The Research Process

Introduction

In this section, you will learn three of the many different ways to conduct academic research.    

1. Eight Steps to Research

2. KWL as a Research Method

3. Overly Sarcastic Method

As you go through these methods, evaluate them.  Is there a method you like more than the other two?  Are there steps in one method you would like to combine with another?  Basically, come-up with a research process that works for you, just like you did when you created your effective reading strategies.

Step 1: Define the Topic

What are you writing about?  Reference the prompt to help with this answer.

Step 2: Narrow the Topic

In order to keep the audience's attention, narrow your focus.  The prompt can generate multiple different responses.  Pick one focus to be able to write a cohesive essay. 

To help pick your focus, consider who the audience of your essay is and what the purpose of your essay.  This will help you not only narrow your focus to adhere to the who you are writing to and the purpose of the paper, but it will also help you figure-out what kind of language, phrases, and content you should include in your essay when you begin to write it.  Are you not sure who the intended audience and purpose of your essay is?  Does the prompt provide you with hints or directly tell you?

Step 3: Gather Background Information

Do some preliminary research (even Wikipedia is fine, but not as an official source) about the topic to understand it better.

What do you want to write about?  What do you want to research?

Step 4: Create a Research Question

What questions do you have about your narrowed topic that you need to further research?

Step 5: Develop a Working Thesis Statement

Look at what you already know about your narrowed topic.  What will be your working thesis statement?

Step 6: Find and Evaluate Sources

Search for different sources that can help you answer your research question and support your thesis statement.

Step 7: Cite Sources

To avoid plagiarizing, cite your sources both within your text and through a bibliography (in MLA, it's called a Works Cited page).

Step 8: Write the Paper

After you have gathered all of your research to support the thesis of your narrowed-topic, write your paper to show evidence that your thesis is "true."

Wrap-Up: Eight Steps to Research

You might not tackle the above steps in order.  For instance, you might already know or have found the sources that you want to use.  Then, as you read them, you start to narrow your focus and create a working thesis statement. 

Basically, just like with the writing process, steps can be done in multiple different orders and with different variations.

My advice for any process is to go with what is coming to you easiest in the moment.  The harder stuff will follow more naturally since you have already warmed-up your brain to the task.

Method Two: KWL as a Research Method

Do you remember the reading method, KWL?

• K: What do you know?

• W: What do you want to know?

• L: What have you learned?

Using this method during the research process can help you narrow the focus of your topic and direct your research.  You can do so by utilizing the following 6-steps:

1. K: Know Already

What do you already know about the topic that you are being asked to write about in your essay?

2. W: Want to Know

What do you not know about the topic?  What gaps of knowledge are there?  What information about the topic do you want to explore? 

Write-down questions that you want and need to explore to help narrow your essay's focus and direct your research.

3. Seek Answers

Conduct research to help you answer the questions you proposed in Step 2.

4. L: Learned

During and after you have completed Step 3, write-down answers to your Step 2 questions that you found. 

You may also write-down other items of interest that you learned that you did not consider in Step 2.

5. Essay Focus

Look at what you wrote-down for Steps 1 and 4.  This is what you fully know about the topic of your essay. 

Do you see an area of interest that you want to now write about?  This will become the focus of your essay.

6. Working Thesis

After narrowing-down the focus of your essay, what is your view on that focus?  This will be your working thesis statement.

Method Three: Overly Sarcastic Method

Overly Sarcastic Productions created this video to break-down the following 4-steps to conducting academic research:

Conclusion

Remember, there are many different ways to conduct research.  As assignments vary and as you become increasingly used-to the research process, you will be able to adapt your skill-knowledge to help you navigate any situation.

Overall tip: During the whole academic writing process, which usually involves a research component, start early, divide-up steps into manageable tasks, and be flexible.

Note: Research takes time and flexibility.  It is usually not a quick process, even for someone who has been doing it for years.  Knowing that, it is best to not begin the research process on the day that an assignment is due.