Research Process
In this section we turn to knowledge building through research. The six chapters that constitute this focus move from the Invention process for research to the arrangement of sources. Here, you will find information on how to access effective sources, track information methodically, and synthesize your research in the form of annotated bibliographies and literature reviews. We can’t wait to read what you find!
In Developing a Research Question, Emilie Zickel helps you to understand what a research question is and how to devise one, providing brainstorming prompts and tips on how to arrive at a question from topic consideration.
Coming Up With Research Strategies, by Rashida Mastafa and Emilie Zickel, includes tips on developing a research strategy, as well as notes about where to find sources and how to use Wikipedia as a source for finding usable texts.
Emilie Zickel, in Basic Guidelines for Research in Academic Databases, provides information about how to effectively use databases, as well as includes some specific information about the database Academic Search Ultimate.
In Using Effective Keywords in your Research, Robin Jeffrey shares tips on how to select keywords for your search, as well as how to get the results you desire by employing specific search strategies.
Keeping Track of Your Sources and Writing an Annotated Bibliography, by Melanie Gagich and Emilie Zickel, includes information on annotated bibliography components and tips for keeping track of the sources you find through research.
Melanie Gagich and Emilie Zickel, in Synthesis and Literature Reviews, discuss what a literature review is and provide tips for lit review organization.
Objectives targeted in the Research Process section are Composing Processes, Reading, and Information Literacy. Chapters 34, 35, 36, and 37 address how to conduct secondary research effectively in first-year writing classes. And, in Chapters 38 and 39, readers will discover how to read and track source information (Reading), including developing specific writing genres such as an annotated bibliography and a literature review (Composing Processes and Information Literacy).
the finding out or selection of topics to be treated, or arguments to be used; often referred to as the brainstorming or prewriting stage of the writing process, though invention takes place across the writing process
the action of arranging or disposing in order; often referred to as the organization state of the writing process, though arrangement takes place across the writing process and can be both an aesthetic and an argumentative consideration
to put together or combine into a complex whole; to make up by combination of parts or elements
