Introduction to Research

Introduction to Research

Learn to find a lot of information on your own.

See below for an introduction and helpful tips.

Here's where you can learn about databases. (For even more databases, apply for a public library card.) And don't forget, Cite your sources (more about that here).

Research Steps:

Step 1: Find Ideas

Step 2: Develop a Research Plan

Step 3: Search

Step 4: Evaluate Sources and Take Notes

Step 5: Cite Sources and Create Bibliography

What is Research?

Simply put, research means finding a lot of relevant information about your subject. You may need to continually revise or revisit steps as your project comes together. The image below gives a graphic representation of the stages of research and what to consider along the way.

Step 1: Find Ideas

What would you like to learn more about? If you are assigned a topic, what does it make you think of? What aspect of that topic would you like to explore more deeply? See below for some tips to get started.

Create a Mind Map

In a Mind Map, you explore your topic and write down what you already know, things that are related to your topic, and areas that are unknown. It might look something like this image below or a flowchart or web.

Gather Background Information

Search and read about your topic before you officially start to research. If you don't know much about your research topic, now is the moment to read encyclopedia entries, do an internet search, or even look at Wikipedia. It's hard to conduct research until you have a basic grasp of your topic, at the very least.

Develop a Focused Research Question

image illustrating research question narrowing process

What Makes a Good Research Question?

A research question is the question at the center your research. It should be:

Clear: Someone can easily understand its purpose without needing additional explanation.

Focused: It can be answered thoroughly in the space allowed.

Concise: It is expressed in the fewest possible words.

Complex: It is not a “yes” or “no” question; the answer requires an analysis of sources.

Arguable: There are multiple answers, it is open to debate.

Step 2: Develop a Research Plan

Set the groundwork for successful research. Plan where and how you will search, with room for making changes along the way. This helps when finding too few or too many sources.

Generate Keywords

Having a list of keywords will make your research process go more smoothly. See the "How To Choose Keywords' Video for instruction on selecting the right terms.

Make your own copy of this Google Doc and use it to record your list of keywords: Start a Search

Select Useful Databases and Resources

Different resources are helpful for different projects. Do you need primary sources? academic sources? images? up to date information? Visit the chart linked here to help plan which databases and resources will be most helpful. Find much more about Databases here.

Step 3: Search

Put your plan into action. Use your list of keywords, in different combinations.

Refine your Search

If you are getting the wrong information, too much, or too little, you can refine your search.

Use Quotation Marks around groups of words or phrases.

Use Boolean Operators (AND, NOT, OR) to expand or refine your search results.

Try different keyword Combination and Selection

The video below shares some tips for filtering and refining a search.

Step 4: Evaluate Sources and Take Notes

Consider the reliability and value of your sources. You then read and take notes on the most helpful information.

Evaluate Sources

It's important to carefully evaluate what you find before determining that it is a reliable source. We should think critically about ALL information we find. Arguably, every text has some sort of bias.

The worksheet found here helps you evaluate sources using the CRAAP acronym Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose).

Take Notes

Taking notes while you read your sources is an important way to keep track of your questions, thoughts and reactions. We are often searching for evidence to support a claim, but if our notes are not organized, it can be hard to find that evidence later!

The following videos describe a note taking technique that helps identify key concepts put your research into your own words.

Step 5: Cite Sources and Create Bibliography

Properly give credit for your sources. There are strict guidelines for formatting and punctuation, so make sure you are recording your sources in the way your teacher has asked.

Cite Sources

Use this guide to help you accurately cite your sources: Citations

What is an annotated bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a research tool in which you summarize, evaluate, and reflect on your sources. These bibliographies will contain:

A citation that follows all of the formatting rules.

A summary describing what type of work this is and what the key points are.

An evaluation of the source that describes and critiques the quality of the information, this will identification of any gaps in information. any biases present, an intended audience, the author's qualifications, and a purpose of production.

A reflection describing the relevance to your research.

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