Research steps

10 Basic Steps to Research:

1. Choose a topic - when choosing a topic, there are two issues to consider: what are you interested in and can you find enough material (sources) to learn about the topic. Sometimes, you may have to go to a second choice if you can't find enough sources.
2. Locate sources - visit the library. Here you can see if there are any books about your topic and access the research database.
3. Take notes - use source cards to keep sources and ideas organized. They're useful for structuring your work later.
4. Write a thesis statement - an arguable statement about the topic of your research
5. Write an outline - this is the road map to your first draft and helps you structure your writing
6. Write the first draft - if you have a good outline, this shouldn't be so difficult. Remember, it's the first draft - you will revise your writing.
7. Document sources - make sure all your evidence has an in-text citation that corresponds to your works cited page. Citing your sources shows your excellent research skills and honesty.
8. Revise - nobody writes a perfect first draft. Have someone read over your work to see that the structure is logical and the explanations are coherent (make sense).
9. Proofread - not to be confused with revising, proofreading is about cleaning up spelling and punctuation errors.
10. Prepare the final draft - Cross your t's, dot your i's, make sure you've left enough time to print.

Procrastination isn't exclusive to students (even adults procrastinate) but it does cause unneeded stress. If you can get your work done before the deadline, you'll sleep a lot better.