STANDARD ONE
An important part of the research process is being able to define an information need. Several steps are often involved to define an information need successfully.
First, understand the given assignment. This may seem obvious or self-explanatory, but the key words of the assignment will provide a number of clues that will be important to understanding what is needed to complete the assignment both accurately and well.
Are you being asked to argue a perspective, present a viewpoint, analyze or evaluate data or other information, or compare/contrast? Each of these tasks involves particular strategies and information needs. Identify also any course-specific elements of the assignment to ensure you have the proper understanding of key terms and procedures. Ask any questions you may have in order to get clarification.
TOP
You may be given a specific topic, you may have a choice of several topics, or you may be asked to come up with a research topic of your own. If possible, choose a topic that you have some personal interest in examining; however, recognize that learning to work with topics with which you are unfamiliar or in which you have no personal interest is a significant part of a university education. Keep an open mind.
TOP
A subject is a grouping of keywords: colonial agriculture is a subject, and a broad one. A subject doesn't identify what you are going to do with or say about your keywords.
A topic states in a sentence or two what about your subject you are interested in addressing. Consider the differences between the subject colonial agriculture and the more defined topic: the impact of drought on colonial-era farming practices in Virginia.
Phrasing a topic as a question can help you further understand what you are trying to answer or prove: what was the impact of drought on colonial-era farming practices in Virginia?
TOP
Carefully consider the relationship between the scope of the topic and the scope of the assignment. A narrow topic might not provide enough material on which to write a ten-page paper; similarly, a broad topic might provide too much material on which to write a five-page paper.
If you start to research your topic and find either too much or too little material to fit the scope of your assignment, you may need to go back and adjust your topic accordingly. Elements to reconsider might include the time period, geographic location, point of view, or the population under consideration. Ask your instructor to evaluate your topic early in the process to ensure it is appropriate to the scope and purpose of the assignment.
TOP
As you begin to identify what you will research, another important early strategy is to identify synonyms and alternative terms for the significant keywords in your topic:
| drought | colonial-era | farming | Virginia |
weather
rainfall
aridity
| 17th century
18th century
1600s
1700s | farms
agriculture
crops
tobacco, corn | colonies
South, southern
British, American |
Stay flexible and try different terminology in different sources.
TOP
Now that you have a good grasp of the assignment and have identified a topic, keywords, synonyms and alternative terms, the following series of steps can help determine the direction your research will take:
- Identify what you already know about your topic. Maybe you know some, maybe you know a lot, maybe you know little.
- Based on your answer to #1, identify what you want to solve, answer, produce, respond to, or find out?
- Identify what you need in order to resolve #2. This might involve learning concepts or principles, or finding more information.
- Identify what needs to be done to resolve #3. Do you need to conduct an experiment, access library materials either locally or via Interlibrary Loan, interview an expert? You might find yourself asking questions, such as "where can I find early American agricultural statistics?" or "what is the best source for meteorological data?" This step will define your research needs.
It is helpful to understand what sorts of information can be found in what formats. The following list is not comprehensive but provides some examples:
- Books: lengthy studies on one or more subjects. Most books are still available only in paper form, although some material may be available electronically (eBooks; older texts in the public domain).
- Articles in newspapers, magazines, journals or other periodicals: shorter more focused studies or reports; articles may be geared toward a lay or popular audience or an expert or scholarly audience and may be available in paper or electronic format. Articles will contain the latest information known at the date of publication. Articles may also take the form of
- Reviews: An assessment of a recent publication often (but not always) written by an expert in the field.
- Literature reviews: An overview of recent studies on a topic, which might consider both books and articles. A literature review might stand alone as an article or be included as part of a broader study in either article or book form.
- Microform: typically older material produced on film or fiche for easier storage, such as newspapers, historical documents, dissertations, and multiple issues of journals. Materials in microform are read on microform readers in the library.
- Web pages: current or historical material; it may be difficult to determine the authority, currency, validity, accuracy of Web material, so careful evaluation is necessary.
Some information may be difficult to find or may not exist in a form or format that is easily usable. You may also need to create your own information by conducting interviews, surveys, or experimental data. Ask your instructor or a librarian for help in finding the information you require.
- Gather and analyze the information you have collected. Do you have enough information to answer your research question? Do you need to adjust your topic, or gather more information? You may need to repeat the earlier steps before proceeding.
Note: If you plan your research carefully and can articulate your information needs to others appropriately, you will gather the right amount of relevant and useful information effectively and efficiently and will avoid spending time acquiring too much of irrelevant information.
TOP
The remaining lessons in Standard One will introduce other important concepts to aid in interpreting research questions and defining information needs:
Standard Two of this tutorial will demonstrate how to perform research in effective and efficient ways.
For more information on defining information needs see the following sources:
TOP
Back to Standard One: Lesson 1
Forward to Standard One: Lesson 3
Back to Information Literacy Tutorial Home Page
|
