Armacost Library: ASIAN STUDIES: Academic Inquiry

Research Process

Research doesn't happen in a straight line from start (assignment prompt) to finish (polished paper/presentation).
Research includes finding background information to help you shape your ideas.
Research incorporates analyses from journalists and scholars, whose ideas help you reframe and revise your research questions.
Research includes making evaluative decisions about which and whose perspectives to incorporate into your own scholarship.

Does the information source fit my assignment?

Information Need	Sources to Consult	Search Tools & Help
Overview of Topic	Encyclopedias Handbooks	Ask a librarian Search Primo (Limit by Resource Type: Reference Entry)
Definitions	Dictionaries Handbooks	Ask a librarian Search Primo (Limit by Resource Type: Reference Entry)
Primary Sources (first hand or contemporary accounts)	Books Digital archives Magazines & newspapers Videos	Ask a librarian Search Primo Search online Search disciplinary databases
Secondary Sources (comprehensive and/or detailed analyses)	Journal articles Books Some magazines & newspapers	Ask a librarian Search Primo Search disciplinary databases
Facts	Dictionaries Almanacs Statistical Handbooks	Ask a librarian Search Primo
Current Events, Popular Culture	Newspapers Magazines Video	Ask a librarian Search Primo Search online Search disciplinary databases
Historical Information	Books Digital archives Magazines & newspapers Film	Ask a librarian Search Primo Search online Search disciplinary databases
Evaluative Sources	Book reviews Film/video reviews	Ask a librarian Search Primo Use How Do I? search

From Topic to Research Questions

"The word research means “finding out” or “discovery”, by use of systematic effort, information or answers to something you want to know. You cannot research if you do not want to know anything; i.e., you must have something you would like to know more about before you can do research. "

Moving From An Interest to a Research Question, Harvard University.

Learn more about narrowing a topic and developing a research question.

What is "The Literature"?

How could I use this source of information?

What could a writer/presenter/performer do with this source?

More on "How to Use Sources Effectively."

Based on Bizup, J. (2008). BEAM: A rhetorical vocabulary for teaching research-based writing. Rhetoric Review 27.1, 72-86.