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Research can be overwhelming. Sometimes, it is difficult to figure out where to start! Luckily, if you break research down into steps, research can become a great deal easier!
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1. Decide what you want to research
This may seem like a no-brainer, but knowing what you want to write about is important! In earlier courses you were most likely assigned a topic. The higher you go, however, the more freedom you get with your writing. In graduate school, in most classes I attended, professors gave students a required length and nothing else! There are a few ways to decide what you want to write:
a) What is the professor interested in?
This direction can be treacherous. If done well, a professor may immensely enjoy reading your essay. Just remember that if this is a professor's "special interest," he/she/they may know a lot about the topic. If you get something wrong, he/she/they will probably know.
b) What are you interested in?
This is the route most students take. If there is something that you really want to study, go for it! When a student is passionate about his/her/their research, it shows in the final paper.
c) What do you already know?
If there is anything you already know that you can tie in to the paper, you may want to write about that! You will still need to do research, but you will be comfortable in what you search for.
a) What is the professor interested in?
This direction can be treacherous. If done well, a professor may immensely enjoy reading your essay. Just remember that if this is a professor's "special interest," he/she/they may know a lot about the topic. If you get something wrong, he/she/they will probably know.
b) What are you interested in?
This is the route most students take. If there is something that you really want to study, go for it! When a student is passionate about his/her/their research, it shows in the final paper.
c) What do you already know?
If there is anything you already know that you can tie in to the paper, you may want to write about that! You will still need to do research, but you will be comfortable in what you search for.
2. brainstorm
Brainstorming is a great way to think of ideas for your paper. There are many different ways to brainstorm. There are also many different guides that can help you learn to brainstorm.
3. Find places to research
There are plenty of places to research. You can find some excellent sources on the page marked "Resources." You can find the tab at the top of the page. There are some places that cater specifically to certain areas of research, and some places that are more general. There are a few things that you need to remember while researching:
a) Make sure a source is scholarly.
Wikipedia, although fun to look at and a good place to start learning, is not scholarly. It is not a page you should quote in a paper. Anyone can log on to Wikipedia and edit a page, which means that anyone can put incorrect information on Wikipedia.
When deciding whether to use an article, you should first look at whether the article is peer reviewed. Peer reviewed articles are reviewed by peers (other researchers) to make sure that the article is scholarly. Most journals have a statement on how they review their articles. If you are using a book, you should research the author. Have they written other books or articles? Are they well respected in the field?
b) Make sure you can get the source.
There are many research sites that have "paywalls" - you need to pay to access the articles. If you hit a paywall, you won't be able to get the article you need unless you pay a lot of money. You can avoid this by using some of the resources on the "resources" page, and by using sources that your school pays for. You can also find cheap books on some websites. I enjoy using Abebooks.com.
c) Make sure you cite the source.
Whenever you use a source, you need to cite it. It is much easier to cite sources when you find them, that way you won't end up with a lot of sources to find at the end. You can find a great reference guide on citing sources here. You can also use Zotero, which is a totally free citation generator (I don't know how I would have gotten through grad school without it).
a) Make sure a source is scholarly.
Wikipedia, although fun to look at and a good place to start learning, is not scholarly. It is not a page you should quote in a paper. Anyone can log on to Wikipedia and edit a page, which means that anyone can put incorrect information on Wikipedia.
When deciding whether to use an article, you should first look at whether the article is peer reviewed. Peer reviewed articles are reviewed by peers (other researchers) to make sure that the article is scholarly. Most journals have a statement on how they review their articles. If you are using a book, you should research the author. Have they written other books or articles? Are they well respected in the field?
b) Make sure you can get the source.
There are many research sites that have "paywalls" - you need to pay to access the articles. If you hit a paywall, you won't be able to get the article you need unless you pay a lot of money. You can avoid this by using some of the resources on the "resources" page, and by using sources that your school pays for. You can also find cheap books on some websites. I enjoy using Abebooks.com.
c) Make sure you cite the source.
Whenever you use a source, you need to cite it. It is much easier to cite sources when you find them, that way you won't end up with a lot of sources to find at the end. You can find a great reference guide on citing sources here. You can also use Zotero, which is a totally free citation generator (I don't know how I would have gotten through grad school without it).
4. Find the right key words
As a librarian, I have learned that each subject has its own "lingo." Different professions refer to things in different ways. Often times, you may find information using one key word more than another. To find out the key words that experts use, try reading journal articles and books by experts. If you see any specific words repeated, you might use those words to search. Some articles found online may also have "tags" that the article is under. Remember: if you can't find something, try using other words to describe the same thing.
5. Research!
Put all of it together! Use your key words, your ideas, and your sources to find information! Make sure the information is scholarly, and make sure that you can point your research towards a coherent idea. Get as much information as you can!
6. Make an outline
An outline is essentially the skeleton of your structure - you can see what is supposed to be there, but there is quite a bit missing. You can find some great outline guides, some of which are here, here, and here. One thing that I like to do is take the arguments and sources from the previous steps and place them under the points in the outline. I think of it as adding some body to my skeleton!
7. Do more research/ add to the outline.
Take a look at your outline, and the information beneath each point. Are you missing information under any point? Go back to researching and fill in the gaps!
Sources:
These sources are in MLA Format.
George Mason University. “Brainstorming Techniques.” The Writing Center, https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/guides/brainstorming-techniques. Accessed 22 July 2019.
Harvard University. “Outlining.” Harvard Writing Center, https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/outlining. Accessed 22 July 2019.
Lai, Paul. “Academic Guides: Writing a Paper: Outlining.” Walden University, https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/outlining. Accessed 22 July 2019.
Penn State University. “Brainstorming.” IStudy for Success!, http://tutorials.istudy.psu.edu/brainstorming/. Accessed 22 July 2019.
Purdue Writing Lab. “Brainstorm for the Essay.” Purdue Writing Lab, https://owl.purdue.edu/engagement/ged_preparation/part_2_lessons_1_5/index.html. Accessed 22 July 2019.
Rambo, Randy. “ENG 1001: Creating an Outline for an Essay.” Illinois Valley Community College, https://www2.ivcc.edu/rambo/eng1001/outline.htm. Accessed 22 July 2019.
SUNY Empire State College. “Brainstorming.” Online Writing Center, https://www.esc.edu/online-writing-center/resources/academic-writing/process/prewriting-developing-ideas/brainstorming/. Accessed 22 July 2019.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Brainstorming.” The Writing Center, https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/brainstorming/. Accessed 22 July 2019.
