Your Research Paper

for the Social Sciences

When you write a research paper, it is imperative that you follow a specific documentation style to present your work. In addition to good writing and research skills, presentation is important. Be consistent. Pay close attention to periods, commas, quotation marks, etc. Your consistency will allow for an easier read. This guide will provide some basic information and examples to develop your research paper.

A Primary Document
Types of references can be either unpublished manuscripts or published materials. “Manuscripts include materials such as letters, diaries, and memoranda, usually intended as private, sometimes intimate documents, often published after the death of their authors. Published materials are materials that were intended from the outset to be printed and made public for example, newspapers, congressional debates, autobiographies, annual company reports, and the United States Census” (Brundage 1989:15).

A Secondary Document
A secondary document includes books, essays, articles, dissertations, or conference papers (Brundage, 1989).

Style Manuals
The examples in this guide are formatted in the ASA (American Sociological Association) style. ASA is used mostly among the social sciences. The MLA (Modern Language Association) style is widely used in the humanities. The APA (American Psychological Association) style is use among the sciences and social sciences. These three styles vary but not by much.  Refer to manuals for your specific field or ask your professor for a specific documentation style. 

Quoting and Paraphrasing
It is important that you know the difference between quoting and paraphrasing an author's work. Not giving authors the appropriate credit can be viewed as plagiarizing.

Quoting a source directly means extracting a word, phrase, sentence, or passage, and inserting it, enclosed by double quotation marks or indented, according to its length, into your own paper (Richlin-Klonsky and Strenski 1991:45).

 Paraphrasing means condensing the author's meaning and translating a passage into your own words (Richlin-Klonsky and Strenski 1991:46).

For specific examples on quoting, paraphrasing, and plagiarizing, review Richlin-Klonsky and Strenski's A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers or other writing manuals listed in back (HM 73 . G78 1991) or see Johnson, et al's The sociology student writer's manual (HM585.S668 2002).

Citing an Author
When citing an author or individual for the first time, identify the complete name e.g. “Genaro M. Padilla”. Thereafter use the last name, e.g. “Padilla”. Scholars should never be referred to by their first name, nor as “Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss.” For example:

In The Short Stories of Fray Angelico Chavez, Genaro M. Padilla states that “...[Chavez] represents the dilemma of the writer wedged...” (1987:xviii). Padilla summarizes by stating that “...[Chavez] shares a historical dilemma with these and other ethnic writers...” (1987:xix).

Block Quote
A block quote is one way of presenting your material. How and when you decide to place a quote in a block format can be a bit arbitrary, but here are some guidelines:

If your quotation is longer than five lines, indent all lines five spaces from the left margin (leave the right margin as it is throughout the text) and single-space. Quotation marks are unnecessary, since the indented left margin tells your reader that the material is quoted. In rare cases, you may also use this quotation format when you want to emphasize especially important or interesting quoted material (Richlin-Klonsky and Strenski, 1991:41).

Notes (footnotes)
Notes are used only to clarify or to expand on an idea, term, or statement that may not be directly relevant to the point that you are presenting in your paper. A note can be identified by an asterisk* (should you only have one note) or by a superscript or raised number¹ when there is more than one note on a given page.

Writing Guides
American Psychological Association. 2001. Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Fifth ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (Reference BF76.7 .P82 2001) also see CSUS library online guide to the APA format.

American Sociological Association. 1997. ASA Style Guide. Second ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (Reference HM73 .A54 1997) also see CSUS library online guide to the ASA format.

Gibaldi, Joseph. 1995. MLA Handbook for Writers for Research Papers. Fifth edition. New York, NY: The Modern Language Association of America. (Reference LB 2369 .G53 1999)

Johnson, William A., Jr. et al. 2002. The sociology student writer's manual. Third ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. (2 South and 2 North HM 585.S638)

Mauch, James E. and Jack W. Birch. 1993. Guide to the Successful Thesis and Dissertation: A Handbook for Students and Faculty. Fouth ed. New York: M. Dekker. (3 North LB2369.M377 1998)

Richlin-Klonsky, Judith and Ellen Strenski, eds. 1991. A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers. Third edition. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. (2 South HM 73 .G78 1991)

Turabian, Kate L. 1996. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 6th ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. (3 North LB2369.T8 1996)

Wingell, Richard. 1990. Writing about Music: An Introductory Guide. Third ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. (3 North ML3979.W54 1997)

Winkler, Anthony C. and Jo Ray McCuen. 2000. Writing the Research Paper. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. (Reference LB2369.W5617 2000)