When you have a lot of online research to do, it can be daunting and overwhelming. It’s so easy to get lost in a never-ending cycle of endless links and articles, which can quickly consume precious time. That’s why it’s essential to go into your research with a plan.
Knowing what information you need, where to look for it, and setting up strategies to help you stay focused can make the entire process much easier. Thankfully, there are multiple ways to make online research simpler and more efficient.
Before you start your next project that calls for online research, keep the following tips in mind.
1. Be Clear about the Purpose of Your Online Research
Before you begin your research, take time to think about the purpose of your research and the questions you are trying to answer. Write down what questions you want to answer and which keywords you will use for your research. Be as specific as possible. If you start your search too broadly, you’ll get too many results that aren’t even closely related to what you’re looking for.
Being clear about your research questions also helps you make more informed decisions when selecting sources.
2. Have a Plan for Your Research
Most of us wouldn’t start on a road trip without knowing which destinations we wanted to stop at along the way. It would be too easy to get lost or to lose precious time on our trip. Just like we plan our trips to make the best use of our vacation time, it’s important to plan our online research efforts to make the most of the time we have.
You’ll want to break your online research down into manageable steps so that you can stay organized and on task. Then, schedule time to complete your research. Do you need just a few articles, or will you need many articles and books that you will then check out of the library? Do you need to interview anyone? Specify all the tasks you need to complete so you can stay focused.
Be clear about what “done” looks like for your research efforts. Failure to do this can result in over-researching your topic.
3. Use the Right Search Engine for Your Needs
Depending upon what sort of research you’re conducting, different search engines may better suit your needs. For instance, if you’re looking for scholarly articles in academic journals, you may find that Google Scholar does the job. If you have access to library databases, those may be the best fit for your search query.
If you’re searching for more general information, Google or Yahoo might work better. You’ll also want to be familiar with each search engine’s special features that will help you to narrow your search to find the specific information you’re looking for.
4. Make Sure Your Sources Are Reliable
With the large quantities of misinformation out there, you’ll need to make sure that your sources are reliable. When looking for reliable sources, it is important to make sure that the information you are getting is accurate and up-to-date.
You’ll want to make sure that the publication is up to date and has the latest research available – this is doubly true for anything in science-related fields. Then you want to check for the credentials of the authors to ensure that the sources are indeed authorities in their fields.
Additionally, consider cross-referencing information from different sources to make sure that the information you are finding is accurate. Also, make sure to avoid websites that are not credible or have biased information. One way to do this is by asking yourself, “What is the purpose of this content? Why was it created?”
5. Take Notes and Keep Track of Sources
Once you’re sure the materials you’ve found are reliable, you’ll want to have a system for taking and making notes and tracking your sources. It’s much easier to do this as you go. Keeping track of the sources you find can be tedious, but it is essential for accuracy and credibility. It also helps you save time when you write your paper or article.
Be sure to note what is a direct quote, what is a paraphrase, and what is a new thought or question you’ve developed when you take notes. When it comes to tracking your sources, you’ll need to make note of the author’s name, the title of the article, the date of publication, and the web address of the source. It’s also helpful to record the date you accessed the information.
6. Keep Your Online Research Organized
It’s important to keep your research organized. Having a preliminary bibliography and annotated outline to work from can help you keep track of what you’ve done and what you still need to do. You’ll also need a system for organizing your notes once you’ve taken them or made them and for tracking all of your sources. You can have physical copies and keep documents in folders, or you can use an app.
7. Consider an App to Make Organizing Your Online Research Easier
There are many great apps available to help make organizing research easier. I use Zotero, Evernote, and Notion for organizing my research. There are many other apps as well – EndNote, Obsidian, Roam Research, Craft, and more. Find what works for you, and use it consistently.
8. Analyze Your Results
Once you have collected your research, take time to analyze the results and make sure that you are using reliable sources. Check your sources against your outline to make sure that you’ve got the information you need.
Look for patterns and trends in the data and consider different ways to interpret your findings. This will help you draw meaningful conclusions and create a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.
9. Double-Check Your Work
As you go along make double sure you’ve noted down all source material accurately and that quotes are accurate. Be sure to note the context the quote appeared in if that’s relevant. Some things taken out of their full context can imply that the author of the work said something they did not.
Once you’ve finished your research, go through it one more time. Be sure to consider any potential biases or limitations in your research. If you find one source that contradicts the rest of the sources, re-evaluate it to see whether it is indeed reliable after all.
10. Update Your Research
Finally, if there will be a gap in time between finishing research and writing, make sure to keep updated on your topics. For large projects like theses, books, and dissertations, new research may come out during the writing process. Be sure to sign up for research alerts for new publications so that you’re not caught off guard if something contradicts the research you’ve already completed.
Online Research Doesn’t Have to Be Overwhelming
While research online can snowball out of control quickly, it doesn’t have to be a daunting process. Instead, by following the above tips, you can make it a much more manageable task. If you’d like to learn more about how to organize your research or set up your note-taking apps, contact me.
Comment below with your favorite research organization or notetaking app.
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