Research Skills Tutorial

Main Page | Modules: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Outcomes

Contents of this module:

Learning Outcomes
Focusing a Topic
Finding Background Information
Determining Type of Information Needed
Collecting Information
Interpreting Citations
Setting Realistic Limits

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, students should be able to:

1. Focus or narrow a topic appropriately.
2. Recognize the range of possible information types and the differences among them (primary vs. secondary sources, scholarly vs. general-interest sources)
3. Identify appropriate information sources (e.g., subject encyclopedia, scholarly article, government report, statistics) to meet assignment or project goal(s).
4. Recognize and interpret major types of citations (book, article, chapter in book).
5. Identify how much information is appropriate for a particular assignment or project.

Introduction

Using a research strategy can make the library research experience both efficient and successful. It can be adapted to almost every subject. The basic research strategy outlined below is not a checklist of steps to follow for every research project, rather, it suggests an approach to shaping the research process to meet efficiently the needs of the project at hand.

Focusing a Topic

The first phase of any research project should focus or narrow the initial topic idea to a manageable or realistic size. First ideas for a research topic are typically broad and somewhat vague, e.g., “women in Latin America.” Focusing that broad idea more sharply will help to make subsequent research more directed and thus efficient, and also will result in less overwhelming amounts of information. Furthermore, when all the materials gathered in the research phase directly relate to and support one specific and clearly defined idea, the final project or research paper will be much easier to write. It is harder to pull together disparate ideas into one cogently written paper. One focused topic that could be derived from the broad topic example above would be: “educational opportunities for women in 19th-century Argentina.”

Methods for focusing a topic include:

• brainstorming or clustering what is already known;
• consulting an expert to learn more;
• reading a textbook discussion of the topic; and,
• finding a concise, authoritative overview of the topic.

Finding Background Information

Encyclopedias are an excellent source for a “concise, authoritative overview”, also called “background information”. Background information provides not only a topic overview, it also provides ideas for focusing that topic by outlining all aspects of it, some of which may be new to the reader. Background information also alerts the researcher to new or alternate terminology related to the topic, which can be useful in searching databases or print resources.

College-level researchers should move beyond general encyclopedias, such as the World Book Encyclopedia or the Encyclopedia Americana, and look for appropriate subject encyclopedias. Subject encyclopedias present information for the college, or more advanced, audience and provide more detail than general encyclopedias. Articles in subject encyclopedias usually conclude with a list of books or articles, “for further reading.” This bibliography often includes critical or standard works on the topic and can provide a solid starting point for subsequent research. A few examples of standard, subject encyclopedias are:

Encyclopedia of Bioethics. (rev. ed.). (1995). N.Y.: Macmillan.
Encyclopedia of Business and Finance. (2001). N.Y.: Macmillan.
Encyclopedia of Human Rights. (1991). N.Y.: Taylor & Francis.
Encyclopedia of Psychology. (2000). N.Y.: Oxford University Press..
Encyclopedia of Religion. (1987). N.Y.: Macmillan.
Encyclopedia of Sociology. (1991). N.Y.: Macmillan.
International Encyclopedia of Communications. (1989). N.Y.: Oxford University Press.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (1998). N.Y.: Routledge.

These, and other, subject encyclopedias may be identified by searching the Countess Catalogue, using the subject words or keywords:

[subject] + ENCYCLOPEDIAS

Determining Type of Information Needed

During the process of focusing a topic, the researcher should start determining what types of information would best meet the needs of the assignment, project or research paper. Not all types of information are appropriate or even useful for every project. “Types” of information include:

• primary vs. secondary sources of information;
• scholarly vs. general-interest materials;
• current vs. historical sources of information; and,
• factual information, such as dates, definitions, or statistics.

Primary vs. Secondary Sources of Information
Primary sources are the major focus of a subject area or discipline. They necessarily take different forms from one discipline to another. For example, the primary sources in literature are the novels, plays, poems and other literary works that the discipline analyzes and criticizes. Primary sources in history include treaties, laws, letters, diaries, and even newspaper accounts of events. Primary sources in the sciences are generally reports of original research. Primary sources in business may include market research or other survey data. Secondary sources, by contrast, analyze, critique, review or refute primary sources. Again, the actual form of secondary sources may differ by discipline.

