Don't let the word research scare you. When you research you are just moving a step beyond the searching you do every day.
Think about what you searched for today on Google. When is that show getting added to Netflix? How much are those new Nikes? What's the Twitter handle for that new musician you just discovered? Where is this viral YouTube video everyone is talking about?
When you look for simple answers to quick questions online, you are searching. Take a look at the video below from Google about the big things people searched for in 2018:
A quick Google search is different from research.
The simplest definition of research is this:
locating and using information to answer a question or solve a problem.
The RE in research means that you don't just stop with one simple search. You try different keywords, look in different places, find different sources, and make changes as you go.
Research means you evaluate the information you find before you decide to use it. You use that information to write a paper or make a project. You also credit the source of that information.
When you are assigned a research project in school, we call this doing academic research.
This means you must find information that meets a specific standard, use that information in a way that is not simply copying-and-pasting, and incorporate your own ideas and conclusions.
The Research Steps page will guide you through the steps to do academic research correctly. As long as you follow these steps, you will find that you understand the process better, and it will be easier each time you are given a research assignment.
These Research Steps also help you avoid Plagiarism. Most students don’t mean to plagiarize and do so unintentionally by making common mistakes like forgetting citations.
In the end, we want you to work smarter, not harder. When you research by the rules, you make less work for yourself and will be better prepared for your next research assignment.