Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

Definition
A research problem is the main organizing principle guiding the analysis of your paper. The
problem under investigation offers us an occasion for writing and a focus  that governs what we
want to say. It represents the core subject matter of scholarly communication, and the means
by which we arrive at other topics of conversations and the discovery of new knowledge and
understanding.

Alvesson, Mats and Jörgen Sandberg. Constructing Research Questions: Doing Interesting Research. London: Sage,
2013;  Chapter 1: Research and the Research Problem. Nicholas  Walliman. Your Research Project:
Designing and Planning Your Work. 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2011.

Choosing a Research Problem / How to Begin

Do not assume that identifying a research problem to investigate will be a quick and easy task!
You should be thinking about it at the start of the course. There are generally three ways
you are asked to write about a research problem: 1) your professor provides you with a
general topic from which you study a particular aspect; 2) your professor provides you with a
list of possible topics to study and you choose a topic from that list; or, 3) your professor leaves
it up to you to choose a topic and you only have to obtain permission to write about it before
beginning your investigation. Here are some strategies for getting started for each scenario.

I.  How To Begin:  You are given the topic to write about

Step 1 : Identify concepts and terms that make up the topic statement . For example,
your professor wants the class to focus on the following research problem: “Is the European
Union a credible security actor with the capacity to contribute to confronting global terrorism?"
The main concepts is this problem are: European Union, security, global terrorism, credibility
[hint: focus on identifying proper nouns, nouns or noun phrases, and action verbs in the
assignment description].

Step 2 : Review related literature to help refine how you will approach examining the
topic and finding a way to analyze it. You can begin by doing any or all of the following:
reading through background information from materials listed in your course syllabus; searching
the USC Libraries Catalog  to find a recent book on the topic and, if appropriate, more
specialized works about the topic; conducting a preliminary review of the research literature
using multidisciplinary databases such as ProQuest  or subject-specific databases from the "By
Subject Area " drop down menu located above the list of databases.

Choose the advanced search option in the database and enter into each search box the main
concept terms you developed in Step 1. Also consider using their synonyms to retrieve
additional relevant records. This will help you refine and frame the scope of the research
problem. You will likely need to do this several times before you can finalize how to approach
writing about the topic.

NOTE: Always review the references from your most relevant research results cited by the
authors in footnotes, endnotes, or a bibliography to locate related research on your topic. This
is a good strategy for identifying important prior research about the topic because titles that are
repeatedly cited indicate their significance in laying a foundation for understanding the problem.
However, if you’re having trouble at this point locating relevant research literature,  ask a
librarian for help!

ANOTHER NOTE:  If you find an article from a database that's particularly helpful, paste it
into Google Scholar , placing the title of the article in quotes. If the article record appears, look
for a "cited by" reference followed by a number [e.g., cited by 37] just below the record. This
link indicates how many times other scholars have subsequently cited that article in their own
research since it was first published. This is an effective strategy for identifying more current,
related research on your topic. Finding additional cited by references from your original list of
cited by references helps you navigate through the literature and, by so doing, understand the
evolution of thought around a particular research problem.

Step 3 : Since social science research papers are generally designed to encourage you to
develop your own ideas and arguments, look for sources that can help broaden, modify, or
strengthen your initial thoughts and arguments. For example, if you decide to argue that
the European Union is ill prepared to take on responsibilities for broader global security because
of the debt crisis in many EU countries, then focus on identifying sources that support as well
as  refute this position. From the advanced search option in ProQuest , a sample search would
use "European Union" in one search box, "global security" in the second search box, and adding
a third search box to include "debt crisis."

There are least four appropriate roles your related literature plays in helping you
formulate how to begin your analysis:

