BROYHILL LEARNING RESOURCE CENTER
CALDWELL COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND TECHNICAL INSTITUTE
TUTORIAL:
THE RESEARCH PROCESS
In our “information age” well-developed research skills are essential to
life-long learning and success.
Accordingly, this tutorial will assist in providing a brief overview of
the research process. Read each section
provided below in sequential order, following your own schedule and pace.
I.
Subject Overview
II.
Topic Selection
III.
Finding Resources
IV.
Evaluation
V.
Record – Copyright & Citation
VI.
Synthesis
Also, the following handy organizers are provided at the end of this
tutorial, which
you may print out for personal use.
I.
Topic Outline
II.
Note-Taking &
Citation
I.
SUBJECT OVERVIEW
Upon receiving your
assignment, quickly gain an overview of your subject by reading several
encyclopedia or general reference articles.
Suggestions include articles from:
World
Book Encyclopedia (found in the Reference Room in the LRC)
Online
Encyclopedias such as Encarta or Grolier
Note: You may try www.encarta.msn.com
or use the
Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia accessed through NCLIVE.
CQ
Researcher (civic based newsletter found in the LRC between computer
rows),
the index therefor
found online at: http://www.cccti.edu/LRC/Resources/articles.htm
For example, if my assignment surrounded the environmental issues in our
National Parks, I would browse and read the “National Park” entry within World
Book, the “National Park System” link provided by Grolier online and two or
three CQ Researcher current event/issue articles pertaining to our National
Parks.
As you read during the overview stage, jot down some words and/or ideas
that you notice repeated within each article.
These will not only serve as “keywords” when you begin your search, but
will also help you to form an outline.
II.
TOPIC SELECTION
After you have enjoyed an overview of
your subject, formulate a main idea or topic.
For example:
As you ponder your main topic, consider the breath and depth
of your project. In other words, make
sure:
1) your topic
is not too narrow, (Ex: How does traffic
congestion disturb the
habitat of the buffalo within Yellowstone National
Park?);
2) nor too broad,
(Ex: What are the internal and external
conditions which threaten National Parks around the world?);
3)
a discussion of the topic will match a
pre-determined page amount or limit; and
4)
adequate resources are available and
accessible.
Having previously read several articles about the National Parks, you are
now aware of several major environmental threats or challenges facing
the Park System. Therefore, you may now
complete an outline writing it in the traditional format:
I.
Threats and Challenges to the National Park System
A.
Overuse
1. Extent of
overuse
2. Associated
Problems
B. Destruction/Extraction of Natural Resources
1. Effect on
Animal/Plant Life
2. Effect on
Landscape/Water Resources
C. External
Threats
1.
Air/Water Pollution
2
Global Warming
Or….completing a
graphic organizer as shown below: (blank graphic organizer provided at the end
of this tutorial for printing purposes)
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DESTRUCTION/
EXTRACTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
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What are the associated problems?
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What is the extent of overuse?
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How does it affect land/water resources?
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How does it affect animal life?
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What are the effects of Global Warming?
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What is the extent of Air/Water Pollution?
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III. FINDING RESOURCES
A.
THE RESOURCES
Most of North Carolina’s academic libraries provide access to books,
reference material, periodicals, NCLIVE, (North Carolina Libraries for Virtual Education), subject specific
electronic databases and World Wide Web resources. Each such resource is found within CCC&TI’s Learning Resource Center (LRC). Research tools which lead
you to these resources are found both on-campus and online (http://www.cccti.edu/LRC/Resources.htm).
You will access print material (books, reference
material and periodicals) through the LRC’s computer catalog, KLAS.
NCLIVE,
which provides North Carolina residents and students with
access to quality information covering a wide range of topics – including
searchable collections of magazine, newspaper, and journal articles, electronic
books, historical materials, maps, and much more, may be accessed in the LRC by
clicking on the icon: or at home at http://www.nclive.org and http://www.cccti.edu/LRC/Resources/articles.htm. Note:
A password is required for at-home access. The password may be obtained at the LRC
circulation desk with the presentation of your registration and/or library
card.
Access additional subject specific
electronic databases and World Wide Web search engines at: http://www.cccti.edu/LRC/Resources.htm.
Tutorials
regarding the use of these helpful research tools may also be found at the
LRC’s website: http://www.cccti.edu/LRC/Resources.htm.
B.
SEARCH STRATEGIES
Utilize the following search strategies to assist in
locating appropriate resource material:
Browse
Search: Casually inspect
your information sources to determine appropriateness.
Hypertext: Link to other related
sites by clicking on keywords highlighted within an electronic text.
Hierarchical: Search by first examining
broad topics or headings.
Analytical: Boolean searches (using
and, or, not in a keyword search phrase) Ex:
National Parks and environment.
Truncation: Searching for all forms
of a keyword
For example, typing educat* for educate, educating, education,
educational, etc.
Proximity: Using “with,” “near”
or “adj” (adjacent) in a keyword phrase
For example, “National with Parks,”
“National Parks near challenges,” “National Parks adj environment”
Field: using keywords
within a field (or particular section) of an electronic record
To access a more detailed discussion of
these search strategies, visit:
http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/adv_searching.htm#Boolean.
