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Research Process for Assignments

This guide will walk you through the research process, from selecting a topic to doing your search and putting it all together.

Developing a Research Question

Once you have a sense of your overall direction, you need to narrow it down to a specific topic.

  • Use probing questions. (Why? What if?)
  • Avoid "yes" and "no" questions.
  • Look at relationships between ideas.

Use your research topic or question to identify the main ideas, which will become your keywords.

Example: how does stress impact college students' ability to prepare for final exams?
keywords = stress, college students, prepare, final exams

As you continue searching, refine your search by adding or combining different keywords that further explore your topic. You may find you need to modify your topic.