The Research Process

Step 1: Write the Research Question Make sure that you choose a topic that is interesting to you. Create a question that you can answer through your research. Your answer should be a thesis statement. Meaning that it should be arguable, provable and debatable.

Step 2: How will you answer your question? What do I know about my topic? What do I want to know about my topic? What does my audience need to know about my topic?

Step 3: Focusing Your Research with Subtopics Make a list of subtopics that you want to cover in your research and writing. Include four or five subtopics. Hints: These should not be written as questions. These should be pretty simple, but not so generic that by looking at them I cannot identify your topic. Look ahead to your outline and essay. Think of these as labels for potential paragraphs.

Examples for the Rwandan Genocide History of ethnic conflicts in Rwanda (Hutu & Tutsi) Genocide’s impact on Rwanda today Socially Politically Economically Contradictory opinions Current Situation

Step 4: Focus Questions Identify questions that you will need to be able to answer in order to address your sub-topics. These should help you focus on gathering just the information that you need for your essay. Make sure that you do not ask leading questions. Allow your research to guide you to information from multiple perspectives. Example: How did the Hutus ruin the lives of Tutsis in Rwanda? What were the effects of the 1994 genocide on the social relationships of Rwandans?

Step 5: Cite Your Sources! Cite the source as soon as you realize that you are going to use information from it! Easybib is great, but it only does most of the work for you! If it asks you for more information (big red boxes) then you need to find that information. It is usually there! Most sites have dates. Find them. n.p. & n.d. It should be RARE for these to appear on your Works Cited page. Databases provide citations for you!

Step 6: Documenting Your Research Notecards Online notecards/programs Outline notes Print/Annotate/Pull Details Others? Cutting and pasting information onto Word documents IS NOT DOCUMENTING YOUR RESEARCH. AND YOU ARE SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR PLAGIARISM.

Final Suggestions Follow your research. You may not know where it is going to lead you yet. Identify note-taking and organizational systems for your project! Create a folder in your electronic files for this project. Save everything there! Bring your library card so that you can access the databases. Stay off the internet. Use focused and academic sources. Use your time wisely.