Research

Research can seem like a hard and daunting task at first. It requires time, patience, and search strategies in order to locate appropriate information. This section and the following pages will help you get started with the research progress, help you locate information in both digital and print forms, and provide you with tips and tricks on research strategies.

The easiest way to wrap your head around research is to break it down into three steps:

Find Background Information

At this stage in the research process, you may be unsure about your exact focus of your topic and/or trying to narrowing your topic. In finding background information, you are beginning to ask questions such as:

What happened?
When did it happen?
Where did it happen?
Who are the key individuals involved?

As you answer these questions, you will not only form your research question but you will also be gathering keywords to begin your research. A keyword is a search term that represents a component of a research topic. See the Search Strategies page on how to choose and use keywords in your search of articles and books at the Maine East LRC.

What sources do you use to find background information?

The best place to find background information will be through general resources such as encyclopedias (general and specialized subjects), textbooks, and databases such as the Gale Virtual Reference Library, Student Resources in Context and many others on our General Reference/Encyclopedias page. Google and Wikipedia are also good places to start and find background information, but be sure to check other sources to make sure what you are reading on Google and Wikipedia is correct and accurate!

Gather Specific Information on Your Topic

At this stage of your research process you will begin to understand your topic in much more depth. Now that you know the basic information about your topic, you can move on and dig deeper into your topic. You will begin to ask yourself these questions:

Why did these events happen?
What are the causes and effects?
What were the various motivations, perspectives, and concerns of the people involved?
What else was happening that led to this event?
How does this impact the world?

What sources do you use to find specific information on your topic?

Look for articles and books that are on your topic. You can find articles by searching subject specific databases on the LRC website. You can also find articles in subject specific periodicals or even watch documentaries about your topic.

Think Critically About Your Topic

As you check-in with your teacher about your research paper, you might hear their comment about digging deeper in your research. What does that mean? It means you have to go beyond the basic facts and context of your topic and find out what scholars or experts are saying about your topic in order to give your own interpretation about your topic. Remember your claim (thesis) is an argument you are making in your paper which you support with evidence.

You should now be asking yourself the following questions at this stage:

What are the main issues and themes does someone need to know in order to understand your topic?
What key questions do scholars or experts have about this topic?
Why is this topic important? Why is this topic important to you?
What is the long term significance of this topic?

What sources do you use to think critically about your topic?

Look for scholarly articles, books, dissertations, interviews with scholars and other experts, and other specialized journals about your topic. Check out the finding scholarly articles and how to read scholarly articles links to find more information.

Adapted from the Chicago History Fair website.