Researching
"The Internet is the world's largest library. It's just that all the books are on the floor. " John Allen Paulos
Researching about a topic for your college essay is the next step after analyzing the objective. Careful analysis of the task or question tells what to find and in what depth. Once the requirements are known, the next step is finding information that would help you fulfill these requirements. Researching is also divided into phases. Researching starts with finding relevant information and then proceeds by using this information to answer the questions posed and present ideas that are supported by strong references. Finding information is not a difficult task but finding relevant and wanted information requires skills. Therefore one should know where the information is likely to be found and how it can be retrieved. And when the sources containing necessary information are found they must be evaluated.
Information Retrieval:
The first phase in researching is the information retrieval phase. There are various sources from where information can be drilled down or extracted. Referring to different books for the purpose of information retrieval is an obvious first choice. Although books provide concrete and reliable information but they cease to provide current information if the topic and nature of research requires up-to-date information. Sometimes books do not cover every aspect of a topic in detail, therefore, for in-depth and very specific study, research journals are much preferred. Research journals, also called periodicals are a good source for finding in-dept, latest and specific information related to a topic. Research journals related to your topic can be found in periodical database. Information can also be found on various websites but evaluating those websites before using or reviewing the information is necessary. In short the information collected should be relevant, reliable and should satisfy the needs and wants of the essay or research paper, to be written.
Evaluating sources:
After collecting relevant information there is a need to evaluate the findings. Evaluation of sources is an important step that ensures the information extracted is reliable and relevant or in short leading you to the right path. The first question that comes into our mind while evaluating the resources is whether they fulfill your information requirement or do they provide the information that you need. Also the depth of study and target audience must be kept in mind. For online sources (websites) the referred material must be considered for evaluation. After applying the relevance filter to your search, the next step is determining whether the information is current. In some topics current information is not that important but if research is about latest topic or development then this factor must really be considered seriously. Another factor to consider is the writer of the source. The qualification, experience, reputation and expertise of a writer determine the priority and reliability of the source.
After collecting and evaluating resources the next phase is studying the collected material to comprehend more and more about the topic so to answer the question presented or to support the thesis statement.
Next: Idea Organization
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Researching for Essay and Research Paper