What is research?

Defined in simplest terms, research is searching for and gathering information, usually to answer a particular question or problem. Research projects of various types and complexity are an integral part of the college experience and offer you the opportunity to learn a valuable set of skills. In fact, the ability to locate and evaluate information -- which is the essence of research and a valuable skill in many areas of life -- is a large part of what it means to be an educated person.

The focus of this course will be on gathering information from two main sources: primary sources; i.e., information that you get directly from people, and secondary sources: published research. Secondary sources include books, magazines, journals, newspapers and various Internet documents. In addition to printed materials, bibliographic research may also include audio and video recordings, photographs, films, and, more recently, computer-based programs and online information. Until recently, most secondary research was done only in libraries, but with the arrival of the computer certain amounts and kinds of research can now be done wherever a computer and phone line or network connection are available.

Primary sources include information from direct experience, observation or experimentation. A laboratory experiment involving students is an example of empirical research; gathering information by directly talking to people is an example of oral research. Examples of oral research include interviews, surveys, polls and questionnaires.

When you undertake bibliographic research, what should be your overall purpose and goal? What end result are you striving for? In some courses, your instructor may only be seeking a summary of what others have already said or written about a topic. For example, you may be asked to write a paper, in which you present both sides of the controversy over global warming, thus summarizing the scientific debate. Your own position on the controversy would not be included.

Therefore, the goal of research is to develop an informed opinion on a topic. This goal is only achieved when you have carefully and widely read what others have written on your topic; analyzed, compared and evaluated those ideas; and come up with your own conclusions. Although no instructor will expect you to become a world-renowned expert on a topic or settle a long-running debate, you will often be expected to show original thinking in your thesis statement and discussion.

In sum, "a research paper is more than a summarized version of what others have said or written . . . Ideally, your research paper represents a synthesis of your own perceptions, attitudes, ideas, and experiences supported by information gained from other sources".

Choosing a Topic

Step 1: Choose a subject or area of interest.

Every journey must begin with a first step. The first step in the research process is to decide on a tentative subject or area of interest. At this point in your research, it is perfectly acceptable if you only have a very general idea of what you'd like to pursue. For example, you may decide you'd like to research illegal immigration, alcoholism, freedom of speech, computer networks, elementary education, or astronomy. But each of these subjects is far too broad for a single research project.

Even though you've started by thinking only of a general subject area, your goal is to narrow and focus your subject until, at Stage 3, you come up with a research topic, which is often stated in the form of a question. What is the difference between a subject and a topic? A subject is a broad area of interest from which a more specific topic can be chosen. A research topic, therefore, is a relatively narrow area of interest that can be thoroughly researched and discussed within the page length guidelines given by your instructor. Examples of subjects and topics are given below:

SUBJECT

Elementary education

Journalism


Astronomy

Economics

Law/Political Science/Sociology
RESEARCH TOPIC

"What are effective methods for teaching children how to read?"

"What are the effects of corporate ownership and media monopolies on news reporting and editorial freedom?"

"What are the latest speculations about the origins of the universe?"

"How does illegal immigration affect the United States economy?"

"What steps, if any, should the government take to censor pornography and hate speech on the Internet?"

Notice that each of the five research topic examples are open-ended questions, i.e. they are phrased in such a way that the researcher is deliberating inviting different perspectives. This open-minded approach to all viewpoints is essential. If you begin your research with your conclusions and point of view already determined, you are not undertaking a true research project in the sense it's being described in this course. If that were the case, you would very likely fall victim to research bias, a flawed approach in which you only consider information and evidence that supports your pre-conceived opinion and ignore information and evidence that does not. It is only after reading broadly, carefully gathering and evaluating several viewpoints and types of evidence that you can feel justified about reaching your own conclusions and expressing them in a concise thesis statement.

At this point you are merely choosing a broad subject area from which you will soon (during Stages 2 and 3) shape a precise research topic. If you are unable to come up with a broad subject area, here are some suggestions that may spark ideas:

Choose a subject that interests you. The more curiosity you have about an area, the more enthusiasm and motivation you'll bring to the project, which will in turn be reflected in the quality of your work.
Browsing your textbook, lecture notes, current magazines and newspapers, and annual review sources (yearbooks, e.g.) may give you ideas.
Ask your instructor or college librarian for help choosing a subject.

