Exploratory research is done when you read online, getting the quickest summary of the topic at hand. Say you were researching the general topic of “obesity” in the United States. To explore the topic, you might start with a Google search, read the wikipedia page, and find other web entries to get yourself familiar with the topic. What’s the issue with obesity in the US? What arguments are being made about it? What other subjects are related to this topic? Health and fitness? Fast-food? What are you interested in researching further? In this kind of research, you’re looking for facts. [2] X Research source {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/3/38/Conduct-Research-Step-1Bullet1. jpg/v4-460px-Conduct-Research-Step-1Bullet1. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/3/38/Conduct-Research-Step-1Bullet1. jpg/aid2184644-v4-728px-Conduct-Research-Step-1Bullet1. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

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<br />\n</p></div>"} Supportive research occurs when you find those arguments in academic sources. What are academic sources? Anything that has been published, be it magazines, books, or the online database version of academic research journals. In this kind of research, you’re looking for more than facts. You’re looking for opinions and arguments of different sorts, related to your topic, that you can use to form an opinion and argument of your own. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/8/85/Conduct-Research-Step-1Bullet2. jpg/v4-460px-Conduct-Research-Step-1Bullet2. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/8/85/Conduct-Research-Step-1Bullet2. jpg/aid2184644-v4-728px-Conduct-Research-Step-1Bullet2. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

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The topic of obesity in the US might be too large. Look at your own community, state, or region. What are the statistics? How does it compare to other regions? What might account for this? Why? If you’re asking and answering these questions, you’re well on your way to a solid research topic. Issues of fact don’t make good research topics, because there’s nothing to research, there’s just a fact to look up. A good research question, for instance, wouldn’t be “How many people have died from obesity?” but “How does obesity kill?”

“What policies and attitudes resulted in the sudden rise in obesity in Indiana during the mid-90s?” would be an excellent research topic. It’s specific in terms of location, controversy, and topic. It’s something you can prove.

Government websites (ones that end in . gov) are good sources of data and definitions. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention site, for instance, has lots of good data about obesity in the US, how the disease affects specific populations, and a breakdown of obesity by region. Non-profits (websites that end in . org) can also be good sources of opinions. Generally, organizations will have an “agenda” and will present a variety of information that backs up their position. This can be good in aiding your research, but can also feature a fair amount of spin on the issues. Blogs and message boards can be good for getting a sense of people’s opinions and are good for coming up with ideas for questions you can ask yourself, but they’re not good sources of support. They’re not good for quotes, in other words.

Bring your research question and any research you’ve done to this point, as well as any particular assignments or project descriptions that you’ve got with you. If you’re doing research for a paper, bring the assignment sheet. Ask at the front desk for research librarians who are on-call for student consultations, or make an appointment yourself with a topic librarian in a specific field. These meetings tend to be very beneficial. You won’t waste time trying to negotiate the difficult library databases, and you’ll be sure the kind of information you find will be helpful for your project.

Books obviously make for good overviews of topics. If you’re researching obesity, you’ll be able to find long-range research studies, expert analysis, and opinions on books in the subject. Magazines and research journals will provide more specialized and technical topics, usually at a somewhat shorter length. They’re be lighter on opinion and heavier on dry statistics. Most university libraries use JSTOR or some variant of an academic database that houses research articles by topic. It can be a somewhat difficult database to negotiate, so talk to a librarian for help if you’re unsure.

“obesity” “obesity” “school lunch” “school lunch” “junk food in schools” “Indiana obesity” “Indiana school lunches” “weight epidemic” “obesity epidemic”

Read the abstract, if the source has one, or read the introduction to the source to make sure the topic is applicable. If it seems peripheral, put it back and forget about it. You’re not doing research to pad your bibliography, you’re doing it to support your argument and explore the topic. If you find a good source, skip forward to the end and read the summary. Much of the “meat” of technical research-based sources will be spent presenting their own research, whereas you’re mostly concerned with the findings and the argument itself. Often, you can get away with only reading a few paragraphs of a 15 or 20 page research report or book if you read smart. If the source provides excellent support, read the article more closely to get a sense of the argument and the evidence. Use the author’s own research to look for more sources.

Take note cards to the library and write down specific quotes on one side of the card and the bibliographical information (Title, author, publication info, and URL if applicable) on the other side of the card.

Some students think more sources makes a research paper better. It doesn’t. Ideally, you want a balance of “their” voice–meaning the research–and your voice, your argument. A good research project uses the research to form and support an argument, not to act like a ventriloquist dummy, repeating information you read at length.

Be conscious of bias. Aim for a somewhat distributed mix of men and women, of different ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, and places of birth.

If you’re interested in food habits and the availability of junk food in cafeterias, consider posting up beside the lunch line a few days a week and counting the number of students who forego the full lunches in favor of deserts, sodas, or candy. Keep a running tally. Interviews might be good if you have access to experts or other parties involved directly in the topic you’re researching. If you want to learn about school lunches, talk to the lunch workers, the principal of your school, or other people who may be involved. Let them know what you’re researching and explain the project before talking to them.

If your hypothesis about the research ends up being wrong, don’t fret. This in and of itself can be a good source of information to present in a project, displaying your commitment to finding out “the truth” of the topic at hand.

A bad thesis statement might be “Schools need to do more to avoid obesity. " This is vague and difficult to prove. What schools? What do they need to do? “Adams High School could significantly drop the obesity rate in the student body and even the region by removing the vending machines and offering a diversity of healthy choices” does a lot more to present an argument and give you something to prove.

Paraphrase to translate a source into your own words. These should always be attributed, but not quoted, and are most effective when you need to briefly summarize a position or argument. You’ve still given credit to the author, so we know the observation isn’t your own. In other words, you might write: According to Adams, schools that feature vending machines in the lunch rooms experience an increase in obesity rates. Quote any language directly sourced from the article. This is effectively used when there’s something in the wording of the source that you want to emphasize or highlight as part of your research: According to Adams, “The inclusion of vending machines markedly increases the junk food desires of students in those schools, resulting in a chain reaction that rewards their bad choices. " Learn to recognize and avoid plagiarism. It can happen accidentally, so you need to learn to recognize the ways in which it occurs and avoid it.

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