 Sources of criticism -- frequently, you'll find yourself reading materials that are relevant
to your chosen topic, but you disagree with the author's position. Therefore, one way that
you can use a source is to describe the counter-argument, provide evidence from your own
review of the literature as to why the prevailing argument is unsatisfactory, and to discuss
how your approach is more appropriate based upon your interpretation of the evidence.
Sources of new ideas -- while a general goal in writing college research papers in the

social sciences is to examine a research problem with some basic idea of what position you'd
like to take and on what basis you'd like to defend your position, it is certainly acceptable
[and often encouraged] to read the literature and extend, modify, and refine your own
position in light of the ideas proposed by others. Just make sure that you cite the sources !
 Sources for historical context  -- another role your related literature plays in formulating
how to begin your analysis is to place issues and events in proper historical context. This can
help to demonstrate familiarity with developments in relevant scholarship about your topic,
provide a means of comparing historical versus contemporary issues and events, and
identifying key people, places, and events that had an important role related to the research
problem. Given its archival journal coverage, a good multidisciplnary database to use in this
case is JSTOR .
Sources of interdisciplinary insight  -- an advantage of using databases like ProQuest  to

begin exploring your topic is that it covers publications from a variety of different disciplines.
Another way to formulate how to study the topic is to look at it from different disciplinary
perspectives. If the topic concerns immigration reform, for example, ask yourself, how do
studies from sociological journals found by searching ProQuest vary in their analysis from
those in political science journals. A goal in reviewing related literature is to provide a means
of approaching a topic from multiple perspectives rather than the perspective offered from
just one discipline.
NOTE: Remember to keep careful notes at every stage or utilize a citation management system
like EndNotes or RefWorks . You may think you'll remember what you have searched and where
you found things, but it’s easy to forget or get confused. Most databases have a search history
feature that allows you to go back and see what searches you conducted previously as long as
you haven't closed your session. If you start over, that history could be deleted.
Step 4 : Assuming you have done an effective job of synthesizing and thinking about the results
of your initial search for related literature, you're ready to prepare a detailed outline for your
paper  that lays the foundation for a more in-depth and focused review of relevant research
literature [after consulting with a librarian, if needed!]. How will you know you haven't done an
effective job of synthesizing and thinking about the results of our initial search for related
literature? A good indication is that you start composing the outline and gaps appear in how you
want to approach the study. This indicates the need to gather further background information
and analysis about the research problem.

II.  How To Begin:  You are provided a list of possible topics to choose from

Step 1 : I know what you’re thinking--you look at the list and think, which topic from this list
my professor has given me will be the easiest to find the most information on? An effective
instructor should never include a topic that is so obscure or complex that no research is
available to examine and from which to design an effective study. Instead of searching for the
path of least resistance, choose a topic that you find interesting in some way, or that is
controversial and that you have a strong opinion about, or has some personal meaning for you.
You're going to be working on your topic for quite some time, therefore, choose one that you
find interesting and engaging or that motivates you to take a position. Embrace the opportunity
to learn something new!

Once you’ve settled on a topic of interest from the list, follow Steps 1 - 4 listed above
to further develop it into a research paper.

NOTE: It’s ok to review related literature to help refine how you will approach analyzing a topic,
and then discover that the topic isn’t all that interesting to you. In that case, you can choose
another from the list. Just don’t wait too long to make a switch and, of course, be sure to
inform your professor that you are changing your topic.

III.  How To Begin:  Your professor leaves it up to you to choose a topic

Step 1 : Under this scenario, the key process is turning an idea or general thought into a topic
that can be configured into a research problem. When given an assignment where you choose
the research topic, don't begin by thinking about what to write about, but rather, ask yourself
the question, "What do I want to understand or learn about?" Treat an open-ended research
assignment as an opportunity to gain new knowledge about something that's new or exciting to
you related to the overall subject of the course.

Step 2 : If you lack ideas, or wish to gain focus, try any or all of the following strategies:

 Review your course readings, particularly the suggested readings, for topic ideas. Don't
just review what you've already read but jump ahead in the syllabus to readings that have
not been covered yet.
Search the USC Libraries Catalog  for a good, recently published book and, if

appropriate, more specialized works related to the discipline area of the course [e.g., for the
course SOCI 335: Society and Population, search for books on "population and society"].
 Browse through some current journals in your subject discipline. Even if most of the
articles are not relevant, you can skim through the contents quickly. You only need one to be
the spark that begins the process of wanting to learn more about a topic. Consult with a
librarian  and/or your professor about the core journals within your subject discipline.
 Think about essays you have written for past classes, other courses you have taken, or
academic lectures and programs you have attended. Thinking back, what interested you the
most? What would you like to know more about? Place this in the context of the current
course assignment.
 Search online media sources, such as CNN , the Los Angeles Times , Huffington
Post , Fox News , or Newsweek , to see if your idea has been covered by the media. Use
this coverage to refine your idea into something that you'd like to investigate further, but in
a more deliberate, scholarly way based on a particular problem that needs to be researched.
Step 3 : To build upon your initial idea, use the suggestions under this tab to
help narrow , broaden , or increase the timeliness  of your idea so you can write it out as a
research problem.

