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HON: Honors College Program: College Level Research

This guide was created to support undergraduates doing research through the Honors College program.

Research in College

Research for your college classes may radically differ from what you have done in the past. Research at the college level is a skill, and just like any other skill, the more you do it and the more practice you get, the better and easier it will be. Research in your college classes may be different than what you are used to in any or all of the following ways:

  1. You will be expected to do more research in college.
  2. The expectations for your papers and for your research, in general, will be higher.
  3. You will be expected to use scholarly sources for many of your classes; Wikipedia and random websites will no longer be acceptable resources for your research.
  4. You will be expected to form your own conclusions using evidence from your research.
  5. You will be expected to be more independent in your research.
  6. You may be used to citing your sources using only MLA; however, in your college classes, you will be expected to use various citation formats depending on the discipline you are in.

Below are some links to other guides that may help you get started.

Scholarly Works and Peer-Review

When doing research at the college level, you will usually be expected to use scholarly, peer-reviewed sources. What does that mean?

First, know that scholarly and peer-reviewed usually go hand-in-hand. 

Scholarly Articles

  • Are written by experts, and always have an author listed, they are never anonymous
  • The author(s) credentials are listed, such as what position the author holds and where they are employed.
  • References are listed
  • Usually, there is an abstract, or summary of the research in the article
  • There are very few or no ads

Peer-Reviewed Articles

  • Found in scholarly/academic journals
  • Written by experts AND reviewed by other experts in the same field

There are articles in scholarly journals that are NOT peer-reviewed. Some examples are opinion pieces and editorials. These are often written by experts in the field but have not gone through peer-review.

 

 

Evaluating Web Information

When looking at a website, evaluate it using criteria such as:

Purpose & Audience

  • Who is the site designed for?
  • Is the site scholarly or popular?
  • Are there advertisements on the site?
  • What is the overall purpose of the site?

Authority & Credibility

  • Can the author of the site be identified?
  • What are the author's qualifications?
  • Is the site affiliated with a particular organization?
  • What is the domain of the site (.edu, .gov, .org, .com)? 
  • Do you think the author has expertise on the subject?

Accuracy & Reliability

  • Does the site appear to be well-researched?
  • Are there references to the sources of informations supporting the site's statements or viewpoints?
  • Does the site include grammatical, spelling, or typographical errors?
  • How does the site compare to library resources available on the topic?

Currency & Timeliness

  • When was this information published?
  • Does the page indicate when it was most recently updated?
  • Are there dead links on the page?

Objectivity or Bias

  • Does the site present many opinions or just one?
  • Can you tell if the site presents mostly opinions or facts?
  • Can you identify any bias in the information presented?
  • Is the site sponsored by a company or organization?
  • If there are advertisements, are they easy to distinguish from the informational content?

Structure & Navigation

  • Is the site well organized?
  • Is it easy to navigate between different pages on the site?
  • Does the site offer a search box?

Finally, ask yourself these questions:

  • Is this site a reliable, well-documented information source provided by a reputable author or organization?
  • Would this be a good source of information for my assignment?