what to do academic research

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What is Academic Research?

After completing this module you will be able to:

• recognize why information exists, who creates it, and how information of all kinds can be valuable, even when it’s biased.
• understand what scholarly research is, how to find it, how the process of peer-review works, and how it gets published.
• identify types of databases and understand why databases are critical for academic research

How to use this module

This module is organized into a number of pages. To navigate, you can either:

• use the “Previous” and “Next” buttons at the bottom of each page (suggested)

• follow the links in the “Contents” menu on the left side of the page

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Introduction to Academic Research

What is Academic Research?

• Planning your Research
• Search Strategies
• Choosing Sources
• Choosing Databases
• Scholarly Sources
• Evaluating Websites
• Citing your Sources

Academic research involves a thorough investigation into what is known about a given topic. In most cases, you will be required to examine and analyze scholarly sources when completing your assignments (unless otherwise indicated by your instructor).  Scholarly sources help:

• Add depth to your understanding.
• Strengthen your argument.
• Reduce bias and misconceptions.

Research assignments are designed to help you think like a researcher and learn good research skills, such as selecting appropriate topics, identifying keywords, searching for information efficiently, and evaluating your sources. In this guide, we'll cover some of the key information and skills you need to know to succeed at Sheridan.

In this Guide

• Last Updated: May 1, 2023 9:28 AM
• URL: https://sheridancollege.libguides.com/academic-research

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Research: Where to Begin

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Research isn't something that only scientists and professors do. Any time you use sources to investigate claims or reach new conclusions, you are performing research. Research happens in virtually all fields, so it’s vitally important to know how to conduct research and navigate through source material regardless of your professional or academic role.

Choosing and Narrowing Your Research Topic

Before beginning the process of looking for sources, it’s important to choose a research topic that is specific enough to explore in-depth. If your focus is too broad, it will be difficult to find sources that back up what you’re trying to say.

If your instructor gives you the flexibility to choose your own research topic, you might begin by brainstorming  a list of topics that interest you ( click here to visit an OWL page that can help you get started brainstorming or prewriting ). Once you find something that grabs your attention, the next step is to narrow your topic to a manageable scope. Some ways to narrow your focus are by sub-topic, demographic, or time period.

For example, suppose that you want to research cancer treatments. Cancer treatment is a fairly broad topic, so you would be wise to at least consider narrowing your scope. For example, you could focus on a sub-topic of cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. However, these are still broad topics, so you might also narrow your topic to a narrower sub-topic or even examine how these topics relate to a specific demographic or time period. In the end, you might decide to research how radiation therapy for women over fifty has changed in the past twenty years. In sum, having a specific idea of what you want to research helps you find a topic that feels more manageable.

Writing Your Research Question

Writing your research topic as a question helps you focus your topic in a clear and concise way. It ensure that your topic is arguable. While not all research papers have to offer an explicit argument, many do.

For the above example, you might phrase your research question like this: "How has radiation therapy changed in the past twenty years for women over fifty?" Of course, phrasing this topic as a question assumes that the research has, in fact, changed. Reading your sources (or, to begin with, at least summaries and abstracts of those sources) will help you formulate a research question that makes sense.

Knowing What Types of Sources You Need

Depending on the type of research you’re doing, you may need to use different types of sources. Research is usually divided into scholarly and popular, and primary and secondary. For more information on specific details about these types of sources, visit our "Where to Begin" page in our "Evaluating Sources" subsection.  This subsection contains additional pages that explore various kinds of sources (like, e.g., internet sources) in more detail.

Asking Productive Questions

Before you begin your research, you should ask yourself questions that help narrow your search parameters.

What kind of information are you looking for?

Different types of research will require different sources. It’s important to know what kinds of sources your research demands. Ask whether you need facts or opinions, news reports, research studies, statistics and data, personal reflections, archival research, etc. Restricting yourself to only the most relevant kinds of sources will make the research process seem less daunting.

Where do you need to look for your research?

Your research topic will also dictate where you find your sources. This extends beyond simply whether you use the internet or a print source. For example, if you are searching for information on a current event, a well-regarded newspaper like the  New York Times  or  Wall Street Journal  could  be a useful source. If you are searching for statistics on some aspect of the U.S. population, then you might want to start with government documents, such as census reports. While much high-level academic research relies mainly on the sorts of academic journal articles and scholarly books that can be found in university libraries, depending the nature of your research project, you may need to look elsewhere.

How much information do you need?

Different research projects require different numbers of sources. For example, if you need to address both sides of a controversial issue, you may need to find more sources than if you were pursuing a non-controversial topic. Be sure to speak with your instructor if you are unclear on how many sources you will be expected to use.

How timely does your research need to be?

Depending on your research topic, the timeliness of your source may or may not matter. For example, if you are looking into recent changes in a specific scientific field, you would want the most up-to-date research. However, if you were researching the War of 1812, you might benefit from finding primary sources written during that time period.

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Academic Research

Raysonho/ Wikimedia Commons. Academic research can be intense, stimulating, and rewarding. But it is important to know that a research career involves many activities besides research. Scientists spend their time writing applications for funding to do research, as well as writing scientific papers to report the findings of their research. In addition, they spend time presenting their research in oral or poster form to other scientists at group meetings, institutional meetings, and scientific conferences; they also spend time teaching students about their field of study. A scientist's life is often full of tasks that need to be done and most scientists work very hard, but they also love what they do.

Fields of Study

• Clinical Scientist: David Fredricks
• Epidemiologist: Gloria Coronado
• Geneticist: Katie Peichel
• Clinical Research: Dana Panteleef
• Research Technician: Nanna Hansen

If you're interested in a general sense in academic research, the first thing to figure out is which field of research is best for you.

The fundamental task of research is asking questions. There are many areas of research in the life sciences, and they generally fall into three categories based on the types of questions that are asked and the tools that are used to answer the questions:

Basic Research

Clinical research, population-based research.

Basic researchers ask questions about how fundamental life processes work. Examples of questions include the following:

• What are the mechanisms that determine how and when cells divide?
• How do DNA mutations associated with a disease occur?
• How and why do cells age?
• How and why does one type of cell work differently from another type of cell?

Basic researchers usually work in laboratories with other scientists, usually with one faculty member leading a group of postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and lab technicians who do most of the lab work. The hours can be very long and the work can be challenging, especially for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Basic researchers often ask their questions using model organisms, including yeast, worms, flies, fish, and mice.

• Scientific Recruiter: Scott Canavera
• Staff Scientist: Tom Paulson
• Shared Resources: Julie Randolph-Habecker
• Faculty Member: Wendy Leisenring

Clinical researchers ask questions about how disease occurs and how it can be cured in humans. Examples of questions include the following:

• How can we manipulate the body's immune system to improve treatment of a disease?
• How can we create a drug to improve disease survival?
• What are the long-term impacts of treatment on quality of life?

Clinical researchers work in laboratories that are very similar to basic researchers, but they often work with human tissue samples to ask their questions. Many clinical researchers find it rewarding to work on a question that may have an impact that they will eventually see come to fruition. At the same time, when you're working with human tissue, you usually have a limited amount of it so the risks of making a mistake that will lose your sample could be high. Clinical researchers will often collaborate with biostatisticians to best design and analyze their studies in order to yield the maximum amount of relevant information.

Population-based research is done by epidemiologists who ask questions to determine how diet, genetics, and lifestyle may influence the risk of disease. They ask these questions in one of two ways:

• by following a group of people over time and correlating exposure to who gets a disease;
• by asking a group of people with a disease about their lifestyle and diet choices and comparing the data to a randomly chosen group without the disease in order to look for differences between the two groups.

The types of questions they ask include the following:

• How can we best prevent teenagers from starting to smoke?
• Do some genetic variants place a person at greater risk for cancer?
• Do vitamins help prevent cancer?
• Does exposure to certain chemicals increase the risk of getting a particular disease?

Epidemiologists also collaborate with biostatisticians in order to design and analyze studies so they can get the most information from them. Rather than work in a lab, epidemiologists often need no more than a desk and computer. However, the interdisciplinary field of molecular epidemiology is changing this, and many epidemiologists ask questions about how a particular gene can influence disease risk, rather than, or in addition to, a lifestyle exposure.

Roles in Research

Faculty member.

Faculty members usually have Ph.D.'s or M.D.'s and have gone through graduate school or medical school followed by several years of being a postdoctoral fellow or medical resident. A faculty member is the leader of their own lab or work group and determines the direction of the research in their group. Most faculty members spend a good deal of their time writing grant proposals and manuscripts, reading research papers, reviewing colleagues' manuscripts and grant proposals, thinking and talking with others about their research to gain new ideas, and mentoring the people in their group.

Faculty positions are usually very competitive to get and are often a result of hard work over many years. However, most faculty members love what they do and wouldn't trade it for anything.

Research Scientist

Shared resource specialist, technician and other support staff, administrative positions.

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Basic Steps in the Research Process

The following steps outline a simple and effective strategy for writing a research paper. Depending on your familiarity with the topic and the challenges you encounter along the way, you may need to rearrange these steps.

Step 1: Identify and develop your topic

Selecting a topic can be the most challenging part of a research assignment. Since this is the very first step in writing a paper, it is vital that it be done correctly. Here are some tips for selecting a topic:

• Select a topic within the parameters set by the assignment. Many times your instructor will give you clear guidelines as to what you can and cannot write about. Failure to work within these guidelines may result in your proposed paper being deemed unacceptable by your instructor.
• Select a topic of personal interest to you and learn more about it. The research for and writing of a paper will be more enjoyable if you are writing about something that you find interesting.
• Select a topic for which you can find a manageable amount of information. Do a preliminary search of information sources to determine whether existing sources will meet your needs. If you find too much information, you may need to narrow your topic; if you find too little, you may need to broaden your topic.
• Be original. Your instructor reads hundreds of research papers every year, and many of them are on the same topics (topics in the news at the time, controversial issues, subjects for which there is ample and easily accessed information). Stand out from your classmates by selecting an interesting and off-the-beaten-path topic.
• Still can't come up with a topic to write about? See your instructor for advice.

Once you have identified your topic, it may help to state it as a question. For example, if you are interested in finding out about the epidemic of obesity in the American population, you might pose the question "What are the causes of obesity in America ?" By posing your subject as a question you can more easily identify the main concepts or keywords to be used in your research.

Step 2 : Do a preliminary search for information

Before beginning your research in earnest, do a preliminary search to determine whether there is enough information out there for your needs and to set the context of your research. Look up your keywords in the appropriate titles in the library's Reference collection (such as encyclopedias and dictionaries) and in other sources such as our catalog of books, periodical databases, and Internet search engines. Additional background information may be found in your lecture notes, textbooks, and reserve readings. You may find it necessary to adjust the focus of your topic in light of the resources available to you.

Step 3: Locate materials

With the direction of your research now clear to you, you can begin locating material on your topic. There are a number of places you can look for information:

If you are looking for books, do a subject search in One Search . A Keyword search can be performed if the subject search doesn't yield enough information. Print or write down the citation information (author, title,etc.) and the location (call number and collection) of the item(s). Note the circulation status. When you locate the book on the shelf, look at the books located nearby; similar items are always shelved in the same area. The Aleph catalog also indexes the library's audio-visual holdings.

Use the library's  electronic periodical databases  to find magazine and newspaper articles. Choose the databases and formats best suited to your particular topic; ask at the librarian at the Reference Desk if you need help figuring out which database best meets your needs. Many of the articles in the databases are available in full-text format.

Use search engines ( Google ,  Yahoo , etc.) and subject directories to locate materials on the Internet. Check the  Internet Resources  section of the NHCC Library web site for helpful subject links.

Step 4: Evaluate your sources

See the  CARS Checklist for Information Quality   for tips on evaluating the authority and quality of the information you have located. Your instructor expects that you will provide credible, truthful, and reliable information and you have every right to expect that the sources you use are providing the same. This step is especially important when using Internet resources, many of which are regarded as less than reliable.

Step 5: Make notes

Consult the resources you have chosen and note the information that will be useful in your paper. Be sure to document all the sources you consult, even if you there is a chance you may not use that particular source. The author, title, publisher, URL, and other information will be needed later when creating a bibliography.

