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ATLS 4000/4010: Research Methods and Professional Practice Capstone: Get Started

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Elizabeth Novosel

Building Research Strategies

Today we are going to talk about building search strategies based on your Capstone Venn Diagram:

Capstone Venn Diagram with circles for topic, medium and audience

 

Searching is Exploration

Sometimes, you need to do research to figure out what you are going to research. You may need to try out a number of search strategies to explore what information is available / not available, and you may find that you need or want to adjust your topic / medium / audience.

Cyclical Diagram to pick topic, test topic by search, find, read sources, adjust topic

Every project is different, but some questions to consider as you try out search strategies:

  • Is my topic / medium / audience too broad? Too narrow?
    • Do I need to brainstorm / research more specific aspects of my topic / medium / audience?
    • Do I need to brainstorm / research broader or related aspects of my topic / medium / audience?
  • Do I want to research all of the parts of my venn diagram together, or do I want to research the parts separately or in pairs?