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Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons

ENG 110 Foundations of Writing

THE RESEARCH PROCESS - Getting Started

1  GETTING STARTED

Understanding your assignment

What is the final product?  A speech/oral presentation?  Video/media project?  Research paper?  Lab report?  Primary sources research project? Poster?  Other?

What is the task of your assignment (define, describe, explain, research, relate, compare, analyze, prove, etc.)?  Who is your audience? What kind of writing style is required?

What kind of evidence do you need to support your ideas?  Identify your information need and acceptable source types

Ask your professor if you have any questions about the assignment

Developing a topic

Find a topic

Gather background info

Narrow and refine (sometimes broaden)

Concept mapping

How to Develop a Good Research Topic from Kansas State University Libraries

Concept Mapping Tutorial from Biblio uOttowa Library