Research

Whether you are working on a research project for a semester-long course, working toward completing a thesis or dissertation, or indulging your own personal curiosity, it is important to find high quality information resources to answer your questions and support your arguments.

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Starting a Project

The start of a new research project can feel overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Start early so that you can give yourself enough time to work without rushing, stay organized, and use all resources available to you.

For information on choosing a topic and staying organized, see the library's Getting Started with Research & Writing guide and the following video resource:

General Steps

1. Identify Your Interests and Strengths:
   • Interests: What subjects, theories or phenomena interest you about your discipline? You will be spending a significant amount of time on this topic, so it should be compelling enough to keep your attention. 
   • Strengths: What skills do you have that align with your interests? This will help you discover where you can make a substantial contribution. 
   • Talk/write it out: Talking with trusted peers and mentors or getting your thoughts on paper can help refine your interest into a workable research question.  
2. Conduct a Literature Review:
   • Existing research: What topics about your interest have been covered and what methods were uses? Analyzing current literature in your area of interest can help you identify existing gaps where you can contribute.
     • Remember: keep track of these searches via a research log, so you can use them when you settle on a topic. 
   • Find a niche: What specific area can you add value or a new perspective? 
3. Evaluate the Feasibility of Your Topic:
   • Resources: What resources will you need to complete the research? (including equipment, funding, and time)
   • Access to data and information:  What data do you need access to? Reach out to a librarian if you have question about accessing data and information. 
   • Alignment with goals: Does your topic align with your long-term career goals and the requirements of your program?

Background Research

Doing background research early in your research process can help you refine your topic, brush up on essential vocabulary and terminology in your research area, find out what has already been written about your subject, and start building a list of key terms you want to use in your searches. 

The following resources are useful starting points:

Research Logs

A research log is a record of the key terms, search strategies, and resources you have consulted during a project. Using a research log helps you to avoid repeating work you have already done.

For more information on starting a research log, see the following video:

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How to Search

When you are looking for resources to cite in a research project, where and how you search can make the difference between finding relevant information and facing frustration.

Remember: You can Ask a Librarian for help on any research project you have.

OneSearch

OneSearch is a research tool and search interface that allows ETAMU students, faculty, and staff to find and access books, eBooks, articles, video, and other resources that Velma K. Waters Library owns and within the majority of databases available through our institution.

For information on OneSearch, see the library's Getting Started with OneSearch guide and the following video resource:

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a freely accessible search engine that indexes scholarly articles, theses, books, conference papers, and patents. However, some of the resources you find may not be accessible in full-text without purchase. By utilizing Google Scholar's Library Links feature, you can designate yourself as an ETAMU affiliate. This enables you to access full-text library resources directly from Google Scholar search results.

For more information on Google Scholar and linking Velma K. Waters Library to your profile, see the following resources:

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Source Types

Sources can be classified into different types, each serving a distinct purpose depending on the nature of the information and its relevance to your topic. Knowing how information evolves is important for determining the usability of a source. 

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

Different fields use the term "primary source" to mean different things, so make sure you consult the appropriate definition for your subject area.

• Primary Sources
  • In the humanities and social sciences such as history, education, art, political science, religion, literature, and related fields, a primary source is evidence that was produced at the time of an event.
    Examples include: photographs, letters, speeches, oral histories, or political documents.
  • In the sciences and some social science contexts including chemistry, biology, environmental studies, and psychology, a primary source is original scientific research often produced through lab experiments or field work.
• Secondary Sources
  • A secondary source is an analysis of the observations or data found in primary sources, and often examines those original sources in the context of broader backgrounds, themes, and trends.
    Examples include: reviews, criticism, reports, histories, commentaries, and summaries.
• Tertiary Sources
  • Tertiary sources summarize the content of primary and secondary sources, and are often used for background reading, fact checking, and research preparation.
    Examples include: encyclopedias, bibliographies, dictionaries, indexes, and Wikipedia.