Step 6: Write your paper

Begin by organizing the information you have collected. The next step is the rough draft, wherein you get your ideas on paper in an unfinished fashion. This step will help you organize your ideas and determine the form your final paper will take. After this, you will revise the draft as many times as you think necessary to create a final product to turn in to your instructor.

Step 7: Cite your sources properly

Give credit where credit is due; cite your sources.

Citing or documenting the sources used in your research serves two purposes: it gives proper credit to the authors of the materials used, and it allows those who are reading your work to duplicate your research and locate the sources that you have listed as references. The  MLA  and the  APA  Styles are two popular citation formats.

Failure to cite your sources properly is plagiarism. Plagiarism is avoidable!

Step 8: Proofread

The final step in the process is to proofread the paper you have created. Read through the text and check for any errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Make sure the sources you used are cited properly. Make sure the message that you want to get across to the reader has been thoroughly stated.

Additional research tips:

• Work from the general to the specific -- find background information first, then use more specific sources.
• Don't forget print sources -- many times print materials are more easily accessed and every bit as helpful as online resources.
• The library has books on the topic of writing research papers at call number area LB 2369.
• If you have questions about the assignment, ask your instructor.
• If you have any questions about finding information in the library, ask the librarian.

Contact Information

Craig larson.

Librarian 763-424-0733 [email protected] Zoom:  myzoom   Available by appointment

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How to Do Academic Research

Use the links below to jump directly to any section of this guide:

Academic Research Fundamentals

How to begin finding academic resources, how to use scholarly sources once you have located them, databases of scholarly resources, resources for teaching students how to do academic research.

Few high school students or college underclassmen are prepared to conduct the type of academic research their instructors expect. While many institutions offer library orientation sessions, the information is rarely at hand when students are dealing with midterm or finals panic. Furthermore, those sessions generally focus on finding resources, and often fail to teach students how to use those resources effectively. This guide contains links to resources, exercises, and assignments that will help instructors fill these gaps. It also includes tips and responsible shortcuts for students who don't have access to good library resources, or are panicking because they have a lot of material to sort through and don't know how to begin.

Students often want to know the quickest way to get the minimum number of sources required, and many of them cannot see the connection between a slapped-together bibliography and an unfocused mess of a paper. The resources in this section encourage students to think about what they're doing when they write a paper. These resources can also help students understand why a good bibliography is the foundation of a good paper.

What is Academic Research?

"Overview of Research Process" (Univ. of Nebraska)

This resource discusses how the overarching process of research should guide the writing of a research paper. It also includes separate attachments that provide specific guidance for thinking about research questions and proposals.

"Qualitative Research vs. Quantitative Research" (YouTube)

This video introduces students to two basic approaches to conducting research. Understanding basic methodological approaches will help students evaluate whether a scholarly source is appropriate for their research project.

"The 'Realistic' Research Paper" ( Chronicle of Higher Education )

This article from the  CHE  asks whether the formal academic research paper can be made more relevant while still preserving academic rigor. This could be a very good discussion starter for a class of advanced high schoolers or college underclassmen.

Types of Academic Research Sources

"Types of Sources" (Purdue OWL)

The reliable folks at the Purdue Online Writing Lab provide a basic introduction to the types of academic research sources, with section devoted to both traditional print and online-only resources. 

"Articles, Books, and...? Understanding the Many Types of Information Found in Libraries" (UCLA)

This guide breaks down categories of scholarly sources (they are all listed in the sidebar on the left). It defines terms like "scholarly source" and "secondary source," and its explanation of when  to use certain types of sources is succinct and clear. 

Many students have no idea where to begin looking for books and journal articles. Students, here's a tip I always gave my students when I was a professor: begin by looking at the works cited in your assigned readings. You'll probably notice that certain authors, books, or articles are cited frequently. It's safe for you to assume those are the type of respectable sources that are the foundation of any good bibliography. The links below will help you navigate the process, one step at a time.

First Steps

These resources will aid you in time management, and will introduce you to the best places on the web to start the research process.

"Research Paper Planner: Timeline" (Baylor Univ.)

This tool generates a responsible timeline for the research and writing process based on the current date and assignment due date. It is useful to budget extra time for obtaining books and articles through Interlibrary loan (for more on ILL, see "How to Deal with Hard-to-find Sources"). 

Google Scholar  

Anyone who does not know where to begin should start here. Google Scholar searches across the internet for various kinds of scholarly resources. Use the "cited by" option to narrow down articles. NOTE: Users may not be able to access resources' full text if they are not connected to a library, or college or university network.

"Basic Guide to Google Scholar" (YouTube)

This tutorial demonstrates how to perform basic searches, save search results, and generate MLA, APA, and Chicago-style citations.

"Intermediate Guide to Google Scholar" (YouTube)

This tutorial, led by a STEM Ph.D., goes into more detail about the workings of Google Scholar. 

Google Books

Google Books permits searches of  millions  of books. Even when the full text is not available, users can still find the pages where a particular keyword is mentioned. This can be a valuable shortcut if a user needs to identify the most relevant chapters of a large book quickly.

How to Judge the Quality of a Source

In the age of Fake News and Stupid Algorithm Tricks, being able to evaluate a source's credibility is more important than ever. This section's first two resources help students learn to evaluate the credibility of a variety of sources. Since studies suggest that many students struggle with evaluating non-academic internet sources, the last two resources focus on those sources specifically.

"What is a 'Good' Source? Determining the Validity of Evidence" (Univ. of Maryland)

This webpage gives students tips on evaluating the author and the content of a potential source. NOTE: Be sure to click through all the modules.

"Research 101: Credibility is Contextual" (Univ. of Washington via YouTube)

This brief video (2:56) helps students learn to evaluate web and social media sources. NOTE: All the Research 101 videos are helpful for students who are new to academic research.

"The C.R.A.P. Test in Action" (Portland State Univ. via YouTube)

This video (5:00) shows how to evaluate websites using the Currency, Reliability, Authority, and Purpose or Point of View test. The video gives specific examples of high-quality and low-quality websites.

"Evaluating Internet Content" (Georgetown Univ.)

This resource gives students some very specific questions they can use to evaluate the quality of a source.

How to Deal with Hard-to-find Sources

Sometimes, you cannot access a particular source because it isn't in your library or your library doesn't have the right database subscription. In that case, you can see about an Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Every library system does ILL somewhat differently, so ask for a librarian's assistance when using the system for the first time. 

WorldCat is an immense catalog of books, articles, reports,  and more. To locate a source, copy and paste a title into the search bar. By entering a ZIP code under "Find a copy in a library," users can see if any libraries in the area have access to the scholarly source. 

"Interlibrary Loan" (Wikipedia)

This Wikipedia article provides a general overview of the interlibrary loan process. Many students are not well-informed about how ILLs work. Knowing how the system works is especially important for students at rural colleges or colleges without large budgets.

Even if an instructor can get students to build a substantial and relevant bibliography responsibly, there is still another major hurdle. Students must learn how to read, annotate, and incorporate sources efficiently. Many students operate under the assumption that they must read every prospective source cover-to-cover. This is overwhelming and frustrating, and it's no surprise that students start doing shoddy work under these conditions. The resources in this section expose students to effective shortcuts and organizational tricks to help them make sense of their scholarly sources.

How to Do Effective Reading, Annotation, and Note-taking

"How to (Seriously) Read a Scientific Paper" ( Science Magazine )

Science  asked leading scholars to describe the shortcuts they take when reading journal articles. The lesson here is that using shortcuts is absolutely OK. In fact, researchers who use the  right  shortcuts often build the most effective bibliographies.

"Tips for Reading Scholarly and Journal Articles" (Brandeis Univ.)

The general tips on the first page are helpful, but the most valuable part is the chart on the second page. It explains how to read an article depending on whether it was assigned in class or whether you want to test its suitability for your research paper.

"Student Worksheet: Analyzing a Journal Article" (Univ. of Guelph)

This template will help students break down any article that has a specific, testable hypothesis. 

"Reading in the Humanities and Social Sciences" (Trent Univ.)

This reading guide is tailored specifically for the humanities and other fields where scholars write both books and articles. Be sure to click on the reading template link on page three.

How to Integrate Scholarly Sources Into an Essay or Research Paper

"Incorporating Sources into Research Writing" (Germanna C.C.)

Pages five through nine of this guide provide clear, detailed instructions for using scholarly sources in an academic paper. There are also two examples provided. 

"Integrating Sources into Your Writing" (James Madison Univ. via YouTube)

This guide to integrating sources includes numerous examples and illustrations. In addition to discussing incorporating sources, it touches on evaluating the credibility of sources.

"Paraphrasing Exercise" (Purdue OWL)

Instructors can use this exercise to help students practice the sometimes tricky technique of incorporating sources via paraphrase.

"Incorporating Sources Exercises" (Wilmington Univ.)

This webpage links to nearly 20 resources for students who are struggling with quotation, paraphrase, summary, or similar techniques. 

How to Avoid Academic Integrity Issues

Everyone knows copying and pasting from the Internet or directly lifting material from a book constitutes cheating. But what makes a good paraphrase? What is "common knowledge," and what needs to be cited? Can you plagiarize yourself? These are all legitimate, good-faith questions students might have about using scholarly sources. These online resources can help address those challenging gray areas.

"Incorporating Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism" (UC Irvine)

This detailed, example-rich presentation (helpfully written from a STEM perspective) dispels some common myths about what does and doesn't count as plagiarism.

"How Students Commit Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism" (Northern Illinois Univ.)

This webpage contains links to lots of plagiarism examples. These examples are useful because they illustrate the difference between things like good and bad paraphrasing.

"Paraphrasing" (Univ. of Guelph)

Paraphrasing is a difficult skill and honest, well-meaning students sometimes commit academic dishonesty unintentionally by not paraphrasing correctly. This presentation discusses the elements of a good paraphrase and provides examples.

"Citation Builder" (NC State)

This webpage generates citations in MLA, APA, and Chicago format.

Here are the citation guides for the three major academic writing formats:

• APA Citation Guide (BibMe.org)
• Chicago Manual of Style Citation Guide
• MLA Citation Guide (EasyBib.com)

Included here are links to resource collections that are free of charge to any user, or that students can access through their  public or academic libraries. Remember, if you can't get access to a particular scholarly source because your public library or educational institution doesn't have access, be sure to investigate the Interlibrary Loan option mentioned earlier in this guide.

Freely Accessible Resources

The academic world becomes more accepting of open-source journals with every passing year. JURN is a database of scholarly articles from over 3,000 journals in a variety of disciplines.

Library of Congress eResources

The Library of Congress provides access to a staggering number of databases across all academic disciplines. Not all the resources are free, but many are.

Library of Congress Map Collections

Maps are valuable resources for students, professional scholars, independent scholars, and interested amateurs. The Library of Congress has access to multiple collections of current and historical maps.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

This service is provided by the National Institutes of Health. The NLM includes PubMed, an important collection of journal articles and abstracts. Many resources at the NLM are free, but not all of them are. 

Resources Available at Public Libraries

Some public library systems may have no access or limited access to these resources. Please consult your local library system's website.

EBSCO allows users to search a wide variety of databases. The version of EBSCO available at most public libraries includes access to newspaper and genealogy  databases. Users who connect through a university library will access Academic Search Premier, EBSCO's scholarly database collection.

Learning Express Hub College Prep Center

This database has resources to help students prepare for Advanced Placement, the SAT, the ACT, and a variety of other exams.

LexisNexis Public Library Express

LexisNexis created this service to meet the needs of public library systems. Patrons can use this resource to search current events, business news, and legal news.

ProQuest Libraries

ProQuest's list of databases for public libraries includes searchable news databases, genealogy databases, and medical health databases.

Resources Available at Most College or University Libraries

Some colleges or universities may not have all these databases, or they may have limited access. If you need a source that your library doesn't have access to, use ILL (see "How to Deal with Hard-to-find Sources").

JSTOR is a leading database of academic journals from a wide variety of disciplines.

