RESEARCH PROCESSOriginally Prepared for Research for Creative Writing I

By Melissa Clark, Information Services Librarian

The Research Process

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Brainstorm

Background InformationSearch

Evaluate Results

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Research starts with Curiosity

What do you want to know?

May start with a general question

Ex. What would life have been like for a young woman immigrating to New York from Ireland during the Great Famine?

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Brainstorm

Background InformationSearch

Evaluate Results

Brainstorm Related Terms and IdeasPick out the key ideas in your

topic/question

Try to think of synonyms or alternate phrasing

List any related terms (broader/narrower) you can think of

Ireland | Irish | Éire | Gaelic | County Cork, etc.

Great Famine | Potato Famine | an Gorta Mór (“the Great Hunger”) | an Drochshaol (“the bad life”)

New York | Ellis Island | Five Points

Immigration | Emigration

1845 – 1852

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Brainstorm

Background InformationSearch

Evaluate Results

Initial Search for Background InformationRead for general information on your topic

Identify gaps in your existing knowledgeNarrow and focus your research

SourcesEncyclopedias and other Reference BooksSkim a Book on the general topic Web Search

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Brainstorm

Background InformationSearch

Evaluate Results

Define a Search Strategy

Articulate what you need to know

Determine where/how you are most likely to find it

If you don’t know, ASK!

Types of Information Sources

Primary Sources Information in its original form when it first appears

Secondary SourcesRestates, rearranges, examines, or interprets information from one or more

primary sources

Tertiary SourcesLeads you to secondary sources

Primary Sources

Has not been published anywhere else or put into a context, interpreted, filtered, condensed, or evaluated by anyone else

ExamplesA speech, lecture, or presentation Writing by the witnesses of an event, person, or place

Newspaper articles A diary or journal Letters, correspondence, or transcribed conversations

Artwork, poetry, and other artistic expressionsAn original scientific studyHistorical documents or publications

The U.S. Constitution

Secondary Sources

Has been removed from its original source and repackaged

Examples Notes or summary of a speech, lecture, or presentationBook or journal article analyzing an historical person or event and attempting

to put it in contextCritic’s response to artwork, poetry, and other artistic expressionsEncyclopedia article on a topicNewspaper article reporting on a scientific study published elsewhere

May also lead you to primary informationBibliography or index of primary sources

Tertiary Sources

Commonly used to identify and locate secondary sources

Examples Bibliography of critical works about a person, period, work, or other topic Index to secondary sources

Index to journal, magazine, or newspaper articles Library catalog

Timeline of Primary and Secondary Sources

Where Do I Find…

Primary Sources

Library’s Catalog

Library’s Databases ARTstor

Print Indexes

Archives

Historical Societies

Manuscript Collections

Museums

Embedded in Secondary Sources

Secondary Sources

Library’s Catalog

Library’s DatabasesPsychINFOERICMLA International Bibliography

Print Indexes

Creative Writing Research Guide

http://libguides.sdstate.edu/creativewriting

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Brainstorm

Background InformationSearch

Evaluate Results

Evaluate Your Results

Did you find an answer to your research question?

Yes – Is the answer useful for your research project? Fact vs. Opinion Sufficient detail?

No – Re-evaluate your search strategy and try something different

Repeat?Research is an iterative

process

Finding the answer to your initial question may raise new, more interesting questions

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Brainstorm

Background

Information

Search

Evaluate Results

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Original Question

What would life have been like for a young woman immigrating to New York from Ireland during the Great Famine?

Focus and Narrow

What would have been popular or common knowledge?Stories and TalesFlowers ClothesOccupations