What is Digg?96 Comments
- whataboutdave, on 10/11/2007, -6/+72I stopped reading after "Use yourself as a source." At the risk of stating the obvious, this list is awful.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -5/+34This article is imbecile...I can't believe you all think that might work. Well, it may work if you're some stupid philosophy major at a local community college taking night classes, then the article looks "snappy"...but if you go to a semi-decent school and study something useful, do the exact opposite and you'll do fine.
Yea, go ahead, digg me down, but I'm only trying to help. Ask anyone that actually KNOWS how to write decent papers what they think of that n00bie article, they'll say this is as ignorant as the Atkins diet. - Fuline, on 10/11/2007, -0/+19as usual, the comments of the article are more valuable than the actual article..
Read them! - Ihavethespeed, on 10/11/2007, -0/+18this makes front page?
- Speciou5, on 10/11/2007, -1/+18"Write a strong thesis."
Oh wow, and I thought good research papers went hand-in-hand with a sucky thesis. Luckily this awesome advice cleared that up for me! I'll definitely aim to write a strong thesis when trying to write a strong paper from now on. Whew. - nodonoug, on 10/11/2007, -1/+13It seems to me he will. In the first paragraph he mentions having students turn in his own work as their own. This is the advice of a professor responding to the piss poor assignments he's received in the past.
Also, your pessimism is a little disturbing. College students aren't all as shallow and narrow-minded as you'd like to believe we are (in case you're wondering, I'm a PhD student in EE and Carnegie Mellon). The 'passions' of college students are not just drugs, sex, and beer, and his advice there is meant for open-ended research papers, where students are given little direction on what to write for that very purpose, so that they pick a topic of their choosing (within the confines of the course topic). Do me a favor next time and check your preconceptions at the door, sweeping generalizations are the bane of digg's comment system. - zimmermans, on 10/11/2007, -1/+13I agree with willdiggforfood. This article is about "research" papers. The author says its a good idea to use yourself as a source! That's ridiculous! What kind of ***** research is that? That's even worse than using wikipedia!
- fober, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9Paper beats rock.
Rock beats research.
Research beats paper. - grr74, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9If you needed that list, perhaps college is not for you? I mean, all of my professors were available to talk to for guidance, and if I am not mistaken, most (if not all) universities have writing centers that will do out of their way to help you with that research paper.
- migbike, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8Another research paper tip: paragraphs.
- Hayl, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8One of the most lame things I have ever seen on Digg.
- Tippis, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/blix797/Essay/essay1.gif
http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/blix797/Essay/essay2.html - xpose, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Worthless article.
- Tippis, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5O_o
Even as an undergrad, I would have been shredded over a cheese grater for following some of these tips.
I suppose it can vary with the subject, school and insititution -- the author claims this works for 12-page anthropology papers -- but still... - Tippis, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Weeell... if you quote your own previously published, peer-reviewed works, it's all fine ;)
- migbike, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Someone wants a cookie... or is it a gold star?
- calvmari, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6The best way to write a research paper is to read hundreds of other research papers in your own field and co author a few papers with people who know how to write a research paper. Persistence is key, because your first paper will likely be rejected.
Recommended resources are http://scholar.google.com for all research, http://portal.acm.org/ for computer science papers, and http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/index.php if you need to learn how to conduct a good scientific study. - DocHoliday22, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5In Masters or PHd Sourcing is critical. Something like this: "the stuff “everybody knows”. E.g. “Lots of people think [A] but really [not-A]”... Has to be truned into something like this: "According to James and Brown (2001) and Mary (2002) the vast majority of the public think [A] but this school of thought is challenged by the dominant literature according to (Davis 2001). I'm using Harvard referencing system, but you get the idea.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6"Write something you're passionate about." This guy thinks it's a good idea for college students to write something they are 'passionate' about. Too bad he isn't going to have to read any of this crap. What an awful, awful list.
- wackymacs, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3From the article:
"Faced with the prospect of writing 5, 8, 12, or more pages on a topic of their choosing, a lot of students panic"...
What? I have to write a report on International Business that will end out at possibly 30 pages, maybe more. (If I want an A grade) - 5 pages is a joke. - IndyAaron, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4I saw "paper" and "rock" in the title, and the first thing I thought was "SCISSORS!"
- jdelsman, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Wait, what?
- Tippis, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4A passion helps in so much that, if you're going to pick a topic, it's a good idea to pick one that won't give you severe stomach cramps when you've been researching it for X weeks/months/years...
No matter what you pick, at some point, you're going to feel like you want to throw up if you even hear it being mentioned -- a bit of passion for the subject helps you overcome that hurdle. - gernblansted, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I like how the article that was in part warning against using on-line services to cheat was followed by an ad for buying papers written by others.
