA styles

MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA)

Parenthetical author-page citation (included as part of the paper): (Konner 132)

BOOK

Bibliographic citation
Konner, Melvin.  Medicine at the Crossroads:
     The Crisis in Health Care.  New York:Pantheon, 1993.

Parenthetical author-page citation (included as part of the paper): (Kaplan 50)

ARTICLE

Bibliographic citation:
Kaplan, David A. “A Clear Path to a Barricade:A New Ruling Will Lead to More Abortion Protests.”  Newsweek25 January 1993:    
      50.

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA)

Parenthetical author-date citation  (Included as part of the paper): (Rule 2001)

BOOK                           

Bibliographic citation:

Rule, A.  (2001).  Every breath you take: A true story of obsession, revenge, and murder.  New York:  The Free Press.

Parenthetical author-date citation (Included as part of the paper): (Langreth 2003)

ARTICLE

Bibliographic citation:
Langreth, R.  (2003, March 31).  The new drug war.  Forbes.  171, 7, 85-90. 

ABSTRACT: A brief summary that gives the essential points of a book or a periodical article.

ALMANAC: An annual yearbook of statistics and other information.

ANTHOLOGY: A collection of poems, short stories, or essays by one or several authors.

APPENDIX: Material that supplements the text of a book, but need not be essential to the main text.

ATLAS: A volume of maps with or without descriptions.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY:  A history of a person’s life written by that person.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:  A list of books or other information sources relating to an author or subject.

BIOGRAPHY:  
A history of the life of an individual written by another person.

CALL NUMBER:  
A classification number which identifies a particular book and its location on  the shelves.

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:
Arrangement of events in  the order in which they take place.

CITATION: A reference to a text or part of a text identifying the document from which it was
taken.

CLASSIFICATION NUMBERS:  
A number used to designate a specific subject division of a  numbering system.

CUMULATIVE INDEX:  
An index which at regular intervals combines new entries from earlier indexes to form a new unified list.

EDITION:  
The number of copies of a work printed from one set of type.  Later editions can be made from the work which may or may not be changed.

JOURNAL:  
A newspaper or any periodical published for a learned society, profession, organization, or  legislative body.

MAGAZINE:  
A publication issued periodically, usually with a paper cover and containing articles, essays, stories, or poems by different writers.

PERIODICAL INDEX:  
An alphabetical listing of periodical articles by subject and author indicating the name of the publication, date, and page number showing where the article  can be found.

REFERENCE BOOK:  A book designed by its arrangement to be consulted for information and not to be read in its entirety.  The book is restricted for use in the building only.

YEARBOOK:  
A book that is published once a year reviewing events of that year.  The yearbook contains statistical and selected information about other previous years.