We know that sometimes getting started on the research process can be the hardest part.
Remember that your professors and librarians are here to help support you if you have questions or need clarification on what's expected for an assignment.
STEP 1: IDENTIFY YOUR TOPIC
Take some time to brainstorm potential topic ideas using the internet and library resources, then state your topic as a question. Pro Tip: Pick topics that actually interest you, it makes the research process that much more enjoyable.
STEP 2: DEVELOP YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION
Take some time to read articles and books, watch videos, peruse websites and explore more information around the topic you choose. Take notes on what you find most interesting and engaging about your topic. Ask yourself the 5 W's: who, what, where, when, and why. You can then use the answers to these questions to formulate an open-ended research question.
STEP 3: FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
To further understand your topic you're going to need to do some reading. Use resources such as Google, Wikipedia, textbooks, individuals (librarians, faculty, friends, or family) and library databases. Keep track of interesting topics or information you find and take note of related topics. Use this new information to identify the main concepts or keywords in your question.
STEP 4: DEVELOP A SEARCH STRATEGY TO FIND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Nearly everyone turns to Google when they need to search and find information online, but there are special tips and tricks to help you find good information. Searching in the library databases and catalog using some of the keywords you identified will help you find quality scholarly resources for your paper.
STEP 5: EVALUATE WHAT YOU FIND
Take some time to evaluate the sources you've found. Think about the author's credentials/background, the audience the information is meant for, how in-depth the source is, if a bibliography or list of reference is included, and see if the information matches up with other sources you've found. Don't worry, we already set up a research guide to help you evaluate material.
STEP 6: CITE WHAT YOU FIND
You're going to hear this a lot while you're here: you *always* want to make sure you cite your sources.
Citing or documenting the sources used in your research serves two purposes:
1. It gives proper credit to the authors of the materials used
2. It allows those who are reading your work to duplicate your research and locate the sources that you have listed as references.
When other authors cite their sources properly, you can also use their research to help you with your own!
To learn how to properly site sources, use our Citation Research Guide. You want to make sure you cite so that you can avoid plagiarizing someone else's work.
Special thanks to the Arizona State University Library for allowing us to use their First-Generation Resource Guide as a template AND for allowing us to utilize and modify their wording on the "Research with ASU" page.