Faculty Resources - Graduate Writing Center

Nested Applications
Writing Resources: Research & Note Taking

Research 


If you’ve ever seen Shark Tank, you’re already familiar with the importance of research. The entrepeneurs have to know their markets to convince the sharks (high-level business people) that their proposals offer something new and worthwhile; without research, they have little hope of being persuasive. 

The same is true in academic work. We typically deal in knowledge rather than products, but the situation is fundamentally the same: knowing the literature in your field helps you formulate and pitch your ideas.

How do you find good sources, and how do you incorporate them into your writing so that they back up your argument without taking it over?

If these questions have been gnawing at you, sink your teeth into this section's resources. The links on this page offer an overview of how to approach research. Not sure what information you're looking for? See our page on research questions.

Research Tips

  • For a tutorial on using the library to find what you need, sign up for the next session of our "Library Quickstart" workshop or watch the video version. The library also offers excellent pointers on how to search databases. Additionally, each department has a designated library liaison; they'll be more than happy to help you in your research quest.
     
  • Want to research smarter and faster? Watch our video on "How to Research."
     
  • Once you find sources, you'll want to know how to extract information from them effectively; check out our section on note-taking for some great advice on staying organized.
     
  • If you'd like some robotic assistance with keeping track of sources, our reference software page has what you're looking for. 
     
  • Wondering how to use that information in your own work? See "Joining the Academic Conversation" and "Source Blending"—and be sure to give credit where credit is due with proper citations.

For more information, see the following well-researched links:

Key Research Links

  • Thinking of conducting any research that might even possibly be Human Subjects Research—or have no idea what that means? Review the "Going Straight to the Source" presentation from Foundations of Academic Writing, then peruse NPS's Institutional Review Board website for more details.
  • Already comfortable with research but need help on citations? See our "Citations" section.
  • Also be sure to get acquainted or reacquainted with the NPS Honor Code, which sets forth guidelines for maintaining an ethical academic relationship with the work of others.

More Research Links

GWC - all topics list heading

Writing Topics A–Z


This index makes findings topics easy and links to the most relevant page for each item. Please email us at writingcenter@nps.edu if we're missing something!

A-Z content menu

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

A

abbreviations

abstracts

academic writing

acronyms

active voice

adjectives, compound

advisor, selecting and working with

AI

apostrophes

appointment with GWC coaches, how to schedule

argument

article usage

artificial intelligence

assignments, understanding them

audience

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B

body paragraphs

booking an appointment with a GWC coach

brackets, square

brainstorming

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C

capitalization

citations

charts

ChatGPT

citation software

citation styles

clauses

clarity

clustering

coaching, about

coaching, how to schedule

colons

comma splices

commas, FANBOYS

commas, introductory

commas, list

commas, nonessential / nonrestrictive information

commas, Oxford

commas, serial

common knowledge

commonly confused words

compare-and-contrast papers

compound adjectives / modifiers

concision

conclusions

conference presentations

conjunctive adverbs

coordinating conjunctions

copyright and fair use

critical thinking

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D

dangling modifiers

dashes

dependent clauses

dependent marker words

display equations

distance learning

double submission of coursework

drafting

Dudley Knox Library

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E

editing your own work

editing: outside editors

em dash

en dash

equations

exclamation points

executive summary

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F

FANBOYS

FAQs

figures

first person, use of in academic writing

footnotes

fragments

free-writing

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G

generative artificial intelligence (AI)

gerunds

grammar

graphics

graphs

group writing

GWC appointment, how to schedule

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H

homophones

Honor Code, NPS

human subjects research

hyphens

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I

ibid.

incomplete sentences

independent clauses

Institutional Review Board

interviews, conducting

introductions

IRB

iThenticate

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J

Joining the Academic Conversation

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L

LaTeX

library liaisons

lists, syntax of

literature reviews

logic and analysis

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M

M dash

making a GWC appointment

mathematics

memos

methodology

modifiers, compound

modifiers, misplaced

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N

N dash

nominalizations

note-taking

noun clusters

numbers

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O

organization

outlining

Oxford comma

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P

paragraph development

parallelism

paraphrasing

parentheses

parts of speech

passive voice

periods

persuasion

phrases vs. clauses

plagiarism, how to avoid

plagiarism-detection software

plain language

polishing

prepositional phrases

prepositions

pronouns, clarity with

pronouns, grammar of

proofreading

publishing

punctuation

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Q

questionnaires, administering

questions

quotation marks

quoting

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R

Reading with Intent I

Reading with Intent II

redundancies

reference software

reflection papers

research

research guides, discipline-specific

research questions

restrictive vs. nonrestrictive information

reusing papers

reverse outlining

revision

roadmaps

run-on sentences

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S

scheduling a GWC appointment

self-citing

semicolons

sentence fragments

serial comma

signal phrases

significance

so what?

source blending

sources, engaging with / critiquing

sources, evaluating the reliability of

sources, citing

spelling

standard essay structure

STEM / technical writing

Strategic Reading I

Strategic Reading II

style

subject–verb agreement

subjects, grammatical

subordinating conjunctions

summarizing

surveys, administering

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T

tables

teams, writing in

technical writing

tense

that vs. which

thesis advisor, selecting and working with

thesis process overview

Thesis Processing Office (TPO)

thesis proposals: common elements

thesis statements

thesis writing

this, that, these, those

tone, professional

topic sentences

transitions

types of papers

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U

United States or U.S.?

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V

verbs and verb tense

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W

which vs. that

why write?

writer’s block

writing in groups / teams

writing process

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Z

Zotero

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