Field Guide to Research
for students taking ENGL 391 393 394 395

Research is not a simple linear process; it is a complex and challenging set of tasks. It becomes easier if you break down the process into manageable steps.

RESEARCH OUTLINE
Develop a topic: Strategize then search
Research Resources
Evaluate your findings
Cite Work not Original to You

Develop a Topic: Strategize then Search

• Begin crafting a research topic
   
  * Key words are not a research topic, research question, or thesis statement
  * It takes time to develop a feasible, workable research question
  * Work from the general to the specific
• Broad topic
   
  * Start by choosing words that generally describe your topic

     Example:    crime on campus

• Gather new terms and words along the way
   
  * It may be difficult to know how your topic is described in the literature
  * Avoid using the same key words over and over again to find new information
  * When searching databases, use descriptors and subject headings
  * Use a thesaurus or read abstracts and articles to glean new terms

  crime	campus
  criminal offenses	college
  crime alerts	university
  break-ins	schools
  assaults	campus community

• Preliminary research
   
  * Do some preliminary research using the suggested resources (below);
  * How much or how little has been written about your topic?
  * Is it feasible? Will you need to rethink your topic?
  * Narrow your topic by focusing on a specific aspect

     Example:    reducing crime on college campuses

• Refining your topic
   
  * Refine your search further by continuing to explore the literature
  * Research questions usually address an issue, problem, or controversy
  * Research questions are answered after analyzing and interpreting information

  Sample research question:    How can the university administration and police enhance safety to reduce crime on the College Park campus?

• Search using key words not phrases or sentences
   
  * Avoid entering long phrases/sentences into the search box of a any
     Web-based resource (e.g., catalog, database, your favorite search engine)
  * Typically, these resources will drop certain stop words from being retrieved
     because they appear too often in the text (e.g., an, a, the, to)
  * Break down your research question into key words, then search

     From the sample research question (above) these are the search terms:
     university administration     police   safety    reduce   crime   campus

  * You don't have to use all these key words at one time, be selective
  * Remember to use AND, OR when appropriate
  * For example: university administration OR campus administration

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   * What do you know or not know about your topic?
   * What kinds of information will you need to find?
   * Here are some suggested resources:

* background info (books) * encyclopedias, dictionaries * government documents * videos, DVD, CDs *...and more

* newspaper articles * scholarly, magazine articles * articles in trade magazines * t.v. broadcast transcripts *...and more

* Need help distinguishing between various types of publications?
 Use this guide to learn how to identify scholarly journals.

* Need help knowing what is a primary, secondary or tertiary source?
 Use this guide to learn how to identify primary sources

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* Thorough research = good bibliography = better grades
* Take time to critically evaluate the relevance and quality of your findings
* Do not settle on the first few articles you find
* If you use a search engine to surf the Web evaluate the pages you retrieve
* Review Evaluating Web Sites and Checklist for Evaluating Web Sites

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• Citing sources is an important part of the research process
   
  * Style manuals give the rules for how books, articles, Web pages and other
     materials should be documented
  * Researchers must cite the work of others, regardless of the format (print or online)
      and type of material (books, articles, interview, Web pages, etc.)
  • Guides to Citation Systems and Style Manuals (includes APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian)
  • University of Wisconsin Writer's Handbook: Guides for MLA, APA, and other citation styles

• What is plagiarism?
   
  * According to UM's Student Honor Council, plagiarism is:

     Intentionally or knowingly representing the words or areas of another as one's
     own in academic exercise.

• Avoid plagiarizing by:
   
  * Taking clear and accurate note about where you found ideas, paragraphs, etc.
  * Separating your own ideas, your summaries of others'work and others'exact wording
  * Recording the complete citation for each source you use
  * Using quotation marks when using an author's exact words
  * If you are unsure whether to cite ask a librarian or instructor for help
  * All members of the University share in the responsibility to uphold the
     Code of Academic Integrity, and the Code of Student Conduct

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