Research Process: Accessing and

Recording Information 13

FIGURE 13.1 In the research process, you may have to conduct fieldwork to collect primary data. In this
photograph, a military sergeant is interviewing an Iraqi police officer and entering the subject’s answers into her
computer. (credit: “Petty Officer 1st Class” by Jeremy L. Wood/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

CHAPTER OUTLINE
13.1 The Research Process: Where to Look for Existing Sources
13.2 The Research Process: How to Create Sources
13.3 Glance at the Research Process: Key Skills
13.4 Annotated Student Sample: Research Log
13.5 Research Process: Making Notes, Synthesizing Information, and Keeping a Research Log
13.6 Spotlight on … Ethical Research

INTRODUCTION In every field, any claim you make about a debatable subject must be supported by evidence.
To identify an unknown rock, for example, you scrape it with a known rock in the geology laboratory. The
scratch marks of the harder rock on the softer rock will be part of your evidence to support your claims about
the unknown rock. If you conduct a survey of students to examine college study habits, counting and collating
your findings will provide evidence to support your conclusions. Although the nature of evidence varies from
one discipline to another, the need for evidence is constant. Collecting accurate and current evidence to
support your claim is a key part of research; without it, readers likely will judge you as uninformed and your
work as unconvincing. Equally constant is the need to have complete and accurate documentation for these
sources. While not all research is done for academic purposes—you may conduct research when choosing a
412 13 • Research Process: Accessing and Recording Information

new piece of technology, deciding on a movie to watch, renting an apartment, or even choosing a career
path—the research discussed in this chapter is academic related. You will learn about generating research
support materials by doing library research, conducting fieldwork, taking notes, organizing sources, and
keeping a detailed and accurate research log.

13.1 The Research Process: Where to Look for Existing Sources

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Locate and evaluate primary and secondary research materials, including journal articles and essays, books,
scholarly and professionally established and maintained databases or archives, and informal electronic
networks and Internet sources.
• Apply methods and technologies commonly used for research in various fields.

Once you have chosen your argumentative research topic, developed a workable research question, and
devised a plan for your research as described in Argumentative Research: Enhancing the Art of Rhetoric with
Evidence, you are ready to begin the task usually associated with the term research—namely, the collection of
sources. One key point to remember at this stage is intentionality; that is, begin with a research plan rather
than a collection of everything you find related to your topic. Without a plan, you easily may end up
overwhelmed by too many unusable sources. A carefully considered research plan will save you time and
energy and help make your search for sources more productive. Access to information is generally not a
problem; the problem is knowing where to find the information you need and how to distinguish among types
and qualities of sources. In short, finding sources is all about sorting, selecting, and evaluating.

Your specific methods for collecting sources will depend on the details of your research project. However, a
good strategy to begin with is to think in terms of needs: What do you need, as the researcher and writer? What
do your readers need? This kind of needs assessment is similar to the considerations you make about the
rhetorical situation when writing an analysis or argument.

Review Table 13.1 as you conduct a source “needs assessment.”

Basic Facts/
These materials help inform you about your topic. They also may help shape the scope
Data/
of your knowledge of your topic.
Information
Your
Needs Critical/ These materials provide explanations and context for your research project. They may
Conceptual/ range from basic historical or contextual information to explanations of special theories
Contextual or ideologies. These materials will help you with your analysis and will help you address
Sources the So what? questions that your research topic may pose.

Reason to
This material engages readers both intellectually and emotionally.
Invest

Proof That These are convincing arguments or illustrative examples that answer the So what?
Readers’
It Matters question, showing why anyone should care about the topic or your approach to it.
Needs
Examples
These are illustrative examples and explanations of complex, esoteric, or idiosyncratic
and
concepts, theories, technical processes, etc.
Explanation

TABLE 13.1 Research needs assessment

Access for free at [Link].

 13.1 • The Research Process: Where to Look for Existing Sources 413

Generating Key Words

Before you begin locating sources, consider the research terms you will use to find these sources. Most
research is categorized according to key terms that are important for understanding the topic and/or
methodologies. When beginning the research process, you may find that the ideas or words associated with
your topic are not yielding results when you search library or Internet databases (organized collections of
information).

If you are running into challenges locating information related to your topic, you may not have chosen the
specific key terms needed. Because libraries and online databases generate search results based on
algorithms that target keywords, the best way to find the appropriate terminology associated with your topic is
to practice generating key terms. You may need a range of keywords, some for library searches and others for
online searches. When considering the difference between keyword searches in academic libraries versus
online sources, note that most academic libraries use Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) for subject
searches of their online catalogs. Many databases use subject searches based on algorithms that may be
unique to that database. Don’t become discouraged if you find that the terms for searching in your academic
library may be somewhat different from the terms for searching online. As you begin to find sources related to
your subject, take notes on the variety of terms that describe your research area. These notes will come in
handy as both keyword and subject searches throughout your research process.

The following steps and examples will help you get started:

• Begin by limiting your topic to one or two sentences or questions. (What effects do a region’s water and
temperatures have on fall foliage?)
• Highlight specific words that are key to understanding or finding answers to your question. (What effects
do the amount of water a region gets and temperatures for that region have on colors of fall foliage?)
• Consider words assumed but not mentioned in your question. For instance, the example question implies
a search around trees and rainfall; however, trees and rainfall are not mentioned. Add these words to the
words highlighted in your question.
• Consider synonyms for the words you highlighted. A search for synonyms for fall yields harvest, autumn,
and autumnal equinox. A search for synonyms for leaves yields foliage, fronds, and stalks. Be sure you
understand the meaning of each synonym so that you can choose those that best capture the concepts you
seek to research.
• Try different combinations of the key terms and synonyms to help you find as many sources as you can.

You can find more information about key terms and searches by consulting Writing Process: Informing and
Analyzing.

Locating Sources
Once you have identified sources to fit both your and your readers’ needs, you can begin to locate these
sources. Throughout the research process, look for sources that will provide enough information for you to
form your own opinions or answer your research question(s). Use source materials as support for your own
words and ideas. The following are possible locations for source materials: