Introducing the Research Process
Research Step-by-Step
These are the steps of the research process:
- Choose and develop a research topic.
- Find information sources in a variety of formats.
- Evaluate your sources for relevance, authority, and credibility.
- Combine research with prior knowledge to create something new.
- Cite your sources according to the assigned bibliographic style.
Research as a Linear Process
If research was a liner process we would move through the steps in a a straightforward progression, starting with choosing a topic and ending with citing our sources.
Research as a Recursive Process
But as we locate, evaluate, and integrate those sources, sometimes we need to repeat steps as we refine our product, making this a recursive process rather than a linear one.
