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10: Effective Research

  • Page ID
    25767
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    • 10.1: Why is Information Literacy Important?
      Information literacy is essential when engaging in the research process because one needs to know where to find appropriate information on a topic, how to determine what is useful and what is not, how to decide whether an author is qualified to speak about particular topics, and then what to do with the information found. This section addresses these areas and more to instruct students in their academic research. endeavors.
    • 10.2: Finding Sources
      Once a student identifies a topic to research, the question then becomes "Where do I begin?". This section discusses stages of the research process. Furthermore, information about how to find sources about a topic, which sources would be more useful than others, and then what to do once appropriate sources are found are addressed in this section as well.
    • 10.3: Finding Quality Texts
      This section discusses how students can determine whether a source they have found in the research process is of quality. Furthermore, students will receive explanations about how to identify credibility, reliability, authority, accuracy, and purpose/point of view. There are also further discussions in this section about finding sources on the Web and how to know which ones are "better" than others.
    • 10.4: Source Analysis
      This section expands on the previous section about quality texts. Here, students are reminded of the C.R.A.A.P. method and are instructed on how to further analyze sources found during the research process.
    • 10.5: Critiquing a Text
      This section provides students with ideas and questions necessary for critiquing a text. There are essential questions to ask during this process in order to determine whether the source/text can pass the C.R.A.A.P. test and is an acceptable source to use for research purposes.
    • 10.6: Learning About Plagiarism and Guidelines for Using Information
      This is a vital section to the research process because students must know when something is plagiarized, whether intentionally or unintentionally. This section provides students with tips and strategies for avoiding plagiarism and how to appropriately use information found during the research process.
    • 10.7: Crediting and Citing Your Sources
      This section discusses the importance of crediting and citing sources of information found during the research process. Additionally, students will gain knowledge as to how to do this appropriately. There are ample explanations and examples in this section for students to understand and practice this necessity.
    • 10.8: Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Style
      This section assists students in knowing what to include in a properly formatted MLA paper and Works Cited page. There are explanations and exercises within to help students grasp the formalities and characteristics of an MLA formatted document.

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    10: Effective Research is shared under a CC BY-NC-ND license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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