WRT 002-039: Research and Argument

The purpose of this subject guide is to support you as you learn the skills of research and argument. This guide will provide training and  information about:

• The research process and what qualities to look for in a scholarly source (this page)
• How to evaluate the sources that you find (Evaluating Sources page)
• Where to find scholarly sources (Finding Sources page)
• How to cite (Citing Sources page)

You will get the most out of this guide if you navigate through all the pages, but feel free to jump to a specific page if you are in a hurry. If you need help with the writing process, the following resources can help you:

Research can be fun and exciting as you expand your knowledge and learn new things, but it can also be frustrating and messy. The Research Process is a way to manage your research so that it does not overwhelm you. Important points to remember are:

• The research process is iterative, not linear! For example, as you progress in your research, your topic may change or narrow in scope.
• Writing is a part of the process and is usually the deliverable, but it is also an important tool to use when brainstorming a topic and when synthesizing the resources you have found.

Sources are created with specific purposes in mind. For example, reference material has been created to provide basic facts and overviews of topics. Think about what your research need is and then search for the type of resource that would have been created to fill that need.

Information Timeline Graphic by adstarkel. Used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

When an event first happens, there is not a lot of information about it because information takes time to create. As your event recedes into the past, there has been time for more accurate and in-depth information to have been created. If you are not finding information on your event, consider where your event is in this timeline. Has there been enough time for a scholarly article to have been written about your event?