FUNDAMENTALS OF RESEARCH

BASIC RESEARCH

APPLIED RESEARCH

Statement of the problem

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM AND OBJECTIVE

Review of the literature

Topic of problem area

Theory area

Methodology

subject, design and data correction

Data analysis

Bibliography

Timetable

Do you need facts, figures, statistics?

View Statistical Databases

Do you need a general overview of the topic?

World Almanac and Encyclopedia

Does your information need to be very
current?

Learn how to limit your searches by year

How in-depth does your research need to be?

Try to use at least 1 source per page for you
assignment. Example: If you are writing a 10
page paper, use 10 scholarly sources.

You will actually need to find more sources then
you will end up using. If you need to use 10
sources, you should initially gather 15-20.

Do you need to consider different or
conflicting points of view?

Try LexisNexis Reference sources
(click Reference > Polls & Surveys)

Who is the author?

Did the author have any authority in what they
wrote? What credentials do they have?

Why was the article written?

Many articles and websites were written to
present specific arguments or theories. Make
sure you know if the information you are using
was written for a specific purpose.

Where was it published?

Was it published in a peer-reviewed, scholarly,
or otherwise authoritative journal? Or, merely
on someone
s personal website?

When was it published?

Obvious, yes. But, make sure that the website
you use is not outdated.

UTILIZATION

BASIC,APPLIED & ACTION RESEARCH

DISCIPLINE

SCIENTIFIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH

AIM

DESCRIPTIVE AND EXPLANATORY RESEARCH

DATA COLLECTION

EXPERIMENTAL & NON-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

Step 1) Formulate a question

Step 2) Collect relevant data

Step 3) Interpret findings

Step 4) Publish findings

Step 5) Review the available literature

Use encyclopedias, almanacs and dictionaries to find background
information on your topic

Consult the Kinds of Information Chart

Browse books in your subject (CBU uses the Library of Congress
system. In this outline, the letters are specific areas of the library
where you will find books on your subject)

Use the library
s many databases to find in-depth
information in books and journals

Online Research Databases (articles & journals)

WebCat Catalog (books & AV)