SUNY ESF
The Research Process
Welcome
Welcome to this guide about the research writing process which presents information from The Research Process workshops given by Moon Library and the Writing Resource Center. This guide is intended to help you throughout the process of writing a research paper or lab report which includes: choosing your topic, developing a research question, finding relevant sources and evaluating them, formulating a thesis statement, formulating arguments, citing your sources, and proof reading and revising your paper.
Helpful Resources
- Writing Resource Center (WRC) - Get assistance writing papers, make an appointment, attend workshops
- Citation Managers Guide - Learn how a citation manager can help you organize and cite sources.
- English for Speakers of Other Languages Center (ESOL) - The ESOL is a free student service that provides language support and cultural orientation to multilingual students and scholars.
Choosing a Topic
When you are first assigned a research paper, be sure that you understand the assignment.
- Review the prompt and assignment instructions. Identify the required components (for example, the number of peer review sources you should include, the questions you are supposed to answer, and deadlines). While each writing assignment will be different, try to understand what the basic requirements of the assignment are and identify questions that you have.
- Use freewriting and the assignment as a prompt for figuring out your topic. You can begin by taking the wording from the assignment or prompt and "riffing" on different topics until you find one that resonates. Identify keywords, concepts, events, and people to narrow your focus.
- Visit your professor and teaching assistants for clarification. Reach out to them via email, or attend their scheduled office hours. Bring the assignment (and if you've completed some preliminary work, bring that too). Make sure you understand the basic requirements of the assignment, share your ideas for the topic and outline if you are at that stage.
Developing a Research Question
- A good research question can guide your research (as you look for sources) and your writing (as you sit down to focus your argument).
- A bad research question is too general, and when you attempt to look for information,
it leads you down too many paths.
- Too General: How does climate change effect the environment?
- Focused: How are forests in the North Eastern United States impacted by increasing temperatures?
Focusing the question: Place, community, time, species etc.
Finding Relevant Sources
Including relevant sources in your writing is crucial to giving credit to your argument and providing background information. Here are some tips for locating such sources:
- Start searching for sources through the library discovery platform (Primo VE).
- Begin searches on the Moon Library homepage. Type a search into the "search box" and you will enter the discovery platform.
- Visit the Moon Library A-Z database list. Search inside databases like ScienceDirect or Environment Complete to find high quality, peer-reviewed, academic articles.
- Brainstorm terms based on your research question
- Consider synonyms, scientific names, technical language vs. natural language
- Look for subject terms as you search databases. These will give you other terms to search.
- Consider the type of source(s) you need and what you find
- What type of sources can you use in your paper? Has your professor specified peer-reviewed journal articles or said "no websites?"
- Are you looking at a journal article, a general website or blog, a news article, a book chapter, etc.
- Familiarize yourself with what these types of sources look like in the online environment
Evaluating Sources
Evaluate the sources you find for their relevance and usefulness for your paper. It is often useful to determine WHO is behind the information and WHY they are presenting the information this way. Be sure to do some lateral reading on sources you are considering and ask questions like the ones below. You can also use the questions in the CRAAP test below to help you find credible sources (this is particularly useful for online sources aside from peer-reviewed journal articles and books).
Ask Questions:
- What is another perspective?
- What would be a counter-argument?
- Who have you also heard discuss this?
- Where are there similar concepts/situations?
- How does this benefit/harm, us/others?
- How do we know the truth about this?
- Where can we get more information?
(Adapted from Watanabe-Crockett, L. (2016). The Critical Thinking Skills Cheatsheet [Infographic].
CRAAP Test
Currency - When was it published? Has the material/information changed?
Relevance - Who is the intended audience? Is the information at an appropriate level? Have you looked at a variety of sources?
Accuracy - Can the information be verified other places? Has the information been reviewed or refereed? Are sources cited?
Authority - Who are the authors and what are their credentials?
Purpose - Is the purpose to inform, entertain, sell, persuade? How do you know?
Reading for Research
Here are some helpful tips on reading for comprehension that will help you determine what you'd like to incorporate into your writing.
- Preview
- How is the content laid out or arranged?
- Does this match up with a specific type of source (newspaper, scholarly article, etc.)?
- Who is the author?
- Annotate
- Make notes in the margins
- Ask questions and write them down
- Outline, Summarize, Analyze
- Outline to see the skeleton of the argument
- What reasons are there for the evidence?
- What am I being asked to believe or accept?
- What doesn’t make sense
- Look for repetitions and patters, and key propositions
- Repeated words, phrases, examples, images
- Consistent ways of characterizing people, events, or issues
- Key proposition: a statement of what the author believes to be true
- Contextualize
- How is content framed by its historical, cultural, material, or intellectual circumstances?
- Read through the lens of your own experience
- Compare and Contrast (with other articles, books, etc.)
- Look for relationships between other readings
- Is there a trend? Is there a shift in focus?
Adapted from: Gilroy, L. (2015) Interrogating texts: six reading habits to develop in your first year at Harvard. Harvard Library Research Guides.
Thesis Statement
- A thesis statement provides you with a goal as you write.
- A thesis statement is clear, concise and, most importantly, helps your reader to understand your purpose.
- A thesis statement is often your research question + a claim about the topic.
- Too General: Global warming impacts the environment.
- Focused:Increasing temperatures in the Northeastern United States are transforming forests from coniferous to deciduous vegetation.
Adapted from: Richardson, J. B., Friedland, A. J., Engerbretson, T. R., Kaste, J. M., & Jackson, B. P. (2013).
Spatial and vertical distribution of mercury in upland forest soils across the northeastern United States. Environmental pollution, 182, 127-134.
Formulating Arguments
Your argument should include what other scholars have said about the topic
- Formulating arguments
- Speaking to and with academic sources
- Accurately summarizing and paraphrasing other scholar’s work
- Situating your claims and arguments within a scholarly dialogue
In longer research papers, such as journal articles, thesis, and dissertations, this is called a literature review. However, even in short essays, you should reference the work that others have completed to understand the problem you are investigating.
Incorporating Sources in your Writing
Here are some suggestions to help you incorporate and cite sources into the body of your paper:
- As you are reading and evaluating sources that you may want to use, make notes about what you find interesting.
- As you're writing, it's best to summarize the material that you want to use in your own words so that it matches the rest of your writing. You still have to cite the source.
- In scientific writing, it is usually not acceptable to include direct quotes from a text.
- For in text and bibliography citations, follow examples to get the formatting correct.
- Use a citation manager to help you gather and organize sources, and to assist with citing while you write and generating your bibliography. Zotero and Mendeley are two highly recommended citation managers.
- Be consistent with the citation style you choose (APA, MLA, etc.).
- Every source you reference in your paper should have an in text citation that refers to a full citation in the references list (bibliography) at the end of your paper.
Proof Reading and Revising
Proof reading and Revising
- Writing your conclusion doesn’t mean you are finished!
- Check your argument and evidence – does it match your thesis?
- Organization – do you have one long paragraph?
- Sentences and syntax – Read your work out loud.
- Don’t be afraid to delete! It’s ok to delete a sentence (or three!) if they don’t align with your argument.
- Visit the writing tutors and the Writing Resource Center (WRC).