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McLean High School Library Website: Creating and Adhering to a Schedule for Research Projects

Time Management Strategies for Longer Research Projects

Tips

Time Management Strategies

for Longer Research Papers

1) Identify small tasks within the project  Breaking down a project into small, concrete tasks will help you stay motivated and feel accomplished along the way. 
2) Always outline.  This will help organize your thoughts and identify holes in your research.  
3)  Write easier sections first Feeling stuck?  You don't have to start at the first paragraph.  With a thoughtful outline you can start writing an easier section first.
4) Set reasonable dates for tasks and goals.  Give yourself some extra time between milestone markers so that you don't feel stressed near the end of larger projects.  Try to give yourself reasonable estimates on time.  
5) Reward yourself when you meet deadlines.  This can be as small as a walk around the block or a snack, but giving yourself a reward or time to celebrate completing tasks will help you stay motivated.  
6)  Build in time for feedback & revision. Revisions and feedback can take time and feel unending, but your work product will be greatly improved!
7) Seek feedback throughout the process.  Talk through your outline with a peer or ask a teacher for feedback.  Plan to exchange drafts for peer edits.

 

Adapted from: 
Leedy, Paul D., et al. Practical Research : Planning and Design. Twelfth edition
     ed., Pearson, 2019.

Time Management Strategies

Planning for a Research Project

 

  • Add project dates to your calendar.  If no midpoint dates are assigned, add dates for the following tasks:

    • Drafting a research question

    • Reading a set number of sources and creating notecards

    • Completing the initial research and outlining

    • First draft

    • Feedback & Revision and final draft

Sample Checklist

& Advice for Research Projects

  •  Set aside some time to ground yourself in the topic by doing some searches in general sources (like encyclopedia sources or popular sources) that will help familiarize you with a topic.  

  • Once you have enough knowledge to being to understand a topic, draft a research question.  This will guide your research.

  • Identify keywords and try them out in different databases and searches.  Try out different terms and see how results change.

  • Use your time wisely by reading strategically.  This can look different, but consider the following strategies:

    • skimming the abstract or first and last paragraphs of an article to determine if it fits your research needs

    • using the index or table of context for book materials to identify where best to find information on your topic

    • Taking notes as you go along

    • using the SIFT technique to quickly identify which website are good sources of information, before spending time reading further

  • Create citations for quality sources along the way (with NoodleTools).

  • Build up notecards over time that represent quality sources..

  • Always outline.  Building an outline early will help you spot holes in your research and organize your thinking.  This is also a good time to refine your research question and thesis.

  • Write your first draft in chunks and take focused breaks.

  • Seek out feedback

  • Give yourself time to reread and revise.  I always recommend reading a paper out loud if you have a space to do so--you will catch more errors this way.