Library Home: Research Process Tutorial: Research Process in Grid Format

Step by Step

Task: I need to...	Step 1	Step 2	Hints:
Understand assignment.	Consult Teacher's content in Blackboard and in Class.	Ask questions to clarify.	Understand - before wasting time on the wrong thing.
Plan when to do it.	Create project time line: Schedule time to do research and write, plus buffer. See: Time Management.	Re-schedule as needed.	Aim for YOUR deadline that is earlier than teacher deadline.
Define my topic.	Try to do something that matters to you, that applies to the career you are pursuing. See: Find a Topic .	Try to describe your topic in a sentence. See: More Research Help.	Narrow the topic with more terms, or broaden topic with synonym search.
Find sources of information.	Go to Library Resources and use Search Everything box, or Program Guides or search Individual Databases . See: Library Resources.	Adjust search strategy to get the most relevant information. Ask a Librarian for help if you get too many or too few results. See: Contact Us.	You should get information from a variety of sources to validate information and decrease bias. See: Finding the Bias. Keep track of source citation information from the beginning See: Citing Sources.
Evaluate and choose sources.	Easiest: Peer-reviewed, from Library databases.	Other sources - Does it meet an evaluation test? See: Evaluating Sources.	If you have doubts , ask your Teacher, or a Librarian. See: Contact Us.
Assess gaps	Articles, books, videos, interviews, images, etc. can all be used - and must all be cited. See: Citing Sources.	Update project timeline. Did you collect enough sources to meet your assignment goal? See: More Research Help if needed.	Pick out the best articles to support your outline points. See: Evaluating Sources and Writing Help.
Cite sources.	Make sure every quote, paraphrase, idea, image, etc, that you have not created is cited. See: Plagiarism.	Use only one citation style per project. AMA and APA are the most common. See Writing Help and Citing Sources.	Ask your teacher if you can use the "cite suggestion" feature in the Library Databases , or if you need to edit to match a particular style manual edition.
Write & Edit	Edit for one thing at a time. Read it out loud. Read your paper backwards. See: Proofreading.	Get help from "The Write Way" program in the Appleton Student Success Center, second floor. See: Blackboard [Student] tab.	See: Writing Help and Teaching Learning Center.

What's Next?

This Help Guide will walk you through each stage of the research process.