How Do I Start My Research?
Helpful Tools
- Plan Your Assignment Tool This is a great tool to plan out how long it will take working backwards from the due date of the final paper. You will not be able to sign up for the reminders, but you can certainly write them into your calendar or planner.
- Choosing a topicGuide to Writing a Basic Essay
- How to Write a Research Paper- Purdue OWLThis handout provides detailed information about how to write research papers including discussing research papers as a genre, choosing topics, and finding sources.
This guide was adapted from IUPUI and added to by Bristol Library Learning Commons
Indiana University Purdue University at Indianappolis (IUPUI) Library Research Guide on The Research Process by IUPUI Librarians is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The Information Cycle
Long description of the infographic can be found Information Cycle Description.
How to Use this Guide
How to use this guide
Research is an iterative process, meaning individual steps may be repeated multiple times. The graphic below shows one way that we can do research, but it doesn't look the same for everyone. The research process is non-linear and often messy. As you go through this guide, you should feel free to jump back and forth between steps as you see fit or to come up with a process that works better for you. We also recommend you track your process in a way that makes sense to you so that you can remember where and how you did your searches in case you need to revisit them, or in order to avoid getting stuck in a research rut like always trying the same databases even though they might not be the ideal ones for your research question.
RESEARCH TAKES TIME. MAKE A PLAN.
Understanding Your Assignment
First, you must understand your assignment and what your professor is looking for. Please visit this page in the guide to review how to make sure you understand what the assignment is all about. Understanding the Assignment
Research Process
Where does information come from?
Watch this quick video to learn about where information comes from.