Step 2: Conduct a preliminary exploration of your subject.

Now that you have decided on a general subject area for your research, it is important to gain a sense of what your subject area entails. In other words, what is your subject all about and how much information exists on this subject? More precisely, you should ask yourself the following questions:

What discipline(s) or profession(s) fall under this subject?
How has this subject developed or changed over time?
What key concepts and terms are used in this subject area?
What are some of the currently disputed or controversial questions concerning this subject?
Who are the key thinkers and researchers in this area?
What are some of the key publications in this subject? (Fink 79)
These questions can usually be answered by skimming through relevant articles in general and subject encyclopedias, research guides, annual review sources, and bibliographic guides. Preliminary reading in these types of sources will familiarize you with your subject area and help you gain a sense of its scope and complexity. Once you have gained some background knowledge during this overview stage, you should be able to make significant progress toward formulating a central research question (Stage 3). Stage 2, therefore, is a critically important part of the research process because it is here that you are deciding exactly what aspect or aspects of your subject you want to focus on.

A final benefit of conducting a preliminary topic overview is that this early effort almost always provides you with a preliminary bibliography, i.e. a list of books, articles, reports, etc., that depending on how your topic is eventually defined, you may want to read.


Step 3: Narrow and shape your subject into a specific topic.

At this stage of the process, you should be able to articulate at least a tentative topic for your research project. Beware of choosing a topic that is too narrow or too broad. A good rule of thumb to remember is this: If there are entire books written about your topic, it is too broad for a research paper. Conversely, if your research question can be fully answered in a few paragraphs, your topic is too limited. Also beware of choosing a topic that is too recent, obscure, or specialized for you to find published material in a variety of formats. If, however, you initially choose a topic that is too narrow, too broad, or too esoteric, keep in mind that zeroing in on an appropriate topic can sometimes continue well into later stages of the research process. In other words, as you gather more information on your topic in Stages 5 through 7, you are free to modify your research topic if you discover through your reading that you have defined your topic too narrowly or too broadly.

As stated earlier, research topics are often stated in the form of a question. For example, "How does illegal immigration affect the United States economy?" When phrasing your research topic, keep in mind it will usually include at least two aspects or main ideas, often referred to as concepts.

For example, you may have chosen law as your general subject, in particular criminal justice. After some preliminary research and background reading, you might discover that one major area of debate is the death penalty and whether or not it provides a deterrent to violent crime. Your first concept, or main idea, is death penalty. The second concept is violent crime rates. The two (or often three) concepts of a research topic can often be phrased in relation to each other as follows:

"The effect of ___(concept #1)___ on ___(concept #2)___ ."
"The role of ___(concept #1)___ in ___(concept #2)___ ."
"The use of ___(concept #1)___ in ___(concept #2)___ ."

Therefore, after conducting your preliminary topic exploration in the subject area of criminal justice and finding a particular focus that interests you, a plausible research topic is:

"The effect of the death penalty on violent crime rates in the United States."
_______________(concept #1)______(concept #2)
Reword this topic in the form of a question, it now becomes: "How does the death penalty affect violent crime rates in the United States?"

When wording your research question, it is best to begin with the words How or Why. Research questions beginning with these words automatically suggest a somewhat broad investigation and substantive discussion, thus helping you avoid phrasing your topic too narrowly. On the other hand, avoid starting your research question with the words Who, Where, or When. These words tend to force your research into a limited aspect of your subject and you'll be unable to come up with enough material for your project. Research questions beginning with What can be acceptable or unacceptable, depending on how much scope and breadth the rest of the question implies. Note the difference between these two research questions, each beginning with "What ….":

Too narrow for most research assignments: "What percentage of violent crimes are punished by the death penalty each year in the United States?"

A broader research question appropriate for most research projects: "What is the effect of the death penalty on violent crime rates in the United States?"

(Note that this is essentially the same relatively broad question as our earlier phrasing of this topic, except that we started with the word "How". Either phrasing -- beginning the question with "How" or "What" -- is appropriately focused.)


Determine Sources of Information

Step 4: Decide what type and amount of information is needed, how current it should be, and what types of sources will provide that information.

