Research: Getting Started

What is Research?

Research is investigation and examination.
We do research every day: ask the time, look for an e-mail address, decide which vehicle to buy.
Getting started can cause anxiety, but that feeling is temporary.
Requires time and flexibility as you learn througout the process.
Cut and try process. Information from one step may require redoing an earlier step.
Research becomes easier with practice.

Receive a research assignment: A paper or presentation is assigned, or a personal decision is required.
Examples
Select a topic: May be assigned in broad terms, or may be a personal interest.
Examples
Explore the facets of topic/narrow the focus: Ask basic background questions or specific parts of the overall topic. Often requires basic information collection and evaluation.
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State a question: This is your thesis, the question that you will answer, and it defines the limits of your problem.
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Decide on the types of sources: Different kinds of questions will require different types of information sources.
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Collect and evaluate information: Gather data to answer your specific question or thesis. This is often thought of as "research". Too much or too little available information may mean the question has to be restated.
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Is the question answered? You may need additional information, or you may need to restate the question, if not enough information is available.
Examples
Make the decision/write the report/prepare the presentation.
Examples

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