The Research Process
| When you start research on a topic you generally begin
with some broad ideas and then refine and focus the search as you begin to gather
information. Keep a record of what you find and where you found it because not only will
you need it for your project's bibliography, but you may need to re-visit some of the
sources as you focus your search. There are several steps to this process: identify the topic; gather information; focus the research. You'll probably have to take the steps over and over a few times. As you proceed, you'll formulate a focused research question. That's the question you'll be answering in your paper. Another way to approach a topic is to create a 'concept map' - a brainstorming technique that helps organize a research problem. From there a search strategy can be developed to assist in finding information. ( Printer-friendly version of this page) |
The Research Process |
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More on the Research Process: |
The Keys to Success: ( Top of page)
Step 1: Identify the Topic ( Top of page) The topic is the idea that you are researching
Brainstorm, concept map the topic State your topic as a question Refine the question Now list the Key Concepts of the research question
you have devised How about the Library of Congress Subject Headings?
List synonyms of the key concepts so that you can
have more search terms to use. You can use a thesaurus to help develop your list. List the subject or fields of knowledge that might
answer the questions you are researching. How are they listed in the Library of Congress
Classification System? Take a look at Step 2: Gather Background Information (Top of page) General and subject-specific encyclopedias provide a broad overview; books provide in-depth and historical background. Explain the methods, resources and results of your search for background information. Did you have to or want to refocus or change the research question after your initial research foray? List, in citation format, the sources you consulted for background information. Explain the usefulness or lack of usefulness for each of the sources, Use your evaluation criteria and annotation skills to do this. Write along the way - write the steps you took to find
your information and write your feelings about the process of finding and gathering the
information for the research question. Step 3: Focus the Research ( Top of page) You'll find more focused information in scholarly journals, newspapers, trade magazines, popular periodicals, Web sites, and experts in the field. Evaluate all the information sources you find keeping in mind the source's purpose or intent, the authority or credentials of the author, the accuracy, timeliness, objectivity and appropriateness of the information, Explain the methods, resources and all of the results of your search for periodical, Internet, and other current information. If it was useful, how so? If it wasn't useful, explain why not. Did you have to refocus the research question again due to what you found? List, in citation format, the sources you consulted to focus the research. Explain the usefulness or lack thereof for each source. Use your evaluation criteria and annotation skills to do this. Write again - write about how you found information and describe what you found. Write your feelings about the process, |
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| The table below shows how a research question develops from a broad topic to a focused question. Follow the 4 examples down the columns to see how the questions develop. ( Top of page) |
| BROAD TOPIC | pollution | fishing | marketing | food |
| RESTRICTED TOPIC |
acid rain | fishing and business | Nike and marketing | eating habits |
| NARROWED TOPIC |
acid rain in the U.S. | fishing reserves in the U.S. | Nike and international marketing | vegetarianism |
| Research Question |
How can we prevent acid rain in the U.S.? | How do we maintain and preserve our fish reserves in New England? | How successful has Nike been in its international sales? | What are the nutritional advantages of vegetarianism? |
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More on Concept Mapping |
Most people do not think in a linear style when they think
creatively, such as when they are brainstorming a research topic or question. Our minds
tend to work much like Web sites do – with groups of thoughts and concepts linked
together and going off in different directions. Furthermore, what you learn while doing
research is combined with what you already know, creating new links within your store of
knowledge. Concept mapping is a powerful tool to use during the early stages of research. It allows you to "free-think" about your topic: to explore material or questions that might be useful to you, to summarize what you've learned so far, and to help you discover additional topics to investigate. Mapping will allow you to see the major categories of your topic, but will not impose an order on them. This will allow you to place your ideas in whatever sequence is most useful for your purposes. Mapping can also help you think. You can use this technique as often as you like, particularly when you are stuck. When you are mapping, emphasize arguments, explanations, definitions, and abstract categories and relationships. Concept Mapping
Exercise Work Sheet Do this exercise offline first - use a pencil and a blank sheet of newsprint or other large format paper: Write down your most important word or short phrase in the center of the sheet. Think for a minute about what you just wrote down, and then circle it. Thinking freely, write down any and all other important words, concepts, or symbols related to the topic outside the circle. Now, use lines and/or arrows to connect items. Leave lots of white space so your concept map can grow. Don't worry about being exact or perfect – don't analyze your work at this point! Analyze what you have done so far:
An example of a Concept map on the topic "vegetarianism": |
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| Once your research question is formulated and some of the
main concepts are identified by concept mapping, You can begin to develop a search
strategy that will help you when you actually go to find information on your topic. The
following example shows how search terms can be created from research questions and
concepts: Suppose the topic for your paper is the connection between smoking and depression among teenagers. First your research question: “Is there a connection between cigarette smoking and depression among teenagers?” What are the major concepts in this question?
What are some possible synonyms or related terms for each of these concepts?
These concepts and synonyms will become your search terms. Here is how it will look on the Search Strategy Work Sheet: SEARCH STRATEGY WORK SHEET Search Question: (Please write a sentence in the form of a question describing your topic.) What is the connection between smoking and depression among teenagers? Major Concepts: (List as many as apply.) Smoking Depression Teenagers SEARCH TERMS
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| To help get you started on the research process, it will
help to clarify how the major areas of knowledge are defined, especially in the beginning
stages when you are not quite sure of the terms that are used in the literature. It will
help when you begin to gather information by making it easier to identify some broad-based
sources like encyclopedias. Definitions of the
Disciplines Humanities Social Sciences Sciences Review the URI Academics page at http://www.uri.edu/home/academics/ and scroll down to "Schools, Departments, and Programs." All of these fields of knowledge fall into one of the three major disciplines. |
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This course was developed by Joanna Burkhardt, Mary MacDonald
and Andrée Rathemacher and was adapted for online use by Jim Kinnie as part of the URI
Libraries Plan for Information Literacy - http://www.uri.edu/library/instruction_services/infolitplan.html
Copyright © 1994-2002. University of Rhode Island. Disclaimer. |
