Research Process (What It Is And Basic Steps)

  • Jul 26, 2021
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The Investigation process It is an easy way of effectiveness when situating the information for a research purpose, be it this documentary, an oral sample, or something else established by the professor.

Since investigative probing is a process, you must take the time to refine and modify your topic. You may notice that your topic is very large or very incomplete. The subject will need to be explored in various sources that require considerable visits to the library and / or sessions on the computer.

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Likewise, you may require the assistance of a librarian and / or professor. You should allow a few weeks to demand the required materials from other libraries or organizations. Research is not an overnight procedure. Choosing a topic and locating accurate sources of information at the beginning of the semester can help the entire procedure.

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In this article you will find:

Basic steps of the investigation

The following seven steps summarize a simple and effective process for managing a documentary search, a sample, or another project that needs to find information linked to a topic. By subordinating yourself to the topic and its relationship to a literature search, you will probably need to organize or transform these steps.

Choose the theme

Choose an idea that is of interest to you, or if the topic has been attributed to you, choose a facet or panorama of the topic that you might like. If you have difficulties with the subject, you will find it useful to find it in periodicals such as magazines, newspapers, sources of reports and online databases.

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The choice of topic is the most relevant agreement that you should take into account in the investigation procedure. Without an idea, you can't get far.

Find information

Find information about your topic. Choose various key terms and search for simple information in related sources such as encyclopedism subject, bibliographies, summaries, library catalogs, books, electronic databases, and sources of Internet. (This initial inquiry makes it easy to decide what information is appropriate about the topic.)

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Define the topic

Relying on the amount of information found, you will need debug the theme. If you found little information in the main search, you should extend the topic.

You can extend it by finding ideas or synonyms for various keywords, or by choosing some sources of information. Also check studying a book or bibliographic articles for supplemental sources.

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If you found a lot of information in the main search, you will need lessen the topic. You can do this using more exact terms organized by date, region, or other aspect, studying the headings of books and / or online databases.

If you need to improve the subject, ask a librarian or directly with the teacher.

Locate and select the material

When you have a specific topic, you will be ready to start locate and retrieve materials. It is necessary to examine the information obligations and choose the search tool that is most convenient. The information you need will depend on the requirements of the project.

Minimum requirements:

  • Maximum number of information sources: If not determined, then a good simple rule is to have an information requirement for each page requested.
  • Types of sources: Use a mix of resources, do not limit yourself only to books or information from the Internet.
  • Resource quality, scholarly or popular: This could be an academic project, and sources should reflect it.
  • Current resources: consider if the validity of the information is relevant, several topics only depend on the most up-to-date information.

Select the search mechanismappropriate, the different information search mechanisms will give you different types of information. The overriding mechanisms incorporate books, reference sources, periodicals, and websites.

After knowing the needs regarding the information, locate the materials. When you do your research, don't forget to filter what mechanism and terms you used. In such a way you will not forget where and what you have investigated.

Evaluate the relevance of the material

After looking for the required materials you need define its importance and benefit for the research topic.

A well-defined topic makes it easier to exclude those materials that have no relevance. After determining the importance of an item, it will be necessary examine the quality of the information.

The basic insights to examine the information are:

  • Authority: Who is the creator? What are their reviews?
  • Accuracy: Are the facts verifiable? Is the information accurate?
  • Objectivity: What is the objective? Do you have a trend?
  • Current: Is this information up-to-date?
  • Coverage: What will be the scope of this information? What is it focused on?

Take notes

While the investigation procedure keep an accurate record of what search tools and tactics you've used, you won't find the same information twice, and your search will be more efficient.

Register the bibliographic review of all the materials you have used, even if you are not sure if you will actually end up using a resource on your own.

Trying to go back in time to find the information you have used in order to do the bibliographic review can be hard work. A full review should have plenty of identifying information, such as the creator, title, and source, so the reader can find a copy of the article.

The citations can be from books or articles, for which detailed information on the title, author, edition, year of publication, volume and page number, among other data that may vary depending on the type of appointment.

Build the project

Now you are ready to start prepare documentation. Possibly you have qualified material to support the thesis. Try to cite whatever material you use first hand. This way you will completely avoid plagiarism.

Remember that research is a cyclical process. Take the time to do an additional search if necessary.

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