Introduction: AP Research is a self guided classes requiring discipline, time management and dedication. While the completion of the paper requires much work, it is a deeply rewarding class lead by curiousity and interest. The aim of this handbook is to have an accessible, informative aid for the research and writing you will partake in.
Best of luck, Kai
The first phase of the course is to become knowledgable and informed in your area of inquiry. As you will be writing an academic paper, collecting sources and managing how your information is collected is vital to succesfully completing the paper.
The way research is conducted is quite different from a conventional secondary school course. You will need to find credible sources that are more respectable than sources you may have previously been able to utilize. Academic journals, university publications, scholarly databases, reputable organisations' publications and more are going to be your go to for finding quality, scholarly work you can use.
Once you've located a publication you'd like to use, it is important to document its relevance to your paper (How can the paper contribute to your research? Can you expand on their findings? How can you build on the work the've done?). Keeping track of your sources and how they fit into your new research is a critical. Organising your sources into a portfolio - ideally sorted by related topics, research method, findings, etc. - will greatly accelerate your progress in writing and researching while also saving time and effort. Taking a few moments bookmark or save the link will
As you delve deeper into your area of inquiry, you will likely see diverging paths your research may take. A key skill while researching is to refine the scope of your paper as your research progresses. Keeping a high level report on your emerging thoughts and questions will keep you from forgetting your research direction and will hopefully provide some clarity for your research. You can do this by keeping a folder to collect your loose thoughts and questions then combing though then at a later time. Often, you may not be actively doing your research when an idea comes to mind: be sure to document it to save the thought.
When in doubt about your research direction, consult your peers, teachers and mentors about your thoughts on your direction. While much of your research is done alone, it is still a collaborative project that requires others opinions and insights to help you along. Your peers are often able to help you refine your research and help you deliver a focused area of inquiry and ultimately a better research paper.
Building a high level diagram on your field of inquiry will also help deconvolute your complex research. Breaking down your research into relevant sections and organising your sources and new contributions accordingly will help you maintain your research as it progresses.
As your paper is comprised of numerous components, you are free to move freely between them in your writing. However, your literature review would likely be a prime place to start as it is a review of the information you are already equipped with before writing your paper. As you're planning your own research, you may consider writing your Method section in parallel as it is a recount of how your research approach. As you uncover your findings, you will have new content to populate your findings section and are then free to interpret and discuss what you've found.
You don't necessarily need to finish each section before progressing to the next. It may even be benificial to jump between sections of your paper as your understanding progresses. As you uncover new sources, your literature review may be ammended while the new sources are also utilized in your analysis - or any other section for that matter.
One overlooked part of the research process is your ability to be self directed and manage your time. It is crucial to the success of your paper that you budget your time and set benchmarks of where'd you'd like to be with your research. Keeping a calendar and setting reminders will help greatly in keeping you on track to finish your paper.
Another part of managing your time is building in buffers. As Murphy's Law dictates "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." When you fall behind, it is paramount to your success that you have time to catch up. As the college board has a hard cut off, it is not an option to be behind on the final cut off. Remembering that you will likely need more time then projected will save you much stress and will result in a better paper.
While the tools you use are ultimately up to preference, here are a few you may want to take a look at to help you through the various tasks you'll be responsble for.
While you're researching, you will need to keep track of your sources.
Consider:
- Google Drive
- Evernote
- Toby
When writing your paper, you'll need a text editor capable of managing various versions and changes.
Here are a few you can consider:
- Google Docs
- Pages
- Evernote
Some tools you may want to try out to help manage your time are:
- Calendar
- Reminders
- Todoist
- Do!
- Notes
Setting up a form of group chat with your peers will help greatly in your collaboration.
Some options are:
- Facebook Messenger
- Slack
- iMessage
Alongside your group communications, keeping track of individual communications with your teachers and mentors is also important. Likely, you may have little say in which tool get used and you will likely end up using email or texting. It may help to set those contacts as VIP's to help prioritize their communcations over others to stay on top of your inbox.
Best of luck in your Research Adventure. You will be embarking on one the the greatest - and toughest - journeys you have ever done. Developing a research paper is not easy, however, hopefully this guide will help you through.
Best of luck, amazing things are to come,
Kai Aldag