- insomniacal, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Writing is a form of thought. Don't let one negative experience make you give up on mastering the form. Math is great; so is writing. Give it another go next yea. Ask your next teacher or a strong writer to work with you on the draft ahead of time. Math will help you throughout life; so will writing.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5Write about 'yourself' in a research paper? Haha, wtf. Screw the professional journals and archive stacks, let's talk about our FEELINGS! That's surely the way to make valuable contributions to the world, because EVERYONE cares about ME. Who wrote this, some theater major? Go back to drama class and let the real students do their work. Your clown nose is distracting me.
- Coreguy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3This article is not about *Real* Research Paper, but "Research Paper Examination/Homework"
they are distinct
Title can be seen as inaccurate - Error601, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4The real trick is to add a lot of slick looking diagrams and graphs. Curb appeal helps.
- phenom2k7, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Read the comments first.
- nobody98, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2life hack ***** sucks :/
- Anthop, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2The example the guy used is pretty horrible. Using anecdotal evidence is definitely not research-paper-worthy.
But in a more general sense, you >have< to be using yourself as a source in research papers. The whole purpose of a research paper is to describe what you discovered/did and what you thought about it. That stuff isn't cite-able. So, yes. Definitely "use yourself as a source." But no, do not talk about what your grandma told you (*cough-unless-she-was-part-of-a-randomly-chosen-sample-of-the-study-population-cough*). - rabidmonkey1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2http://farm1.static.flickr.com/43/87366880_1b05bf99e2.jpg
- Error601, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Sorry, they don't come big enough for research papers. Maybe little high school papers.
- penguinshome, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2"This article is imbecile" Use proper grammar, dugg down.
- krakdaddy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Key to good paper (at least in undergrad work): write paper first, then google search for citable sources that support your statements. Also: don't ever start a paper before 7:00 the night before it's due unless it has to be more than 20 pages long.
- Derrekito, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Yeah I agree, does no one use RSS feeds anymore? *****.
- andburn1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Yes, I thought that was *****. To prove that something is the common understanding is not as easy as it sounds.
- kjr07, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Don't forget the clear plastic cover. The prof will just assume it's A+ work.
- dankuckuck, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Agreed. My 10th grade English teacher from years ago wrote this code next to any phrases that included ourselves: WDCWYT. Meaning: We Don't Care What You Think.
- masterstan, on 12/06/2008, -0/+2I'm just glad this isn't Breaking...
- Bega, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2that depends on your degree, I can easily say that it DEFINITELY would not work for anyone majoring in a science/math field.
(the use yourself as a source part mainly, also you generally don't need to talk to the experts themselves, but read/understand their papers) - growler1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I teach composition, and I'm happy with a solid thesis, a good argument, proper citations, and no egregious grammatical/spelling errors. Anything above and beyond is gravy.
- Ossot, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I'm thinkin' the jackass who wrote that article didn't exactly graduate from a university himself.
- Tippis, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Sounds like someone's been watching SBemail 64 too much... :P
- Anthop, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1.... I don't know why you guys are b*tching about this article so much! I agree, the list is not comprehensive: there are a bunch of things you could also do to make it better (like... research? Not mentioned in that article.) Some of the examples are also not the best that I would use, but you have to look at the bigger picture. The ideas are in the right place. Here's a run-down:
Write about something you’re passionate about.
(Duh.)
Write a strong thesis.
(... Okay, some of the sub-items on this one are retarded - you don't just start saying blatantly wrong and stupid stuff just to make a strong impact with your thesis; it actually has to be a good argument to start. This idea should be retooled: "Write a strong thesis" = "Clairfy your argument.")
Use yourself as a source.
(The example is stupid, but the point is valid. You're writing a research paper; you better be contributing something new that no one else has or else there's no point.)
Consult the experts.
(Definitely. You shouldn't just hide behind other people's papers. If you're writing a research paper and doing research work, you should seek the active input of other people in the field.)
Choose your audience.
(Duh.) - sgtbutterscotch, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1That was a really bad attempt at helping. Are you saying if I do everything opposite the article, I will do fine. Ok, I will write a crappy thesis and see what grade I get on my next essay. You didn't even change any tips. Just do the "opposite." I'm pretty sure that article covered all the basics for writing a decent paper.
- wiihuck, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1what you said does not contradict what you quoted.
i've been in college for a while now and, from personal experience -- oh, no he didn't -- a lot of students panic at the idea of writing a 5 page paper. - Tippis, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1First pick at break time?
- TheTorontonian, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Posts like this help kill my belief in free speech and power of blogs. As I believe I just lost a few brain cells and a few minutes in this time-line I will sadly never get back.
Surely no one expected a divine list. However, stating the outright obvious is no help either. At last not for anyone over 6th or maybe 7th grade. -
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