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Biology

STEP ONE: BRAINSTORMING A TOPIC

What do you already know about the topic?

Who is this research for?

Who does this research benefit?

Who cares about your topic? 

  • Who cares about your will help you figure out what type of research they do. (scientists will perform experiments, doctors may run a randomized controlled trial, a professor might write a literature review, etc)
  • Once you figure the type of resources someone who cares about your topic would create, you can then determine where you will find these resources. (scholarly articles can be found in databases, news articles can be found online, etc)

How is your topic portrayed in the media?

  • Is this a hot-button issue that folks have very differing opinions about?
  • Has your topic been unfairly criticized or wrongly portrayed in the media?

Who has access to information about your topic?

  • How do everyday folks know about it? Are they getting their information solely based on mass media?
  • Misinformation and fake news are symptoms of a lack of access to quality information. (Think of this as an information desert)

What gaps have you noticed in the research? What's missing? Who's missing?

  • This is where your research question can start. How can you address the gap?

STEP TWO: PEER-REVIEWED SCHOLARY ARTICLES

Sometimes it can be challenging and confusing to tell the difference between scholarly, peer-reviewed articles and popular articles. I often tell students that if it 'looks boring and sounds boring' it is more than likely a scholarly article!

Once you see a few scholarly articles you will see that they share a look and feel that is very different than magazine articles you might be used to reading.

 

STEP THREE: PRIMARY & SECONDARY SOURCES

Want to see if you can tell the difference? Try this game!