LexisNexis is one of the leading databases for legal and business research. 

Project MUSE

Project MUSE is a database with strong offerings in the humanities and social sciences.

ProQuest Academic

This is another database collection that contains links to journals from a variety of disciplines.

PsycINFO is hosted by the American Psychological Association. It is an important database for psychologists and other social scientists.

SAGE Journals

SAGE is a leading academic publisher. Its journals are sorted by four categories: Health Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, Life and Biomedical Sciences, and Materials Science and Engineering.

The idea of doing "research" is daunting for many students. A good way to make students more comfortable with the process is to break the giant concept of "research" into smaller pieces. These resources help teachers break down the research process effectively. "Resources for High School Teachers" help instructors understand the context and challenges of teaching their students about research, and provide sample assignments and exercises. "Resources for College Instructors" are focused more narrowly on teaching undergraduate students about formal academic papers. 

Resources for High School Teachers

"How Teens do Research in the Internet World" (Pew Research Institute)

This 2012 Pew study summarizes the challenges high school teachers face when it comes to teaching students about responsible online research. The study's findings serve as a jumping off point for teachers to discuss effective strategies and probable obstacles and constraints.

"The 6 Online Research Skills Your Students Need" (Scholastic)

This article suggests classroom activities appropriate for freshmen and sophomores.

Questia School: "Teacher Guide for Research Tutorials" (Cengage)

This lengthy, free guide from a leading educational publisher provides teachers with nearly 100 pages of tutorials and exercises that introduce every element of brainstorming and writing a research paper. 

"Research Paper Complete Resource Pack" (Teachers Pay Teachers)

This resource pack (designed primarily for MLA or APA style) contains worksheets and exercises to help students learn annotating, editing, integrating sources, and more. 

Resources for College Instructors

"Creating Successful Research Skills Assignments" (Univ. of Pennsylvania)

This guide contains suggested assignments that help students become more comfortable with various aspects of the research process.

"Teaching Students to Write Good Papers" (Yale)

This resource discusses general strategies for teaching students to write well. Most importantly, it contains links to numerous worksheets and handouts that are useful for struggling students.

"Effective Assignment Sequencing for Scaffolding Learning" (Univ. of Michigan)

Many instructors are proponents of the scaffolding approach to research papers. This approach requires students to focus more carefully on the intermediate steps in the process, and is also effective against plagiarism. This guide from Michigan's Writing Center provides detailed instructions and suggestions for creating a scaffolded assignment.

"Keys to Designing Effective Writing and Research Assignments" (FacultyFocus)

This collection of short papers asks provocative questions and offers suggestions for new ways of looking at research paper assignments.

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Home Surveys Academic Research

Academic Research: What it is + Free Tools

Academic research is critical to the success of a university, involving the whole system participating in it, whether it’s students, faculty members, or administrators. Although research is stereotypically associated with being in a laboratory mixing substances, the reality is that academic research involves all disciplines.

As a university student, you probably have many subjects to take, pending projects, and academic research to do. As part of that research, collecting information and data is essential for a final delivery that will give you an A and a 100% reliable result. Researchers use academic papers to earn colleagues’ respect, be a pioneer in their respective fields, and participate in future related research.

But how do you create an excellent quality academic research paper? Why is data collection a crucial point to it? In the following blog post, you’ll find the answers to those questions.

What is academic research?

Academic research is the best tool universities have to create or enhance knowledge and facilitate learning. Additionally, most academic research helps solve different social and economic problems in the community surrounding the university where it originated.

Academic research is a systematic process of studying a research problem or situation, where the intention is to identify facts that help solve the problem or deal with the situation.

Academic research aims to generate new knowledge that improves social development. This research is one of the essential responsibilities of a faculty member working at an educational institution. 

Mainly this focuses on scientific discoveries, conducting studies into various aspects of life, with the eventual aim of developing a more in-depth knowledge of the subject.

It’s all about using new research techniques, creating studies into untouched areas of life, and giving us a better understanding of the world in which we live. There are four types of Academic Research:

• Exploratory research to identify new situations/problems. Because of its nature, this type of research is often qualitative; however, a study with a large sample in an exploratory manner can incorporate qualitative research.
• Descriptive research identifies the characteristics of a particular phenomenon without investigating its causes.
• Explanatory research identifies cause-and-effect relationships in a problem, allowing generalizations that can apply in similar situations.
• Correlational research identifies the relationship between two or more variables and the effect on the system when a change in one of them occurs.

Characteristics of academic research

Academic research is more than just choosing a topic, collecting data, and putting it together on paper. To be considered good research, this must meet specific criteria to ensure the quality of the research. Some of the characteristics of good research are:

• Good research anchors to its topic question; this is the critical factor in the research. When coming up with the research question, try using FINER criteria (Feasible, Interesting, Novelty, Ethical, and Relevant)
• Every research follows a systematic and appropriate methodology.
• Acknowledgment of previous research is critical for the discovery of new knowledge. Using articles, journals, and investigations done in the past will give you a notion of the study’s direction.
• The criteria of good research is that it is representative and generalizable; this refers to the sample’s ability to represent a larger group with minimal variation.
• External validation of the research is a huge differentiator, as it gives recognition to the investigation for it to be used in future studies. 

Objectives of academic research

Academic research seeks to advance new knowledge and has relevance based on solving problems that contribute to the improvement of society.

When you perform academic research, you are essentially trying to solve a mystery—you want to know how something works or why something happened. In other words, you want to answer a question that you, academics, and professionals have about the world. This is one of the most fundamental reasons for performing research.

The process doesn’t stop right after solving the problem. Academic research needs to be presented, the most common way is through an academic paper, but if the paper is outstanding in quality, it can be published in professional journals.

Importance of academic research

As we have said before, academic research facilitates learning, highlights key issues in society, and can promote the growth of students.

• Facilitates the learning process: It is the best activity to develop or improve knowledge and allows to understand specific problems through varied angles that were never identified or talked about much. While conducting the study, you collect the evidence based on facts and rationale. This is how academic research papers open the doors for more discourse and debate.
• Highlights the problems: Generally, academic research highlights some problems that prevail in society, which could be related to cultural norms, health, education, specific practices, etc.
• Leads to the personal growth of students: This process helps in the development of skills. Students learn to identify a problem and arrive at a possible solution or develop a point of view on a specific issue. In addition, they develop skills such as big data analysis, critical thinking, time management, and organization.

Difference between academic and professional research  

There are several types of research, depending on the perspective and objective of each one. If we talk about academic research, it mainly focuses on making new discoveries for the scientific community.

Instead, professional research is more geared towards solving a specific problem for an organization, often a company or its clients. It could be called the next step of the investigation because it is at the same time collecting information and finding a solution, only applied to different approaches and objectives of life, one academic and one more from working life.

Academic research focuses on the research objectives and questions that arise from independent researchers. It uses formal, scientific, and systematic procedures to discover answers and to prove or reject existing theories.

On the other hand, professional research is defined as work carried out to achieve the objectives of an organization and focuses on the research objectives that arise from the requirements of the company. 

You may or may not use formal, scientific, and systematic procedures to discover answers. It is not based on theory and may not require a representative sample.

LEARN MORE: Descriptive Research vs. Correlational Research

Academic research methods

Research methods are the strategies, processes, or techniques used to collect data or analyze evidence to uncover new information or better understand a topic.

Different types of research methods use different tools for data collection. The principal tools for this type of research are interviews, focus groups, observation, and surveys.

• Interviews . A qualitative interview is the best research technique that allows the researcher to gather data from the subject using open-ended questions. The most important aspect of an interview is how it is made. Typically, it would be a one-on-one conversation focusing on the substance of the question.
• Focus group. Focus group is one of the best examples of qualitative data in education or in academic research. It is also a qualitative approach to gathering information. The main difference from an interview is that the group is composed of 6 – 10 people purposely selected to understand the perception of a social group. Rather than trying to understand a more significant population in the form of statistics, the focus group is directed by a moderator to keep the group in topic conversation. Hence, all the participants contribute to the research.
• Observation. Observation is a method of data collection that incorporates the researcher into the natural setting where the participants or the phenomenon is happening. This enables the researcher to see what is happening in real-time, eliminating some bias that interviews or focus groups can have by having the moderator intervene with the subjects.
• Surveys . A survey is a research method used to collect data from a determined population to gain information on a subject of interest. The nature of the survey allows for gathering the information at any given time and typically takes no time, depending on the research. Another benefit of a survey is its quantitative approach, which makes it easier to present it comprehensively.

Tips for doing academic research through surveys

Data collection is the process by which information is collected and measured based on our interests, taking the right path to answer specific research questions , test our hypotheses and predict the results.

The data collected should be similar to that of the study area, while the methods vary depending on the rules and regulations of each industry. Emphasis must be placed on ensuring accuracy and honesty in data collection, this is very important. 

Regardless of what qualitative and quantitative research methods you are conducting in your academic research, data collection must be accurate, which is essential to maintaining the integrity of academic research.

01. Perform effective sampling

Survey sampling size has to do with correctly defining the number of participants. This is one of the main steps in designing and organizing a survey. 

• Main concept : Before starting your academic research survey, you must confirm the study population and give it the correct follow-up. We must be aware that a change throughout the research process can critically affect the reality of the data collected. 
• Diversity: Ensuring the diversity of your sample and getting them to participate can be tedious work. However, it is very important to have a representative sample of the population to obtain richness in the responses. 
• Clarity : There are several limitations to determining the size and structure of the population sample. It is crucial that researchers describe their limitations and maintain the procedures they follow to select the sample transparently so that the results of surveys are seen from the correct perspective.

02. Select Survey Software 

We at QuestionPro are interested in fostering an interest in students in conducting effective academic research. It is because of students that we have different tools that will help them achieve it effectively:

The platform allows you to select different types of questions such as multiple choice , open , matrix type , satisfaction questions with smileys , and many more. 

In addition, our survey software allows students to email their survey, share it on social media, send it via SMS, etc., to facilitate data collection. 

03. Analysis of the responses

Analyzing the responses will help to know in detail the data obtained in the data collection process and confirm or refute the established hypothesis. 

With QuestionPro, it is possible to view survey data responses in real time. This way, you can effectively perform in-depth analysis for your academic research.

We have for you this article on data analysis, techniques, and step-by-step guide .

04. Research report

There are several essential points to consider when reporting the research results. All reports should be educational, relevant to the target audience, and customized to each company’s needs. 

The report of your academic research can be presented through visual presentations, written on an academic paper, or electronic reports. The way you present your survey results will make a big difference. A complete, formal report usually includes the following elements:

• Cover Sheet
• Introduction
• Research Purpose
• Survey Sample
• Methodology
• Conclusion and Recommendations
• Contact Information

QuestionPro platform also provides you with survey dashboards that will be very useful for presenting a report of results.

Online surveys will help you obtain the data you need for decision-making in your academic research. However, it is important that before collecting a series of data, you choose the right topic, the right questions to ask, and the type of survey you will carry out. 

The design of your survey and the target audience, that is, the right people to answer the questions in your questionnaire, will depend on all of the above.

We know that surveys play an important role in educational projects. That is why our platform allows you to conduct quantitative and qualitative research, polls, questionnaires, and online surveys. 

QuestionPro is a global company concerned about education. That’s why we offer academic alliances so that university students and teachers obtain our tool to take online exams, create forms, conduct research projects, and perform data analysis.

If you are interested in using our platform to carry out academic research, we invite you to learn about the benefits of our academic alliances. Take advantage of everything you can achieve by implementing our tool into your education services and start carrying powerful research to your education institution.

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How to do Academic Research: A Beginner’s Guide

This post is for university students who would like some guidance on doing academic research. Maybe you’re working on one of your first research papers, or you didn’t do so well on the last one and you want to level up. Below, I’ll focus on on how to do academic research, rather than writing up your paper – that post will be coming soon.