At this point in the process, you should conduct an information needs analysis -- a process in which you decide how much information is needed and what sources might provide that information. The type and amount of information you need depends to a large degree on the final product you're working toward. Are you preparing a fifteen-page term paper, a group report, or a three-minute speech? Each project requires varying kinds and amounts of information. To help you conduct your information needs analysis, ask yourself the following three questions:

1) "What type of information on my topic do I need?"

-- background? -- broad overview?
-- biographical? -- objective/subjective?
-- statistical? -- factual?
-- primary/secondary accounts? -- narrowly focused discussion?

-- current news? -- scholarly/technical/popular discussions?
-- analysis and commentary? -- recent/older publications? Both?


2) "How much information on my topic do I need?"

Your professor may require a minimum number of sources depending on the exact nature of the research project. If your instructor doesn't specify how much information you need to read or consult during your research, you can decide for yourself based on the amount of information that's available on your topic, the level of expertise you'd like to gain, and of course, the length of the final written or oral presentation.
3) "What types of information sources might provide the information I seek?"

Here you are speculating about the types of materials (information sources) that could possibly give you information pertinent to your topic. They include, but are not limited to the following:
-- books -- conference proceedings/papers
-- general and subject encyclopedias -- dissertations
-- reference materials -- pamphlets
-- bibliographies/research guides -- unpublished materials
-- periodicals -- people (experts, scholars, others)
-- government documents -- Internet resources


Print vs. electronic forms of information

With easy access to electronic resources, one can understand why students might think of the research process as beginning and ending with computers. However, there is no "one-stop shopping" when it comes to doing quality research. A good researcher knows how to find information in a wide variety of formats.

Not all information is available in electronic format. Many information sources in academic disciplines are not yet available electronically. In addition, computerized databases have only emerged as a research tool since the 1960's, so the bulk of information in libraries is in a print format, as it has been since the invention of the printing press in 1465. It is inconceivable to believe that all of this historical knowledge will be transcribed into an electronic format. Therefore...

Advantages and disadvantages of print and electronic formats

Advantages of electronic online searching:

Speed. It can take minutes (sometimes seconds) to search one or more databases while a comparable search in print indexes takes much longer.
Flexibility. You can link words or search terms in a way that can never be done manually, often with better search results.
Variability. Truncating (shortening) terms allow you to search for all the variations of a term. For example, using the truncated term "colleg#" will retrieve "college," "colleges," "collegial," and "collegiate."
More resources. Online searching provides access to many more resources than are available in our library.
Currency. Online databases are updated more frequently than printed sources.


Disadvantages of electronic online searching:

Volume. You tend to get back an enormous number of search results, particularly if you are searching the Internet.
False hits. Any search in an electronic database will frequently result in a number of false matches of your keyword search terms. For example, a search for information on "AIDS" may easily turn up "false" hits such as "study aids" or "visual aids."
No cross-references. Perhaps the greatest disadvantage of online searching is the lack of cross-references that take the researcher from a poor choice of keywords to terms that will result in a higher rate of success. This is particularly true if you make a typographical error or spell a word wrong.
Advantages of print resources:

Cross-references. One area where print resources are more helpful than online databases is the useful cross-references between subject headings. If your topic is broad, the "see also" references will suggest more appropriate headings. If you haven't picked the right subject heading, the "see" references will lead you to the subject heading in actual use.
History. Since many online databases only index articles published after 1980, you will need to use print indexes to locate older articles. If you plan to do research in the humanities, or in history, you will most likely consult information published prior to 1980.
Difference Between Scholarly Journals and Popular Magazines

Scholarly and Professional Journals
Definition: Scholarly is concerned with academic study, especially research.
Purpose: To report on original research or experimentation; to make such information available to the profession
Language: Written by and for scholars in the field; using the terminology and jargon of the discipline
Sources: Always cite their sources in the form of footnotes or bibliographies
Examples: New England Journal of Medicine, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Popular Culture


Popular Magazines
Definition: Popular means appeal to the taste and intelligence of the people at large.
Purpose: To provide general information to a broad audience
Language: For any audience
Sources: Sometimes cite sources, though more often do not
Examples: Fortune, Scientific American, Psychology Today, Time Magazine

Develop a Search Strategy

Step 5: Choose appropriate access tools, develop a search strategy for each tool, and conduct a systematic, planned search using each tool.

