Research Process

Knowing where information is coming from, who wrote it, and why they wrote it, is an important step in doing research. When you find a new source of information, especially on the Internet, ask yourself the following questions.

Currency

• When was this material published or put on the Internet?
• Are there links within the website that are dead?
• Is the site maintained and updated? The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine can often show changes to specific websites over time.
• If information is dated, does that make it less valuable? If you are researching current events, information from ten years ago won't work.

Relevance or Coverage

• Is the information presented in a manner that makes it easy to use?
• Is the article focused on one topic or does it discuss many topics?
• Is the text edited, abridged, or added to in any way?
• Can you see the whole article? Or is it just an abstract?

Authority

• Who published this material?
• What are the author's qualifications?
  • Is this someone in your field of study with a Ph.D.?
  • What other research has this person done?
  • What is this person's reputation?
• Can the author be contacted if you have questions?
• What organization is sponsoring the website? Often, you can check to see who owns a site through an IP lookup service like WHOIS.

Accuracy

• Can you verify the accuracy of the information?
• Is there a bibliography or links to other sources used by the author?
• Is information cited properly?
• Has the article been peer-reviewed?
• Is the information written well?  i.e., spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc.

Purpose

• What is the purpose of this page?
  • Is it to inform, explain, persuade, or sell a product?
• Is the information intended for a specific audience (high school students, scholars, etc.)?
  • Is the intended audience useful/appropriate for your research?
• Is information presented objectively or does it have a bias?
  • If it has a bias (e.g., a specific political or philosophical point of view) does that detract from the usefulness to you?
• Does the author belong to or the website for a non-profit organization, a political party, or in support of a cause?
  • For websites, look at the end of the web address (URL) for the domain name, .com is for companies who might be trying to sell something, .gov is for government websites, and .org is usually for non-profit groups who often have a very specific point of view.

Although this list of questions is not exhaustive, do you feel confident that the information presented on the website you are evaluating is of use for you and your research?

You have found sources you want to use in a paper or project, but how do you use them well? How does the source fit into the structure of your paper? Think about how each of your sources could add to your project with the following I-BEAM schema.

Instance: Why is your work important? How does it relate to other research in your field?

Background: Does the source present information or establish facts?

Exhibit: Are you interpreting or analyzing the source? Are you using it as an example?

Argument: Do you agree or disagree with the author’s claims? Are you building on their research?

Method: Does the source introduce a key term or theory? Are you using a particular procedure?