FUNDAMENTALS OF RESEARCH
Search Strategies
Use the librarys many databases to find in-depth
information in books and journals
WebCat Catalog (books & AV)
Online Research Databases (articles & journals)
Use encyclopedias, almanacs and dictionaries to find background
information on your topic
Browse books in your subject (CBU uses the Library of Congress
system. In this outline, the letters are specific areas of the library
where you will find books on your subject)
Consult the Kinds of Information Chart
Research Process
Step 5) Review the available literature
Step 4) Publish findings
Step 3) Interpret findings
Step 2) Collect relevant data
Step 1) Formulate a question
RESEARCH CATEGORIES
DATA COLLECTION
EXPERIMENTAL & NON-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
AIM
DESCRIPTIVE AND EXPLANATORY RESEARCH
DISCIPLINE
SCIENTIFIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH
UTILIZATION
BASIC,APPLIED & ACTION RESEARCH
Evaluation of Information
When was it published?
Obvious, yes. But, make sure that the website
you use is not outdated.
Where was it published?
Was it published in a peer-reviewed, scholarly,
or otherwise authoritative journal? Or, merely
on someones personal website?
Why was the article written?
Many articles and websites were written to
present specific arguments or theories. Make
sure you know if the information you are using
was written for a specific purpose.
Who is the author?
Did the author have any authority in what they
wrote? What credentials do they have?
What information do you need?
Do you need to consider different or
conflicting points of view?
Try LexisNexis Reference sources
(click Reference > Polls & Surveys)
How in-depth does your research need to be?
You will actually need to find more sources then
you will end up using. If you need to use 10
sources, you should initially gather 15-20.
Try to use at least 1 source per page for you
assignment. Example: If you are writing a 10
page paper, use 10 scholarly sources.
Does your information need to be very
current?
Learn how to limit your searches by year
Do you need a general overview of the topic?
World Almanac and Encyclopedia
Do you need facts, figures, statistics?
View Statistical Databases
COMPONENTS OF RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Timetable
Bibliography
Data analysis
Review of the literature
Methodology
subject, design and data correction
Theory area
Topic of problem area
Statement of the problem
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM AND OBJECTIVE
TYPES OF RESEARCH
APPLIED RESEARCH
BASIC RESEARCH
