Research methods

Research strategies

Victor Frankenstein’s self-taught science came from outdated books that had been discredited long ago—a mistake that set him on the path to disaster. Evaluating sources for their relevance and credibility is just as essential when you’re guiding students through research of their own.

The research process

You may remember the experience of having to write “a four-page paper” on “any topic relevant to the class.” Narrowing down a broad idea, such as Naval Battles of World War II, into something more manageable, such as the four-day Battle of Midway, is an important first step. However, even that topic may be too broad because it was a major battle that helped turn the tide of the war in the Pacific.

Once you have narrowed your topic sufficiently, it is time to gather sources. Research librarians are an invaluable resource because they are trained to locate information efficiently. Library databases are also helpful, especially when journals provide abstracts. Since an abstract is simply a summary of an article, you can read it to determine whether the source is relevant to your topic.

Evaluating sources

Definitions

Primary source

A source created during the time period being studied or by someone directly involved in the events.

Secondary source

A source created after the fact that analyzes, interprets, or discusses primary sources.

Sources are usually sorted into two main kinds: primary and secondary. (Reference works such as encyclopedias are sometimes called tertiary sources.)

Primary sources include:

• Autobiographies
• Personal journals
• Letters
• Diaries
• Eyewitness reports
• Original works of literature, art, or music

Secondary sources are created after the fact. Examples include:

• Book reviews
• Biographies
• Literary criticism
• History books
• Critiques of other people’s work

Peer-reviewed journals are among the most credible sources because experts in the field review each article before publication. An article that reports a new study is a primary source for that research; an article that reviews other studies is a secondary source.

The most reliable online sources are generally:

• .edu websites (though personal or student pages hosted on a .edu domain may not be reliable)
• .gov websites
• Academic databases available through libraries

For other websites, it is best to verify information using two or three additional sources.

Detecting bias

If students are researching jungle animals, the information they find is likely to be objective and easy to verify because there is little controversy surrounding the topic. However, students who are researching historical events such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy or the causes of the American Civil War will quickly discover that there are conflicting narratives that can be radically different from one another.

When you judge a source’s credibility, check:

• Author expertise—does the author have relevant credentials or experience in the subject?
• Publisher’s purpose—is the publisher or funder trying to inform, persuade, or sell something?
• Publication date—is the information current, or could it be outdated, like the science books that misled Victor Frankenstein?
• Language—does the source use loaded or one-sided language, or does it present multiple perspectives fairly?

Comparing how different authors’ purposes and affiliations shape their accounts of the same event—across two or three sources—is one of the most reliable ways to spot bias.

Example: Weighing three sources

A student researching whether a four-day school week improves attendance finds a press release from a company that sells scheduling software to four-day districts, saying attendance “soared”; a state education department report comparing four-day and five-day districts over five years; and a blog post by a parent whose child’s school switched last year.

The state report is the most credible: its authors have the data and nothing to sell, and it compares two groups over several years. The press release comes from a company that profits from the schedule, and “soared” is loaded language. The blog post is honest but describes one family. Each can still be used, as long as the student presents it for what it is.

Practice question

A student writing a report on the health effects of sugary drinks wants the most objective source. Which source is likely to be the least biased?

a. A study funded by a soft-drink trade association
b. An advertisement for a sugar-free soda
c. A review of published studies in a peer-reviewed medical journal
d. A blog post by a fitness trainer who sells a diet plan
e. A speech by a lawmaker proposing a tax on soda

Correct answer:

Objective writing vs. subjective writing

Definitions

Objective writing

Writing that presents facts and information without personal opinions.

Subjective writing

Writing that reflects personal opinions, feelings, beliefs, or judgments.

To be objective is to be fact-based. Objective information remains the same regardless of who reports it. Subjective information varies from person to person.

For example, some people love eighty-five-degree weather, while others find it unbearably hot. Everyone can agree on the objective fact that the temperature is eighty-five degrees, but their subjective reactions may differ significantly.

Objective information can usually be verified by consulting multiple reliable sources, such as encyclopedias and peer-reviewed journals. Subjective information is more difficult to verify because it is based on opinions. Examples of subjective writing include:

• Political commentary
• Editorials and opinion columns
• Literary criticism
• Reviews of books, films, or products
• Speeches that argue for a position

Subjective writing often includes phrases such as I think or In my opinion and language that evaluates whether something is good or bad. Objective writing focuses on presenting facts.

Many documents mix the two. A policy paper, for example, may report objective data and then argue for a course of action. Check the facts it cites separately from the conclusion it draws.

