Introduction to Research

“Basic research is what I am doing when I don’t know what I am doing.” - Werner von Braun Father of the United States space program

Research is the systematic study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. “We undertake research when we wish to explore an idea, probe an issue, solve a problem, or make an argument that compels us to turn to outside help.” What is Research?

Primary Research –Generating original information Secondary Research –Gathering information that has already been generated Types of Research

Original research Generates current information Includes methods such as observation, experiments, surveys, and interviews Analyzes, synthesizes, and evaluates all information and data Primary Research

Advantages: –Is directly applicable to the need –Can result in extremely detailed, accurate, and relevant information or data –Can result in new information that cannot be found in secondary sources –Results in expert knowledge Primary Research

Disadvantages: –Time consuming –Requires extensive planning –Can be expensive –May depend on the participation of unreliable sources for results Primary Research

Look to see what has been written/done before on a topic Includes: –Published works: books, journals, magazines, newspapers –Unpublished works: business reports, operating manuals, master’s theses, doctoral dissertations, web pages Is the most commonly conducted type of research Secondary Research

Advantages: –Requires less time and little to no cost in comparison to primary research –Helps the researcher to either focus or expand his/her scope –Elicits a sense of credibility and authority in that it shows others that the researcher has done his/her homework Secondary Research

Disadvantages: –Researcher may have to sift through a tremendous amount of information –Sources may not be authoritative or reliable Secondary Research

Research Libraries –Support researchers, particularly faculty and students, in their work –Have extensive collections of books, journals, and other sources of information such as theses, dissertations, and other useful unpublished works Secondary Research Sources

Books –Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and atlases –Books on specific subjects Newspapers Magazines Scholarly Journals (like a magazine, but with a more rigorous review process for quality control) Sources of Information

Conference Presentations (referred to as “proceedings”) Statistical data sources, such as the U.S. Census Multimedia such as videos and audio sources Web pages Sources of Information

Look at your local library (public, school, or university) to see what they have. Reference librarians can be very helpful to ask for guidance on doing research If the library does not have a book you want, then they can usually get it for you using a document delivery service (public library or school library) Finding Books

Search a database that focuses in the subject area of interest - a database is just a searchable collection of research resources Finding Newspaper, Magazine & Scholarly Journal Articles Google Scholar ProQuest eLibrary Academic Complete MasterFILE Premier

Define your topic, project, or problem Identify key words for the topic – try a thesaurus for synonyms Identify all resources with which you are familiar that may provide information Use what you’ve learned thus far to search for books, articles, web sites and other resources Research Process

Contact schools, companies, and organizations in your local area to identify persons who are knowledgeable in your research topic Assemble your list of resources, and begin systematically exploring them Research Process

The quality of any source should be evaluated before using and citing its information It is up to the researcher to differentiate between fact, opinion, and propaganda Evaluating Information Authority Reliability BiasCurrency

Citing Research Sources All information that you find has some person or entity that created it You must give that person credit for the information that they created when you do research Plagiarism is when you use someone else’s creation and pretend it was your own

Citing Research Sources To give someone credit for their work in your own research, you need to cite the information in a specific format The most common formats include: MLAAPA ChicagoTurabian

References Garibaldi, J. (2003). Mla handbook for writers of research papers. (6 ed.). National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (1960). Wernher von braun. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from p.jpg