The Research Process

The Information Research Process includes the following six steps:

1.  Selecting a topic.              
2.  Locating sources of information.
3.  Gathering the information you have found.
4.  Evaluating and organizing the information you have found.
5.  Drafting and revising your project.
6.  Presenting your project. 

1.  Selecting a topic.                                                                                                     (top)
Select a topic that is interesting for both you and your audience, that is appropriate for the size and scope of the assignment, and that is well-known enough to research and yet unique enough to stand out and be meaningful.

2.  Locating sources of information.                                                                        (top)

Many researchers find that a mix of print resources and online resources meets their needs well.  Libraries offer carefully selected, authoritative resources that help to ensure accurate information.  The Internet, often termed "the world's largest library," contains a plethora of really great and really awful information, and it takes a savvy researcher to tell the difference.  The Internet can be worth a researcher's while, though, as it can offer the most recent information from a wide variety of authoritative institutions.

Print library resources include encyclopedias, directories, textbooks, handbooks, journals, and bibliographic indexes. You can find many of the above resources online, as well, and there is no need to go to the library to access the print resources when they are available on the Internet and one can access these resources from a remote location. The web becomes a source for information and at the same time it is also a medium for the libraries to make available a number library resources.

A drawback one can experience when performing research online is the retrieval of too many results. This can be availed by using specific and controlled vocabularies such as subject headings or a thesaurus or Boolean logic to get the best possible results.

Search Techniques and Methods –
Search techniques and methods can be applied when searching most electronic resources, including databases and websites.

Keywords: Using the right word or term is important when searching for specific information. Keywords are terms that describe the most important elements of a search inquiry. Keyword usage works differently for print and electronic media. When searching a print index or a card catalog, keywords usually are linked, or cross-referenced, to controlled vocabularies or specific subject headings. But when searching an electronic resource, using a keyword generally results in a search for the word in the whole text of that document or web page. This can sometimes result in a very wide hit and the user may get too many results. Using keywords when searching an electronic resource will lead to searching for each term what was typed in, which means the system will retrieve words that have the same spelling but different contexts.
For example, when searching for the topic Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, typing the word AIDS will result in a search for items or resources that contain information about the condition of AIDS and also resources that talk about “walking aids,” “hearing aids,” etc. This results in a very wide search with many “false drop” references.

Controlled Vocabularies: Subject Headings, subheadings, and thesaurus terms can all be considered controlled vocabularies. They all employ specific terminology that has been used to represent a concept that can be called by various terms or synonyms. This standardizes the vocabulary and makes searching easy. For example, the condition of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome can be referred to in the literature as AIDS, Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome, or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. To standardize the vocabulary, a Thesaurus or a subject heading list for different indexes or different databases assign one specific term to encompass all combinations of terms and all synonyms for the same term. Subject headings are also useful for the creators of the databases, and the indexers who have to index the various journal articles. Indexers use thesaurus or subject heading terms to standardize their indexing so that articles on similar topics will all be indexed under one accepted terminology.  Once you find out the accepted term for a resource, you'll be able to perform an easy, accurate search.

Boolean Logic: When searching an electronic resource, Boolean logic enables the searcher to focus the search strategy by combining search terms. Operators like “AND”, “OR”, and “NOT” are commonly used in searches.

The logical operator AND is used to retrieve records or documents that contain all the words. This operator narrows the scope of a search and retrieves fewer documents.
Example: children AND acquired immune deficiency syndrome
(retrieves records that have both terms mentioned)

The logical operator OR is used to retrieve all records or documents that contain either one of the various terms used. This operator broadens the scope of a search and retrieves a larger number of records or documents. This operator can be used to combine synonyms or terms that fall in the same category.
Example: children OR child
(retrieves documents on both child or children)

The logical operator NOT is used to retrieve records or documents that contain a particular term and NOT another term. The NOT operator limits a search drastically and it must be used cautiously or judiciously because one may inadvertently eliminate relevant records and documents. Example: children NOT adults (retrieves only those records that deal with children and NOT adults)

Nesting: Nesting is the use of parentheses in the search so that it determines the order in which the search is executed. Nesting is similar to the math logic where items placed in parentheses will receive first priority. Nesting is also useful when there are multiple search terms with similar meanings or concepts that are searched first.
Example: AIDS AND treatment AND (children OR child OR infants)
(This search first finds those records and documents that contain the word children, child, or infants, and then look within that group for records containing both the terms AIDS and treatment).

