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UCA Center for Writing and Communication
Starting Your Research
Research Process
Research can often be a messy and cyclical process. Sometimes you do the perfect search on the first try, and other times you have to repeat your searches multiple times with different combinations of keywords. Below are the basic steps of the research process
Identifying Keywords
Searching in the databases isn't like searching in Google. Rather than whole sentences, you need to refine your topic into a few key terms and short phrases, known as keywords. You may want to start by writing out your topic and underlining the main concepts:
Topic: Are fears all in your head?
Not great results if you were to search these concepts, but fear not! Brainstorm synonyms and related terms in case your first search doesn't produce the correct results:
Topic: Are fears all in your head?
Keyword | Fears | In your head |
Related Terms |
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Once you have all of your keywords, you'll need to combine them in the database to perform a search. If your search doesn't work well with one combination, try another!
In this case, I got over a thousand results! So, if one search doesn't yield as many results as you thought it would, try another search with other terms.
Evaluating Information
When you're ready to begin reading your articles, use these questions to help you determine the value of a source:
Does this help me answer my research question?
How does this source address all or part of your research topic?
Do you understand the source?
Does this source use unfamiliar terminology or jargon? Do you need any other background information in order to understand it?
Does this source follow your assignment instructions?
Make sure you know what type of source you are looking at. Newspapers and magazines are not scholarly sources; journal articles and book chapters are.
How are you going to use this source?
Does this source support your thesis, or does it provide counter-evidence that you need to address? Does it provide background information on your topic, or is it important, foundational research that your topic is based on? Will this source lead to additional information?