Research Paper Writer

Research Paper

by Dennis J. Kear

Research Paper Writer (RPW) is a complete and self-contained computer simulation that guides students in gathering information and helps them compose a research report. The research content covers various aspects of political terrorism in today's world.

The author explains that the program is meant to expose students to this important topic, while teaching them research skills. These skills can be generalized to almost any topic. The simulation presents information in three modes--experience, interview and library data search. The end product is a finished research report.

In the experience module, the student becomes involved in a hijacking story. The interview module guides students through a series of interviews with psychologists, hijack victims, FBI agents and terrorism experts. The library module contains 60 real documents, including academic reports, government studies and psychological research. Learning skills emphasized in RPW include observation, note taking, hypothesizing, interviewing, selecting sources, quoting and crediting sources, using a library to find documents, using an electronic database, creating a bibliography, technical reading, extracting main ideas from complex documents, skimming and scanning, writing a research question and thesis, avoiding plagiarism and writing a thorough and fully documented research report.

Although RPW is most appropriate for high school and college students, middle/junior high school students will find the first two modules interesting. Many would need help, however, reading the technical reports in the library database. This program was initially designed for English and writing classes. The content and skills make it suitable for social studies and social science classes, as well. Computer knowledge is not a prerequisite. Some basic understanding of computer functions, however, is helpful.

Several features of this program are unique and an excellent help to busy teachers. Through a series of menu-driven exercises, The Writing and Reading Center tutorial shows students how to: check their reading rate, think about vocabulary development, skim-read for main ideas and facts, read bibliographic entries, use quotes in their reports, credit sources in their papers, generate a works-cited list for parenthetical documentation, prepare a bibliography and convert files they've created in the program into word processing files they can use in their reports. This tutorial also takes the student on a library tour, provides guidance in developing a research question and in creating and using "key words" to search the electronic database for information.

An electronic notecard tool allows students to type notes in any one of the three research modes for later use in their paper. These notes can be converted to word processing files and used during the composing of the paper. The program includes tips for taking effective notes and documenting them. The Bibliography Maker allows students to create an electronic bibliography that contains all the sources in the program. Rather than typing in all the sources used, students merely edit, cut, paste and arrange the sources to fit their particular report.

The RPW program can be used in several classroom or laboratory environments. In a typical lab approach, each student would work at a separate computer workstation. The program would keep track of each student's progress. Teachers can use the RPW program to introduce students to the research process and target specific research skills. Using one overhead monitor, the teacher can walk students through the appropriate sections of the program. Then students can pursue their own topics indepedently.

The teacher's manual is a helpful resource. Teachers should read the manual program simulation in order to be familiar with the skills taught, the instructional methods used and the potential questions/problems that may arise. Reviewed by Dennis J. Kear, Associate Professor, Wichita State University, KS.

See also The Freshman Research Paper

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