Chapter 4 - Searching for Previous Research & APA Style (Book)

State your topic in the form of a question

-ask a few mini questions -come up with your overall research question -may have to be slightly revised in the future if it's too broad

Identifying Key Terms and Concepts

-ask questions surrounding your research -come up with related terms to search your topic/question -use synonyms of those words to further your research

Creating a Title Page

-have a running head with page number on top of each page to show they all go together (*Running Head* - 5 spaces - *page number*) -Title should be approx. 10-12 words -Author's name, university/professional affiliation * Details of title page found on pg. 84

Locating Sources of Information

-search information already found on the topic, then use "gaps" to refine your initial research question -primary/secondary sources -backtracking (taking one article and using that article's references to track down other publications)

Identifying the Question/Topic

-something that can be researchable -information gathered will be useful

Librarians

-there to help -knowledgeable in resources -can help you find what you need for research

5 Preliminary Steps To Beginning a Research Project

1. Identifying the question or topic to investigate 2. Clarifying the research question and generating a list of key terms and concepts 3. Locating potential sources of background info on the topic 4. Organizing and evaluating info 5. Citing sources of information using a standard format

Clarifying the Research Question and Generating Key Terms

1. State your topic in the form of a question 2. Identify key terms and concepts from the questions 3. Generate a list of key term synonyms that can be used to search for background information

Process for going about a Research Study:

1. What is your initial research question? 2. What do you already know about this topic? 3. What keywords can you use to assist you in conducting a library search? 4. What resources should you examine to begin your review of literature? 5. Begin your search for information. 6. Review and evaluate the information. -what questions have been answered? -what questions remain unanswered? -should any studies be replicated? 7. Evaluate your sources. Now that the initial research process is complete, revise your initial research question.

Evaluating Web Sources

4 Criteria to Examine Credibility/Quality of Web Sources: accuracy, authority, currency, objectivity -don't use Wikipedia

Organizing and Evaluating Information

Organizing Strategy: 1. Using list of key terms, begin searching general reference materials 2. As you locate potential sources of info, complete a Source Record Card for each source. Include all required info. 3. Review the abstract as you locate each source. Review the discussion section if the article comes from a scholarly journal. This will be useful in determining if the source contains info that's relevant to your study 4. Read through the bibliographies of sources that you locate.

Truncation Symbols

adding * to end of word brings any version of that word into your search

Citing Sources of Information using the APA Format

any info used from a source should be cited, direct quotes should be quoted. Pg 76 has citation elements for different sources -citations not required for common knowledge - Parenthetical Citations (used when you are including info taken directly from another source - use: author's last name, date of publication, page number) -Paraphrase (should always include author's name and year of publication)

Axioms

generally accepted principles or rules