This content is adapted from "Introduction to Primary Sources" by the University of Massachusetts Global and has been made available through a CC BY-SA 4.0 License.

Peer-Reviewed Academic Journal Articles

Peer-review is a process that helps establish trust in academic, scholarly publications. The peer review process is intended to work as a quality check on articles that have been submitted to a specific journal for publication. When authors submit an article to a journal that uses a peer review process, a group of experts in the field will review the work and verify that it is of high quality before it is published. The process often occurs in cycles, with authors revising their work multiple times based on feedback from the reviewers before their article is eventually published by the journal.

For more information on peer-review and how it differs from other models of academic publishing, see the library's Peer-Review vs. Preprints guide.

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Evaluating Sources

The usability of information sources differ greatly depending on both the intent of the source's creator(s) and your needs as the researcher. The best information resource is one that accurately answers your question and meets the needs of your project. 

Using the following resources can help you determine the credibility of a source.  

SIFT (also known as the Four Moves)

When you encounter a new piece of information, pause before you engage with it on a deeper level. The SIFT method asks you to slow down and establish whether you trust this information and if it will help meet your information needs.

Image credit: University of Chicago Library, "Evaluating Resources and Misinformation". Adapted from "SIFT (The Four Moves)" by Mike Caulfield and reused under a CC BY 4.0 license.

To learn more about how to use SIFT, see the following Waters Library research guide:

Publication Cycle

1. Information created
2. Information Reviewed (Self, Editor, Peer) 
3. Edits made 
4. Published

Information Life Cycle

Knowing how information is produced can help you understand what resource formats are available on your topic and how coverage of that topic may change over time. The Information Life Cycle describes the path of one newsworthy event from initial coverage by the media all the way through to when it is analyzed by researchers years later.

• The Day of the Event
  • Covered by television, social media, and web media
  • Basic facts of the event (who, what, where, when, why, how) for a general audience
  • Initial coverage may never be updated after first publication
• The Day After the Event
  • Newspapers will cover the event
  • More in-depth explanations and timelines of the event start to appear
  • Coverage may include more factual information, statistics, photographs, quotes, and editorial perspectives
• The Week(s) After the Event
  • Weekly popular magazines publish articles
  • Long-form stories discuss the impact on society, culture, and public policy
  • More detailed analyses, interviews, and various perspectives emerge
• Six Months to a Year After the Event
  • Studies and analyses begin to appear in scholarly, academic journals
  • Focused, detailed analysis and theoretical, empirical research presented by researchers and scholars
  • Intended audiences include other researchers, professionals, and university students
• More Than a Year After the Event
  • Books: may be scholarly and provide in-depth analysis, or popular and focused on telling a compelling narrative
    Authors can be experts, professional writers, and journalists
    Reference books compile factual information, overviews, and summaries
  • Government Reports: federal, state, and local governments
    Created by government panels, committees, and organizations
    Often focused on public policy, legislation, and statistical analysis

This content is adapted from the University of Connecticut Libraries' "Explore Information — The Information Lifecycle" guide and has been made available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.

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Citations

Any time you quote or reference an outside source in a research project, it is your responsibility to provide a citation for that source. Citation gives credit to the original author, shows your audience that you have done your research, and allows future researchers to trace an idea over time.

Before you start working on a research project, make sure you know what style manual your instructor wants you to use to format your assignment and cite your sources. The following resources provide information in citing in several common styles:

To quickly and easily organize and manage the research resources you consult, consider using a citation manager like RefWorks.

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Plagiarism & Copyright

Passing off someone else's work as your own, even unintentionally, is considered plagiarism and constitutes academic dishonesty at ETAMU.

Using or distributing someone else's work without permission may constitute a violation of US Copyright law.

One of the best ways to avoid unintentional plagiarism or copyright violations is to inform yourself about proper credit and attribution practices. The following resources can be a good starting point:

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