The Research Process

Search, v.t.: go through and examine carefully; explore; probe; penetrate; look for, seek
search, n.: process of searching; investigation

(The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary, eds. Albert and Loy Morehead (NY: Signet, 1995)

WRITE, yes, WRITE, to discover what you already know, what passages of the primary source intrigue you and why, what questions you have

Write your own preliminary analysis of primary materials

Write to focus, perhaps re-focus elsewhere

The most common mistake students make when they walk into the library is a failure to narrow the topic and research question. Choose only 2-3 interesting passages to pose questions about, ensuring a narrow topic. Otherwise you will be quickly overwhelmed with the amount of sources on a large topic like "child abuse" and will either cry or randomly choose 3-4 sources. With preliminary analysis of three interesting passages in, say, an essay-all of which hint that children who are abused exhibit violence in their pretend play-you might have a focused research question like "How exactly does child abuse affect the fantasy life of the child? Does it influence the child's fantasy life when he/she grows? Does the child use fantasy to pretend he/she isn't being abused, or to imagine aggression against the abuser?" With a narrow series of questions and keywords ("child abuse" "fantasy," "aggression," you might find a manageable amount of sources for the scope of a 5-7 page paper. If you have an overwhelming amount of materials come up in IRIS or a library index, narrow your topic, but DO NOT begin to randomly read sources.]

Develop an outline of main points that you want to make or explore further

You will be less likely to plagiarize or rely too heavily upon secondary sources if you have already completed

Some written analysis
Some further questions about the primary source or topic under study
Some outline of main points you wish to make or know more about
Brainstorm key words and subject categories while you are writing your preliminary analysis: you need these for the library

Use disciplinary specific database that the library subscribes to, which you can link to from home or campus with your card number and PIN

Sort through and narrow secondary sources

Use IRIS and obtain relevant books

Do this early enough to allow for possible interlibrary loan

Understand the difference between the library search engines and WWW search engines Example

Allow time to digest, evaluate, question preliminary secondary sources

Write how these sources dialogue with the points on your outline

Keep source's page numbers in the text of your discussion, so you're not hunting for the page later

Allow time to "chain": go obtain the perfect source, which was referenced by the less relevant source that you got during the first trip to the library

Digest, evaluate, question, analyze the new sources that you obtain

Write throughout the research process, in bits and pieces, until you have enough writing to assemble and make the parts cohere

Write leisurely and non-linearly in a Word program

Save all files, including material you delete and paste into separate files

Save all notes, printed drafts, etc., and date them, in case you are ever accused of plagiarism

Make a paper concept map of your draft: what shape is it?

Write thesis

Revise by cutting and pasting until you have the right concept map and paper shape-the correct logic and order

Keep all versions of paper in separate files, and date them

Revise thesis

Make a retrospective outline and be sure that your points begin and end each paragraph

Ensure that sources are used to support not supplant your assertions

Check paper and paragraph structure

Revise

Write introduction

Revise style

Prepare citation page