Introduction: The Research Process

Getting Started:

The research process involves identifying, locating, assessing, and analyzing the information you need to support your research question, and then developing and expressing your ideas. These are the same skills you need any time you write a report, proposal, or put together a presentation. 

Library research involves the step-by-step process used to gather information in order to write your paper, create a presentation, or complete a project. As you progress from one step to the next, it is often necessary to rethink, revise, add additional material or even adjust your topic. Much will depend on what you discover during your research. 

The research process can be broken down into several steps, making it more manageable and easier to understand. This module will give you an idea of what's involved at each step in order to give you a better overall picture of where you are in your research, where you will be going, and what to expect at each step.

 

1. Define your topic 
2. Locate background information about your topic 
3. Find articles, ebooks, other library resources, and/or websites on your topic 
4. Evaluate the information you have gathered.
5. Cite the information you use to allow others to follow your research trail and add the scholarly conversation.