PowerPoint and Speeches and APA

In many cases you may not only write a research paper for a class, but will have to prepare an PowerPoint ® presentation or speech to present to the class. Even though a presentation or speech are not formal research papers, you still must follow the conventions of citation and references in order to avoid plagiarism. Not only does this include taking the words and ideas from another source, but the graphics – art, photos, charts – from another source. Here are a couple examples of citations and of a reference page to be used in a slide program.




Notice that the citations and references are done exactly as in a research paper. You should include a reference slide at the very end of your presentation to allow your viewers (and those who have received paper copies) of the slide show the ability to look up the information you provided.

In a speech, while you may mention the author of a particular source of information you used, you should include a reference listing for your instructor when turning in any and all documentation of your speech. It is just as easy to plagiarize a speech as it would be a reference paper.

Research is like a treasure hunt...

You won't know what you'll find, and sometimes it isn't even what you were looking for! As I said in class, you've got to fill that basket with eggs you have found before you can make the omlet (or research paper in this analogy). If you can't find any purple eggs, you will have to go back and collect all the green and yellow eggs you can instead!

For those who haven't had my Lit class yet, the eggs stands for key words and key phrases, the basket full of eggs stands for your research articles collected.

Okay, so this narrowing down the topic using keywords is pretty tough -- it often requires us to go back and get rid of a couple words or phrases, add some new ones, and try researching again. Finding the right keywords can be particularly frustrating if you are researching a new-to-you area. That's why I encourage students to pick a topic they are interested in and one that focuses on your major. You then become more of an "expert" as you go through your core classes.

Experiment -- get three eggs together and then do some research in the library databases. See what you can find. If nothing works, go back and try to come up with a new topic area. It takes work. If you get frustrated (and you know who I'm talking to!), then walk away, or talk to a friend, or drop me an email. Bounce some ideas of others as to what you think is a topic you can stick with.

Revising my APA manual

Over the holiday break, I've been revising the APA manual I use in my English Composition Clases. One area to be added is a discussion of the different types of research papers to write. Here are some examples:

• Historical -- describe an event and the effects after, interpret what happened during an event given the time and distance from the event, biographical or autobiographical in who a person was, accomplishments and contribution to a historical event.
• Case study -- done in medical field, but also in business, psych, criminal justice. Thoroughly analyze a person, place or thing that happened with an eye for details and examining the effects.
• Correlation -- when one variable changes, how does that affect others? For example, will raising the drinking age to 25 lower drunk driving accidents? This may be a theory, it hasn't happened yet.
• Cause and effect -- if we do something, what are the potential effects. Using the previous example, if we raise the drinking age, what are the effects -- financial on the hospitality industry, fewer officers needed for night shifts, less court time, fewer individuals in jail.
• Compare and contrast -- take two items and compare the likenesses and contrast the differences. For example, what are the differences and comparisons of side effects of two different types of drugs for chemotherapy, such as conventional chemo and homeopathic?
• Argument -- this is a bit tough, particularly because both sides need to be surpported by reasonable people. No reasonable person is going to be for the death penalty for robbery, so it wouldn't make a strong argument.

Of course, once you get to the senior level or masters level in your studies, there are a few more research papers that involve your own research, such as conducting surveys and observations.

Welcome to Research and Writing APA

I hope to share not only my experiences in research and writing a dissertation, but how to research and write an APA research paper. If you are in one of my classes, you can use this site as a supplement to the textbooks and handouts provided in class; as well as links to my courses websites.