- Identify Your Topic
- Many times, your professor will give guidelines about what you can and cannot write about. Choose something within the parameters of the assignment.
- Choose something that interests you-the research and writing process can be more enjoyable if you are writing about something that you find interesting.
- Choose a topic that you believe will not be too difficult to find information for. If you find too much information, you may need to narrow your search. If there is too little, you may need to broaden your search.
EXAMPLE: volcanoes
- Do An Initial Search
- Before really, truly getting into the digging, it is a good idea to do an initial search to see if there will be enough information on your topic. Here is when you might decide whether you need to broaden or narrow your search.
- Start formulating questions.
EXAMPLE: how are volcanoes named?
- If you know little about your topic, it might be helpful to use keywords. Think of these as a bridge between what you are looking for and what you find.
EXAMPLES: lava, eruption
- Find Materials
When you have a better idea of what you want to research, you can begin to find and collect materials on your topic.
EXAMPLES: books, newspapers, magazines
- Evaluate Your Sources
- Credibility: look for author credentials. Check for their education, training, title, or degree.
- Accuracy: remember that something that was true 25 years ago, may not be true today. Look for timeliness and how recent the information is. Look also for lack of bias. Is more than one side of an issue being talked about?
- Reasonableness: is what you are reading, reasoned and well-rounded?
- Support: do other sources agree with the information you read? Are the claims being made supported by facts and/ or statistics.
- Write your paper
It is a good idea to start with an outline to help get your ideas laid out. Or maybe by making a rough draft that you can read over and make corrections or adjustments. Then go back and proofread.
- Cite Your Sources
Give credit where credit is due. Citing sources serves more than one purpose:
- Gives credit to the author (s) for their work and the use of their work.
- Allows for people reading YOUR work, to find the sources you used.
