ACADEMIC RESEARCH

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ACADEMIC RESEARCH

• Made Easy

Information Literacy Periodicals
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The Step by Step Approach to Research

• Pre-Topic
• Step 1 Understand the assignment
• Step 2 Remove all preconceptions
• Step 3 Practice time management and set
  deadlines
• Step 4 Create a folder
• Step 5 Find a topic and basic information
  about it
• Post-Topic
• Step 6 Narrow your topic to a focused research
  question
• Step 7 Gather information
• Step 8 Write your thesis statement Step 9
  Weed out irrelevant information
• This PowerPoint covers the following
• Finding a topic the Pre-Topic section.
• Narrowing your topic into a research question or
  statement the Post-Topic section
• Constructing a thesis statement from your
  research question
• Thus topic research question
  thesis statement

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Use of research time

• Step by Step Research
  Percent of time
• STEP 1 - Getting started planning the process
  5
• STEP 2 - Discovering and choosing a topic
  10
• STEP 3 - Forming a focused research question
  20
• STEP 4 - Gathering information detail research
  25
• STEP 5 Writing AND Post-Writing
  40
•  

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Step 1 Understand the assignment

• Before you consider your topic . . .
• What does your teacher expect?
• Read the instructions so you know what your
  instructor has in mind for the type of paper you
  need to write. This will determine the approach.
• Example of what can affect your approach
• The research topic is clearly specified, OR
• The research topic is chosen by you

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Working with a clearly specified topic . . .

• Look over the assignment. What key words do you
  find in the instructions?
• Does the assignment ask that you describe,
  survey, analyze, persuade, explain, classify,
  compare, or contrast?
• What do such words mean in the field you are
  studying?
• TIP Look over the instructions of the assignment
  again one day prior to the paper being due, to
  make sure that you do not miss anything important
  which might affect your final grade.

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Working with a topic chosen by you . . .

• Consider the following questions
• What subjects do you already know something
  about?
• Which subjects were discussed in class that you
  are interested in?
• What subjects look interesting when you browse
  the course materials (including textbook)?

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be careful dont skip the basics

• If you think of an audience outside of just your
• instructor, it will help you to explain your
  topic more
• clearly. Think of writing for someone who does
  not have
• as much experience in this subject area.
• You need to prove you understand the material
  being
• covered. You cannot do this well if you skip over
  the
• foundation, assuming your instructor already
  knows it.
• TIP The foundation of your paper can be either
  books (if allowed) or journal articles which
  speak about your topic in general terms. For
  example a book about diabetes or a journal
  article overview about diabetes, when your actual
  topic is treatment of diabetes in the elderly in
  a nursing home setting.

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Know your audience ask yourself . . .

• Who will be interested in the information you
  gather? Why?
• What assumptions might they hold about the topic?
• What response do you want to elicit from them?
• What kinds of evidence will you need to convince
  them of your view?
• What will your supervisor or instructor expect?

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Terms to know

• Topic For research the subject matter at hand.
• Research Question A narrower (focused)
  perspective on the topic.
• Thesis statement The main point of your paper,
  which cannot be determined until after research
  and analysis is complete and you have narrowed
  down your topic into a research question (or
  statement).
• The topic you select should match the following
• Your interests and knowledge
• The purpose of the assignment
• The type of paper (report, issue, argument,
  etc.)
• The length of the paper (most important)

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Step 2 - Remove all preconceptions

• Some of the preconceptions held by students
  before beginning their research are
• 1. Doing this paper will be easy.
• 2. Doing this paper will be hard.
• 3. I should be able to find all the materials I
  need easily. Even if I cannot, I will be able
  to get them from somewhere else in a day or two
  at most.
• 4. I will find everything I need on the
  Internet.
• 5. I have plenty of time to do this, so I will
  start it later.
• Dont worry weve all thought one or more of
  these at one time or another. The key is to stop
  thinking it and start the project!

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Step 3 Practice time management and set
deadlines

• Ideally, you should begin the research
  process as soon as possible after receiving your
  assignment.
• A short paper, up to 8 pages, may take four
  weeks whereas a longer paper of 15 pages or more
  will take the entire semester.
• Therefore, it is important to assign a
  deadline for each step of the project.

