The Research Process

Step 1: Identify the Task

• What is the assignment asking you to do?
• What type of product will you create?
• What should the scope of your research be?
• What is at stake with this research? Who will be interested in your findings?

Step 2: Formulate a Research Question

• Create a question that will frame your research.
• Determine what sub-questions you will need to answer to respond to this larger question.

Step 3: Generate Search Terms

• What terms will you need to use when you begin your search?
• Think of as many of these as possible so that you will have many items to choose from while you use the databases provided.

Step 4: Determine your Information-Seeking Strategy

• Where do you think you will find information on this topic?
• What types of sources will be helpful to you? 
• Think of these ahead of time so that you will have an array of source types once your research is complete.

Step 5: Evaluate and Organize 

• Evaluate the credibility and effectiveness of your sources (especially web sources).
• Organize your findings before you begin writing so that your audience will follow your research easily. 

Step 6: Synthesize your Research

• The final step! Combine the information you retreived so that it supports your claim. 
• Don't forget to include what new knowledge you've created. Answer the "so what?!" question.