Research and Sources

This is Unit Twenty-One of College Composition. Unit Twenty closed the revision block. This unit opens the sources block, with the research that gives an argument its evidence. Carry one idea through this lecture. Research joins a conversation, and it begins with a narrowed question, because the question decides which keywords and sources a search can find. A worked example at the end follows one project from a broad interest to usable sources. By the end you will be able to narrow a research question. To tell primary, secondary and reference sources apart, and scholarly from popular. To search libraries and databases with keywords. And to gather field research and keep records as you go.

Three entries on research as a conversation and on research questions.

Joining a conversation.

CMP 0501 Research Joins a Conversation

Academic research joins a conversation: researchers find out what others have said, then add their own perspective. Research usually presents a viewpoint on a debatable issue, supported by evidence gathered from sources and combined with the writer's thinking. A research paper that only collects what others said has not yet made its contribution.

Questions that focus.

CMP 0502 Research Questions

Research begins with questions, which start general and grow more sharply focused as the researcher learns more. Good research questions often ask how, why or what: how a technology was used, why it failed at first, what strategies changed it. A question with a simple yes or no answer gives research nowhere to go.

From topic to question.

CMP 0503 Narrowing a Research Question

Narrowing a research question turns a broad topic into one a paper can answer in depth. Start broad, such as weapons in the Second World War. Limit by place, time, group or aspect: the defense of London during the Blitz. Limit to one subject: anti-aircraft guns. Then ask how, why or what: what changes made anti-aircraft guns more effective as the Blitz went on? Check that sources can answer it, that it fits the assigned length, and that it invites analysis. A question that is too narrow can be as unworkable as one too broad; if no sources address it, widen it one step.

Four entries on the kinds of sources and how researchers use each.

Direct experience.

CMP 0504 Primary Sources

Primary sources are firsthand accounts, produced by people drawing on direct experience or observation. Diaries, eyewitness accounts, interviews, original documents, speeches, news coverage written at the time, observations and experiments are primary sources. Primary sources are close to events but may reflect one person's limited view.

One step removed.

CMP 0505 Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are at least one step removed from the experience; they analyze and interpret primary sources. Most books, articles and analyses are secondary sources. The same document can be both: a biography is secondary about its subject and primary about its author. Whether a source is primary or secondary depends partly on how you use it.

Summaries of a field.

CMP 0506 Tertiary and Reference Works

Reference works such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases and almanacs summarize and condense information, and are sometimes called tertiary sources. They provide background and basic facts, helping a researcher see a topic's scope and decide where to turn next. General reference works are useful starting points but are not strong sources to cite in a research paper.

General readers or specialists.

CMP 0507 Scholarly and Popular Sources

Popular articles address a general audience; scholarly articles are written by academic researchers for specialists. Popular sources help with background and the range of a conversation; scholarly sources provide the specialized evidence academic papers rely on. The line between them can blur, so check who wrote a source and for whom.

Five entries on searching: librarians, keywords, a search strategy, databases, and government documents and archives.

Information experts.

CMP 0508 Librarians and Library Visits

Libraries remain indispensable to research, and librarians are professional information experts. Visit the library early and often, check general sources first, and ask librarians for help finding sources or databases you have not tried. Waiting until the last week often means finding that a key book is checked out.

Search terms.

CMP 0509 Keywords

Libraries and databases find sources by matching keywords, so choosing good search terms decides what research turns up. Highlight the key words in your research question, add words the question assumes, list synonyms, and try different combinations. When a search returns nothing useful, the problem is often the terms, not the topic.

A search in stages.

CMP 0510 Search Strategies

An effective search moves from general background to focused sources. Consult general reference works, then specialized reference works for your field. Search the library catalog for books, then a general-interest database for newspapers, magazines and some journals. Once the topic is focused, search subject databases, which index scholarly and technical journals. Adjust keywords as you learn the field's vocabulary. Stopping at the first search engine results skips the catalogs and databases where most scholarly sources live, so use library tools and ask a librarian when results seem thin.

Indexes of articles.

CMP 0511 Libraries and Databases

Databases, usually reached through a library website, are organized collections that index articles, reports, book chapters and government documents. General-interest databases cover many topics; subject databases focus on one discipline's scholarly and technical journals. Database searching takes practice; expect to refine terms and ask for help.

Primary documents elsewhere.

CMP 0512 Government Documents and Archives

Government documents and archives are further places to find sources, including primary documents not available elsewhere. Libraries offer access to government publications, special collections and archives, and interlibrary loans for materials they do not hold. Archival sources often need more context to interpret than a published article.

Six entries on field research, keeping records, a worked example, and knowing when to stop. The opening idea is paid off at the worked example.

Original data.

CMP 0513 Field Research

Field research generates original data through direct observation, surveys or interviews. Observation means taking notes while watching events, people or places, once or over time; a participant observer takes part in what is observed. Field research needs planning, such as what to observe and how often, so that its data answers the research question.

Many people or one.

CMP 0514 Surveys and Interviews

A survey asks many people the same questions so their answers can be tabulated; an interview gathers in-depth information from one knowledgeable person. Surveys suit questions about groups, such as student eating habits; interviews with experts or people with direct experience add authority. Prepare interview questions in advance and record the date, since you will need it for documentation.

Recording as you go.

CMP 0515 A Research Log

A research log records sources and notes as research proceeds, connecting each piece of information to the thesis. Each entry notes the date, the source, the information found, and how it connects to the thesis or to other sources. Without a log, writers lose track of where information came from, which leads to accidental plagiarism.

Publication details.

CMP 0516 Bibliographic Notes

Bibliographic notes record the publication details of each source, so it can be cited later without searching again. They include the author, title, contributors, version, publisher, publication date, location such as page numbers or a URL, and date of access. Record these details when you first find a source; reconstructing them later wastes time and invites errors.

A project from interest to sources.

CMP 0517 From Question to Sources

A worked example, constructed for this course, pays off the opening idea. A student curious about fall leaves narrows the interest to a question: how do a region's rainfall and temperatures affect its fall foliage colors? Keywords come from the question, with assumed words such as trees and autumn and synonyms such as precipitation. The search runs in stages: a reference work for background, a general database for a magazine article on warm autumns, then a life-sciences database for scholarly studies measuring color against weather records. Field photographs might add observation, and every source is logged. Searching the broad topic would have drowned in results; narrowing first made the scholarly sources findable.

Enough research.

CMP 0518 When to Stop Searching

Research can stop expanding once the sources answer the research question, confirm one another, and give enough evidence for each point. Checking whether key information is confirmed by more than one source is part of knowing the research is sufficient. Researching past the point of need can delay writing; new questions can become a future project.

Look at what you can now do. You can explain research as joining a conversation, and narrow a broad topic into a how, why or what question. You can tell primary, secondary and reference sources apart, and scholarly sources from popular ones. You can build keywords, and search catalogs and databases from general to specialized, with a librarian's help. And you can plan field research, keep a research log and bibliographic notes, and know when the research is sufficient. Unit Twenty-Two turns to judging the sources you find.