Research Styles

My Research Style

What do you like about research?


When I am doing research I like that I have so much data right at my fingertips. In today’s world information is so accessible. I love gaining new knowledge and researching allows me to better myself by learning about topics that interest me. I also love how many avenues I have by which to research. There is print and digital as well as many others, and they all have specific advantages. 

How do you start your research?


To begin my research I brainstorm a list of related topics and key phrases. Sometimes searching for one specific synonym will find me better results. Because there is so much information floating around in the world, I always start my searches very broad. I then narrow my results until I find the specific data I am looking for.

How do you determine what you are going to research?


How I determine what to research depends on the circumstances. Sometimes I just find a topic that interests me and I want to learn more. I do a lot of research as a teacher when starting new curricular units to ensure I have a firm grasp of the content before I try to teach it to my students. Sometimes professional development or a class mandates the research. In this case I follow the research guidelines set forth by my professor or administrator.

How do you determine what topics or phrases to look under?


Deciding what phrases to look under is a guess and check process. I start with a list of phrases that I think I will be helpful to my search. If they prove to be fruitless I reevaluate my list of phrases and think of other synonyms or ways of phrasing the topics differently.

Where do you find your resources?


I find my researching resources from a variety of places. I use the Internet to research on a daily basis. I utilize the professional libraries of many colleagues at my school. I also gleaned many articles and textbooks from my undergraduate studies. I absolutely love to hang out at the library and research as well.

How do you know what to look for?


I begin to look for sources with a plethora of information on many different topics. I look for key phrases surrounding my specific topic. I also look for reliable resources that I am familiar with.

Where do you go first to find information?


When searching for information, the first place I go is the Internet. I do a preliminary web search for “an inch deep and mile wide” kind of information. I get a little taste of lots of different websites and kinds of data. This gives me a general idea of what is available. I can decide where to go from there to access the more “mile deep” and specific information.

Which search engine do you use? Why?

The search engine I prefer is Google. It seems the most easily accessible and usually has pertinent information in the first few screens. I rarely have negative experiences using Google. I also like many of the Google apps, such as Gmail, Chrome, and Google calendar. The Google search engine comes automatically with most of those.

Do you go beyond the first two screens?


It depends on what I am researching whether or not I will go beyond the first two screens of a search engine. If I am looking for general information on penguins to share with my third grade students I will most likely use the first few links on the first screen. If I am researching global warming and it’s effect on penguins to write a college level research paper I will definitely be more particular about which websites I use and I will dig much farther beyond the first two screens of a search engine.

How do you keep track of your information?


I use Microsoft Word documents to keep track of my information as I research. This way I can copy and paste the hyperlink right into my notes for citation purposes and future reference. I also like to take note in composition notebooks occasionally for easy reference on the go.

How do you keep track of the citation information for your resources?


When researching using the Internet, I copy the link into a Word document to keep track of the citation information. If I am researching using a book I write down the title, author, copyright, and publication date in my notes.

How do you know if your source is reliable?


I look for reliable resources that are often professionally and/or peer edited or reviewed. I check for basic things such as correct grammar and spelling. I have found that when a resource does not spell words correctly they cannot be trusted to contain accurate information. I also use questionable resources to look up something I have quite a bit of knowledge about to see if what I know matches with what the resource has to say.

What do you do to see if your information is accurate?


I like to check multiple resources for similar information to ensure that my data is accurate. If I see discrepancies I will research further to see which resources are more reliable.

Have you ever changed the course of your research? Why?


I try to keep my research as dynamic and flexible as possible. I find that if I try to fit the information into my preconceived mold, my big picture tends to not be complete. I need to follow the data where it leads me. This is what allows me to draw new conclusions and come up with new ideas. If I very egotistically thought I knew everything there would be no need to do any research.

Have you ever found information that made you reevaluate your original topic? When and why?

I think that research is designed not to find the answers, but to find more questions. The more you know about a topic, the more you want to know, and the more questions you have about it. There have been many times that I began researching one topic and I segued into a different tangent topic instead. When I was getting my bachelors degree I was doing research on children’s literature and how it had an impact on reading test scores of different groups of students. As I was researching I segued into two different paper topics: The first was on different education legislation passed and how that impacted student test scores, and second, how The Disney corporation and all of their media had an impact on children’s love of reading. The reason I reevaluated my original topic is because as I was researching I found other topics that I found equally if not more interesting than my original cause for research.