Once you are comfortable with having turned your idea into a research problem, follow
Steps 1 - 4 listed in Part I above to further develop it into a research paper.

Alderman, Jim. "Choosing a Research Topic ." Beginning Library and Information Systems
Strategies. Paper 17. Jacksonville, FL: University of North Florida Digital Commons, 2014;
Alvesson, Mats and Jörgen Sandberg. Constructing Research Questions: Doing Interesting
Research. London: Sage, 2013; Chapter 2: Choosing a Research Topic. Adrian R.  Eley. Becoming
a Successful Early Career Researcher. New York: Routledge, 2012; Answering the Question .
Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra; Brainstorming . Department of English Writing
Guide. George Mason University; Brainstorming . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina;
Chapter 1: Research and the Research Problem. Nicholas Walliman. Your Research Project:
Designing and Planning Your Work. 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,
2011; Choosing a Topic . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University;   Coming Up With
Your Topic . Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College; How To Write a Thesis Statement .
Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University;  Identify
Your Question . Start Your Research. University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz;  The
Process of Writing a Research Paper . Department of History. Trent University; Trochim, William
M.K. Problem Formulation . Research Methods Knowledge Base. 2006.

Resources for Identifying a Topic

Resources for Identifying a Research Problem

If you are having difficulty identifying a topic to study or need basic background information, the following web
resources and databases can be useful:

CQ Researcher  -- a collection of single-themed public policy reports that provide an overview of an

issue. Each report includes background information, an assessment of the current policy situation, statistical
tables and maps, pro/con statements from representatives of opposing positions, and a bibliography of key
sources.

 New York Times Topics  -- each topic page collects news articles, reference and archival information,

photos, graphics, audio and video files. Content is available without charge on articles going back to 1981.
Opposing Viewpoints In Context  -- an online resource covering a wide range of social issues from a

variety of perspectives. The database contains a media-rich collection of materials, including pro/con
viewpoint essays, topic overviews, primary source materials, biographies of social activists and reformers,
journal articles, statistical tables, charts and graphs, images, videos, and podcasts.

 PolicyFile  -- provides access to U.S. foreign and domestic research reports, position papers, and other

documents from think tanks, research institutes, and agencies. Contents are updated weekly.
Descriptions of resources are adapted or quoted from vendor websites.
Writing Tip
Don't be a Martyr!

In thinking about a research topic to study, don't adopt the mindset of pursuing an esoteric or incredibly
complicated topic just to impress your professor but that, in reality, does not have any real interest to you.
Choose a topic that is challenging but that has at least some interest to you or that you care about. Obviously,
this is easier for courses within your major, but even for those nasty prerequisite classes that you must take in
order to graduate [and that provide an additional tuition revenue for the university], try to apply issues
associated with your major to the general topic given to you. For example, if you are an international relations
major taking a philosophy class where the assignment asks you to apply the question of "what is truth" to some
aspect of life, you could choose to study how government leaders attempt to shape truth through the use of
propaganda.

Another Writing Tip

Not Finding Anything on Your Topic? Ask a Librarian!

Don't assume or jump to the conclusion that your topic is too narrowly defined or obscure just because your initial
search has failed to identify relevant research. Librarians are experts in locating and critically assessing
information. This knowledge will help you develop strategies for analyzing existing knowledge in new
ways. Always consult with a librarian before you consider giving up on finding information about the topic you
want to investigate. If there isn't a lot of information about your topic, a librarian can often help you identify a
closely related topic that you can study. Use the Ask-A-Librarian link above to identify a librarian in your subject
area.

Importance of Narrowing the Research Topic

Whether you are assigned a general issue to investigate, given a list of problems to study, or
you have to identify your own topic to investigate, it is important that the scope of the research
problem underpinning your study is not too broad, otherwise, it will be very difficult to
adequately address the problem in the space and time allowed. You could experience a
number of problems if your topic is too broad, including:

 You find too many information sources and, as a consequence, it is difficult to decide
what to include or exclude or what are the most important.
 You find information that is too general and, as a consequence, it is difficult to develop a
clear framework for examining the research problem.
 A lack of sufficient parameters that clearly define the research problem makes it difficult
to identify and apply the proper methods needed to analyze it.
 You find information that covers a wide variety of concepts or ideas that can't be
integrated into one paper and, as a consequence, you easily trail off into unnecessary
tangents.