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Undertake one step at a time

• As you work on your assignment, break it down
  into smaller units, day by day. For example,
  focus on one part of your argument and only find
  sources for that before you move on to another
  part.
• Cant find the information you need?
• Dont quit! Keep looking and rephrase your
  question until you locate what you need. Some
  aspects of a topic are better covered than
  others. Ask your professor or a librarian for
  help if you need!
• TIP When you are searching, it is very helpful
  if you know some synonyms of your search terms.
  Dont restrict yourself to one search. How else
  can you say it?
• Develop your search terms handout
  http//sullivanlibrary.wordpress.com/handouts

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Step 4 Create a folder

• Before you begin your searching, create a
  folder and label it with a name that will be easy
  to identify, such as Research Folder for the
  affects of Alzheimers on the patients
  caregiving children.
• To help you with creating this folder the
  Library provides RefWorks, an online research
  management, writing and collaboration tool.
  http//www.refworks.com/tutorial/
• RefWorks is designed to help researchers
  easily gather, manage, store and share all types
  of information, as well as generate in-text
  citations and bibliographies (your Works Cited
  page). http//my.dc.edu/ics/Library/Refworks.jnz
  
• Undergraduates might prefer EasyBib.com instead,
  although it does not have as many features.

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Step 5 Find a topic and basic information
about it

• Do you need a topic? Yes? Most students dont
  know what they are going to use right away
  either!
• Thumb through your textbook or course pack.
  Browse the table of contents, index, chapter
  headings, and subheadings.
• Look on the internet (Google, Wikipedia, etc) for
  topic ideas and for good search terms to use
  later.
• For books, try http//books.google.com (Google
  Books)

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Preliminary sources to develop a research
question

• The Library Portal Page (http//my.dc.edu/ics/Libr
  ary)
• The Library Catalog (Portal Page, click Librarys
  Online Card Catalog)
• Books, E-Books, E-Resources, Print Journals, and
  Microfilm Journals
• Do a words or phrase search. If you have more
  than one aspect to your topic, put an and in
  between. Diabetes and elderly
• Electronic Databases (Portal Page, click Remote
  Database Access)
• Reference Material
• Encyclopedias (in print in our reference section
  or through our databases Credo Reference and
  Encyclopedia Britannica)
• Dictionaries, Fact Books, Handbooks
• Subject guides at http//my.dc.edu/ics/Library/Sub
  ject_Guides/

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Write down what you find

• While you search for a topic you will
  raise questions or formulate ideas. Be sure to
  take record of these. Also take record of
  anything that you think might be a useful search
  keyword or phrase.
• TIP Write down the keywords you have
  already searched for, and where you searched for
  them. Then you can see the progress you have
  made, and not accidentally repeat searches you
  have already done!
• Sullivan Librarys handouts page includes
• a research log for documenting where and what you
  searched for
• a citation log for documenting the sources you
  found

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Creating an outline

• While searching for your topic, be aware of any
  possible focuses you find, but take care to not
  get sidetracked by information that is not
  directly pertinent for the task at hand.
• Create a brief outline for the paper, even if
  your professor does not assign you one.
• Outline help EasyBib.com
• NOTE Off-campus users without an established
  account need to log-in first, select EasyBib,
  then look at Citation Guide at the top. Look for
  the outline section on the left side.

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Step 6 Narrow your topic to a focused research
question

• Have you gathered your preliminary information
  and organized the notes that you currently have?
• It is time to focus on narrowing your information
  down to a desired research question.
• Review all of the information that you have
  collected. Your research question will be based
  upon your interest and the information that you
  have been able to locate in your preliminary
  search.
• TIP Write down the research question so you know
  you have a concrete topic to work with and you
  can put it into words!

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Deciding on the final research question (Cont.)

• Do you find yourself unable to figure out how to
  mention everything you have found in the page
  limit you have been given? Do you have too many
  different (yet possibly remotely related) ideas
  to cover? You need to narrow down your topic
  still and restate it either as a statement or a
  question.
• For instance
• risk management with dementia patients
• could be narrowed down to
• pros and cons for using physical restraints
  with dementia patients (this is a type of risk
  management)
• NOTE You must narrow down your topic before you
  can construct a thesis statement.

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Post Topic . . .Step 7 Gather sources for your
paper

• Serious research begins
• Make sure you have citation information for all
  sources you find
• You should be inputting your sources into
  programs like RefWorks or EasyBib
• Shift your focus to database searches and/or
  library catalog searches
• Move away from the general internet, except for
  search term harvesting or Google Scholar
  (http//scholar.google.com) for journal articles
• Note there is no subject searching and there is
  no peer-reviewed limiter
• However, it does let you see who cited a
  particular article and also related articles
  close to the article you are looking at.
• Information about each source
• Paperclip an index card to each item with
  information about why you chose it, and any page
  numbers where you took quotes or paraphrased
  something
• Research guide EasyBib.com
• NOTE Off-campus users without an established
  account need to log-in first, select EasyBib,
  then look at Citation Guide at the top. Look for
  the research section on the left side.

