101 Research Basics

Tools such as the Search Aid and Source Evaluation Aid help researchers get right to the information they need. These quick and easy-to-use tools automate the basic parts of the research process by leveraging the power of ProQuest data sources—including Ulrich's Web and Books In Print, and the expert ProQuest editorial team.

• Overview of the research gathering process used to support a thesis or hypothesis.
• Includes questions students may ask to draw conclusions based on their research findings.

• Presents search as a process that requires flexibility and open mindedness.
• Includes strategies to help students navigate towards the most relevant results.

• Encourages students to use neutral terminology to retrieve the most objective and relevant sources.
• Directs students to seek a balanced understanding of their research topic by consulting a variety of sources.

• Reminds students that research is a process that requires flexibility and curiosity.
• Includes strategies to make connections between ideas and form a focused research question.

• Reminds students to make use of a variety of source types and background resources to fully understand their research topic.
• Includes strategies for locating related sources and other avenues of research.

• Introduces students to strategies for refining the scope of a research topic.
• Encourages students to engage in reflection and revision based on the analysis of their search results.

• Encourages students to seek out multiple sources of information in order to gain a fuller understanding of their research topic
• Reminds students not to analyze information in isolation. Instead, students are encouraged to make connections between sources to get a sense of the full picture.

• Illustrates the process of synthesizing information from multiple research sources.
• Includes a discussion about the purpose of background sources such as encyclopedias in building a student's understanding of a concept and its themes.

• Explains the role of images in student's work, plus how to locate and evaluate found images for credible contextual and background information.

• Outlines the purposes and characteristics of paraphrased and summarized statements and direct quotes.
• After watching this video, students will be able to select the most appropriate method of presenting information based on their assembled sources and assignment requirements.