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ENG 1301: Composition I : Steps to Doing Research

Step One

Step 1:  Identify and Develop a Topic

 

  • Topic=  Broadly defined Subject area
  • Research Question=narrower focus of the topic
    • Why are you researching?
    • What do you want to know about the topic?
  • Choose a topic that interests you
 Image: Drawing of a man with a thought bubble containing a lightbulb, indicating an idea

Step Two

​Step 2:  Develop an Overview of the Topic

  • Do background research on the topic--find out what you can about your topic.
  • Do background research on the different parts of your research question
  • Useful sources for finding background information
    • GENERAL ENCYCLOPEDIAS
    • SUBJECT ENCYCLOPEDIAS
    • BOOKS—look at table of contents and index
    • PERIODICALS/JOURNALS
    • NEWSPAPERS
    • SUBJECT DICTIONARIES
    • ALMANACS
    • RESEARCH STARTER
SELECTING KEYWORDS
•Know what you are looking for first!
•Going to a search engine, library catalog, or database and simply typing in words for inspiration will lead quickly to frustration
•Typing in your entire question almost never works.

Research Question

Image of PowerPoint slide. Title: Identifying a Research Question. Creating a topic and research question. Example Topic 1: Popular culture and current events. Research Question: What do the movies Hunger Games and Avatar say about race relations in America? Example Topic 2: attention hyperactivity deficit disorder. Research question: Is controlling hyperactive children through Ritalin in order to maintain control of a classroom a good idea? Example Topic 3: drug abuse among teenagers. Research question: Is drug abuse by teenagers an increasing problem at our nation’s high schools?
Image of PowerPoint slide. Title: Selecting Keywords. Research Question: Is drug abuse by teenagers an increasing problem at our nation’s high schools? Review your keywords from step 1 and 2. Start with your research question and underline the nouns. These will be your first keywords. Determine synonyms for keywords. Keep a list.
Image of PowerPoint slide. Title: Selecting Keywords. Select Keywords from Your Question. Example: Drug abuse, teenagers, high schools. Think of synonyms. Example: substance abuse, cocaine, adolescents, secondary schools.

Step Three

Image: binoculars​

Step 3:  Locate Materials

  • Books: Use mainly for background information, history, overviews of a topic
    • What to Search: Use your broader search terms (topic keywords) to search catalogs for books
    • Where to Search:  Library Catalog, (select Search Books and Media tab over the search box on the library main page). Also search Worldcat (to find other books that  the West Library doesn't have)
  • Journal Article:Use for in-depth topic research, and experimental results
    • What to Search: Use the keywords you selected from your research question or other terms that you identified from steps 1 and 2
    • Where to Search:  EBSCO Discovery Service, individual Journal databases
  • Web Pages: Varied--Everything from scholarly level research to pop-culture pages
    • What to search: Use the keywords that you developed in steps 1 and 2
    • Where to search:  Google, USA.gov, other search engines

Step Four:

Image: woman screaming in frustration​        Step 4:  Frustration

  • Are you getting way too many results, none of which look like they could answer your question?  Your search is too BROAD. Try to pick more specific or clearer terms.
  • Are you not getting any results?  Your search is too narrow. Try using a broader term, or try to research each aspect of your research question separately. You may need to discuss the research question with your professor to decide ways to make it a broader search.
  • Are you only finding materials that the library doesn't have? Then request an interlibrary loan of ask a librarian for help with your search.
  • Try to look through the Works Cited pages in your textbook to get ideas of where the authors did their research, the terms they used, and topics/research questions that are common in your field.

Step Five

Image: a stack of books in a library       Step 5:  Re-search

  • Evaluate what you already have and what you still need (evaluate for completeness)
  • Fill in gaps in your research
  • This is mostly a step to lookup little facts, statistics, or definitions to properly answer your research question

Step Six

Image: human hand typing on computer keyboard​      Step 6:  Synthesize

  • Extract the useful information from your sources that you have gathered, and determine how it will be used in your paper, evaluate for content
  • This is the step in which you write your paper
  • You get help with the writing process from your professor or from the Academic Success Center, located on the first floor of the library

Step Seven

Cartoon image: a police officer writing a traffic citation​     Step 7:  Cite your work

  • Keep citation notes throughout your research to make this step easier
  • For every source that you find, get as much of the following information that you can:
    • ​Author's names
    • Publication date or last updated date
    • Title of article, Title of Journal, title of magazine, web page or book
    • Volume and issue (for periodicals)
    • Publication information: publisher name and city, for books; database name for periodicals
    • URL (For web pages); DOI (for periodicals) and Date accessed  (for anything online)
  • Include only information you cite in your paper in your Works Cited page
  • Indicate in the text of your paper when you are citing another author, even if it is not a direct quote. Cite quotes, ideas, statistics, summaries, paraphrasing, and facts that are not commonly known
  • Use the citation style required by your professor. Style manuals are available in the Reference Collection of the library and on the library's web page.