How to
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• Research topic
• Search concept
• Search statement
• Search materials
• Search relevance
• Locate items
• Use References
• Evaluate Sources
• Cite Sources
• Search strategy

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Why do research?

"Research increases your knowledge and understanding of a subject. Sometimes research will confirm your ideas and understanding of a subject. Sometimes it will challenge and modify them. But almost always it will help shape your thinking.

.. a research paper should not just review publications and extract a series of quotations from them. Rather, you should look for sources that provide new information, that helpfully survey the various positions already taken on the subject, that lend authority to your viewpoint, that expand or nuance your ideas, or that furnish negative examples against which you wish to argue. As you use and scrupulously acknowledge sources, however, remember that the main purpose of doing research is not to summarize the work of others but to assimilate and build upon it and to arrive at your own understanding of the subject."

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for writers of research papers. 4th ed. New York: MLA, 1995. 2-3.

Select your research topic

Often you may be assigned a topic by your lecturer, but you may also be asked to select a topic yourself. How do you decide what to write about? You can get ideas from browsing some of the following:

• Textbooks
• General or specialized encyclopedias
• Books
• Journal or newspaper articles

Refining your research topic

If you have been assigned or have decided on a general subject area, you need to narrow the subject area into a manageable topic for your paper.

• Select a topic that you are interested in, as you will be spending time and effort on it .
• Make sure that your topic is not too narrow, nor too broad. If it is too narrow, you will have difficulty finding enough sources during your research; too broad, and you may have trouble covering the topic sufficiently.
• Check that your topic has an adequate number of relevant sources available.
• Choose a topic that is not too trivial, and allows you to analyze it critically.
• Check with your lecturer or supervisor if your topic is feasible and they may also be able to recommend some books or authorities on the topic.

Extracted from Troyka, Lynn Quitman and Hesse, Douglas. Simon & Schuster handbook for writers. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005. p. 486-488.