Assessing Research Questions
Successful
research begins with an
understanding of the issue and the identification of potential sources
of information. Think about potential resources. Ask yourself, "Who
cares about this topic or material?" Do not reduce the issue to keywords as you would in
an online research system. Instead, if necessary, use keywords that
describe a potential source of information.
Below appears a general guide for selecting
finding tools based on the type of information sought. A good initial
strategy employs the use of a finding tool to locate a relevant
government, trade association, advocacy group, or professional
organization Web site.
Research Question
|
Considerations
|
Finding
Tools
|
| Familiar topic or
issue |
Do you know of a
source? It may not be a title, but a type of document. For example, the answer to my
question may appear in federal regulations or an agency's guidance documents. Or, an
encyclopedia, telephone directory, or treatise. |
Specific
Research Starting Points
Browsing
People
and also ...
Topical or
General Research Starting Points
Databases and Search Tools |
|
| Overview of a topic |
Is it a broad
(illegal drug use, housing options for the elderly) or specific (medicinal value of
marijuana, viatical settlements) topic? Can you identify key descriptive words or phrases
about the topic? Synonyms?
 Successful
use of databases and search tools may depend on your ability to identify keywords and
phrases that adequately describe the topic. Utilities like Guidebeam
and Oingo
may also help. Consider using thesauri and any additional terms you
encounter while conducting research.
|
Specific
Research Starting Points (especially for broad overviews; e.g.,
encyclopedias, government Web sites, treatises) Databases and Search Tools (e.g., articles and other commentary
provide overviews)
Topical or General
Research Starting Points (look for government, trade association, advocacy group, or
research institute Web sites that cover your topic) |
|
| Vast or in-depth
coverage |
Must you find
everything? Conducting due diligence? Academic scope? Need resources beyond the scope of
the Web?
Remember
print and other resources not available via the Web.
|
Databases and Search Tools Topical
Research Starting Points
Topical or General
Research Starting Points
(look for government, trade association, advocacy group, or research
institute Web sites that cover your topic) |
|
| Current issue or
information |
Will a news source
help? Who is the source, or who cares (e.g., organization, agency, association,
an individual)? Do you need a fact (stock quote, telephone number, currency exchange rate)? |
Databases and Search Tools (especially for current news sources) Topical
or General Research Starting Points
People |
|