Step 4: Gathering Information Many people feel interested and challenged at this stage. The agonizing part of choosing what to research is over and the task of finding the specific information you need is more like solving a puzzle or going on a treasure hunt. If any part of this process is going to be fun, this is the part. Mini Writing Lesson Drop words and replace or rearrange others to make the following sentences more concise. Conciseness! As a matter of fact, in the popular imagination, motor scooters are the very essence of European style. Possible answer: Motor scooters are the essence of European style. Conciseness! Today, over one million scooters are purchased by people in Europe each year, compared with a number that amounts to only 70,000 buyers in the United States. Possible answer: Europeans purchase one million scooters each year, compared to Americans who purchase 70,000. Conciseness! In fact, Europeans have long used fuel- efficient, clean-running scooters for the purpose of getting around in a manner that is relatively easy in congested cities. Possible answer: Europeans use fuel- efficient scooters to get around in congested cities. Information Search Your information search at this stage is focused and specific, and you're keeping a careful record of what you find. Instead of the square mile of land to explore, you've roped off half an acre. You're walking it systematically, bending down now and then to pick up something and chuck it in your backpack, then recording in your notebook what you found and where you found it. What is a Source? A source is any form of information that provides ideas, examples, information, or evidence: books, articles, Web pages, Internet files, CD- ROMs, videos, lectures, and other types of communication. What is a Source? A primary source is original work such as firsthand reports or experiments, observations, or other research projects; field research you carry out yourself; and documents like letters, diaries, novels, poems, short stories, autobiographies, and journals. When you use a primary source, no on comes between you and the material. What is a Source? A secondary source reports, describes, comments on, or analyzes someone elses work. This information comes to you secondhand. That is, someone other than the primary source relays the information, adding a layer between you and the original material. How do I Evaluate a Source? Finding a source is only part of your effort. Your next step is to evaluate the quality of each source you find. Decide whether the information in the source relates to your topic in more than a vague, general sense. Evaluate each source with a cold, critical eye. You need to evaluate Web sources particularly for two reasons: (1) anyone can post anything, so some sources may be plagiarized, (2) many sources have been written by individuals posing as experts and giving false or misleading information. Evaluating Sources Is the source authoritative? Is the author an expert? Is the source current? Does the source support its information sufficiently? Is the authors tone balanced? Reliable sites are From educational, non-for-profit, or government organizations. From expert authors. From reliable print sources. Well supported with evidence and presented in a balanced, unbiased fashion. Current or recently updated. Questionable sites are From commercial organizations advertising to sell a product (.com); Web sites that are advertisements or personal pages; junk mail. From anonymous authors or authors without identifiable credentials. Second-hand excerpts and quotations. Unsupported or biased. Old or from a Web site that hasnt been updated in a year or more. How do I Evaluate a Source? An important question to ask about any Web site is why the information exists and why it was put on the Internet. Be sure to question the motives of the sites author, especially if you are being asked to take a specific action. Most sites contain material that will help you assess their credibility (bibliography, links to the author or editor) Sites that do not contain such verifying information should be discarded, however useful they may seem. Finding, Collecting, and Recording This is the step most people think of when they think of "library research." It's a hunt for information in any available form (book, periodical, CD, video, internet) which is pertinent to your chosen focus. Once you know the focus of your research, there are lots of tools and strategies to help you find and collect the information you need. Finding, Collecting, and Recording Your information search should be focused and specific, but pay careful attention to serendipity (finding, by chance, valuable things you weren't even looking for). Keep your mind open to continue learning about your focused topic. Now is the time to carefully record your sources in the MLA bibliographic format. Every piece of information you collect should have bibliographic information written down before you leave the library. You should also pay attention to the quality of the information you find, especially if you're using information you find on the internet. Think About Clarifying or Refining Your Focus As you gather information about your focused topic, you may find new information which prompts you to refine, clarify, extend or narrow your focus. Stay flexible and adjust your information search to account for the changes, widening or narrowing your search, or heading down a slightly different path to follow a new lead. Start Organizing Your Notes Start organizing your notes into logical groups. You may notice a gap in your research, or a more heavy weighting to one aspect of the subject than what you had intended. Starting to organize as you gather information can save an extra trip to the library. It's better to find the gap now instead of the night before your paper is due (obviously!). Think About What Your Thesis Statement Will Be The thesis statement is the main point of your paper. The type of thesis statement you'll be making depends a lot on what type of paper you're writinga report, an issue analysis, an advocacy paper or another type. As you gather specific information and refine your focus, intentionally look for a main point to your findings. Sometimes, a thesis emerges very obviously from the material, and other times you may struggle to bring together the parts into a sensible whole. The tricky part is knowing when to stop gathering informationwhen do you have enough, and of the right kind? Seeking a main point as you research will help you know when you're done.