Truncation & Proximity Operators: Truncation is the use of a character (asterisk “*” or a question mark “?” in some databases) to search for variations on a particular term. Truncation is heavily used when searching for all endings of a particular root word.
Example: health*
(This search will find those records and documents that contain the words health, healthy, healthier).
Proximity Operators is the use of terms like “near” or “adjacent" (may vary for different databases) that will search for terms within certain proximity of each other, either in the same sentence or the same paragraph or right next to each other (may vary for different databases).

3.  Gathering the information you have found.                                                                    (top)
When gathering information online or from print resources, be sure to record where you found the information so that you can retrieve it again later if you need to and to create accurate citations.

4.  Organizing and evaluating the information you have found.                                          (top)

Organizing
The distinctions and descriptions of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources are useful because they are indicators of the relative currency and accuracy. Primary sources are more current and accurate than secondary sources because they are not filtered or interpreted information.

The following traditional research divisions can be applied to both print and electronic resources:

a. Primary Sources – Reports, journal articles, and government reports are some examples of primary sources. Primary sources are original materials produced by the author or originating department. These sources are not filtered interpretations of original research; neither are they evaluations by a second party. Rather, they are the first hand reports of the study or investigation conducted. First hand verbal information is also often considered a primary source. These sources are most timely.
JAMA (via AMA http://jama.ama-assn.org)
MMWR Weekly Report (via CDC http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_wk.html)

b. Secondary Sources – Secondary sources provide information about Primary Sources. Indexes and Abstracts are some examples of secondary sources that are used to locate primary sources or published articles. Review articles can also be considered secondary sources because they are based on original work. Review articles are syntheses of the research on a topic. The author of a review article reviews numerous articles on a topic and brings together various thoughts and view points on the topic. The distinction between primary and secondary sources can be very fine and therefore difficult to discern, but primary sources tend to be more current than secondary sources.
Medline (citations + subscription full-text articles; log-in to RML homepage; under Ovid databases)
PubMed (free version of Medline; mainly citations; a few open access articles)
Toxnet (http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov)
Cancerlit (http://www.cancer.gov/search/cancer_literature)

c. Tertiary Sources – Tertiary sources are twice removed from the original information. These sources are collections and distillations of information, and provide an opinion of the author on the original work. Examples of tertiary sources are Encyclopedias, Reference works, and textbooks.
Encyclopaedia Britannica (http://www.britannica.com)
Oxford English Dictionary (http://dictionary.oed.com)
Glossary of Genetic Terms (http://www.genome.gov/glossary.cfm)
List of Medical Dictionaries (via MedlinePlus http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mplusdictionary.html)
AMA Physician Select (Doctor Finder - http://www.ama-assn.org/aps/amahg.htm)
American Hospital Directory (http://www.ahd.com/freesearch.php3)
Directory of Health Organizations (http://dirline.nlm.nih.gov/)
Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy (http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/)
USP DI Advice for the Patient (via MedlinePlus - http://medlineplus.nlm.nih.gov/)
UpToDate (For use on UMC campus only)
OMIM (Online Mendelian Inhertiance in Man - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=OMIM)
Modern Genetic Analysis (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?call=bv.View..ShowTOC&rid=mga.TOC)
Developmental Biology (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?call=bv.View..ShowTOC&rid=dbio.TOC&depth=2)
Genes and Disease (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?call=bv.View..ShowTOC&rid=gnd.TOC&depth=2)
Collection of Textbooks (via PubMed - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=Books)


Evaluating
As information in all forms (electronic and print) increases, the need to evaluate that information also increases. Users need to critically evaluate and assess the information they are collecting. Criteria for evaluating the information can be applied to print, electronic and Internet resources.
There are various criteria that you can apply to help you evaluate what is appropriate for your research.

a. Scope and Audience – An important criterion in the evaluation of any information source is whether the information is going to be relevant to the person using it – both in terms of what information is covered and who the audience of the information is.

Important Questions to ask when evaluating:
What is the scope of the article, book, or web site?
Is it an original article that will support research?
Is the article published in a scholarly journal (one that is published by and for experts) or a popular magazine (like Scientific American or Newsweek) that is geared towards a general audience?
Is it a general article that provides an overview of the topic?
Is the resource covering the time period in which you are interested?


b. Timeliness - The relative currency of the resource is an important factor in evaluating a source. Some topics that are researched are more current at a particular time but the relevancy of the information can no longer be the same after a certain time frame. For example, AIDS research had a different perspective five years ago and the information about the research five years ago was relevant at that time period, but it may not necessarily be the same now, with all the advances and discoveries in AIDS treatment since then. Conversely, an anatomy textbook dated ten years ago may not be outdated to point of irrelavency.

