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AGRI 1011: Issues in Agriculture: The Research Process

AGRI 1011 research resource for class. This guide is a great starting place for research!

Agriculture Librarian

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Randa Lopez Morgan
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The Research Process

Research is a process, much like writing, playing a musical instrument, or playing a sport is a process. There are a number of steps to the process that you need to become aware of before you can conduct effective search strategies for information sources that are appropriate for your college-level projects.

 

The Research Cycle

The Research Cycle and Developing Your Topic. Step one: You begin by getting an assignment. From there you will go online and start exploring possible topics. Step two: You will then use popular sources to help you get background information. Step Three: Use those resources to help identify and develop those keywords. Step four: You will test your ideas in the database using your key words. If the results look promising, move on to the next step. However, if the results are not what you are looking for, you might need to tweak your topic a bit. Don’t forget those question words (who, what, when, where, why, and how). If you have to start over, try searching your topic in an encyclopedia database. Repeat steps one through four until you feel satisfied by your results. Step five: try combining different key words to get different results. You may find better keywords once you start finding articles that align with your topic. Step Six: read the journal articles you find. They might not fit your topic 100% but they still might contain useful information for your paper. Don’t get discourage if you still need to tweak your topic some more. Step seven: eventually you will find enough information to begin writing your paper. However, it is not unusual to return to the research cycle to find additional sources. If at any time you need help, you can schedule an appointment with a librarian! Askus.lib.lsu.edu

Research is a Process: Refining and Broadening

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