Skip to Main Content

English 103- Prof. Bailey Hofmann

Research Process

Research Process 

  1. Choose a topic - For this class, you have your topic. 
  2. Create a keyword list - Think about your topic, what do you already know? Brainstorm keywords, synonyms, and related terms. you can use ChatGPT for this task. 
    • Topic: College students and cost of higher education
    • Related terms:
      Debt; loans; bad credit;
      tuition; fees; textbooks;
      college students; professors; parents;
      United States; California; Los Angeles
  3. Find background information - Use dictionaries, print or online encylopedias. Read overviews. You can use ChatGPT for this task, but remember to check the facts and look for misinformation. 
  4. Refine your topic - Use additional terms that you learned from your initial search. Use Boolean (And; OR; Not) to connect your keywords.
    • College students AND cost AND higher education 
  5. Search sources -  Use the library OneSearch or individual databases for your search.
  6. Evaluate all your sources - Use a method of evaluating all of your sources, especially the non-academic and website sources
  7. Avoid plagiarism and cite all of your sources - Keep track of all of your sources. Take notes, highlight, etc. and be sure to properly cite all of your sources in MLA style.