Table of Contents

Here’s what we’ll look at in this post:

📕 How to evaluate information 📙 Where to find sources 📘 How to cite your sources

You can also learn how to read journal articles effectively in this post:

How to Evaluate Information

You know you’re not supposed to use Wikipedia. But why not? When you find a website online, how can you know whether you can cite it or not? Can you trust the information that’s there? Here’s what you should be checking for when you’re doing academic research for your university courses: date, source, and authority.

How recent is it? Can you find the publication date? While there’s no exact timeline for something to qualify as “recent,” you want to make sure that the information you’re using is the most up-to-date.

Using out-of-date sources will not impress your professors because they are experts in the field and they will probably know! A huge part of their job is just reading, so they’ll know what the most recent arguments and discoveries in their field are.

How can you tell if it’s recent? First, look for a publication date. If you’re using academic research journals, there will always be a publication date available. If you’re using online sources such as websites or blogs, there may not be a publication date. But can you find a copyright date? Last updated? These will also give you some idea of the age of the information.

When you’re doing your research, also make sure you are looking at a breadth of sources, as well. This means you’re not just looking at 1-2 sources, you’re finding as many as you can. Reviewing these will help you find what the most recent arguments or findings are, and then you can tell if your other source is in alignment or not.

If you are in doubt about the publication date, it’s probably not a great source for you to pull from. In this case, try to find another source that has similar information, but includes a date.

The source is about where you find your information. Generally speaking, you will want to use academic resources, also known as research journals , scholarly journals , or just journals . These articles go through what is called a peer review process before they are published.

You can definitely ask your librarian, TA, or professor which are the prominent journals in your area of study. They will know which are the most reputable journals that are widely read. You may also be able to see this on your course reading list – the articles you have to read for class are chosen by your professor and probably from the journals they read.

The peer review process means that one expert (or a group of experts) wrote the paper, and then it was circulated anonymously to a number of other experts in the same field, who reviewed it before it could be published. These other experts make sure that the research is sound: the researcher(s) who wrote the paper has used effective methods and has represented their findings clearly and accurately, and has not made any unsubstantiated claims. These reviews are typically done anonymously, so that the researchers have to use what is in the article to decide, they can’t just look at who wrote it.

You will be able to see whether your source is peer-reviewed in your university’s research databases (I’ll explain this below).

Occasionally, you may use some non-peer reviewed sources. Depending on the topic of your research, you may want to use a newspaper or magazine article, a blog post, a newscast, tv show, etc. You should only use these when they are needed – they cannot replace peer-reviewed sources. These sources are for when you want to talk about what was in a newspaper article, etc.

If you read about an academic study in a news article, then you should look up the original study rather than citing the news article. You would only use the news article if that was the topic of your paper – for example, if you were looking at how different news articles represented the same study differently, or wanted to analyze how news agencies represented a particular topic.

Generally speaking, though – stick with peer-reviewed journals so you can be sure your sources are reliable.

Authority is really about assessing the author’s (or authors’) credibility and ability to write knowledgeably on the topic. This is something that will be checked for already in a peer-reviewed publication, so you do not usually need to do a lot of research on authors in those.

However, if you are using a popular (non-academic) source like a news website or blog, you should definitely take a look at the author’s credentials. Are they someone you can trust on that topic? Are they an expert? If they are not, why would you use their source?

Again, if you just stick with your peer-reviewed scholarly publications, you do not have to do a lot of work at this step.

Where to Find Sources

Here’s the real how-to of doing academic research!

Now that you have some methods to analyze the sources you find, you will need to find some sources! It’s time to actually DO THE RESEARCH! How exciting. Here’s how you can use research databases and Google scholar to conduct research for your university papers.

Research Databases

Each university subscribes to a number of research databases. Typically, the larger your university is, the more databases you will have access to. You will access these through your university’s library website. If you cannot find the “databases” tab, just do a web search for your university’s name and “research databases” and you should find it.

Here are two examples of database pages. The one on the left is from Memorial University’s library site, and the one on the right is from the University of Toronto’s library website. You can see that you can access the popular databases, or you can search for them by name or topic/subject.

If you’re not sure what database to use, you can definitely search by subject. Just put in the topic of your course: history, sociology, etc – whatever it is, and have a look at the databases there. Once you click on one, you will have to sign in through your university account, and then it will take you to the database page.

Once you’re in a database, you’ll have a variety of search options. You can limit your search to peer-reviewed articles, search by date, publication (journal) title, article title, keyword, etc.

When you’re starting your research, I recommend starting with a few keywords and expanding from there. Once you’ve done some keyword searches, you will probably see which are the journals that are showing up the most in your results, and this will give you some idea of which are the top journals for your topic specifically.

Google Scholar

Google scholar is a massive research database that is open to everyone – so you don’t need to log in to your university website to do searches. You just have to go to scholar.google.com and then it’s like doing a regular Google search! So easy, right?

Not quite. Because Google Scholar is much more open than your research databases (and contains way more sources), you will have to be more careful when you are finding the sources. Make sure you are checking the source and authority according to the criteria I explained above.

Another way to very easily check the authority is to look the items up in your library’s database when you find them on Google Scholar. I do this by simply copying & pasting the article name in myuniversity’s library’s website search bar. If it’s available at my library, the listing will indicate whether it is peer-reviewed or not. Then I can access it through my library’s website, where I can usually find the correct copy of it online.

Adding Your Library in Google Scholar

You can connect Google Scholar with your university’s catalogue so that you can easily access any sources you find with just one click from Google Scholar. Just click on the hamburger menu in the top left of the Google Scholar page, and then click Settings and then Library Links . From there, search for your university library and follow the steps to connect it.

Now, when you find ssomething on Google Scholar that is available at your university’s library, it will have an icon next to the listing that you can click to access it.

One caution with Google Scholar – it does not always provide the final published version of an article. This is another reason that I will usually go back to my uni’s library site to access the article! Then I know i have the official publication. Sometimes the ones on Google Scholar are a pre-print or a conference paper, and they appear as word documents. If this happens, make sure you search for the official article through your university’s site.

Setting Up Google Scholar Alerts

These are basically the same as Google Alerts, but they tell you when articles are published that fit a particular search term. You’ll get an email with a list of new articls that meet your search criteria. You can set these up by going to Google Scholar and then accessing the hamburger menu on the top left, and then clicking Alerts .

From there, click Create Alert and follow the steps to save your alert. Now you’ll get an email every time a new article shows up on your topic!

Research Tips

Search terms.

If you are having trouble finding research on your topics, try playing around with different keywords and search terms.

For example, in researching higher education, I know there is a topic called “college choice” that I can search for. However, when I want Canadian research specifically, it won’t work becuase we don’t call universities “college” like they do in the US, so I know that searching for “college” will only show me American publications. Instead, I might try “Canadian college choice” or “university choice” or “Canadian university choice” or “student choice university.” If those don’t work, I will just keep trying!

How to Get Started

Before you start reading articles all the way through, pop in your search terms, restrict to the last 1-2 years, and find some articles that look relevent, and just read the abstracts . The abstract is a short summary of the paper that is placed at the beginning that will tell you what the paper is about and what their conclusions were. You may also head to the end of the paper and read the conclusion or discussion section. The discussion section of the paper talks about how or why the findings of the paper are relevant, and how they might be applied.

Once you have read a handful of recent article abstracts, you will likely have some idea what the themes are. This will help you to narrow down your paper topic and do further research.

Use the Reference List

When you find a useful journal article, you can go through its reference list to see all the articles that were cited and find more useful information and sources.

The reference list shows you where the journal article authors got their information from, and you can get your information from the same sources.

Find Articles That Cited The First Article

When you find a useful article, you can also look up who has cited it. This will help you find more related articles. There are different tools you can use to do this – there is an option in many of the research databases (it would say something like “cited this” or “cited in”). You can also use Google Scholar or Connected Papers.

To find out where your article has been cited, look it up on Google Scholar (search by article title) and then click “Cited by” underneath the listing. This will take you to a list of articles that cited the first one and are likely to be on the same or similar topic.

Connected Papers

You can also go to ConnectedPapers.com and put your article title in to see all of its citations (the reference list) plus all the articles that cited it in a graph and list format. This is a little bit more overwhelming to decipher than Google Scholar, but combines all of this information, which you may prefer.

On the left, it will show you a list of all the papers, including both the ones cited by your paper and those that cited your paper. In the middle, it shows the connections between these papers in a chart, and then on the right it shows you the first paper (the one you searched for) with its abstract.

One really cool thing with Connected Papers is that you can click on any of the dots in the graph and it will show you the citation and abstract for that paper, as well as several direct links to find more information, including one to Google Scholar.

But, honestly, if you find this a little overwhelming it’s totally fine to just use Google Scholar and your university’s databases – I think Connected Papers might be level 2, so try it out when and if you’re ready.

Citation Styles

One more thing that is really important is that you cite your work. This means that you have to give credit for any ideas in your paper that weren’t yours. As an undergrad student and new researcher, this will be most of the ideas in your paper.

Essentially, the citation information ensures that someone reading your paper can see where you got your information from. This means another reader can evaluate your sources and make judgments about the quality of your paper – the same way academics do during the peer review process.

Not citing your work properly can be a form of plagiarism, and you can get in trouble for it at most institutions, so make sure you learn how to do this. Not a lot of professors will teach you how, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to know how to do it.

Each discipline or area of study will typically use one citation style. It might be APA, MLA, Vancouver, Chicago, or something else. Your professor will usually tell you which style is preferred, but if they did not, make sure to ask. Some instructors are very strict and will take marks off if you do not format your citations correctly.

Your university library will have a page dedicated to citation styles that will explain more about how to do it, and if you have questions you can reach out to your librarian for more information.

How Can You Learn More About How to Do Academic Research?

Your university’s library is there to assist you with your research, so that is the best place to start. If you go to a smaller university, there may be fewer resources. In this case, you can definitely have a look at larger universities’ library websites, in Canada or the US, and search online for more information.

Your professors and TAs are also likely to be helpful. Since TAs are usually graduate students, they have already been where you are now and can share what they’ve learned. Additionally, your professor is a professional researcher and can provide further information.

For more information on how to level-up your study skills, check out this post:

Share this:

4 thoughts on “ how to do academic research: a beginner’s guide ”.

Man you always post the right things EXACTLY when I need them!! THANK YOU❤😄 Could you perhaps do a post for students who study in an online university also in Canada (which is my case)… Just some general things that we should know… I mainly struggle with the fact that I study alone (and now I’m demotivated to study because of that), unlike in high school where I studied with friends.. At my uni right now we don’t have online lectures so its like every man for himself if that makes sense. Would appreciate your help! Thanks once more😊

Lol I have been thinking about a post on online uni! This time you read my mind. I’ll have something up on this next month!

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How to Conduct Academic Research

Last Updated: January 31, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Chris Hadley, PhD and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Chris Hadley, PhD is part of the wikiHow team and works on content strategy and data and analytics. Chris Hadley earned his PhD in Cognitive Psychology from UCLA in 2006. Chris' academic research has been published in numerous scientific journals. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 369,057 times.

Whether you are a student or a professional, you may need to conduct academic research. Strong research involves accessing and evaluating various forms of information. You then analyze the information you find to answer a question or come to a conclusion about an issue. Once your research is complete, you'll present your findings, typically in a research paper or a presentation. [1] X Research source

Defining Your Research Question

• For example, if you're taking a history course on Europe in World War II, the title of the course may be your broad topic. Your instructor might limit your topic further, such as asking you to focus on France.

• For example, you may decide you want to research the activities of the French Resistance in aiding the Allies during World War II. A potential research question might be "How did the French Resistance provide intelligence to the Allies?"
• Some instructors may provide a list of research questions, or other information to help you narrow your topic. If you want to deviate from the list, talk to your instructor about your interests.

• Identify key words to search, and try different combinations to fully test your question. For example, if you are researching the French Resistance during World War II, you might do a search for "French Resistance intelligence" and another for "French assistance Allies."
• If you find articles or books that address your research question exactly, choose a different question. You might review the article or book you find to see if it mentions additional questions that still haven't been answered.

• If you're writing a research paper, consider its length. Generally, a shorter paper should cover a narrower topic. Make sure you have enough sources available.

