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Research: Research Process

A guide to the research process and search strategies

Research Process Steps

Step 1. How to understand your question

When writing an assignment, you may struggle to understand what you are being asked to do. If you get this right from the beginning your research and writing will be more focused.

You may find it helps to:

  • Summarise the topic in your own words. This will help you to better understand what it is you are being asked to do.
  • Identify any words or terms you do not understand. You can use dictionaries, encyclopaedias, textbooks or course readings to help clarify these words or terms.
  • List any concerns or issues that the question may raise.
  • Try and take the question apart. Do this by breaking the question into manageable pieces and treat each part as a separate question.

Check out the Assignment Writing: Following the Brief page for further tips on how to understand what you are being asked to do.

Important!

Analysing your assignment question carefully will allow you to identify the types of resources you need to use to complete your assignment, and where you might find them. 

Step 2. How to develop your plan

Figure out what kinds of information you need and how much

  • Remember, there is a big difference between being asked to write a report of 1,000 words, as opposed to an in-depth analysis of 5,000 words. This will impact upon your planning and how much time and effort you put into your work.
  • Look at the marking rubric or schedule. This will give you an indication of what your tutor is looking for and where they are going to be placing their emphasis when marking.

Check out the Assignment Writing: Planning page for further tips on how to plan and prepare to do your assignment.

Make sure you plan your time effectively

  • Start your assignments as soon as you get them.
  • Finding and retrieving information takes time, as does writing your assignment. Plan carefully to include time for research, writing and reviewing your work.
  • Set aside time for a break from study which will help you to stay relaxed and keep an objective point of view in relation to your work.

Check out the Managing Study guide for further tips on how to study smarter, not harder!

Step 3. How to find the information you need

The Library homepage provides access to essential resources for your study and research. To find out how to search in these resources view the following guides:

Find Information and Research 

Find Māori Rangahau/Research

Use Mind Maps to break down your topic. See how mindmaps can help you to identify keywords to use in your searches. 

IMAGE CREDIT: Lauren Deacon (2021)

Step 4. How to evaluate your information

It is important to evaluate information especially if its found on the internet.  Apply this check list to make sure the information is suitable for academic purposes:

Currency. Timeliness. When was it published?

Relevancy. Usefulness. Does it relate to your topic?

Authority. Source. Who wrote it? What are their qualifications? If using a website, how reliable is it? Look at the domain name (URL). Government: .govt, .gov, .mil; Educational: .edu, .ac, .school; Non-commercial: .org; Commercial: .net, .co, .com

Accuracy. Truthfulness. Where does the information come from? Is it peer-reviewed? Supported by evidence?

Purpose. Why does the information exist? Is it trying to inform, sell, teach, entertain, persuade? Is it objective or biased?

Blakeslee, S. (2004). The CRAAP test. LOEX Quarterly, 31(3), 6-7. https://library.csuchico.edu/sites/default/files/craap-test.pdf

Skim reading

Look at the author, title, and date to see if the item is suitable for your research. With scholarly journal articles, read the abstract, introduction, method, results, conclusion and reference list to get a sense of the content. Take note of the language used, is it readable or too difficult to understand? Is it academic or casual?

Use control F or Apple F when in a PDF or html document to locate a keyword quickly within the document (This may not work on scanned documents).

Evaluate what you write

Have you met the assignment requirements and created a thorough answer? Have you found relevant articles? Do you need to search further?

Step 5. How to organise, write and present your work

Managing Study

  • Tips on how you can study smarter, not harder! This guide covers topics such as time management, active learning, studying for exams and critical thinking. 

Assignment Writing 

  • Tips and hints on how you can plan and write a great written assignment. This guide covers topics such as reading and writing tips, proof reading and editing your assignments.

Check out the Assignment Writing: Writing Tips page for a starting point on how to write your assignment.

Step 6. How to cite and reference your information

APA referencing

Make sure you keep a record of all items you quote or paraphrase from and that you have all the elements required for referencing.  See the APA Referencing Guide for help (located under the Library Guides tab at the top of the Library website). 

In many databases you can save items to a folder, format it into a citation style of your choosing and email the item to yourself.  

Note: Machine generated references are not always correct so check them against the library guide.

How to Avoid Plagiarism!

This video from Steelman Library, Southeastern University explains how you can avoid plagiarism by acknowledging (citing & referencing) your sources in your assignments.