●      pick a research topic (anything you like)

●      break the topic into parts by coming up with 4 questions you have about it. ● google each question (adding a reliable source at the end of each question) ● use the questions to structure the paper.  arrange the questions in an order. ● answer each question in this order.

A.  PREPARING (NOT WRITING) THE RESEARCH PAPER

1.               Step 1:  Picking a topic.   Pick something you are excited to research and learn about.  (Crucial:  Make sure your topic is precise.  Think about gender, race,  geography, time period).   

For example:   The Crisis of Maritime Plastic Pollution  

 

2.               Step 2:  Break your topic into parts by making a list of questions.  Let your curiosity guide you.  Here are my questions for this model research topic:

1) When did people start to recognize plastic pollution in the oceans ?

2) Which ocean is most polluted with plastic ?

3) Which plastics are the worst ?

4) How long does it take plastic to biodegrade ?

5) Which country is the worst contributor to plastic pollution ?

6) What are two examples of how animals are affected by plastic pollution ?

3.  Step 3:  Research each question (one piece of research per question is fine).                     Put the name of a reliable source (journal, newspaper…) at end of each question when you google it. 

                 This simple step:

                1) saves time because it immediately takes you to a reliable source                 2) ensures that no one can challenge the reliability of your sources 

 Here is the research (links included) for the research for the 6 questions on the model paper topic (The Crisis of Maritime Pollution). 

1) When did people start to recognize plastic pollution in the oceans ? Plastics in Our Oceans

 

4.  STEP 4:  Read and annotate (underline what you want to include in the answer) the piece of research for each question.

After doing so, I picked the 4 (now researched) questions of greatest interest to structure this 5 page paper. Think about the order in which you want to present your questions.  Note:  4 questions is maximum for a 5 page paper.

1) When did people start to recognize plastic pollution in the oceans ?

4) How long does it take plastic to biodegrade ?

6) What are two examples of how animals are affected by plastic pollution ?

2) Which ocean is most polluted with plastic ?

 B.  WRITING THE RESEARCH PAPER

1) APA format the document. 

 

2.  Choose your Paper Title:   The Crisis of Maritime Plastic Pollution PAGE 1 consists of 3 paragraphs that set up the body of the

paper

PARA 1  length: about 8 lines.  Purpose: catches the reader’s attention.  Statistics, anecdotes, or block quotations work well.  In the case of my topic, the growing crisis of maritime plastic pollution,  I open the paper with a question which introduces a block quotation.  I picked it because it overwhelms with statistics about water that clarifies the importance of healthy oceans for our continued existence  .  A quotation which is longer than 4 lines is separated from the text

Here is PARA 1 of this model reasearch paper (attached).  I chose to open with a question and a block quotation.

    How much water is in the ocean?   

 It’s hard to imagine, but about 97 percent of the Earth’s water  can be found in our ocean. Of the tiny percentage that is not in the ocean, about two percent is frozen up in glaciers and ice caps.  Less than one percent of all the water on Earth is fresh.   A  tiny fraction of water exists as water vapor in our   atmosphere.   According to the

U.S. Geological Survey, there  are over 1,386,000,000 cubic kilometers  (332,519,000 cubic  miles) of water on the planet. A cubic mile is the volume of  a cube measuring one mile on each side. Of this vast volume of water, NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center estimates that       

 1,335,000,000 cubic kilometers (321,003,271 cubic miles) is in  the ocean. That’s enough water to fill  about                      352,670,000,000,000,000,000 gallon-sized milk containers!   (NOAA, 2024)

PARA 2  length: about 6 lines.  Purpose:  It states: 1) the topic and 2) the purpose of the paper.  For the topic, just state the title of your paper.  Then for the purpose, explain (3-4 sentences) what motivated you to pick the topic.

Here is PARA 2 of the model research paper:

           The topic of this paper is the crisis of maritime plastic pollution.  The purpose of this paper is to highlight the devastating impact of plastic on the environment, in particular the oceans.   Humanity is responsible for taking care of our planet and we are not doing our job.  We are not doing our job preparing our world for our children and grandchildren.  We are not doing our job when we do not spread the word about the impact of plastic pollution. We are not doing our job when we do not teach our children to recycle.

PARA 3  length: about 3 to 5 lines. Purpose.  This paragraph is crucial.  It explains how the paper is organized.  It provides  you with map for the rest of the paper.   

Here is PARA 3 of the model research paper:

           

           This paper proceeds as follows.  It will answer four questions: When did people start to recognize plastic pollution in the oceans  ? How long does it take plastic to biodegrade ?  What are two examples of how  animals are affected by plastic  pollution ?   Which ocean is most polluted with  plastic ? 

PAGE 2

PARA 4   Now you are ready to turn to the body of your paper.

Begin para 4:  Now I turn to my first question: (and state your first question).   Then answer the question with the piece of research you have done for this question.   Select 3-5 quotations, put them in some order, and construct paragraph 4.

   

 

   

4) How do you find psychology/psychiatric journals ? 

These websites list reliable psychiatry and psychology journals. https://research.com/journals-rankings/psychology https://guides.library.stanford.edu/psych_journals https://laneguides.stanford.edu/psychiatry/journal-articles

Also of use is the online APA (American Psychological Association Dictionary