Research Process

You've just been assigned a research paper. Where do you start?

A research project can generally be broken down into five steps, each of which has a number of smaller steps or components: 

1. Develop a Topic
2. Find Information
3. Evaluate Information
4. Use Information
5. Avoid Plagiarism by Citing Sources

You'll find information about each of these steps on this guide, broken down into smaller steps or skills. You'll go through the steps more or less in this order, but the research process is not a one-way street! You may find yourself returning to previous steps at any point in the research process - and that's okay! In fact, it's often the sign of a thoughtful and thorough research project.