PLEASE SEE ATTACHED FOR THE INFO.

The Research Assignment or (Tell me something I don’t already know)

In this short assignment (one page plus a Works Cited) there are three kinds of information
presented:

• paraphrasing of information
• analogy
• extension of the idea or principle of function

You are to find an interesting new (or old and forgotten) technology, process, tool or idea
and present briefly yet clearly in a paper. This paper is a conversation starter not an
exhaustive exploration or explanation of the topic. It should generate interest not bore your
audience.

In the first paragraph you will introduce the new idea and where its origin (you must
clearly delineate the start and end of the paraphrased material and cite your source). Please,
you must paraphrase the idea rather than quoting it directly. Your paraphrase should sound
like your voice – not like someone else’s with a few words changed.

TIP: read the material, go for a 30-minute walk and think about what you read. When you
get back write down your understanding of the material (without looking at the original
document). I can spot substitution of words easily.
INSIGHT: One test I use to verify that you are using your own words is to ask you,
unexpectedly, to explain it to me.

In the second paragraph you will explain how the technology, process, tool or idea
works using an analogy (a form of illustration that relies on conceptual similarities to get
across an idea).

As an example:
The flow of electrons in a wire is like the flow of water in a pipe. In an electrical
circuit the voltage is like the water pressure, resistance is like a kink in the hose that
resists free flow, and amperage is like the volume of water that flows past any point
in the system in a set period of time.

In the third paragraph you will attempt to extend the idea into another field or
application. This is sometimes very difficult (it is a higher-order form of abstract thinking)
so I have made it a bonus mark. Don’t worry if you can’t think of an extension.

For example:
IDEA: Doctors routinely use specialised balloons to open up veins or arteries that
have collapsed or become clogged. A thin flexible tube with the balloon attached is
inserted into the vein or artery and fed along it until the balloon is at the point of

the collapse. When the balloon is inflated it forces the vein or artery to open up (or
to stretch wider). The balloon is then deflated and withdrawn by the flexible tube.

EXTENSION: This technology could be used to repair dents and depressions in
drywall in a similar manner. A flexible hose with a balloon attached could be fed
into the wall cavity behind the dent. Once inflated the cavity would be forced back
into shape and covered with a skim-coat of drywall mud to hide the cracks and
abrasions.

There should be no visual illustration in this paper. The analogy is itself a form of
illustration.

This paper should be brief (it will likely fit on one sheet of paper) and include a ‘Works
Cited’ to document your source. Only one source is needed but you may have more if you
used someone else’s analogy. I’d prefer that you developed an analogy of your own; but, it is
permitted to use one you found – just document it properly.

Where to find new ideas.

Read the news, science, engineering blogs and websites like:

http://www.sciencealert.com/

http://www.dailytech.com/

https://www.sciencenews.org/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/

http://gizmodo.com/tag/gadgets

http://www.popsci.com/blog-network

http://dornob.com/

http://interestingengineering.com/

Please cite your source(s) using IEEE2006 documentation style. There is a document
covering this in the assignment folder.

http://www.sciencealert.com/

http://www.dailytech.com/

https://www.sciencenews.org/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/

http://gizmodo.com/tag/gadgets

http://www.popsci.com/blog-network

http://dornob.com/

http://interestingengineering.com/

Documenting Technical Information

At Algonquin College if you are in the Faculty of Technology and Trades you will use
IEEE 2006 style for documenting your sources of facts, illustrations and other
borrowed information in documents that you create.

The good news for those who hate recording bibliographic information is that IEEE
2006 is very user-friendly – it is mostly automated and uses information fields to guide
you through entering the information.

In visual information

To get started let’s look at documenting the source for an illustration (a commonly
borrowed bit of information from the internet). Every illustration should have a figure
number and a caption below it. At the end of the caption the source of the illustration
should be referenced to its source. For example:

Figure 1: Main Elements of a Racing Oarlock adapted from [1]
or

Figure 1: Main Elements of a Racing Oarlock source [1]

In the example above there are two different source notations:

• ‘adapted from’ to indicate that the illustration was modified by you somehow
(labelled, cropped, coloured or otherwise changed) ; and,

• ‘source’ to indicate that the illustration appears exactly as it does in the source
material

In textual information

The use of ‘adapted from’ and ‘source’ is analogous (similar) to paraphrase and direct
quotation respectively.

Paraphrase

The start of an item that is paraphrased is usually indicated by informal source markers
such as:

According to NASA the 1969 moon landing was . . . [1]

with the square-bracketed source number at the end of the paraphrased material.

Direct Quotation

An item used in your document exactly as published (word-for-word) is indicated by
quotation marks with the square-bracketed source number at the end:

“That’s one small step for a man but a giant leap for mankind” [1]

Incidentally, it is quite right to refer to authors by their citation number:

According to [1] he never said “for a man”;
he claims to have said only “for man” [1].

How to add the citations and works cited

Citations

1. At the end of a caption or paraphrase or passage of quoted text leave the cursor
where it is (yes, you should leave a space or two).

2. In the menu bar at the top of the page locate the References tab – click on it.
3. In the Style tab (just to the right of the References tab marker) select

IEEE2006 option.
4. Click on the ‘Insert Citation’ button.
5. Choose ‘Add New Source’ – or, if your source has already been entered and

used, select the appropriate source you wish to cite. A dialogue box will appear.
6. Select the type of information source you wish to cite – likely a website – and fill

in the information requested.
7. When you hit ‘OK’ the citation will appear where you left the cursor.

Works Cited

1. When you are ready to add the Works Cited to your document place (click) the
cursor where you want the Works Cited to appear (usually at the end of the
document).

2. In the References tab select the ‘Bibliography’ option. A menu will appear.
3. Select ‘Works Cited’ and the entries you have made will appear where you left

the cursor (hopefully at the end of the document).

Research paper example

In this example you will see the headings FACT, ILLUSTRATION, EXTENSION. You do not
need to put these in your paper. I only use them to show you the different sections. The
chunking strategy and the use of orienting phrases, such as, “as an analogy” and “an
extension of this idea” should alert the reader to the different types of information
presented.

FACT (paraphrase)

According to [1] a new technology based on 3-D printing may help doctors improve the
procedure for skin grafts on burn victims. A team of U of T engineers has developed a
process that uses an ink-jet-like technology to print human skin. [1]

ILLUSTRATION (analogy)

As an analogy the new technology works like an ink-jet printer. The skin generator
technology uses reservoirs of live cells (rather than ink) that are sprayed onto a matrix (like
paper in a normal printer) to form a wet fabric that is then solidified into a gel by a salt
solution. This gel-fabric is then laid over the wound to provide protection and, eventually, a
new layer of skin.

EXTENSION (other use in another area)

This technology would be useful in other fields where materials had to be made
immediately. If for instance polymer fabrics could be generated on a small scale for use as
patches for sports domes, sailboats, aircraft or as filters for water in disaster situations the
world would be a better place.

Works Cited

[1] R. Everett-Green, “A 3-D machine that prints skin? How burn care could be

revolutionized,” The Globe and Mail, 20 January 2013. [Online]. Available:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/a-3-d-machine-
that-prints-skin-how-burn-care-could-be-revolutionized/article7540819/. [Accessed
20 January 2013].