Finding Research Sources

• Documentary films can also serve as good introductory sources.
• You won't necessarily be referencing any of these sources in your project, you're simply using them to get a better feel for your topic, the experts in the field, and the sources available.

• For example, if you're researching history, your likely sources will be published books and scholarly articles by historians. If you're researching the development of smart phones, on the other hand, you'll probably find most of your sources online or in tech magazines.
• You may need to use a university or specialty library, which likely has resources that aren't available at libraries open to the general public. Contact the library you want to use to find out how you can gain access.

• Depending on your topic, it may be possible to do all of your research online. This is likely if you're researching something trendy or cutting edge, such as a new tech development.
• Many scholarly articles can be found in electronic databases. University libraries typically allow free access to these databases for students and faculty.

• In the library, look for the desk called the "research desk" or "reference desk." These desks are often towards the back of the library. You can ask at the main desk or circulation desk if you aren't sure where to go.
• Tell the research librarian your research question, and let them know what sources you've found so far, as well as what types of sources you're looking for. They may have additional sources or different search terms to suggest.

• If you read material that you want to quote, write the quote exactly on a note card, then write the page number where that quote can be found. This will differentiate quotes from other notes.
• It can also help to write a key word that identifies the issue the notes on the card relate to, so you can organize cards related to different sections of your paper as you go. This way you'll be able to tell at a glance if there's a part of your paper that needs more sources or information.

• If your research raises additional questions that are outside the scope of your project, you could simply acknowledge that they exist and would require further research.

• Your thesis statement makes a claim, or takes a position, and tells your readers why your position is important.
• For example, if you're writing a paper about the French Resistance in World War II for a history class, your thesis statement might be "By providing intelligence to the Allies, sabotaging German efforts, and rescuing Allied pilots whose planes were shot down, the French resistance weakened the Nazi regime."

Evaluating Your Sources

• If you have a secondary source, look in the footnotes or bibliographies to get information about the original source. The citation should allow you to find the primary source and evaluate it yourself.
• You may need to use a secondary source if the primary source is not available to you. For example, if you read an article in which a book is quoted, you would want to find the quoted book if at all possible. However, if the book was published a long time ago and is out of print, you may have no choice but to use the secondary source.

• For science or tech topics, professionals working in the field are often just as reliable as professors or other academic experts.
• If you find the author's name mentioned by other sources, that often means they are respected in the field. If other professionals have relied on their work, that's a good sign that you can rely on it as well.

• Whether the year of publication affects the reliability of the information depends on your overall topic. For example, if you're conducting research on ancient Greek philosophy, the date of publication wouldn't necessarily matter. However, if you were conducting research on social media and voting, you would want to use sources published within the last year.

• Be wary of small, independent presses or self-published books. They don't have robust fact-checking and editing like larger, established presses do.
• Reputation is particularly important for online sources. Search for reviews or complaints about websites to find out if people in the field consider it to be a good source of information. You can also ask your instructor or supervisor if you're not sure.

• For example, a website run by a university history department would likely be considered a reliable online source.

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://guides.library.ucla.edu/c.php?g=180334&p=1188045
• ↑ https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/how-to-write-a-thesis-statement.html
• ↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-publicspeaking/chapter/evidence-in-a-persuasive-speech/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/conducting_research/research_overview/index.html
• ↑ https://libguides.wustl.edu/ld.php?content_id=1750195
• ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2543925122000110
• ↑ https://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/15-steps
• ↑ https://www.library.cornell.edu/research/introduction#1Choosinganddevelopingaresearchtopic-1Ch
• ↑ https://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/faq/reliable
• ↑ https://lib.nmu.edu/help/resource-guides/subject-guide/evaluating-internet-sources

About This Article

To conduct academic research, define your research question by considering a broad topic and narrowing your interests to a more specific question that hasn't yet been answered. Then, consult books and online resources, like academic journals, to find more information about your topic. Remember to keep a running list of the resources that you use, and take notes of the supporting information for your main arguments. To begin a research paper, craft a thesis statement based on your research, and begin drafting your argument. For tips on evaluating sources to make sure they're reliable, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Academic Research Basics for Students: What is Academic Research? How do I do it?

• About This Guide
• Library Essentials
• What is Academic Research? How do I do it?
• Understanding the Topic -- Background Information
• Academic Research Sources and Tools Explained
• Time Management
• Note Taking
• Studying Skills
• Research Process and Planning Your Research

Academic Research vs. Finding Day-to-Day Information

Doing academic research is different from looking for information to solve problems and questions that come up in everyday life. On any given day we might need to solve questions like: What's the fastest way to get to Grand Central Terminal? How big is Central Park? What's the weather going to be like tomorrow?, etc. It's usually quite easy to find the information to answer these kind of questions through a simple Google search.

Research Process

There are many ways to approach the research process. As you gain experience doing research assignments you will gradually develop a process that works best for you. In the mean time, you might want to look at the steps below, which represent one way you can organize your research process.

• Understand your topic.
• Find Background information about your topic
• Develop a research question.
• Determine data/information needed to answer your research question.
• Identify search tools (like article databases) to find your information/data..
• Evaluate which search results are most appropriate/relevant.
• Analyze and synthesize the data/information you've selected (KEEP NOTES)
• Outline how you will address your research question.
• Write draft of paper integrating your analysis, recommendations, and conclusions.
• Repeat 4, 5, 6, 7 as needed.

Online Resources About Doing Research

Books on research.

• << Previous: Library Essentials
• Next: Understanding the Topic -- Background Information >>
• Last Updated: Apr 18, 2024 11:25 AM
• URL: https://guides.laguardia.edu/academic-research-basics

Conducting effective academic research: 9 research methods to know

Choose the research methodology best suited to your situation

Academic research is a process of collecting and analysing scientific or social data in order to answer a question. It is also called basic research or scientific research. It is used by researchers and academics to produce quality work and reliable results . Literature research is the most familiar method for students, but there are many more. This article helps you to explore the different research methods and find the most relevant one for your work.

What is the importance of research methodology? What are the academic research methods? Quantitative research Qualitative research Empirical research  Historical research Documentary research Experimental research Conceptual research  Comparative research  Analytical research  How to choose the right research method? What are the academic research tools? What are the steps of a good research methodology?

What is the importance of research methodology?

Research methodology is an essential process to ensure that the results obtained are valid and reliable . It sets the framework for the research and ensures that the data collected is relevant and complete. Research methodology also determines the methods and tools to be used to analyse the data and to ensure that the conclusions are logical and consistent .

What are the academic research methods?

There are several study methodologies for conducting academic research:

• Quantitative research : research that relies on numerical data to test hypotheses.
• Qualitative research : research based on the analysis of behaviour to understand human actions.
• Empirical research : research based on observations, interviews and experiments.
• Historical research : research based on historical documents to understand the past.
• Documentary research : research in databases, libraries, archives and specialised collections to find relevant information.
• Experimental research : research based on experiments and tests to understand phenomena.
• Conceptual research : research that uses concepts and theories to understand phenomena.
• Comparative research : research that compares different elements to understand phenomena.
• Analytical research : research based on the analysis of data and information to understand complex phenomena.

Quantitative research

Quantitative research or quantitative study is a research methodology that focuses on researching data and statistics to determine trends and relationships between variables . It focuses on the use of tools such as statistical tests, surveys, questionnaires (open-ended and closed-ended), surveys and mathematical models to analyse data on a sample of individuals. Quantitative analysis is generally used to test hypotheses and theories and to predict future outcomes .

Qualitative research

Qualitative research or qualitative study is a research methodology that focuses on understanding the opinions and attitudes of individuals . It is used to examine people's thoughts, feelings and motivations . It can include the use of techniques such as interviews, focus groups, observations and document analysis. The qualitative approach is generally used to understand human behaviour and to develop deeper insights into a subject.

The main techniques of qualitative research are:

• Semi-structured interview : a qualitative data collection method that combines structure and flexibility, using a pre-established interview guide while allowing for open-ended questions and in-depth explorations of participants' responses.
• The directive interview : a qualitative data collection method based on a structured and predefined questionnaire, where the interviewer asks precise and targeted questions, thus limiting the freedom of answers and discussions to obtain specific information.
• Non-directive interview : a qualitative data collection method characterised by an open and flexible approach, where the interviewer encourages the participant to speak freely and spontaneously about their experiences, opinions and feelings, without asking specific questions or following a predefined interview guide.
• Observation : A qualitative research method that collects data by carefully and systematically examining behaviours, interactions and situations in their natural context, without direct intervention by the researcher.
• Focus group : a qualitative research method that involves a small group of participants brought together to discuss a specific topic, under the guidance of a moderator, in order to obtain a variety of opinions, perceptions and ideas on the topic being studied.

Empirical research 

Empirical research or empirical study is a research method that focuses on observation and experimentation to understand and explain phenomena . It is generally used to study scientific or social issues and is often considered one of the most reliable methods of obtaining information. Empirical research can include field studies, case studies, surveys, experiments and statistical analysis. It can also include qualitative methods, such as interviews and observations. Researchers can use these methods to collect data and analyse it to draw conclusions.

Historical research 

Historical research is a method of research that focuses on the study of past events and their impact on the present . It can be used to understand the past and better understand the present. Historical research is an important method for understanding the world we live in and for understanding how past events have shaped the present . Historical research can be conducted using archives, documents, eyewitness accounts and other sources. It can also include interviews, surveys and case studies.

Desk research

Desk research is a method of investigation that involves gathering information by consulting documentary sources . Documentary sources can be books, scientific articles, reports, archival documents, databases, websites, social media, etc. Desk research is an important step in understanding a topic and obtaining accurate and up-to-date information. It can be used to study a variety of subjects, such as history, politics, science, technology, sociology, economics, etc. Desk research is a valuable tool for researchers, journalists, students and professionals .

Experimental research 

Experimental research involves manipulating variables and observing the effect of these manipulations on measurable results . It is used to test hypotheses and to study the causes and effects of phenomena. For example, experimental research is useful for studying the effects of drugs, psychological treatments and educational interventions. It is also used to study the effects of environmental variables on human and animal behaviour.

Conceptual research 

Conceptual research focuses on identifying and analysing the key concepts underlying a problem or issue . It can be used to explore ideas, theories and hypotheses, and to understand the relationships between concepts and their implications. Conceptual research is often used to help solve complex problems and make strategic decisions.

Comparative research 

Comparative research is a research method that compares groups or individuals to determine their differences and similarities . It is used to explore issues such as cultural differences, similarities between groups, the effects of interventions and the effects of policies. Comparative research can be used to study groups or individuals across time or across different contexts.

Analytical research 

Analytical research is a research method that focuses on the analysis of data and information to understand and explain phenomena. It is often used to investigate complex issues and find solutions to problems . It can also be used to explore trends and patterns in data and information . Analytical research is an important method for understanding the world and making informed decisions.

How to choose the right research method?

The research method you choose depends on the purpose of the research and the resources available . For example, if you want to collect qualitative data on consumer opinions, you might consider interviews or focus groups. To collect quantitative data on consumer habits, you might consider surveys or product testing. To increase your knowledge of a topic, you might consider doing a literature search on the net or in specialist journals. In all cases, it is important to take the time to think about the most appropriate research method to achieve your objectives .

What are the academic research tools?

1. Search engines: Google , Bing , Yahoo , DuckDuckGo , etc.

2. Monitoring tools: Google Alerts , Talkwalker , Mention , etc.

3. Social networks: Twitter , Facebook , LinkedIn , etc.

4. Databases: PubMed , Google Scholar , Web of Science , Archimag , CAIRN , etc.

5. Online forums and communities: Reddit , Quora , Stack Overflow , etc.

What are the steps of a good research methodology?

How to do scientific and academic research.

• Step 1: Define a research topic that motivates you
• Step 2: Choose an available and supportive supervisor
• Step 3: Formulate your problem and the limits of your subject
• Step 4: Construct a detailed plan
• Step 5: Search for relevant information
• Step 6: Write and structure your dissertation
• Step 7: Proofread and adjust your brief
• Step 8: Prepare the oral presentation

In conclusion, academic research methodology is a complex and demanding process that requires careful planning and attention to detail . It is essential to understand the different steps and to develop research, writing and presentation skills. By following these steps, student researchers can produce quality research that will contribute to the advancement of knowledge and improved decision making.

