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Resource Guide for Academic Mentors for Athletes: Research Strategies

Create a Research Strategy:

  • Make a timetable
  • Develop a preliminary outline
  • Refine the scope of your topic–narrow it to fit your assignment and your preliminary answers to your research question(s)
  • List possible sources of information
  • Prioritize your research, i.e., consider which sources to consider first, second, etc.

Research Paper Strategy: Nine Steps

Step 1. Select a subject

  • Determine what interests you
  • Understand the limits/requirements of your assignment
  • Understand the limits of your resources
  • Consult the library’s catalog and databases

Step 2. Narrow the subject into a topic

Step 3. State the objective

  • A question to be answered or argued
  • A thesis statement

Step 4. Write a preliminary bibliography

  • Create a list of materials you plan to examine
  • Consult the library’s catalog and databases
  • Check the Internet (but not as your first source)
  • Evaluate what you find

Step 5. Prepare a a plan for reading the materials

  • Create a working outline or concept map

Step 6. Take notes

  • Note cards listing the important ideas discovered in research
  • Include source information

Step 7. Outline the paper

  • introduction, body, conclusion

Step 8. Write the draft

  • Write the introduction
    • present the idea to be discussed
    • state the thesis
  • Write the body
    • Develop your main ideas and support them with details
  • Write the conclusion
    • Summarize your main points...restate your thesis
  • Revise your draft(s)
    • Check content and organization
    • Check transitions

Step 9. Prepare the final paper

  • Document sources in the required format (e.g. MLA, APA)

*Adapted from Mesa College Library, "The Research Paper Made Easy"