Once you've determined what kind of information you need and what types of sources might provide that information, you need to choose the right access tool, plan a strategy for using that access tool, and conduct a search for information. (Remember our definition of access tool: a print or computerized "finding aid" that leads you to various kinds of information. For example, online catalogs (OPAC's) and periodical indexes are access tools you will use later in the course.)

It is crucial to remember at this stage that the access tool(s) you decide to use depends on the type and level of information you're seeking. In other words, the tool must be able to access (or at least describe in the form of a bibliographic citation) the information you need. If, for example, you're looking for an in-depth overview of 20th century Chinese history, one type of information source you need is a book. The access tool to find books is the OPAC, not an index or abstract. On the other hand, if you were seeking the results of the most recent national elections in China, a periodical index or the Internet would be the most helpful access tool.

Once you've chosen a tool, you must develop a search strategy for using it. A search strategy is a specific plan for how you'll conduct an efficient and effective search so that you uncover the most relevant information that a particular access tool can provide on your topic. Taking the time to plan a search strategy adds precision to your search and saves you lots of time because a carefully crafted search helps you avoid the frustration of wading through long lists of irrelevant citations. Listed below are the main steps to follow when developing a search strategy for any given access tool. You will learn more about each of these steps as you progress through the course:

Steps for Developing a Search Strategy:
1) Divide your research question into concepts (main ideas).
2) Identify synonymous or related terms for each concept.
3) Combine terms using Boolean logic (AND, OR).
4) Conduct a search of the database in the keyword mode.
5) Consider field searching, truncation, and proximity operators if the access tool provides these features.

Step 6: Evaluate the citations your search found and select only the most relevant to your topic.

Now that you have conducted a search using appropriate access tools, you will be presented with a list of citations (sometimes called references, entries, records, or hits) that describe books, articles, or other sources of information. At this point, it is extremely important that you evaluate these citations for relevancy and quality. Even though you may have conducted a carefully planned search, you are still very likely to encounter "false drops" (irrelevant citations) in your search results list. The fact that a citation contains your search term(s) does not guarantee its relevancy to your topic and it would be a mistake to print or write down every citation that appears. It is crucial that you take the initiative and exercise your critical thinking and evaluation skills in a significant way at this point in the research process because computers do not make research decisions, you do (List 114).

Listed below are three important parts of a citation that you should closely examine. Citations often contain "clues" that help you decide if the entire item is of sufficient quality and relevance to track down and read in its entirety:

1) Title: Read the entire title, especially the subtitle if there is one, and look for key words and phrases that indicates relevance to your topic.

2) Abstract: Computerized indexes sometime include brief abstracts (summaries) of the item described. Reading the abstract will help you decide if the item is relevant to your topic.

3) Author: Is this an author that you have come across before in your reading, i.e. in an encyclopedia article, review article, or bibliography? Is this author discussed, referred to, or cited often by other scholars and writers? If so, you can almost always be certain that person is important in the field you're researching.


Step 7: Read, take notes, and evaluate the sources selected as relevant in Stage 6.

You are now at the point where you are reading and taking notes from the relevant sources you chose in Stage 6. When taking notes it is important that you use your own words and phrases to summarize and paraphrase what you read. If you borrow the language of your source too closely, or don't give credit to a source either through quotation marks or proper documentation, you are guilty of plagiarism. If you are uncertain about the process of notetaking and avoiding plagiarism, consult one of the many research guides in Skyline's library, such as The Brief English Handbook by Edward Dornan and Charles Dawe.


Step 8: Revise, refine, and repeat stages 1-7 as needed.

As noted at the start of this discussion, this model of the research process is flexible and allows you to react to what happens along the way and respond accordingly. If, for example, your search result list in Stage 5 is hundreds or thousands of records long, you have found too much information and may have to narrow the focus of your topic (Stage 3) or conduct a more precise search, perhaps with different terms. Conversely, if your search uncovers too little information, you may have to broaden its scope. Remember, as you go through this research process you are continually evaluating what's happening in terms of your overall purpose -- finding information that meets your needs. If your research goals are not being met, you have the freedom to make the necessary corrections or adjustments at any stage of the process.