To go further: " Méthodologie de la recherche documentaire ", Université Aix Marseille. " La recherche en sciences de l'éducation. État des lieux et points de vue ", CAIRN. " Enseigner la méthodologie de la recherche en technologie éducative : des conceptions aux concepts seuils ", Open Edition Journals. " 28 meilleurs moteurs de recherche académiques pour la recherche en 2022 ", Testsiteforme, 14/09/2022, Gabriel Artega. " MÉTHODOLOGIE DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE ", Friedrich Ebert Siftung.   Information : This informative article does not require any personal reflection and was written with the help of ChatGPT. On the basis of an outline that we constructed beforehand, we questioned ChatGPT. Then, we reworked these automatically generated contents to delete repetitions, add details, check the veracity of the information... The assistance of an AI allowed us to save time in writing and to enrich our good practices in using such a tool.

Advanced search

Saved to my library.

15 Steps to Good Research

• Define and articulate a research question (formulate a research hypothesis). How to Write a Thesis Statement (Indiana University)
• Identify possible sources of information in many types and formats. Georgetown University Library's Research & Course Guides
• Judge the scope of the project.
• Reevaluate the research question based on the nature and extent of information available and the parameters of the research project.
• Select the most appropriate investigative methods (surveys, interviews, experiments) and research tools (periodical indexes, databases, websites).
• Plan the research project. Writing Anxiety (UNC-Chapel Hill) Strategies for Academic Writing (SUNY Empire State College)
• Retrieve information using a variety of methods (draw on a repertoire of skills).
• Refine the search strategy as necessary.
• Write and organize useful notes and keep track of sources. Taking Notes from Research Reading (University of Toronto) Use a citation manager: Zotero or Refworks
• Evaluate sources using appropriate criteria. Evaluating Internet Sources
• Synthesize, analyze and integrate information sources and prior knowledge. Georgetown University Writing Center
• Revise hypothesis as necessary.
• Use information effectively for a specific purpose.
• Understand such issues as plagiarism, ownership of information (implications of copyright to some extent), and costs of information. Georgetown University Honor Council Copyright Basics (Purdue University) How to Recognize Plagiarism: Tutorials and Tests from Indiana University
• Cite properly and give credit for sources of ideas. MLA Bibliographic Form (7th edition, 2009) MLA Bibliographic Form (8th edition, 2016) Turabian Bibliographic Form: Footnote/Endnote Turabian Bibliographic Form: Parenthetical Reference Use a citation manager: Zotero or Refworks

Adapted from the Association of Colleges and Research Libraries "Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction" , which are more complete and include outcomes. See also the broader "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education."

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 113 great research paper topics.

General Education

One of the hardest parts of writing a research paper can be just finding a good topic to write about. Fortunately we've done the hard work for you and have compiled a list of 113 interesting research paper topics. They've been organized into ten categories and cover a wide range of subjects so you can easily find the best topic for you.

In addition to the list of good research topics, we've included advice on what makes a good research paper topic and how you can use your topic to start writing a great paper.

What Makes a Good Research Paper Topic?

Not all research paper topics are created equal, and you want to make sure you choose a great topic before you start writing. Below are the three most important factors to consider to make sure you choose the best research paper topics.

#1: It's Something You're Interested In

A paper is always easier to write if you're interested in the topic, and you'll be more motivated to do in-depth research and write a paper that really covers the entire subject. Even if a certain research paper topic is getting a lot of buzz right now or other people seem interested in writing about it, don't feel tempted to make it your topic unless you genuinely have some sort of interest in it as well.

#2: There's Enough Information to Write a Paper

Even if you come up with the absolute best research paper topic and you're so excited to write about it, you won't be able to produce a good paper if there isn't enough research about the topic. This can happen for very specific or specialized topics, as well as topics that are too new to have enough research done on them at the moment. Easy research paper topics will always be topics with enough information to write a full-length paper.

Trying to write a research paper on a topic that doesn't have much research on it is incredibly hard, so before you decide on a topic, do a bit of preliminary searching and make sure you'll have all the information you need to write your paper.

#3: It Fits Your Teacher's Guidelines

Don't get so carried away looking at lists of research paper topics that you forget any requirements or restrictions your teacher may have put on research topic ideas. If you're writing a research paper on a health-related topic, deciding to write about the impact of rap on the music scene probably won't be allowed, but there may be some sort of leeway. For example, if you're really interested in current events but your teacher wants you to write a research paper on a history topic, you may be able to choose a topic that fits both categories, like exploring the relationship between the US and North Korea. No matter what, always get your research paper topic approved by your teacher first before you begin writing.

113 Good Research Paper Topics

Below are 113 good research topics to help you get you started on your paper. We've organized them into ten categories to make it easier to find the type of research paper topics you're looking for.

Arts/Culture

• Discuss the main differences in art from the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance .
• Analyze the impact a famous artist had on the world.
• How is sexism portrayed in different types of media (music, film, video games, etc.)? Has the amount/type of sexism changed over the years?
• How has the music of slaves brought over from Africa shaped modern American music?
• How has rap music evolved in the past decade?
• How has the portrayal of minorities in the media changed?

Current Events

• What have been the impacts of China's one child policy?
• How have the goals of feminists changed over the decades?
• How has the Trump presidency changed international relations?
• Analyze the history of the relationship between the United States and North Korea.
• What factors contributed to the current decline in the rate of unemployment?
• What have been the impacts of states which have increased their minimum wage?
• How do US immigration laws compare to immigration laws of other countries?
• How have the US's immigration laws changed in the past few years/decades?
• How has the Black Lives Matter movement affected discussions and view about racism in the US?
• What impact has the Affordable Care Act had on healthcare in the US?
• What factors contributed to the UK deciding to leave the EU (Brexit)?
• What factors contributed to China becoming an economic power?
• Discuss the history of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies  (some of which tokenize the S&P 500 Index on the blockchain) .
• Do students in schools that eliminate grades do better in college and their careers?
• Do students from wealthier backgrounds score higher on standardized tests?
• Do students who receive free meals at school get higher grades compared to when they weren't receiving a free meal?
• Do students who attend charter schools score higher on standardized tests than students in public schools?
• Do students learn better in same-sex classrooms?
• How does giving each student access to an iPad or laptop affect their studies?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Montessori Method ?
• Do children who attend preschool do better in school later on?
• What was the impact of the No Child Left Behind act?
• How does the US education system compare to education systems in other countries?
• What impact does mandatory physical education classes have on students' health?
• Which methods are most effective at reducing bullying in schools?
• Do homeschoolers who attend college do as well as students who attended traditional schools?
• Does offering tenure increase or decrease quality of teaching?
• How does college debt affect future life choices of students?
• Should graduate students be able to form unions?

• What are different ways to lower gun-related deaths in the US?
• How and why have divorce rates changed over time?
• Is affirmative action still necessary in education and/or the workplace?
• Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?
• How has stem cell research impacted the medical field?
• How can human trafficking be reduced in the United States/world?
• Should people be able to donate organs in exchange for money?
• Which types of juvenile punishment have proven most effective at preventing future crimes?
• Has the increase in US airport security made passengers safer?
• Analyze the immigration policies of certain countries and how they are similar and different from one another.
• Several states have legalized recreational marijuana. What positive and negative impacts have they experienced as a result?
• Do tariffs increase the number of domestic jobs?
• Which prison reforms have proven most effective?
• Should governments be able to censor certain information on the internet?
• Which methods/programs have been most effective at reducing teen pregnancy?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Keto diet?
• How effective are different exercise regimes for losing weight and maintaining weight loss?
• How do the healthcare plans of various countries differ from each other?
• What are the most effective ways to treat depression ?
• What are the pros and cons of genetically modified foods?
• Which methods are most effective for improving memory?
• What can be done to lower healthcare costs in the US?
• What factors contributed to the current opioid crisis?
• Analyze the history and impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic .
• Are low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets more effective for weight loss?
• How much exercise should the average adult be getting each week?
• Which methods are most effective to get parents to vaccinate their children?
• What are the pros and cons of clean needle programs?
• How does stress affect the body?
• Discuss the history of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
• What were the causes and effects of the Salem Witch Trials?
• Who was responsible for the Iran-Contra situation?
• How has New Orleans and the government's response to natural disasters changed since Hurricane Katrina?
• What events led to the fall of the Roman Empire?
• What were the impacts of British rule in India ?
• Was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary?
• What were the successes and failures of the women's suffrage movement in the United States?
• What were the causes of the Civil War?
• How did Abraham Lincoln's assassination impact the country and reconstruction after the Civil War?
• Which factors contributed to the colonies winning the American Revolution?
• What caused Hitler's rise to power?
• Discuss how a specific invention impacted history.
• What led to Cleopatra's fall as ruler of Egypt?
• How has Japan changed and evolved over the centuries?
• What were the causes of the Rwandan genocide ?

• Why did Martin Luther decide to split with the Catholic Church?
• Analyze the history and impact of a well-known cult (Jonestown, Manson family, etc.)
• How did the sexual abuse scandal impact how people view the Catholic Church?
• How has the Catholic church's power changed over the past decades/centuries?
• What are the causes behind the rise in atheism/ agnosticism in the United States?
• What were the influences in Siddhartha's life resulted in him becoming the Buddha?
• How has media portrayal of Islam/Muslims changed since September 11th?

Science/Environment

• How has the earth's climate changed in the past few decades?
• How has the use and elimination of DDT affected bird populations in the US?
• Analyze how the number and severity of natural disasters have increased in the past few decades.
• Analyze deforestation rates in a certain area or globally over a period of time.
• How have past oil spills changed regulations and cleanup methods?
• How has the Flint water crisis changed water regulation safety?
• What are the pros and cons of fracking?
• What impact has the Paris Climate Agreement had so far?
• What have NASA's biggest successes and failures been?
• How can we improve access to clean water around the world?
• Does ecotourism actually have a positive impact on the environment?
• Should the US rely on nuclear energy more?
• What can be done to save amphibian species currently at risk of extinction?
• What impact has climate change had on coral reefs?
• How are black holes created?
• Are teens who spend more time on social media more likely to suffer anxiety and/or depression?
• How will the loss of net neutrality affect internet users?
• Analyze the history and progress of self-driving vehicles.
• How has the use of drones changed surveillance and warfare methods?
• Has social media made people more or less connected?
• What progress has currently been made with artificial intelligence ?
• Do smartphones increase or decrease workplace productivity?
• What are the most effective ways to use technology in the classroom?
• How is Google search affecting our intelligence?
• When is the best age for a child to begin owning a smartphone?
• Has frequent texting reduced teen literacy rates?

How to Write a Great Research Paper

Even great research paper topics won't give you a great research paper if you don't hone your topic before and during the writing process. Follow these three tips to turn good research paper topics into great papers.

#1: Figure Out Your Thesis Early

Before you start writing a single word of your paper, you first need to know what your thesis will be. Your thesis is a statement that explains what you intend to prove/show in your paper. Every sentence in your research paper will relate back to your thesis, so you don't want to start writing without it!

As some examples, if you're writing a research paper on if students learn better in same-sex classrooms, your thesis might be "Research has shown that elementary-age students in same-sex classrooms score higher on standardized tests and report feeling more comfortable in the classroom."

If you're writing a paper on the causes of the Civil War, your thesis might be "While the dispute between the North and South over slavery is the most well-known cause of the Civil War, other key causes include differences in the economies of the North and South, states' rights, and territorial expansion."

#2: Back Every Statement Up With Research

Remember, this is a research paper you're writing, so you'll need to use lots of research to make your points. Every statement you give must be backed up with research, properly cited the way your teacher requested. You're allowed to include opinions of your own, but they must also be supported by the research you give.

#3: Do Your Research Before You Begin Writing

You don't want to start writing your research paper and then learn that there isn't enough research to back up the points you're making, or, even worse, that the research contradicts the points you're trying to make!

