Some high school and first-year college writing courses use the term “research paper” or “research writing” to apply to any situation in which students use information from an outside source in writing a paper. The logic behind this is that if the writer has to go find information from a source, that action of going and finding information is similar to research, so it is convenient to call that kind of writing task a “research paper.” However, it is only true research if it starts from a QUESTION to which the writer genuinely doesn’t know the answer and if the writer then develops or builds the answer to the question through gathering and processing information.

To help keep that difference in mind, this module will use “research” to refer to the goal-directed process of gathering information and building the answer to a research question, and “source-based writing” to refer to the many other types of information gathering and source-based writing one might do.

One important indicator of the difference between research and other source-based writing tasks is when in the process you develop the thesis (main point) of your paper.  In a research project, you begin with a question, gather the data from which you will derive or build the answer to the question, build the answer, and then state your answer in a single sentence.  This one-sentence statement of your answer to your research question then becomes your thesis statement and serves as the main point of your paper.  In the research writing process, therefore, stating your thesis happens at the pivot point between research and writing (so roughly half or two thirds of the way through the project, depending on the amount of time spent gathering and processing information).

Any assignment for which you begin by developing your thesis and then go out and gather information to support it is indeed be a source-based writing assignment, but it is not technically research because it begins from the answer instead of the question.

Being aware of this distinction is essential to your successful completion of both research projects and other source-based writing tasks.  The work processes that lead to efficiency and success with research projects are very different from the work processes you may have used successfully for other types of source-based papers.  Both offer valuable learning experiences, but it is important to understand which type of assignment you are being asked to do so that you can adjust your expectations accordingly.

Think of the most recent writing project you have done that required sources.  Based on this definition, was it a research project or a source-based writing project?