Research Quick Start : Steps of the Research Process

Steps of the Research Process

Check out this video on the steps of the research process: Introduction to Research

Step 1) Choosing a topic is the first step of the research process. Picking a topic that interests you will help your research process go faster and be more successful.  Choose a topic that is interesting to you or highlights a gap in research, and on which you can find quality resources.

Get background information on your topic. As you begin your research process, ask yourself: What question do you hope to answer with your research? Use textbooks, web resources, encyclopedias etc. to help you identity vocabulary, key issues, and themes of your topic. You can  try Opposing Viewpoints, Pew Research Center, Newsbank  or Points of View Reference Source for help in choosing a topic and Encyclopedia.com for background information on your topic. 

Librarian Tip! Make a Plan!  Use this Assignment calculator to break down the steps of the research process and stay on track, so you don't turn in a late assignment! It will help you plan out both the research and writing parts of your paper into manageable steps. 

Take a look at Kalamazoo College's Research Toolkit.  This toolkit will give you examples of quality research questions, how to choose and focus your topic, and how to come up with keywords. 

Step 2) Develop a Search Strategy: Think of the 5 W's to develop your research question!  Use basic questions- who, what, where, when, why and how to break your topic into a searchable question and keep it focused. You might need to narrow or broaden your research question depending upon if you are finding too much information or too little.

Example:  Who is the population or group you are focusing on? (college students, women etc.)  What is the discipline or focus? (social media, mental health) Where? ( United States, universities)  When is the time period or era? (19th century, post COVID, WWII) Why is this topic important to you or the field of study? 

 After you have your research question and before you start searching for literature on your topic, you'll need to decide what search terms to use. Decide on the "key" words that you will use to search for information on your topic. Keywords are the main ideas or key concepts of your research question. A keyword search matches the terms you enter with records in a database and can help focus your topic and get accurate results. Combine your keywords using boolean operators like (AND, OR, NOT).  Quotations will keep your search terms together.

And: AND will limit your results to those which match both terms you enter. Example:  social media AND college students

Or: OR will expand your results to those that match either of the terms you enter. Example: Mark Twain OR Samuel Clemens

Not: NOT will exclude a term from your results. Example: tigers NOT baseball 

Tips and Example:

• Don't type in full sentences when using the search boxes
• Avoid words like impact, effect, etc. 
• Avoid punctuation like commas or question marks
• Use quotations for an exact phrase match
• Use parentheses to keep multi-word terms and phrases together.

          Example 1: Research Question is :  What effect does the daily use of TikTok have on college students? Words in bold are the  keywords.    

           Example 2:  Research Question is:  How does binge drinking affect learning in college students?  Words in bold are the keywords. 

After identifying keywords, develop a keyword list to get more results for your search.  For each key concept of your topic or research question, make a list of other words with the same or related meanings (synonyms). 

For example 2 check out related meanings to each keyword below.

Keyword: Binge Drinking              Related Meanings: Alcohol consumption, heavy drinking

Keyword: Learning                       Related Meanings: Academic achievement, student success, 

Keyword: College Students        Related Meanings: University students, higher education students 

In addition, use the database’s approved terms to ensure that you are getting the most accurate search results- in a database you will see these approved terms under Subject Headings. Use these subject heading terms to search for your topic.      

Librarian Tip! Try UNCW's research strategy guide. It will walk you through the steps of creating a research strategy. Quick and easy! https://research-strategy.uncw.edu/

Step 3) Find Library Resources-  Begin searching with the keywords you have identified in Step 2. Start by  using the Madonna University's online library catalog https://library.madonna.edu/ . It's a one-stop shop for searching all of the library's resources. It includes access to books/ebooks,  electronic resources (journals, magazines etc.) in our subscribed databases, and articles outside of our collection.  Then search subject specific databases and multidisciplinary  databases using your keywords. https://library.madonna.edu/az.php   Refine your results using the filters on the left including date, source type, language etc.  

Databases are similar to search engines but primarily search scholarly journals, magazines and more. You can also begin your research using our Research Guides. These guides have been designed by Madonna University librarians and contain databases, journals, books, and websites that are relevant to a specific academic field.

Step 4)  Evaluate Resources :  Use lateral reading and the SIFT method to evaluate your resources.  You can also you the ACT UP method created created by Dawn Stahura in 2017.  Check it out Here! 

Step 5) Organize, Write, and Cite: Visit the Madonna University Writing Center to receive help for writing  your paper including citation help! 

Make an appointment with the Madonna University Writing Center. 

Additional help for citing and writing your paper can be found here.