Research Skills Tutorial

Module 1: The Research Process

When Should I Begin My Research?
Research Steps

When Should I Begin My Research?

Be sure to begin your research as soon as the project is assigned. This will allow ample time to sort through the resources or to consult with a librarian if you need assistance. Many students mistakenly believe that because lots of information is now available in databases or on the Internet, they can do a very quick search and find the information they need right away. When these students begin searching and do not find any information on their topic, or when they find thousands of articles on their topic, they are disappointed to discover that finding the right information does take some time.

One of the most important things to understand about conducting research is that it cannot be done overnight. Here are some reasons why this is true:

While the research process is presented as a step-by-step activity, you will find that it is actually a cyclical process. Based on information you gather and questions raised, you may need to refine your topic and locate new materials.
Research often involves investigating many different resource tools and may require several sessions on the computer and/or visits to the library.
You may have problems finding information on your own and need the assistance of a librarian.
Materials that you need may not be immediately available and may take a few weeks to be delivered.

For all of the reasons listed above, you need to decide on your topic as early as possible in the semester to allow sufficient time to conduct an effective search for information resources.

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Research Steps

The flowchart below is an overview of the basic steps you will follow in your research.

Select a Topic

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Formulate a Thesis Statement

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Find Basic Information

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Broaden or Narrow your Topic

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Locate and Retrieve Materials

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Determine Relevancy of Materials

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Take Notes

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Write the Paper

STEP 1: Select a Topic

If your topic is clearly defined, the research process will go more smoothly. Select a topic of interest to you, or if assigned a topic, seek out an aspect of the assigned topic of interest to you. If you are having trouble choosing a topic, you can find suggestions in a variety of reference sources such as newspaper and journal indexes, encyclopedias, bibliographies, handbooks, and directories.

STEP 2: Formulate a Thesis Statement

After you select your topic, you need to determine the purpose and focus of your paper and develop a topic statement. Try to write one or two full sentences describing the purpose of your paper. For example:

Topic > Marketing analysis in industry.

Initial topic statement > Does marketing analysis help industries compete?

Final topic statement > The use of marketing analysis helps computer companies identify a competitive advantage within the industry.

Next, you need to identify the keywords or concepts that describe your topic and prepare an outline. For example, the keywords identified from the above topic statement are:

Keywords > marketing, computer industry, competitive advantage

Search the keywords identified from your topic statement to find information on your topic.

STEP 3: Find Basic Information

Try to find basic information on your topic. Using the keywords developed in STEP 2, search for information in:

Reference Books, such as encyclopedias, bibliographies, directories

Library Catalogs, for books on your topic. (See Module 5)

Periodical Indexes, for articles on your topic. (See Module 6)

Internet Resources, for Web sites on your topic. (See Module 7)

This preliminary search will help you determine how little or how much information is available on your topic.

STEP 4: Broaden or Narrow your Topic

Based on the type and breadth of information you find, you may need to broaden or narrow your topic. If you find too little information on your topic you will have to broaden it. You can broaden your topic by:

Searching related words or synonyms, for example: marketing = advertising, selling

Searching keywords in different combinations, for example: comparative marketing or industrial marketing and computer industry

Searching related periodical indexes

Checking book or article bibliographies or footnotes for additional sources on your topic

If you find too much information on your topic you will have to narrow your topic. You can narrow your topic by:

Qualifying the topic by date, by region, or by another aspect of your topic. For example: computer software companies

Checking other sources for specific aspects of your topic. For example: Encyclopedia of American Industries

If you need assistance selecting a topic, or with broadening or narrowing the topic, you can get assistance from your course instructor. The UMUC reference librarians can also assist with broadening or narrowing paper topics and with locating information resources on your topic.

STEP 5: Locate and Retrieve Materials

Once you have selected your topic and prepared your topic statement, you are ready to begin gathering information using various sources.

Determine the Types of Information Resources Needed

Before searching for information, look at the requirements for your assignment and answer the following questions:

Does your instructor specify the number of resources you need? If not, a good standard is to have one resource for every page required. For example, ten resources for a ten page paper.

Are you required to use certain types of resources? For example, are you required to use a combination of books, journal articles, and newspaper articles?

Do the articles have to come from scholarly journals?

