Student Tips: 10 Steps to Better Research.

Not long ago, I wrote about ways for students to add more “kicks” to their research papers. Such strategies are designed for students who have already mastered the basics of research, not students who have just started researching and writing papers. As of writing, however, research skills are rarely taught explicitly – scholars think students know or can figure out how to do good research, or better yet refer their students to the library manager to visit library resources and resources. Is it any wonder that many university students rely on Wikipedia as the first and last place in their research series?

To help students master their basic research skills, here are 10 tips that can help you find, organize, and use the information you need to compile a decent research paper.

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1. Plan! I tell my students that the first step in writing a research paper is to acknowledge that you have a research paper. Write a schedule with a series of important steps to complete by a specific date (e.g. find 10 sources by September 20, complete the first survey by October 15), and keep it to yourself. You’ll need time to get an overview of what’s in it, find what’s in your library, choose the right information, read it, take notes, and start compiling it – and make a second wave of research to clarify points. you were raised in the writing of your first draft.
2. Start, do not finish, with Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a great place to start your research – spend some time searching for keywords related to your topic, browse the links you find on each page, and follow the suggested resources. Take notes, especially on any good sources they recommend. The goal here is to get a good idea of ​​the topic you are writing about, and Wikipedia is much better at that than most print sources, due to its hyperlink ed status. When preparing to write, you should have better sources for your instruction than Wikipedia, so avoid quoting them from your paper.
3. Copies of my books. Once you’ve got a good, solid textbook or essay on your topic, you’re a gold digger – eventually there will be a list of hundreds or hundreds of sources to look at. You can visualize a bibliography and write down whatever the subject of that sounds relevant to your research. Educational writers are not very creative with their topics, so it is often very easy to say what their work is about with a topic or text just below. Go back and see if you know any of the authors’ names – and these may be worth tracking. When you first get a job the first book mentioned, do the same with their bibliographies – you will soon have a list of more resources than you need (but you need it, because your library may not have all the books and journals. not useful for students who need to graduate by the end of the semester).
4. Have a research question in mind. Technically, your thesis should appear in your research, when you have data in front of you. But you need a kind of “working thesis” while doing your research – a question you want to answer. As you experience new things, ask yourself if it seems like it would help to answer your question. Anything that looks important but doesn’t help to answer your question can be returned. It is tempting to collect a lot of background material, and some are needed, but too much will be a waste of your time without having to contribute to your research. Find one or two good domain sources (your initial Wikipedia searches should be sufficient in most cases) and focus on working on the answer to your research question.
5. Deal with one episode at a time. Do not try to tackle your entire topic at once. Get acquainted (gain, obtain) with present-day techniques that will help you to develop a comprehensive outline of what you need to understand, and then work through each section. You will find the connection between the pieces when you write your first draft.

6.  Use the program. Start your research with an idea of ​​how you plan to collect and organize your notes and data. Although I have written papers using        reference cards before, my preferred method is to use a one-letter notebook. At the top of the new page, I write a complete index of a book or paper,           then copy quotes and take notes – both marked with page numbers coming out of it – combined with thoughts and ideas from me as I am. To read. I              would like to use the computer more effectively when I do research, and build database and try wiki and outlines and other types of software, but I           have  never found a system that works well – I spend more time playing software than doing work. No matter which system you decide on, make sure all     your quotes, facts, and ideas are somehow tied to your source so you can easily add references while writing.

7. Know your resources. Take the time to find out what resources, both online and offline, are available to your library. Most libraries offer students a visit, or talk to a research librarian – or at least, go to the library to find out where you are, with special attention to the film and newspaper repository, which you will use most in the course of many research projects. Many university libraries also register for a number of educational libraries, and many are now accessible online – find information on research materials that you can access at home. J-Stor, for example, holds photocopied copies of hundreds of journals, all of which can be easily searched. There is no such thing as a nocturnal thought, login, and printing of two or three journals to review in the morning.
   8. Ask for help. Use the resources and resources you have. Many professionals spend their hours in the office waiting anxiously for a student to come in and give them something to justify the time they need to keep the hour open – be this student! Ask for help finding and testing sources, or help find out what you have done with the items you have collected so far. Another resource often overlooked is the friendly librarian of your local library. Experts, by my estimation, are the best people on Earth – they know the products they charge before and after, are very concerned about seeing them used, and are committed to making their lives more accessible. Most professionals will be happy to help you find the right items for your project, and some will also find some pieces of information that are hard to find. Don’t forget to ask your classmate for help, too – some of them may come across a job that is directly related to your topic.
   9. Carry a vision book. As you begin to get into your project, your mind will begin to wander around what you are learning, even if you are not working on it. If you are like me, you will be struck by sudden revelations at least the right times – in the bathroom, in the shower, in the supermarket. or when preparing for bed. Keep a small notebook and pen with you everywhere (well, maybe not in the shower – though I keep dry wipe marks near the sink so I can write quick thoughts on the bathroom mirror when I get out of the shower); write down notes whenever the idea comes to your mind, and forward these notes to your research log (or software, whatever) as soon as you can.
   10. Make it the latest. Pay attention to the date of publication of your content – while it’s okay to use old stuff, you’d better like a lot of your reference to appear 10 years ago or so. If research on your topic appears to have dried up a decade or more back then, it may be because the field has progressed, but it may also be because of the lack of funding opportunities, the senior researcher died, or any other cause of the accident. One trick in Google is for the great researchers whose work you have found and to see if you can find their homepages – most will list their latest publications and current research activities – maybe someone has a book coming out, or reports published. in obscure or foreign journals. If so, you may try to borrow money from the library, or in some cases, try to contact the researcher himself and ask if they can send you a draft or reprint. Be modest, explain what you are doing and what you are trying to find, where your research has placed you so far, and what enlightenment you hope their work can bring to your subject. Don’t ask for a list of references or what your thesis should be – no one wants to do student work for them.       

These tips will help put a decent notebook and the subject of notes and data in your hands when you sit down to write your paper. While resource analysis is also a necessary part of doing good research, it will have to wait for its own post, as it is a very big topic that can be reduced to a bullet point here. Library work or your professor can help, especially if you limit yourself to the books and journals available in your university library. Internet resources are more sophisticated, as it doesn’t take much effort these days to put a website that looks like a professional saying whatever you want; until you are comfortable with the items in the field you have chosen, it is best to stick to well-known sources like Wikipedia and sites authorized by your library or department, if you use the internet at all. Remember, though, that for the past few years, most of us have been able to do research without the Internet! With a typewriter! Walking up! On the ice! With shoes!

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