Designing a Research Strategy

In designing a research strategy you are going to need to locate the materials (books, articles, websites, etc...) that you will need to successfully complete your assignment. The resources that you will be using to write your paper or accomplish your project will depend on the specific requirements of your assignment. In some cases you will be using only scholarly resources or you may be able to use popular sources like magazines. This is especially true of speeches or very short opinion papers. Generally the longer the paper the more in depth the sources will have to be.

Research

Term or research papers allow for more in-depth development of a topic. Therefore, it will require more resources, including scholarly materials. These are sources for an audience of scholars, not an audience of the general public. They are research oriented and contain extensive bibliographies, references or footnotes. In addition to these you may need current perspectives as well.

• Use scholarly books and journals for in-depth information on a subject
• Use magazine and newspaper articles for current information
• Use other publications (government documents, educational websites, etc...) for additional information

For projects like opinion papers, speeches, or group presentations you may not need to use scholarly resources. In the case of short papers or projects all you might need are a couple of good articles from newspapers or popular magazines.

• Use current magazines and newspaper articles for information
• Use the internet (government and educational websites) for access to information

Hint: Always check with your instructor to make sure you understand what is required for the assignment before you begin researching. It will save you time and most likely a lot of pain. Just because you only have to write a three-page paper does not mean you will not have to use scholarly resources.

What information do you need to record?

Remember to keep bibliographic information of the books, articles, government documents and other materials that you are going to use in your paper. This is important because as part of the writing and research process you are going to "cite" these materials in your assignments. This is where the process of writing a paper can become a little complicated.

Bibliographic information usually includes the materials' author(s), title, year of publication and publisher. This can differ depending on the type of resource (books, journal or newspaper articles, websites, etc....) and the citation style that your instructor wants you to use.

There are many different types of citation styles (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc...). It is always a good idea to check with your professor and then the selected style manual before you begin the process of creating a bibliography.

Keeping track of your research

As stated before the research process can be complicated and convoluted. Therefore it is a good idea to keep track of where you have been in your research process. This will keep you from going back to resources that you have already tapped. It also will help librarians to assist you in finding information more efficiently. So keep records of the research that you have done besides just the bibliography for your paper.

• Databases you've searched
• Keyword strategies you've used
• Books, articles, and websites you've found

*Created using information and ideas from the QuickStudy: Library Research Guide of the University of Minnesota Libraries
University of Minnesota Libraries. QuickStudy: Library Research Guide. 01 September 1999. 05 March 2009 http://tutorial.lib.umn.edu/infomachinecaae.html