Are you required to use current resources? For example, are you required to find articles or books that are less than ten years old?

Here is a list of the various types of information resources. For most research papers, you will need to use a combination of the different types.

Encyclopedias - Provide excellent background information. There are general encyclopedias such as the Encyclopedia Britannica, as well as specialized encyclopedias such as the Social Sciences Encyclopedia.

Dictionaries - Provide definitions for unfamiliar terms. There are general dictionaries, and also specialized dictionaries such as computer dictionaries.

Directories - Provide basic information such as names and addresses. Often used to find company information.

Books - Usually provide a broad view of your topic and are able to go into depth.

Articles - Provide current information.

Bibliographies - When looking at books and journals, look at the bibliographies listed at the end of the articles or book chapters. These bibliographies list all the resources used in that work. Use them to find additional information on your topic.

Internet Resources/Web Pages - Depending on your topic, you may want to use Web pages as resources.

Select the Appropriate Research Tool

In order to find the resources listed above, you will need to make use of a variety of research tools. Each of the research tools listed below can be accessed from a computer with Internet access.

When searching for information, be sure to keep a record of what research tools you search, and also the keywords or topic words you use in your search. This way, you won't forget where you have already searched for information and will avoid repetition in your search.

Library Catalogs - Used to find books and journals, dictionaries and encyclopedias. An example is the University System of Maryland library catalog. These are further explained in Module 5.

Periodical Indexes - Used to find articles from journals, magazines, and newspapers. Examples include ABI/Inform and Humanities Index. These are further explained in Module 6.

Internet Search Tools - Used to find Web pages and other Internet resources. Examples include AltaVista, Yahoo, and HotBot. These are further explained in Module 7.

STEP 6: Determine Relevancy of Materials

Now you need to determine the relevancy of the sources you use to help you decide what books and articles will best support your topic. A well-defined topic is important. You will eliminate a number of irrelevant materials by having a clear idea of what you need. Once you have a list of your sources, you will need to evaluate what you have found.

There are five criteria you need to consider in evaluating information sources:

1. Authority

Can you identify the author of the article or book?

Is the author an expert in the field?

Is the source an acknowledged authority?

Can you identify the publisher?

If so, is this a well-respected or well-known publishing house for the topic being searched?

2. Accuracy

Are the sources for factual information given so they can be verified?

Is the information correct?

Are there inconsistencies in the information, particularly statistical data?

3. Objectivity

Is the presentation objective?

Or is the viewpoint biased?

4. Currency

Is the material up-to-date?

5. Coverage

Is the information presented complete?

Or is data missing?

Sometimes answers to these questions are obvious. For example, a study of the tobacco industry by a tobacco company might be slanted and biased and thus not objective. You can consult biographical indexes and dictionaries, book reviews, and other materials to assist you in evaluating sources.

STEP 7: Take Notes

Whenever you are doing research you need to keep accurate records of where you have been and what you have collected to date. Taking notes that include major points of the books and journal articles will save time and effort when you prepare to write your project because all the materials will be organized. You need to keep a record of all the materials you use. Write down the complete citation, including the author, title, publication date, page numbers, and other information. Accurate citing of sources is very important.

It is also important when taking notes that if you copy passages from books or articles word-for-word, that you put these passages in quotation marks. This way you will avoid unintentional plagiarism. For more information on plagiarism, see Module 2.

Go to the Library Services Web page on Citation Resources for more information on citing print and electronic resources. Use your browser's back arrow to return to this page.

STEP 8: Write the Paper

You are now ready to begin writing your paper.

Helpful Hints for Research

Have you used this library before? If not, allocate extra time for learning where things are in the building.
The same principle applies when using an unfamiliar database. If this is the first time you have used a database, take into account the time you will need to learn how to use the database.
Make sure you have enough time to spend on your research. If you think it will take an hour to find what you need, a good guideline is to double that time (i.e., plan on two hours to do your research).
Ask a librarian for assistance if you are not finding the information you need. The trick is to ask the correct question. Don't just ask where the magazines are. Ask: "I'm writing a five-page paper on the commercial uses of the Internet. Can you help me find four business journal articles, none of which can be earlier than 1996?" Now the librarian has the information to help you find the best resources.

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