4.3: Searching as Strategic Exploration
- Page ID
- 324667
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Research is often a multi-stage process that involves a fair bit of exploration. It's rare that you'll find the perfect sources of information right away. You will often need to experiment, trying out different combinations of keywords and searching in different locations. This process can be time consuming, but having a good plan in place will help you to research efficiently!
Scope and Need
One of the first things you should do is identify the scope and need of your research. Scope refers to the limits within which your research is focused. It helps identify how narrow your topic needs to be including: the time frame of research, the intended population for study, and geographical areas that will be included. Once you understand the scope of your research, you can begin identifying your information need.
Information needs are directly tied into your research questions. By writing these questions, you identify the types of information you need to find.
Identifying Relevant Authors
The credibility and reliability of an information source. Academic research often emphasizes the importance of finding "authoritative" sources.
Once you know the types of research information you need you can identify authors relevant to your research. There are four types of authors to consider:
- Popular: Popular authors include people who generally lack expertise or research methodology to create authoritative sources in your topic. These are often found in websites, videos, blogs, and many newspaper articles.
- Government: Government publications are created by government agencies. These sources are often found within websites, raw data sets, and reports. Government publications are often authoritative, but political shifts can sometimes lead to censorship.
- Professional: Professional publications include journals, magazines, and websites created by professional associations related to your topic. They can be authoritative sources of information but often do not use stringent academic research practices.
- Scholarly: Scholarly publications include journal articles and books created by experts in your topic. These are among the authoritative sources most commonly used in academic research.
Planning Your Research
By planning out your research you can save time and find better sources of information. The following steps will help you to effectively explore the world of research!
- Identify your research questions.
- Identify essential and optional search keywords.
- Identify your intended audience.
- Are you writing for a grade and need to consider the requirements of your assignment?
- Are you writing for fellow students or for a class presentation?
- Are you writing for scholarly publication and need to consider the journal's requirements?
- Review your information needs, scope, and requirements. Select the research methods you will use.
- How much do you already know about your topic? What background information do you need to find?
- Which types of information authors will be most useful to your research?
- Where should you search to most reliably find that information?
- What time-frame do you have to conduct your research?
- Do you need to conduct your own original research?
- If so, will you use quantitative or qualitative methods?
Avoiding Confirmation Bias
The tendency to look for, favor, or recall information that confirms or supports a person's prior beliefs or values.
Avoiding confirmation bias is important in order to remain unbiased as you conduct your research. You can use the following practices to avoid confirmation bias:
- Question what you know or believe about the topic. Ask yourself if you could be wrong and look for information that disagrees with your viewpoint.
- When researching a topic, try to find information that supports different perspectives on the topic.
- Focus on finding reliable, authoritative sources of information. Avoid relying on biased and opinionated sources.
- Take time to weigh evidence discovered through your research. Do not rush to make conclusions.