How to start your research

The Research Packet

The purpose of this packet is to give you an opportunity to become familiar with a variety of resources and search tools available through the library, as well as to help you begin the process of finding a topic, research questions, and narrow down a thesis for your final research paper.

Investigating a topic and developing a position on that topic are discursive, which simply means that as you research more, your position may change, and as your position changes, you will find new areas to research. Very often, students feel so overwhelmed by the possibilities of things they may research that it seems impossible to choose just one.

The activities in this packet are designed to help you explore the many positions you can take in your research paper, assist you in investigating and refining your topic, and hopefully make you feel more comfortable with the research process and the possibility of changing your topic. Don’t get locked into one topic too early! You never know what you may find, and you want to find something that you can spend 5 weeks with and still enjoy. 

Please don’t hesitate to ask on of the reference librarians (or me – I’ll be hanging around the library, ready for all possible questions) for assistance.

Step One:  Identifying an Area of Interest

List three general areas you might be interested in exploring further for this paper.  These can be very broad (“education” or “Animal Rights”) – just start with a few good, big ideas.

            1.         

            2.

            3.

Now on to the big stuff!  Start searching.  Search local and national news web sites (CNN.com, Spokesmanreview.com, newyorktimes.com, etc) to find out if any of those topics have been discussed in the media lately.  Go to idebate.org and see what you find.  You may very well have already come up with some topics that interest you in class – feel free to use them!  You may also use Proquest and limit your search to newspapers.  If you do not know how to do this, come get me and I’ll show you how.  Describe what you find from these searches on EACH of your three areas of interest:

Topic One:

Topic Two:

Topic Three:

Step Two:  Practicing with First Search and ProQuest

Dive in headfirst and find an article that interests you.  This should be on one of your areas of interest and hopefully something that is academically sound (aliens, Britney Spears, etc are NOT academically sound).

All I want you to do, at this point, is print out three articles that could pertain to your research project.  Keep these!  You’ll need them later, and with a little luck, you may find something for your final project. 

In the area below, note the search terms you used and list at least five results:

Search terms used (be specific):

           

Results:

            1.

            2.         

            3.

            4.

            5.

Step Three:  Making a Tentative Decision

Based on this tentative research, what topic (big, broad area!) interests you the most?  All?  Any?  Is there one that you would like to learn more about?  If you can’t narrow it down to one topic, come see me and start over from question one (and this isn’t a punishment!  You are here to explore your interests, so take your time and make sure that you are thorough).  If you have made a decision, list your chosen topic below: 

Step Four:  Pinning Down a Research Question

Once you have decided which area of interest you would like to pursue, it is useful to do some general reading on the topic to determine what the areas of conflict are (and every topic has an area of conflict!).  Use Proquest or Google to locate articles from popular magazines and credible web sites to find out what aspects of this area of interest are controversial.  In the space below list the bibliographic (MLA or APA citation) information for at least 3 aspects of your topic that could be considered controversial. 

1.

2.

3.

After reading some articles for the above question, think about what questions you have about this issue.  It is difficult and premature to write a thesis statement before you have done some research; however, it is impossible to effectively begin your research on a topic without a narrow focus.  For this reason, it is helpful to write a research question that can guide your investigation.  You have already done some preliminary work on this in class; in the space below, write down three possible research questions and circle the one you think will be most effective for your purposes.  This needs to be a guiding, clear “who, what, when, where, why, or how” question. 

Research Question #1:

Research Question #2:

Research Question #3:

Now, choose your favorite, circle it, and come have it approved by me!

Step Five:  Digging into the Research

Now that you have a research question to guide you, it is time to find out what sources are available to you.  Start by using the library databases to review scholarly journals.  Use the chart below to keep track of what search terms you have used and how many article each search yielded, as well as your sense of how useful the materials that came up are.  If you are getting too many sources (more than 50-ish), your research question is probably too broad and needs to be narrowed.  Use the “Narrowing Sheet” on the next page to help you out in refining your research question into something more manageable, if you need to.

Search Terms	Number of Articles Yielded	Usefulness of Sources

TOPIC NARROWING CHART

General Topic:
Time span:
Place:
Person or group:
Event or Aspects:

Choose one of the scholarly articles you listed in the above search and read it completely.  Write an annotated bibliographic entry (in MLA or APA format) entry for the articles in the space below:

Citation:

Summary paragraph:

Very often we get so excited about the ease of online searching that we forget what a great resource actual books are!  Search the library catalogue and find at least two actual books with an essay or a chapter related to your research question.  If the entire book relates to your research question, it may be a sign that your question may be too broad.  Write an annotated bibliography entry on a book or book chapter in the space below:

Citation:

Summary paragraph:

Write an annotated bibliography entry on one other source of your choice in the space below:

Type of Source:

Citation:

Summary paragraph:

Now that you are starting to get a sense of what kinds of sources are available to you based on your topic, you can begin to think about the shape your paper might take and identify what other kinds of information you need to gather.  In the space below, list three tentative expository thesis statements and three tentative argumentative thesis statements. 

Expository

1.

2.

3.

Argumentative:

1.

2.

3.

Now, circle the thesis that works best for you and then come see me to have it approved. 

Approved:  ____________________________________________

Once your thesis statement has been approved, continue searching for a variety of sources.  You already have a few, so you are well on your way!  Start working on your “Research Proposal.”  When you are done with this, you will have all the sources you need to complete your “Annotated Bibliography”!  Good job!