Overview

It's a good idea to keep detailed research notes throughout the process. This can often save lots of time in the end.

Step 1: Identify your topic

• With what topics are you already familiar?
• In what topics do you have a genuine interest?
• In what topics do you already have a strong opinion; positive or negative?

Step 2: Find background information

• Identify keywords related to your topic.
• Search encyclopedia and other general sources.
• Collect additional keywords that you can use to search later.
• Generally, it is ok to use Wikipedia in this step, but remember Wikipedia is like your really smart older sibling; they may provide you with lots of great bits of information to get started, but you would never use them as a source for your project.

Step 3: Search for your sources

• Library catalogs for books.
• Databases for periodical articles.
• Additional Internet resources.

Step 4: Evaluate what you’ve found

• CARS Checklist
  • Credibility: Is this source believable and trustworthy?
  • Accuracy: Is the information correct and current?
  • Reasonableness: Is the information fair and objective?
  • Support: Is the information verifiable?

Step 5: Write your research question

• Narrow your original topic into a research question.
• Consider:
  • Is the research question researchable in terms of the available timeframe and required resources?
  • Is the research question too broad or too narrow?

Step 6: Cite your sources

• Gives credit to the authors and materials you’ve used
• Provides your writing with credibility