You will move back and forth between steps in this process. It's not always a straight road -- you will need to go back to readjust your topic, find new sources, rewrite parts of your paper, and so on. There are also many different ways to approach research; if you've found one that works for you, then continue to use it! This is simply a guide for if you're feeling overwhelmed by the process. You can also always book a research appointment with Ms. Antchak to help you apply these skills.
Define: You must first determine and define your topic. You may need to select one for yourself within a parameter, or you may be given a specific one by your teacher.
- Select a topic that you want to learn more about. It will be easier and more enjoyable to write about something that you're interested in.
- State your topic as a research question. This makes it easier to explain and will help you identify the main concepts and keywords to use while you search.
- Be specific. If your research question is too broad, you will not be able to sufficiently answer your research question as there is too much ground to cover.
- Ex. 'the effects of pesticides on strawberry crops' is less specific than 'what are the effects of insecticides on strawberry crop yields in Ontario?'
Search: Begin searching for your preliminary information. Sources that offer broad overviews such as encyclopedias will help you understand the overview of your topic. Explore a variety of sources, such as books, class lectures, websites, and databases. Doing this preliminary search will also help make sure that you can find information on your topic. If you are finding too much, you may want to narrow the scope; if you are finding too little, you may want to broaden it.
Find: Once you have done a preliminary search and finalised your topic, you will want to start looking for sources. You may have already found some during your preliminary search; you can use these as your starting point.
- Find as many sources as you can. If you think it has any possible relevance, save it -- you will evaluate them later. You can use tools like MyBib to help you keep track of your sources for free while also using it to help you prepare to cite them later.
- Use our Effective Searching guide to help you find sources efficiently.
Evaluate: Begin weeding down the sources you've found. A general recommendation for school papers is at least 2-5 sources per page -- if you have a 5 page paper, you'll want at least 10 sources. You should continue researching throughout the rest of the research process, so don't worry too much if you haven't hit this goal before you begin to write. Your teacher may give you an exact number of how many sources they want; otherwise, it's fine to ask.
When evaluating sources, you should:
- Determine whether the information is without bias and credible. Sources that do not meet these criteria can be immediately discarded.
- Make sure that you have a mix of primary and secondary sources.
- Try to include a variety of types of sources (books, articles, webpages, etc.) to add variety to your research. The Toronto Public Library has lots of books that can be accessed from online.
Write: Now that you have your sources, you can begin writing your paper or working on your assignment.
- Remember your audience -- are you writing a paper for a teacher or a presentation to give to students? Be mindful of the language you use and the tone of your writing. Academic work is typically formal.
- Create an outline before you start writing. This will give you a sense of what logically goes where if you're quoting or referencing sources throughout your paper and keep you on track while you write.
- Write in drafts. Google Docs is a great tool to do this with because it will allow you to track your changes through its version history, so you can easily revert to a previous version if you change your mind or want to tackle a section from a new angle. WordCounter is helpful for keeping you on track for word goals (if your assignment must be at or under a certain wordcount) and estimating reading and speaking time for presentations.
- Set deadlines to stay on track with your writing and leave time to cite, proofread, and make final edits. Simon Fraser University has a handy Assignment Calculator that will give you an idea of when you should have each stage of your assignment done by.
Find: Continuing to research throughout the research process is essential -- you may find more recently published articles, a database may update to include new journals or volumes, or you may simply stumble across something you missed before. Be sure to evaluate your sources as usual.
Cite: Use our dedicated Citation Guide to help you format citations for MLA, APA, and Chicago-style citations.
- Work on your citations as you go through your assignment. This will save you time and prevent you from forgetting to add an in-text citation or where it came from.
- You can continue to use MyBib here to help you fill out the information for a citation -- however, remember to always double check your work as it is not a perfect system!
Proofread: Always proofread your work before submitting it. Besides typos or grammar errors, you may find that your points are out of order, there are leaps in logic, or you are expressing your own bias, among other things.
- If possible (and permitted), have someone else read your work. They may catch problems you have missed or become used to.
- However, avoid using AI tools like ChatGPT or Grammarly to proofread your writing when possible. They can help you catch typos and redundant words, but they can be academic violations and are detectable. Check with your teachers before using any of these programs, and if you are permitted, always cite them.