Get most of your research on your good research topics done before you begin writing. Then use the research you've collected to create a rough outline of what your paper will cover and the key points you're going to make. This will help keep your paper clear and organized, and it'll ensure you have enough research to produce a strong paper.

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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How to Write a Good Introduction Section

A strong narrative is as integral a part of science writing as it is for any other form of communication..

Nathan Ni holds a PhD from Queens University. He is a science editor for The Scientist’s Creative Services Team who strives to better understand and communicate the relationships between health and disease.

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First impressions are important. Scientists need to make their work stand out among a sea of others. However, many mistakenly believe that first impressions are formed based only on titles and abstracts. In actuality, the introduction section is critical to making a real impression on the audience. The introduction is where authors outline their research topic and describe their study. It is where they provide background information and showcase their writing and argumentation styles. For these reasons, the introduction engages the audience in a deeper way than the formalities and rigidities of the title and abstract can afford. To use a fishing analogy: if the title and the abstract serve as the hook and the bait, then the introduction is the process of actually reeling the fish into the boat.

Good Introductions Are Important Guides

In contrast to the constraints placed on the title and abstract, the introduction is the first real opportunity for the scientist to engage with their audience and showcase and convey their passions and motivations for the study in question. This opportunity is somewhat of a double-edged sword. Study authors inevitably have a treasure trove of knowledge and expertise when it comes to their projects and their fields. However, they must remember that the audience does not necessarily have this background information—and that they are only engaging with their audience for a finite amount of time. Despite the urge to excitedly write about all of the different aspects and intricacies of the project, it is very important that authors keep their introductions simple and well organized. 

Therefore, the introduction should move from broad scopes to narrow focuses as the audience reads further. The author should direct the reader along this journey, focusing on topics with direct relevance to what was investigated in the study. A broad fact introduced early on should be linked or paired with a more specific fact along the same lines of thought, eventually culminating in how this information led to the motivation behind the study itself. It is vital to not go off on tangents or talk about things that are too esoteric. A confused audience is an audience that tends not to read further.

Applying Common Principles Across Well-Known and Niche Subjects

Writers can apply these principles in more specialized manuscripts focusing on a single entity rather than a well-known pathology. Consider the following example from a  manuscript by cell biologist Luis R. Cruz-Vera’s research team from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1

Here, they divide the opening paragraph of their introduction into four distinct sections. First, they explain what ribosome arresting peptides (RAPs) are and what they do.

Ribosome arresting peptides (RAPs) are nascent polypeptides that act in cis on the translating ribosome to control the expression of genes by inducing ribosome arrest during translation elongation or termination. RAPs commonly sense external forces or low molecular weight compounds in the environment that spatially and temporally contribute to the expression of genes. 

Then they introduce the two different types of RAPs.

RAPs such as SecM that sense external forces on the ribosome are typically large, because these nascent peptides have a domain that functions outside of the ribosome. In contrast, those that sense small molecules inside of the ribosome, such as TnaC are smaller. 

They describe how each type works via a different mechanism.

Typically, larger RAPs interact with cellular factors that can control their capacity for arresting ribosomes. Because of their size and proximity to ribosomal components, large RAPs clearly show two structural domains, a sensor domain and an arresting domain. At the moment of the arrest for the large RAPs, the sensor domain is located outside the ribosome exit tunnel, whereas the arresting domain remains inside the tunnel. The short RAPs currently characterized interact with the compounds that they sense by using the ribosome exit tunnel as a binding surface. For these short RAPs, it has been determined that conserved amino acid residues are necessary to induce arrest by either directly binding the effector molecule or by acting at the peptidyl-transferase center (PTC) during ribosome arrest. 

And finally, they conclude by highlighting a knowledge gap in how small RAPs operate versus what is already known about large RAPs.

However, because the size of short RAPs ranges from only a few to a couple of dozen amino acids, as in the case of TnaC, it has remained unclear whether short RAPs are constituted by the two independent sensor and stalling domains, as it has been observed with larger RAPs.

In this way, the authors make a natural progression from “why this topic is important” to “what is known about this topic,” setting the stage for “what is unknown about this topic and why it should be studied.” 

Gradually Moving from Broad to Narrow

These principles can be further transferred towards the introductory section as a whole. The first paragraph should serve as an introduction to the field and the topic. The middle paragraph(s) provide exposition and detail regarding what is known and unknown, and what has already been done and still remains to do, and the final paragraph outlines the study and its principle findings, providing a transition into either the materials and methods or the results section. 

For example, this work by radiation oncologist Eric Deutsch’s group at Université Paris-Saclay,  published in PLoS One , 2 opens by succinctly explaining a scientific problem: “ the threat of extensive dispersion of radioactive isotopes within populated areas that would have an unfortunate effect on human health has increased drastically .” It then offers the call to action necessitated by this problem: “ the development of a decorporating agent capable of effectively mitigating the effects of a wide range of isotopes is critical .”

In the next two paragraphs, the study authors provide information on how and why dispersion of radioactive isotopes are a problem—“ the FDA has approved only three compounds (only one of which is used as a preventative therapy) for the treatment of exposure to specific radioactive elements ”—and highlights the strengths and weaknesses of what is currently available. They then introduce the focal point of their own work, chitosan@DOTAGA, within this context, explaining its potential as a solution to the problem they previously introduced: “ After oral administration to rodents over several days, no signs of acute or chronic toxicity were observed, and DOTAGA did not enter the blood stream and was fully eliminated from the gastrointestinal tract within 24 hours of administration. ”

Finally, the introduction concludes by listing the study objective—“ explore the potential of this polymer for use in the decorporation of a wide range of radioactive isotopes ”—and the motivations and rationale behind the study objective—“ there are no suitable countermeasures available for uranium poisoning. […] This innovative approach aims to directly chelate the radioactive cations, specifically uranium, within the gastrointestinal tract prior to their systemic absorption, which ensures their prompt elimination and mitigation of the associated toxicities. ”

The Introduction Engages with the Reader

The introduction section is often overlooked in favor of the title and the abstract, but it serves two important functions. First, it gives the audience all of the information that it needs to contextualize the yet-to-be-presented data within the context of the problem that needs to be solved or the scientific question that needs to be addressed. Second, and more importantly, it justifies the importance of the study, of its initiative, rationale, and purpose. The introduction is the author’s best—and arguably only real—opportunity to convince the audience that their study is worth reading.  

Looking for more information on scientific writing? Check out  The Scientist’s   TS SciComm  section. Looking for some help putting together a manuscript, a figure, a poster, or anything else?  The Scientist’s   Scientific Services  may have the professional help that you need.

• Judd HNG, et al.  Functional domains of a ribosome arresting peptide are affected by surrounding nonconserved residues . J Biol Chem . 2024;300(3):105780.
• Durand A, et al.  Enhancing radioprotection: A chitosan-based chelating polymer is a versatile radioprotective agent for prophylactic and therapeutic interventions against radionuclide contamination . PLoS One . 2024;19(4):e0292414.

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How to Write a Hypothesis? Types and Examples 

All research studies involve the use of the scientific method, which is a mathematical and experimental technique used to conduct experiments by developing and testing a hypothesis or a prediction about an outcome. Simply put, a hypothesis is a suggested solution to a problem. It includes elements that are expressed in terms of relationships with each other to explain a condition or an assumption that hasn’t been verified using facts. 1 The typical steps in a scientific method include developing such a hypothesis, testing it through various methods, and then modifying it based on the outcomes of the experiments.  

A research hypothesis can be defined as a specific, testable prediction about the anticipated results of a study. 2 Hypotheses help guide the research process and supplement the aim of the study. After several rounds of testing, hypotheses can help develop scientific theories. 3 Hypotheses are often written as if-then statements. 

Here are two hypothesis examples: 

Dandelions growing in nitrogen-rich soils for two weeks develop larger leaves than those in nitrogen-poor soils because nitrogen stimulates vegetative growth. 4  

If a company offers flexible work hours, then their employees will be happier at work. 5  

Table of Contents

• What is a hypothesis? 
• Types of hypotheses 
• Characteristics of a hypothesis 
• Functions of a hypothesis 
• How to write a hypothesis 
• Hypothesis examples 
• Frequently asked questions 

What is a hypothesis?

A hypothesis expresses an expected relationship between variables in a study and is developed before conducting any research. Hypotheses are not opinions but rather are expected relationships based on facts and observations. They help support scientific research and expand existing knowledge. An incorrectly formulated hypothesis can affect the entire experiment leading to errors in the results so it’s important to know how to formulate a hypothesis and develop it carefully.

A few sources of a hypothesis include observations from prior studies, current research and experiences, competitors, scientific theories, and general conditions that can influence people. Figure 1 depicts the different steps in a research design and shows where exactly in the process a hypothesis is developed. 4  

There are seven different types of hypotheses—simple, complex, directional, nondirectional, associative and causal, null, and alternative. 

Types of hypotheses

The seven types of hypotheses are listed below: 5 , 6,7  

• Simple : Predicts the relationship between a single dependent variable and a single independent variable. 

Example: Exercising in the morning every day will increase your productivity.  

• Complex : Predicts the relationship between two or more variables. 

Example: Spending three hours or more on social media daily will negatively affect children’s mental health and productivity, more than that of adults.  

• Directional : Specifies the expected direction to be followed and uses terms like increase, decrease, positive, negative, more, or less. 

Example: The inclusion of intervention X decreases infant mortality compared to the original treatment.  

• Non-directional : Does not predict the exact direction, nature, or magnitude of the relationship between two variables but rather states the existence of a relationship. This hypothesis may be used when there is no underlying theory or if findings contradict prior research. 

Example: Cats and dogs differ in the amount of affection they express.  

• Associative and causal : An associative hypothesis suggests an interdependency between variables, that is, how a change in one variable changes the other.  

Example: There is a positive association between physical activity levels and overall health.  

A causal hypothesis, on the other hand, expresses a cause-and-effect association between variables. 

Example: Long-term alcohol use causes liver damage.  

• Null : Claims that the original hypothesis is false by showing that there is no relationship between the variables. 

Example: Sleep duration does not have any effect on productivity.  

• Alternative : States the opposite of the null hypothesis, that is, a relationship exists between two variables. 

Example: Sleep duration affects productivity.  

Characteristics of a hypothesis

So, what makes a good hypothesis? Here are some important characteristics of a hypothesis. 8,9  

• Testable : You must be able to test the hypothesis using scientific methods to either accept or reject the prediction. 
• Falsifiable : It should be possible to collect data that reject rather than support the hypothesis. 
• Logical : Hypotheses shouldn’t be a random guess but rather should be based on previous theories, observations, prior research, and logical reasoning. 
• Positive : The hypothesis statement about the existence of an association should be positive, that is, it should not suggest that an association does not exist. Therefore, the language used and knowing how to phrase a hypothesis is very important. 
• Clear and accurate : The language used should be easily comprehensible and use correct terminology. 
• Relevant : The hypothesis should be relevant and specific to the research question. 
• Structure : Should include all the elements that make a good hypothesis: variables, relationship, and outcome. 

Functions of a hypothesis

The following list mentions some important functions of a hypothesis: 1  

• Maintains the direction and progress of the research. 
• Expresses the important assumptions underlying the proposition in a single statement. 
• Establishes a suitable context for researchers to begin their investigation and for readers who are referring to the final report. 
• Provides an explanation for the occurrence of a specific phenomenon. 
• Ensures selection of appropriate and accurate facts necessary and relevant to the research subject. 

To summarize, a hypothesis provides the conceptual elements that complete the known data, conceptual relationships that systematize unordered elements, and conceptual meanings and interpretations that explain the unknown phenomena. 1  

How to write a hypothesis

Listed below are the main steps explaining how to write a hypothesis. 2,4,5  

• Make an observation and identify variables : Observe the subject in question and try to recognize a pattern or a relationship between the variables involved. This step provides essential background information to begin your research.  

For example, if you notice that an office’s vending machine frequently runs out of a specific snack, you may predict that more people in the office choose that snack over another. 

• Identify the main research question : After identifying a subject and recognizing a pattern, the next step is to ask a question that your hypothesis will answer.  