Important Questions to ask when evaluating:
When was the source published? Primary sources like original articles, and newspaper articles are more current than a secondary source such as a textbook or an encyclopedia.
How frequently is the source updated?
When was the website last updated?
Is there a date on the website?
Is the website up-to-date?


c. Authority – The authority of an information source is based on the qualifications, expertise and knowledge of the author(s). The author’s affiliation to an organization or institution is also a criteria in determining the authority of the author. The reputation of an organization is also important when the information source is a product of that organization and not necessarily the work of an individual author. Reports published by Government agencies are likely to be considered valuable. But one should always be cautious when considering the quality of a work based on the reputation and expertise of an author or organization, because author’s expertise does not necessarily equate quality.

The origin of an information source can also be considered to have authority when a particular work has been available for many years in print and now has taken a new format - electronic format or the web. There are reference sources available to consult on background information on an author, such as Contemporary Authors, or American Men and Women of Science.

Important Questions to ask when evaluating:
Who produced the information?
Who is the author of the source? Is the author qualified to provide the information?
What is the author’s affiliation?
Is the information resource in production for a long time?
Does the website provide the author’s name, affiliation, and contact information?


d. Content – The content coverage and accuracy are important factors in the evaluation of any information source. When evaluating the content coverage of a source, one needs to take into consideration the comprehensiveness, range, and breadth of the subject covered. Different information sources provide different information. An encyclopedia may provide an overview of a topic, while a subject index will only provide the bibliographic information (such as author, title, source, page numbers, and summary) that will lead the user to the original article. Evaluating the original article will help decide whether to use that article for one’s research. A web page that provides links to other sources can be considered valuable for its efforts to be comprehensive, and even more valuable when evaluation of the links is provided.

Accuracy of an information source is based on evidence and its proof; thus, the source should provide the data that supports the view points. Accuracy of a source also depends on the peer review, referee or editing process it goes through before it is published. Original articles that support research should present the clinical or scientific evidence. The research methodology, statistics, research design, and sampling are some of the various important aspects to be considered for conducting systematic research to produce a good, quality original article.

Important Questions to ask when evaluating:
Does the source show bias by covering one-sided view points?
Is the information source comprehensive in its subject coverage?
Is the information accurate?
Has the source gone through the peer review, referee or editing process before being published?
Is the information source supported by published research findings?
Are the results valid?
Does the website provide links to other related information and do these links provide value to the existing links?
Is the site’s intention to sell or to educate?
Are the links current?


e. Structure and Format – The structure and format are major issues in evaluating any source, but more of an issue in evaluating electronic and web sources than traditional print sources. The structure of an electronic or web source is important to the effective delivery and use of any electronic or web-based information, though the quality of information of such a source is not necessarily effected. Navigability, organization, and ease of use of a website are important factors to consider when evaluating a web source. Good websites also provide feedback mechanism that a user of the website can use. The format of an electronic source is also an important concern, especially if it requires special hardware or software to view files or if it requires special installations. The compatibility of the electronic source with the available PC or Mac machines is also of important consideration.

Important Questions to ask when evaluating:
Is the electronic source easy to install?
Is "help" information readily available?
Is there a thesaurus or controlled vocabulary?
Is the item indexed comprehensively?
Is the web site designed and organized well?
Is the web-site user friendly? Does the user need special software to access the resource?
Does the site contain images, do they take long to load, are they useful or just decorative?
Does the website have a text only link for use by a user who has a text-only browser?
Does the site offer a local search engine?
Does the site have a mirror site for if the main site crashes or is undergoing maintenance?
Does the user have to register to use the resource?

5.  Drafting and revising your project.                                                                                  (top)

Once you have organized and evaluated the information you have collected, thus culling out resources that you will not be using, it is time to pull together your remaining resources and create a final document. 

Drafting is an important stage in the creation of your presentation, as it serves to outline and organize your thoughts.  Revision of your drafts leads to a satisfying final draft that you can polish and perfect, thus creating your final copy.

6.  Presenting your project.                                                                                                  (top)

This is your time to shine and display the fruits of your efforts! Relax and be confident in all of the work you have invested into your project and the knowledge you have gained from the experience. 

 

Sources Consulted:
Souter, Gerry, Janet and Allison.  Researching on the Internet and Using Search Engines, Bulletin Boards, and Listservs.  Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 2003.

UMC0200: Information Research Process Blackboard course.

Wolff, Michael, Ed. Netstudy: Your Complete Guide to Academic Success Using the Internet and Online Service. New York: Dell Publishing, 1997.

Wolinsky, Art. Locating and Evaluating Information on the Internet. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1999.

                                 

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