Beginning
Where to begin?
Whenever information is needed to inform a choice or a position,
research allows a person to become more knowledgeable about an issue.
The process is basically the same, whether the topic is practical or academic.
The Process
1. Identify what you already know and what you need to know (pre-writing) .
Consider what you know and what you think.
Identify questions that need to be answered.
Identify areas of particular interest
Identify a focus as a point of beginning.
2. Identify sources of information.
First: A General Reference
a general encyclopedia has traditionally been a good starting point.
Library Databases: Credo Reference, Britannica Online
This is when you may use sources like Wikipedia - as a starting point (but not as a source for the paper).
3. Learn enough to be able to ask good questions to further the research process.
The goal: To gain a general understanding, a working knowledge of the topic, and to identify key words or terms to be used for further research.
4. Compile a list of potential sources of information.
Whenever information is needed, research is the next step, and the process is basically the same, whether the topic is practical or academic.
practical concerns
choosing a cell phone
buying a car
finding a physician
academic concerns
considering the relationship between Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and the Vietnam War
identifying the metaphorical qualities of advertising
determining the role of the school with regard to kindergarten readiness
For example, for the question of the cell phone:
What options are there? contract, no contract
What carriers are available?
What is my budget?
Will my location matter?
What is more important: service or the phone?
What kind of data packages are available? At what cost? How much do I need?
Do I need to interface with anyone/anything?
What terms do I need to understand to ask good questions?
A focus: What are my needs? How can those best be met?
Where can I go for information?
The carriers
The "suppliers"
on-line: carrier sites, youtube, tech sites
other users: what works? what doesn't?
What do I need to know?
contract options? cheapest phone?
amount of data
personal hotspot for mobility
Research identifies a list of potential sources of information:
a working bibliography: a record of those sources
Identify and record information for a bibliographic citation