For example, after observing employees’ break times at work, you could ask “why do more employees take breaks in the morning rather than in the afternoon?” 

• Conduct some preliminary research to ensure originality and novelty : Your initial answer, which is your hypothesis, to the question is based on some pre-existing information about the subject. However, to ensure that your hypothesis has not been asked before or that it has been asked but rejected by other researchers you would need to gather additional information.  

For example, based on your observations you might state a hypothesis that employees work more efficiently when the air conditioning in the office is set at a lower temperature. However, during your preliminary research you find that this hypothesis was proven incorrect by a prior study. 

• Develop a general statement : After your preliminary research has confirmed the originality of your proposed answer, draft a general statement that includes all variables, subjects, and predicted outcome. The statement could be if/then or declarative.  
• Finalize the hypothesis statement : Use the PICOT model, which clarifies how to word a hypothesis effectively, when finalizing the statement. This model lists the important components required to write a hypothesis. 

P opulation: The specific group or individual who is the main subject of the research 

I nterest: The main concern of the study/research question 

C omparison: The main alternative group 

O utcome: The expected results  

T ime: Duration of the experiment 

Once you’ve finalized your hypothesis statement you would need to conduct experiments to test whether the hypothesis is true or false. 

Hypothesis examples

The following table provides examples of different types of hypotheses. 10 ,11  

Key takeaways  

Here’s a summary of all the key points discussed in this article about how to write a hypothesis. 

• A hypothesis is an assumption about an association between variables made based on limited evidence, which should be tested. 
• A hypothesis has four parts—the research question, independent variable, dependent variable, and the proposed relationship between the variables.   
• The statement should be clear, concise, testable, logical, and falsifiable. 
• There are seven types of hypotheses—simple, complex, directional, non-directional, associative and causal, null, and alternative. 
• A hypothesis provides a focus and direction for the research to progress. 
• A hypothesis plays an important role in the scientific method by helping to create an appropriate experimental design. 

Frequently asked questions

Hypotheses and research questions have different objectives and structure. The following table lists some major differences between the two. 9  

Here are a few examples to differentiate between a research question and hypothesis. 

Yes, here’s a simple checklist to help you gauge the effectiveness of your hypothesis. 9   1. When writing a hypothesis statement, check if it:  2. Predicts the relationship between the stated variables and the expected outcome.  3. Uses simple and concise language and is not wordy.  4. Does not assume readers’ knowledge about the subject.  5. Has observable, falsifiable, and testable results. 

As mentioned earlier in this article, a hypothesis is an assumption or prediction about an association between variables based on observations and simple evidence. These statements are usually generic. Research objectives, on the other hand, are more specific and dictated by hypotheses. The same hypothesis can be tested using different methods and the research objectives could be different in each case.     For example, Louis Pasteur observed that food lasts longer at higher altitudes, reasoned that it could be because the air at higher altitudes is cleaner (with fewer or no germs), and tested the hypothesis by exposing food to air cleaned in the laboratory. 12 Thus, a hypothesis is predictive—if the reasoning is correct, X will lead to Y—and research objectives are developed to test these predictions. 

Null hypothesis testing is a method to decide between two assumptions or predictions between variables (null and alternative hypotheses) in a statistical relationship in a sample. The null hypothesis, denoted as H 0 , claims that no relationship exists between variables in a population and any relationship in the sample reflects a sampling error or occurrence by chance. The alternative hypothesis, denoted as H 1 , claims that there is a relationship in the population. In every study, researchers need to decide whether the relationship in a sample occurred by chance or reflects a relationship in the population. This is done by hypothesis testing using the following steps: 13   1. Assume that the null hypothesis is true.  2. Determine how likely the sample relationship would be if the null hypothesis were true. This probability is called the p value.  3. If the sample relationship would be extremely unlikely, reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis. If the relationship would not be unlikely, accept the null hypothesis. 

To summarize, researchers should know how to write a good hypothesis to ensure that their research progresses in the required direction. A hypothesis is a testable prediction about any behavior or relationship between variables, usually based on facts and observation, and states an expected outcome.  

We hope this article has provided you with essential insight into the different types of hypotheses and their functions so that you can use them appropriately in your next research project. 

References  

• Dalen, DVV. The function of hypotheses in research. Proquest website. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1437933010?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals&imgSeq=1  
• McLeod S. Research hypothesis in psychology: Types & examples. SimplyPsychology website. Updated December 13, 2023. Accessed April 9, 2024. https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-a-hypotheses.html  
• Scientific method. Britannica website. Updated March 14, 2024. Accessed April 9, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/science/scientific-method  
• The hypothesis in science writing. Accessed April 10, 2024. https://berks.psu.edu/sites/berks/files/campus/HypothesisHandout_Final.pdf  
• How to develop a hypothesis (with elements, types, and examples). Indeed.com website. Updated February 3, 2023. Accessed April 10, 2024. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-a-hypothesis  
• Types of research hypotheses. Excelsior online writing lab. Accessed April 11, 2024. https://owl.excelsior.edu/research/research-hypotheses/types-of-research-hypotheses/  
• What is a research hypothesis: how to write it, types, and examples. Researcher.life website. Published February 8, 2023. Accessed April 11, 2024. https://researcher.life/blog/article/how-to-write-a-research-hypothesis-definition-types-examples/  
• Developing a hypothesis. Pressbooks website. Accessed April 12, 2024. https://opentext.wsu.edu/carriecuttler/chapter/developing-a-hypothesis/  
• What is and how to write a good hypothesis in research. Elsevier author services website. Accessed April 12, 2024. https://scientific-publishing.webshop.elsevier.com/manuscript-preparation/what-how-write-good-hypothesis-research/  
• How to write a great hypothesis. Verywellmind website. Updated March 12, 2023. Accessed April 13, 2024. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-hypothesis-2795239  
• 15 Hypothesis examples. Helpfulprofessor.com Published September 8, 2023. Accessed March 14, 2024. https://helpfulprofessor.com/hypothesis-examples/ 
• Editage insights. What is the interconnectivity between research objectives and hypothesis? Published February 24, 2021. Accessed April 13, 2024. https://www.editage.com/insights/what-is-the-interconnectivity-between-research-objectives-and-hypothesis  
• Understanding null hypothesis testing. BCCampus open publishing. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://opentextbc.ca/researchmethods/chapter/understanding-null-hypothesis-testing/#:~:text=In%20null%20hypothesis%20testing%2C%20this,said%20to%20be%20statistically%20significant  

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The Health and Clinical Outcomes Research, Student Spotlight Series: Amanda Meiklejohn, M.P.H., Ph.D. (’25)

Amanda Meiklejohn, M.P.H. ,is a forth-year student in the Health Outcomes Research Ph.D. program in the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Amanda recently shared some of her experiences, real world implications of her research and advice for aspiring Ph.D. students. 

What inspired you to pursue a Health Outcomes Research Ph.D. and how does it align with your career goals?  

For as long as I can remember, health outcomes and clinical research have instilled a sense of curiosity and fascination. Whether it was watching how a chemical combination cured my grandmother’s breast cancer or allowed me to breathe that next breath after a frightening allergic reaction, my infatuation with what medication can and will do for our population is constantly running through my mind.  

Achieving a Ph.D. in Health Outcomes perfectly complements my career aspirations, equipping me with the expertise to analyze and design clinical trials. 

What skills or knowledge have you gained that you believe will benefit your future career? 

Through the Ph.D. program, I gained the skills to accurately assess, analyze, and report biostatistical findings, enabling me to better serve the public. I was able to examine variables within populations to determine whether it was the medication, demographics, environment, or other unexplored factors that contributed to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Additionally, the program provided me with a more holistic understanding of population health. 

Can you share a memorable experience or project from your time in the program?  

During my first semester, I enrolled in ORES 5430 Health Outcomes Measurement, where I gained the chance to delve into creating a scale to measure COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The practicality of our work caught the attention of the professor, who approached my partner and me about the possibility of publishing our findings. This experience opened my eyes to the impactful potential of classroom projects for the broader community. 

How do you envision applying what you've learned in the program to make an impact in your field?  

I anticipate integrating the knowledge gained from the Ph.D. program into both my current and future positions. Currently employed in the pharmaceutical sector, where I specialize in clinical trial design and operations, I've come to appreciate the significance of orchestrating trials with the ultimate objective in sight. This encompasses considerations such as study design, patient demographics, data collection methods, statistical analysis, and data presentation — a holistic understanding fostered by my doctoral studies. 

How has the support and mentorship from faculty and peers influenced your academic and personal growth?  

Before entering the Ph.D. program, I hadn't published any papers or presented at conferences or symposiums. However, with the mentorship and support provided by the department, I am not only encouraged but also pushed to disseminate my research. This experience gives me a profound sense of purpose and highlights the significance of my work, particularly concerning COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. 

What advice would you give to incoming students interested in this program?  

Stay curious—make the most of office hours and explore available opportunities. 

About the Health Outcomes Research, Ph.D.

 Saint Louis University’s Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Health Outcomes Research is a program that trains researchers in the areas of health outcomes research, health services research and health data science to meet the changing needs of the health care system.

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The mission of the Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research is to serve as the collaborative bridge between divisions, departments, and colleges/schools across medicine and the health sciences to support methodologically rigorous research to solve complex health problems. The Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research is a scholarly community of faculty, staff and students committed to strengthening the delivery and outcomes of medical care through education and training programs, innovative research, and consulting services. 

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Difference between Thesis and Research Paper

A thesis is a comprehensive academic document that presents original research and contributes new knowledge to the field, whereas a research paper explores and discusses a topic based on existing literature. Both forms of academic writing serve different purposes and audiences, requiring distinct approaches in terms of depth of analysis, format, and completion timeline.

What is a Thesis?

A thesis is a comprehensive document written by a student pursuing a higher academic degree, such as a Master’s or Ph.D. It is the culmination of original research conducted by the student under the guidance of a supervisor or advisor. The primary purpose of a thesis is to present a scholarly argument or hypothesis on a specific topic or research question. It involves conducting in-depth research, analyzing data, and synthesizing findings to contribute new knowledge to the field of study. A thesis typically consists of several chapters, including an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion.

Key Features of a Thesis:

• Original Research: A thesis involves original research conducted by the student, contributing new knowledge or insights to the academic field.
• Comprehensive Analysis: This typically includes a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, methodologies, data, and findings related to the research topic.
• Formal Defense: A thesis is defended orally before a committee of faculty members or experts, who evaluate the student’s research methods, findings, and conclusions.

What is a Research Paper?

A research paper is a shorter, more focused document that presents the findings of a specific research study or investigation. It is commonly written by students at the undergraduate or graduate level as part of a course assignment or academic project. The primary purpose of a research paper is to communicate the results of research, analysis, or experimentation on a particular topic or research question. It aims to contribute to the existing body of knowledge in a given field or area of study. A research paper typically follows a standardized format, including sections such as an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion.

Key Features of a Research Paper:

• Focused Study: A research paper focuses on presenting the findings of a specific research study or investigation, often within a narrower scope than a thesis.
• Standardized Format: It follows a standardized format, including sections such as introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion.
• Evaluation Criteria: Research papers are evaluated based on factors such as the clarity of writing, the rigor of research methods, the relevance of findings, and the contribution to the field, often as part of a course assignment or academic project.

Thesis and Research Paper – FAQs

Is a thesis longer than a research paper.

Yes, typically a thesis is more extensive and detailed compared to a research paper due to its original research component and comprehensive structure.

Do research papers require original research?

Research papers primarily rely on existing literature and sources, providing critical analysis or interpretation without necessarily presenting new findings.

Can a research paper be published in academic journals?

Yes, research papers can be submitted for publication in academic journals, providing they meet the journal’s criteria for quality and relevance.

What is the role of a thesis advisor or committee?

Thesis advisors and committee members provide guidance, feedback, and evaluation throughout the thesis process, ensuring academic rigor and quality.

Can a thesis be revised after completion?

Yes, a thesis may undergo revisions based on feedback from advisors or committee members before final submission and defense.

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