IF YOU’RE NOT WRITING ABOUT COLLECTED DATA…

Then you are writing a more conceptual paper, not an empirical paper (in other words, not a paper based on data that you or someone else has gathered). These papers are sometimes referred to as a literature review, a review paper, or a research proposal. Many of the lessons you learned in Expos are relevant here! The first step is to determine what the purpose of your paper is.

PURPOSE

WHEN YOU ARE GIVEN A TASK

For some science papers, the professor will give you a task: evaluate a hypothesis, test a theory with primary research articles, intervene in a debate where there are competing explanations.

• An example from HEB: Explain in more detail the possible connections between climate change, habitat change, food distribution, food quality, food processing, energetics, and locomotor behavior in the transition from the last common ancestor (LCA) to early hominins such as Sahelanthropus, Orrorin, and Ardipithecus.

WHEN YOU CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC

Sometimes, you are simply asked to write a paper on a particular topic, and you are tasked with deciding the purpose according to a research question or problem that you uncover in your review of the literature.

• An example from psychology: Choose a topic in social cognition and write a research paper.

IN EITHER SITUATION

You have to start by reading sources. Sometimes, your professor will provide you with a preliminary set of sources but ask that you find some additional ones on your own; other times your professor may require that you only use sources that you find. In either case, when you are finding your own sources, you can use sources from the course as a stepping stone into the literature. Even if the professor asks you to include sources that you find on your own, it is helpful to use sources from the course to find new ones.

STARTING YOUR PAPER

Once you have a set of sources, you can start your analysis of them. However, you shouldn’t simply find a few sources and then stop your review of the literature. When writing a conceptual paper, exploring the literature is an ongoing process, and you continue to refine your purpose, thesis, and analysis as you read more sources. So you should expect to read new sources throughout the process of writing.

IF YOU HAVE A TOPIC

If you’ve been given the purpose of your paper or if you’ve already determined your research question/problem, ask yourself how these sources help you answer the question or address the problem that your paper intends to deal with.

• If your purpose is to resolve a conflict, evaluate the explanatory value of the competing sides. For example, you might ask which one seems to frame the problem more effectively or provide more parsimonious explanations?

• If your purpose is to propose a hypothesis, synthesize the literature and work on identifying patterns by considering conflicting data and making non-obvious connections that other people haven’t made.

IF YOU HAVE TO DEVELOP A TOPIC

A research question or problem emerges from your reading of the literature. In other words, a research question doesn’t come out of thin air. If you come up with a question that doesn’t build on the literature, then you may be in a situation where you end up simply summarizing what other authors have already said. The purpose of a paper has to be analytical—you use sources to help you address a problem or question that you’ve identified on the basis of other sources.

• Examine the sources for patterns or discrepancies.

• Evaluate a theory’s reasoning in light to empirical findings.

• Make connections across different segments of a literature.