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Sources Needed FOR FOCUSED RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• The Library Catalog Books, E-Books, E-Resources,
  Print Journals, and or journals on microfilm
  (print/microfilm journals are located in the
  periodical section of the library past the
  computer lab)
• Electronic Databases (off the Portal Page)
• Definition databases are a collection of online
  journals, which in turn are a collection of
  journal articles
• Databases provide either an article citation
  (abstract) or the entire article itself
  (full-text) online (PDFs, HTML, etc)
• Searching EBSCOhost Handout http//sullivanlibrar
  y.wordpress.com/handouts
• These are the prime resources to use after you
  have constructed your topic (post-topic)

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Sources Needed FOR FOCUSED RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• Web sites
• Over three thousand are available through the
  Librarys Portal page under Internet Resources
  on the Web, or click here)
• Website Evaluation Handout http//sullivanlibrary
  .wordpress.com/handouts
• Also see UC Berkeleys website evaluation
  checklist (Google for it).
• You can also use reputable gateway sites which
  generally lead to more authoritative websites.
• Infomine (Scholarly Internet Resource
  Collections) http//infomine.ucr.edu
• Intute (British based but has global resources)
  http//intute.ac.uk
• Internet Public Library (try others first)
  http//www.ipl.org/div/subject/
• These are the prime resources to use after you
  have constructed your topic (post-topic)

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Step 8 Create your thesis statement

• Once you have gathered all sources that you are
  going to use and cite, and you have your final
  research question, look at constructing your
  thesis statement.
• It is the main point of your paper.
• As you are reading through each source, look for
  the main point(s) of each and write them down.
• Use these points to create an outline it is
  hard to make a thesis statement without first
  establishing an outline
• Writing a thesis statement EasyBib.com
• NOTE Off-campus users without an established
  account need to log-in first, select EasyBib,
  then look at Citation Guide at the top. Look for
  the research section on the left side.

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Create Your Thesis Statement

• Before you begin writing, create the thesis
  statement. This is accomplished by condensing the
  main point of your paper to a single statement.
  Hamilton College (Williams Reidy) gives this
  explanation of the thesis statement
• A well-written thesis statement, usually
  expressed in one sentence, is the most important
  sentence in your entire paper. It should both
  summarize for your reader the position you will
  be arguing and set up the pattern of organization
  you will use in your discussion. A thesis
  sentence is not a statement of accepted fact it
  is the position that needs the proof you will
  provide in your argument. Your thesis should
  reflect the full scope of your argumentno more
  and no less beware of writing a thesis statement
  that is too broad to be defended within the scope
  of your paper.

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Create Your Thesis Statement (Cont.)

• Another way to summarize the nature and function
  of the thesis statement is that it is a single
  sentence, usually in the first paragraph of the
  paper, which
• declares the position you are taking in your
  paper,
• sets up the way you will organize your
  discussion, and
• points to the conclusion you will draw.
• EXAMPLE THESIS Although the current trend for
  aggressive or wandering dementia patients is to
  use physical restraints, there is a growing body
  of evidence that electronic alarm devices provide
  a better long-term prognosis for the patients
  emotional and physical well-being.

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Step 9 - Weed out irrelevant information

• Guess what? Now that you have all those
  wonderful notes and citations from your research,
  you're going to have to get rid of some of them!
• No matter how profound and interesting the
  information is, if it doesn't relate to and
  support the thesis you've chosen, don't try to
  cram it into the paperjust sigh deeply and set
  it aside. You'll have easier time writing if you
  do this weeding before you start.
• TIP As mentioned in step 5, if you create an
  outline, there will be less difficulty in
  deciding what to use and not use.

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CHECKING YOUR WORK

• Dont forget little mistakes can really hurt
  your paper.
• Writing Post-Writing should be 40 of your time
• EasyBib.com also makes
• a writing guide
• a proofreading / revising guide
• NOTE Off-campus users without an established
  account need to log-in first, select EasyBib,
  then look at Citation Guide at the top. Look for
  the relevant guides on the left side.

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Citing Sources

• Here are some alternatives to using RefWorks
• EasyBib
• On Campus http//www.easybib.net/ - create a
  free premium account to use forever.
• Off Campus Log into http//libdb.dc.edu, choose
  EasyBib, and create a free premium account (With
  it, you do not need to log into the databases
  again.)
• APA Formatting and Style Guide The OWL at Purdue
  reference list and in-text
• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
  
• MLA Formatting and Style Guide The OWL at Purdue
  reference list and in-text
• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
  
• Many library databases will give you the
  citation. You just need to double check it for
  accuracy. The EBSCOhost handout tells you how
  (page 5, item record image, cite option)
• http//sullivanlibrary.wordpress.com/handouts/
  reference list

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If we dont have it . . .

• If the Library does not have a particular
  book, book chapter, or journal article which you
  are looking for, please feel to visit this
  address to submit a request
• https//my.dc.edu/ICS/Library/Library_Services/Int
  erlibrary_Loan_Services.jnz