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FYS 1010

First Year Seminar

College-Level Research

When you need information about something, what do you usually do?

  • Google it
  • Go to Wikipedia
  • Ask a friend, family member, teacher, coworker, healthcare professional, librarian, or other person you know who knows about the topic
  • Look for how-to or “explainer” videos on YouTube, TikTok, or other social media platforms
  • Check websites you trust or use “reference” sources like a dictionary

While these can all be great places to start, college courses require a higher level of research.

The research process: choose a topic, get background information, write a thesis or research question, search for information, evaluate information sources, organize your research, cite information sources, repeat as necessary.

DISCLAIMER: Research is messy!

The research process is not a straight line, and you will most likely need to go back and forth between different steps as you develop your paper or presentation.

In reality, your research process may look more like this:

Research process steps are shown with arrows connecting each step to two or more other steps. The process involves a lot of back and forth between steps.

Choosing a Topic

Where to Look
  • Library resources (especially those listed here)
  • Review materials from class such as lectures, notes, PowerPoints, handouts, etc.
  • Discuss ideas with your classmates or instructor
  • Meet with a librarian, tutor, or peer mentor to brainstorm ideas
What counts as a “good” topic?
  • Interesting to you
  • Fits the scope and parameters of the assignment
    • Too Broad: you won’t be able to cover all of it in your paper
    • Too Narrow: you won’t be able to find enough information about it

Thesis Statements and Research Questions

A thesis statement makes an assertion or argument about a topic, and then shares how the topic will be explored in the rest of paper.

  • Used for argumentative essays, persuasive essays, and many other types of college research papers

A research question identifies what overarching, central question will be answered in the paper.

  • Used for literature reviews, research articles, studies, and other research papers

Brainstorming Keywords

Before searching for articles, you will need to choose your topic, identify ideas or concepts related to your topic, and brainstorm keywords.

What are the major ideas that you need information about?

For example:

  • Teachers
  • Burnout
  • Potential causes, such as:
    • Salary or low wages
    • Discrimination based on gender, race, age, etc.
What are some similar or related terms for each concept?

For each major idea, try to come up with one or more keywords including:

  • Synonyms (different word, same meaning)
  • Narrower terms (more specific)
  • Broader terms (less specific)
  • Everyday language (words the average person would use to describe something)
  • Formal or academic language (words that experts in a subject/discipline would use to describe something)