Starting Your Research

Now that you understand a little about the methodologies of scientific research, you will want to think about what kind of research studies you want to know more about and topics that you can explore. It is important that anything you research is also relevant to the class you are researching/writing for. 

To start, visit the Library Introduction to Academic Research available under courses through D2L. This will give you in depth information on developing a research question, searching for information, and more. Once you have a good idea of what topic you may want to study and what questions may work, you can begin the research to find what is written about your topic so far. See below for a listing of recommended databases to start with.

Databases

These databases are the best bets for research in the Sciences. Links will open in a new window.

SAGE Project Planner

One very useful tool provided by SAGE Research Methods is the Project Planner. This planner takes you through all the steps of beginning your research, including an overview of the process, developing your research question, and data collection. Link will open in a new window.