Taking notes

Many researchers skip note-taking because their sources are online, and then struggle when it is time to write.

Taking notes is an essential part of the research process because it helps researchers:

• Understand the material
• Connect ideas across sources
• Develop their own interpretation of the topic

Note-taking guidelines

• Be organized. Create a separate page of notes for each source.
• Begin each page with the author, title, and citation information.
• Locate the source’s thesis statement before taking detailed notes.
• Place copied quotations in quotation marks and include page numbers.
• Label your own thoughts with (me) so they are not confused with source material.

Add quotations and citations as you draft rather than inserting them later; a more complete draft is easier to revise.

Citations

ETS does not name a citation style, but the two you are most likely to see are:

• Modern Language Association (MLA)
• American Psychological Association (APA)

MLA is commonly used in literature, cultural studies, philosophy, religion, theater, and communication. APA is commonly used in science, psychology, education, business, and engineering.

Each citation appears in two places:

1. In the text where information is quoted or paraphrased
2. In a Works Cited or References section at the end of the document

Watch out: When you use more than one source, cite each idea or quotation to its own source, paraphrases included, so the reader always knows which idea came from where.

In-text citations

MLA format

MLA in-text citations include the author’s last name and page number.

Example:

Harper Lee introduces Atticus’s first clients, the Haverfords, with irony: they insisted that saying their victim had it coming “was a good enough defense for anybody” (Lee 5).

Notice that there is no comma between the author’s name and the page number.

APA format

APA citations include the author’s name and publication year.

When the author’s name appears in the sentence, the year in parentheses follows the name directly:

Thompson’s (2003) article, “Religious Fluidity in Platonic Times,” references the first line of Plato’s Republic to illustrate religious change in ancient Greece.

When the author’s name does not appear in the sentence, the year appears with the author’s name in parentheses at the end:

“Religious Fluidity in Platonic Times” references the first line of Plato’s Republic to illustrate religious change in ancient Greece (Thompson, 2003).

Notice that APA places a comma between the author’s name and the year only when both appear inside the parentheses together.

End-of-text citations

Unlike in-text citations, end-of-text citations contain more complete publication information.

Every entry starts with the author and the title of the work. For books, it may then include:

• Publisher
• Publication date

For journal articles, this may include:

• Journal title
• Publication date
• Volume and issue number
• Page numbers
• Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

On the exam, you need to recognize the elements of a citation (author, title, publisher, date, and so on) and what each one tells you. You do not need to memorize every comma, but knowing the basic order of each format helps you spot the element a question asks about. Note that MLA titles use title case, while APA reference-list titles use sentence case, which capitalizes only the first word, the first word after a colon, and any proper nouns.

MLA book citations

Author	Title	Contributors	Publisher	Date
Iparraguirre, Sylvia.	Tierra del Fuego: An Historical Novel.	Translated by Hardie St. Martin,	Curbstone Press,	2000.

Note: The current edition of MLA (the 9th) leaves out the city of publication, which older editions required.

APA book citations

Author	Publication date	Title	Publisher
Wallace-Sanders, K.	(2008).	Mammy: A century of race, gender, and Southern memory.	University of Michigan Press.

MLA article citations

Author	Title	Journal	Volume and issue	Publication date	Pages
Tronto, Joan C.	“The ‘Nanny’ Question in Feminism.”	Hypatia,	vol. 17, no. 2,	2002,	pp. 34–51.

APA article citations

Author(s)	Publication date	Title	Journal	Volume(issue)	Pages	DOI
Du Bois, S. N., Yoder, W., Guy, A. A., Manser, K., & Ramos, S.	(2018).	Examining associations between state-level transgender policies and transgender health.	Transgender Health,	3(1),	220–224.	https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2018.0031

In APA reference lists, the journal name and the volume number are both italicized.

Reading a reference-list entry

Take the APA article entry above, piece by piece:

• Du Bois, S. N., … & Ramos, S.: the five authors, last name first
• (2018): the year of publication
• Examining associations … transgender health.: the article’s title, in sentence case
• Transgender Health: the journal
• 3(1): volume 3, issue 1
• 220–224: the article’s pages
• **https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2018.0031**: the DOI, a permanent link to the article

An article’s reference list is also a quick way to find more sources on the same topic.

Practice question

Tronto, Joan C. “The ‘Nanny’ Question in Feminism.” Hypatia, vol. 17, no. 2, 2002, pp. 34–51.

In the MLA citation above, what does Hypatia identify?

a. The author’s pen name
b. The publisher of a book
c. The journal in which the article appeared
d. The title of the article
e. The database where the article was found

Correct answer: