Tools/ handouts to help you through the research process

Topic Development: Getting Started With Your Research
This handout will guide you through developing your topic with a specific focus of your research interest. You will learn how to use background sources of information to construct and develop an understanding of the meaning of words in your topic, write your topic as a research question, and use topical terms to search information sources to help you understand your topic better.  - Download the guide here

 

Finding Evidence to Support Your Claims
Before you start your research, consider what evidence you’ll need to support your claims and think about how to find it. This handout does exactly that - it will guide you through identifying the issues pertaining to your research topic, identifying and understanding the different claims and arguments, and the kind of evidence thereof in support of and against your research topic. You will dive into understanding the scholars who would research your topic and how to identify them through exploring the published information. Download guide here

 

Introduction to University Research
The introduction to university research handout is the right tool for all first-year undergraduate students. The tool will guide undergraduate students in developing a research plan, guide them through developing an understanding of the background research sources, creating a search strategy, finding and evaluating sources, and finally how to paraphrase, and cite sources. The library staff is available to offer support in this area.  Download guide here

 

Reading Research: Skim with Purpose
This tool is the best for guiding students to determine if the article is relevant to your research needs. The guide explains the different parts of the article and what information to find there and how to use it. Download guide here

 

Reading & Understanding Research
This tool is adapted from "How to read and understand a scientific paper: a guide for non-scientists by J. Raff". The tool works as a guiding principle for students to learn how to read, write and identify keywords from a source. Remember - you can’t understand the paper if you don’t understand the vocabulary. Download guide here

 

Reading Research: Article Anatomy
This is a guide to understanding the components of a research article. The guide helps students to appreciate the relevance of each part of the article and how that is used to guide reading a research/scholarly paper/ piece. The student will learn to take a little time to get the best from research materials. Download guide here

 

Do Your Sources Pass the CRAAP Test?
CRAAP is Currency, Relevance, Accuracy, Authority, and Purpose. This tool is very important in the research journey of the students. Students will gain an understanding of how to evaluate information sources according to five criteria - CRAAP. Download guide here