Scholarly vs. General-interest Materials
Scholarly materials most often present original research findings. This kind of information will provide much more detail and often a deeper understanding of the topic than will popular or general-interest materials. On the other hand, scholarly information may be more difficult to read and comprehend than the general-interest items. Writers of scholarly materials generally assume that the reader is familiar with not only the basic theories but also current trends in the discipline. A fluency in the specialized language of the discipline is also assumed. The reader new to the field may need to fill in crucial knowledge gaps to gain the fullest comprehension of the material. Once again, finding background information can easily broaden the reader’s basic understanding.

General-interest materials appeal to and can be read easily by the general public. Previous knowledge about the topic is rarely needed to comprehend the content of general-interest materials. On the other hand, these items may prove to be too superficial to be useful in most college-level assignments.

Current vs. Historical Sources of Information
It is important to consider the question of the timeliness of information in designing a research strategy. Is finding the most recent information essential to this topic? Is “relatively” recent information appropriate, and if so, how is “relatively” defined? Would a literature survey of five years be sufficient? Ten years?

Alternatively, is historical examination needed, and if so, how is “historical” defined? Historical in the sense of a modern discussion of an earlier event; or, an older discussion, written at the time of the earlier, historical event? Would a book about the U.S. Civil War published in 1995 be appropriate, or would an eyewitness account of a Civil War battle published in 1863 be more appropriate?

The topic focus, scope of the project, or the assignment parameters may help shape this part of the research strategy. The discipline itself may also provide direction. For example, current information is crucial in the sciences and a five-year retrospective literature search is generally considered sufficient.

Factual Information
Dates and definitions may be found in subject encyclopedias or dictionaries. To locate the latter, search the Countess Catalogue, using the subject words or keywords:

[subject] + DICTIONARIES

Statistical information can help to prove a point, to bolster an argument, or to support an assertion. Statistics may be found in newspaper or journal articles, in library reference books or databases that compile statistics, in government documents or on the Internet. To locate reference books or government documents that compile statistics, search the library catalog, using the subject words or keywords:

[subject] + STATISTICS

For assistance using the Countess catalogue to find information, please contact a reference librarian at 334-833-4421. or by e-mail at library@huntingdon.edu.

Collecting Information

Once the kinds of information appropriate to the topic and project have been identified, the researcher starts to collect information. In this phase, it is useful to think in terms of the physical format of the information, as libraries and other systems of information are generally organized and accessed by format. Knowing what format to search and where to search for it directs this phase of the research process. Standard formats include:

• books (see Module 3)
• articles (see Module 4)
• government documents (see Module 5)
• audio-visual materials (see Module 3)
• Internet resources (see Module 7)

In the process outlined in the section above, the researcher determined whether using primary or secondary sources was appropriate. Now, the researcher determines in what physical format these sources may be found. Some may be obvious: treaties and laws will be in government documents collections. Others may not be so obvious: will secondary sources in literature be found in books or in articles? (The answer is: both.)

The physical format of scholarly materials may differ by discipline. In the natural and quantitative social sciences, scholarly information appears in journal articles. Scholarly materials in the non-quantitative social sciences and in the humanities may appear either in books or in journals.

Interpreting Citations

It is important that the researcher be able to distinguish types of information fairly quickly by examining the citation. This skill will make the information retrieval phase move along much more smoothly and efficiently.

Note: The pagination number represents the total number of pages; the publication date is the year only; and, the publisher is named.

Note: The pagination information represents a range of pages, not the total number of pages for the entire periodical; the publication date is more precise than merely the year (i.e., a date, month or season is generally indicated); and, the publisher is not named.

Note: This citation appears, at first glance, to be a combination of both of the above citations. Certainly, elements of both are present. The word, “IN” is generally a key element in distinguishing the book chapter citation.

Setting Realistic Limits

Go to Module 2