A Normal Persons Guide to Doing Research
As a college student, I’ve gotten to the point where I can research and write papers in my sleep. The Problem is, graduation is fast approaching and once I leave, I won’t have the access to all the resources I currently have. Let’s be honest, academic journals are far too expensive for the average person to subscribe to, so how does this person keep up with doing research? Here is a quick guide to help you non-academics find the reliable info you need and want.
1. Forget what you think you know about “research”
So many people think that in order to research, you can only find information through academic journals. In reality, there are hundreds of thousands of different ways to research. You have books, websites, magazines, newspapers, word-of-mouth, guest speaker events, movies/documentaries, among others. I think the first big step is realizing that if you only look at journal articles, you really are limiting yourself and breadth of knowledge you can uncover.
2. Finding reliable sources
Sure you have basically a gazillion different sources to get information from but how do you separate the quacks from the scholars? Well the first step is to always go with your gut. If you find a website and you just have that gut feeling that it is not legitimate, you’re probably right. Beyond your gut, there are other criteria you can use as well. Write.com lists and explains some of the most common criteria for evaluating sources (which you’d likely learn in a class): Authority, accuracy, content, relevance, objectivity, audience, writing style and currency. And as much as it is probably great to remember these, chances are you have already forgotten them. So instead, I’ve turned these criteria into a much simpler and easier to remember format that everyone already knows; who, what, where, when, why, and how. It’s pretty easy, just think about who the author is, what the article is trying to say, where the intention of the article is, when it was published, why it was published, and how informative and unbiased is it? This way, no matter who you are, you can get the information you want, and trust that it is reliable.
3. Get Searching
If you are anything like me, the real world outside of college seems a little terrifying. At the same time, it’s going to be here before I know it, and after writing essays and doing research for so long, I’m sure there will be a time when I miss it. By expanding my mind of what can be a source and how to do research, I’ll be able to pick up right where I left off, and hopefully you can too!
