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Research 101

The steps of the research process & how to apply them.

Step 1: Develop a Topic

What Are You Going to Research?

The following pages will help you select a research topic, refine it, and find background information to get you on a good footing for your project.

You will not necessarily perform these steps in the order presented. For example, you may already have a good research question in mind before you gather background information, or you may need background information before you can formulate a question. Either way, you should at some point perform all the steps listed here.

Figure 1
How to Choose a Thesis Topic

Note. From How to Choose a Thesis Topic, by C. Tisdell, , YouTube (https://youtu.be/v71302KBsyc). Copyright by Chris Tisdell.

Research Librarian