IV. EVALUATION
You will undoubtedly find many resources
pertaining to your topic, however, before utilizing them for research purposes,
evaluate the reliability and accuracy of the information. Consider the following methods of evaluation:
1. Author - What are the author’s credentials? (think of training,
education, background experience). Is
the author associated with an institute of higher learning?
2. Sponsor – Who is sponsoring the cost of
presenting the information? Is it an
educational (.edu), non-profit (.org) or business
(.com) organization? Is contact
information provided?
3. Visual Layout – Is the format pleasing and
text-based rather than full of advertising or outlandish graphics?
4. Purpose – What audience is the author
trying to reach? Is the purpose to
educate and inform or persuade and entertain?
5. Currency – Is the information up to
date? Might additional information
supersede the accuracy of the material?
6. Point of View/Objectivity – Is the author
presenting both sides of an issue or only using the resource as a means of
persuasion? Is the tone academic or
emotional and extreme?
7. Support:
Does the author provide a bibliography and/or footnotes? Are the citations current?
Learn more about determining the
reliability of information at the following websites:
http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/evaluating.htm
http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill26.htm
V.
RECORD – COPYRIGHT AND CITATION
A. COPYRIGHT
You must
follow copyright guidelines as you access and use information resources. Basically, to briefly summarize our Country’s
copyright laws, you must use “borrowed” information only for “Fair Use.”
The four factors which
determine fair usage are:
1. Purpose:
Is the material being used for educational purposes only? Will it be “transformed” into something
new? (In other words, always make sure
the information you find is written in your own words).
2. Nature:
Is the source being used fiction/non-fiction; educational/commercial;
audio/print? Non-Fiction, educational
and print materials, of course, are more favorably afforded
fair usage privileges.
3. Amount:
Basically, reproduce only a small portion of any work and do not use
copyrighted pictures or most of a magazine article within your production.
4. Effect:
Will the effect of your work lead to any commercial usages? If so, do not use copyrighted material within
your project/production.
For additional
information regarding Copyright laws, visit CCC&TI’s Library web page at:
http://www.cccti.edu/LRC/Services/Copyright.htm
B. CITATION
Throughout
your college career, instructors will ask that you construct bibliographies
and/or footnotes in association with your research assignments. Citation lists are necessary for several
reasons:
1. to
credit your sources of information;
2. to
avoid plagiarism;
3. to
validate and support your research;
4. to provide a listing of additional reading material.
The typical information needed to prepare a
citation includes:
Author, Title of Book or Article, Editors if applicable, Publisher or
Producer, Place of Publication, Date of Publication or Posting, Page
Numbers
utilized, the length of a video, the address of a website, the
date the website was accessed.
Your instructor will ask
you to prepare your citation in one of the following formats:
1) Turabian; 2) Chicago; 3) MLA (Modern Language
Association);
4) APA (American Psychological Association)
Briefly review the below given citation example, noting stylistic
differences:
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APA
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Fleming, T. (1997). Liberty!: The American Revolution. New
York: Viking.
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Important Elements:
- Author or editor
- Title of the book
- Publisher
- Place of publication
- Date of publication
Note: Spacing is
important. Some citations appear identical but differ in slight ways,
like spacing. For example, compare Chicago, MLA, and Turabian.
Consult individual guides for exact spacing.
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Chicago
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Fleming, Thomas. Liberty!: The American
Revolution. New
York: Viking, 1997.
(Documentation One)
Fleming, Thomas. 1997. Liberty!: The American
Revolution.
New York:
Viking.
(Documentation Two)
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MLA
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Fleming, Thomas. Liberty!: The American Revolution. New
York: Viking,
1997.
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Turabian
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Fleming, Thomas. Liberty!: The American Revolution. New
York:
Viking, 1997.
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You
will find the hard copy style guides for each of these citation formats in the
LRC. Also, you may follow the examples
provided at:
http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/works_cited.htm
At
the circulation desk, the LRC distributes a handout providing an example of a
MLA citation for information retrieved from NCLIVE. Always direct questions regarding any other
peculiar citations to your instructor.
A
note-taking and citation organizer is included at the conclusion of this
tutorial, which you may print out for personal use.
III.
SYNTHESIS
Upon
finding and taking notes from all reliable resources, you will need to reflect
upon and glean personal meaning from all gathered information. First, ask yourself: what is the best way to arrange the
information? Here are some possible
categories:
Chronologically Cause/Effect Compare/Contrast
Similar/Different Classification Problem/Solution
When you
have decided on an arrangement and processed your information accordingly, you
have reached a thorough “understanding” of your subject and therefore
grasp, so to speak, “What’s The News?”
Second, ask yourself: What ideas within my information can be
combined? Here are some possibilities:
Trends Clusters Patterns Conclusions Themes
Upon answering this second question, you
will have “analyzed” your information.
Now you may discuss “What’s the Point?”
Finally, the climatic moment has
arrived. You are ready to write, prepare
or produce your presentation!
GOOD LUCK
WITH ALL YOUR RESEARCH ENDEAVORS!!
