Conducting research

Research Philosophy:

While conducting original research I utilize the following assessment criteria:

• Who published the information (authorship)
• When and where was it published (currency/relevance)
• How accurate is the information? Are the facts true or false (accuracy)
• How is the information presented? (biases)
• What references do they cite? (hyperlinks/articles/primary or secondary sources)

I always assess the sources I use regardless of where I’ve found them. This includes both web browsers and academic databases. One major skill that assists in my understanding of topics is the examination of scholarly communication. Gaining access and finding multiple sources that cite one another really give researchers clues at the hard facts about their research topic, and also who the prominent theorists are. A technique that can assist in finding and understanding the scholarly communication is the use of citation chaining. This is where you look up commonly used sources scholars are putting in their research articles. Using this technique can also assist you when you are not finding a lot of information on your specific topic. Citation chaining allows you to expand or narrow your thesis in order to suit the research that is already out there.

Selecting sources also plays a major role in my research philosophy. It is important to have use primary sources. These are hard facts, often times hard to dismiss. When conducting your own research they are key in formulating your research question/topic. I try to make it a point to find accessible records, archives, and government documents that will encompass my topic. Primary sources can also solidify a thesis statement immensely. Secondary sources are equally as important, however these must come from reputable sources and scholars.

The Query is by far one of the most important things in conducting original research. Some queries may be so broad that too much information will overwhelm the researcher. However, there are ways to narrow down searches for users. We can assist in using boolean operators which will filter out unwanted documents. Some information retrieval systems can allow patrons to customize or use advanced search settings. This can allow them to select certain dates or certain types of materials. Learning to understand the query is also key. If we can rephrase or simplify the query we might get better results. In order to assist in the query, introducing users to new search techniques might make the search much more effective. For example we can use citation searching to find more scholarship on particular subjects.