Lloyd-Walker, Beverly and Derek Walker. "Moving from Hunches to a Research Topic: Salient Literature and Research Methods."
In Designs, Methods and Practices for Research of Project Management . Beverly Pasian, editor. (Burlington, VT: Gower
Publishing, 2015), pp. 119-129.

Strategies for Narrowing the Research Topic

A common challenge when beginning to write a research paper is determining how to
narrow down your topic. Even if your professor gives you a specific topic to study, it will
almost never be so specific that you won’t have to narrow it down at least to some degree
[besides, it is very boring to grade fifty papers that are all about the exact same thing!].
A topic is too broad to be manageable when you find that you have too many different, and
oftentimes conflicting or only remotely related, ideas about how to investigate the research
problem. Although you will want to start the writing process by considering a variety of different
approaches to studying the research problem, you will need to narrow the focus of your
investigation at some point early in the writing process. This way, you don't attempt to do too
much in one paper.

Here are some strategies to help narrow your topic:

Aspect -- choose one lens through which to view the research problem, or look at just

one facet of it [e.g., rather than studying the role of food in South Asian religious rituals,
study the role of food in Hindu ceremonies, or, the role of one particular type of food among
several religions].
Components -- determine if your initial variable or unit of analysis can be broken into

smaller parts, which can then be analyzed more precisely [e.g., a study of tobacco use
among adolescents can focus on just chewing tobacco rather than all forms of usage or,
rather than adolescents in general, focus on female adolescents in a certain age range who
choose to use tobacco].
 Methodology -- the way in which you gather information can reduce the domain of
interpretive analysis needed to address the research problem [e.g., a single case study can
be designed to generate data that does not require as extensive an explanation as using
multiple cases].
 Place -- generally, the smaller the geographic unit of analysis, the more narrow the
focus [e.g., rather than study trade relations in West Africa, study trade relations between
Niger and Cameroon as a case study that helps to explain problems in the region].
Relationship -- ask yourself how do two or more different perspectives or variables

relate to one another. Designing a study around the relationships between specific variables
can help constrict the scope of analysis [e.g., cause/effect, compare/contrast,
contemporary/historical, group/individual, male/female, opinion/reason, problem/solution].
Time -- the shorter the time period of the study, the more narrow the focus [e.g., study

of trade relations between Niger and Cameroon during the period of 2010 - 2018].
Type -- focus your topic in terms of a specific type or class of people, places, or

phenomena [e.g., a study of developing safer traffic patterns near schools can focus on
SUVs, or just student drivers, or just the timing of traffic signals in the area].
 Combination -- use two or more of the above strategies to focus your topic very
narrowly.
NOTE: Apply one of the above strategies first in designing your study to determine if that gives
you a manageable research problem to investigate. You will know if the problem is manageable
by reviewing the literature on this more specific problem and assessing whether prior research
on the narrower topic is sufficient to move forward in your study [i.e., not too much, not too
little]. Be careful, however, because combining multiple strategies risks creating the opposite
problem--your problem becomes too narrowly defined and you can't locate enough research or
data to support your study.

Booth, Wayne C. The Craft of Research. Fourth edition. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago
Press, 2016; Coming Up With Your Topic . Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth
College; Narrowing a Topic . Writing Center. University of Kansas; Narrowing
Topics . Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Strategies for Narrowing a Topic . University
Libraries. Information Skills Modules. Virginia Tech University;  The Process of Writing a
Research Paper . Department of History. Trent University; Ways to Narrow Down a Topic .
Contributing Authors. Utah State OpenCourseWare.

Importance of Broadening the Research Topic

It is important to adopt a flexible approach when choosing a topic to investigate. The goal when
writing any paper is to choose a research problem that is focused and time-limited. However,
your starting point should not be so narrowly defined that you unnecessarily constrict your
opportunity to investigate the topic thoroughly. A research problem that is too narrowly
defined leads to any of the following problems:

 You can't find enough information and what you do find is tangential or irrelevant.
You find information that is so specific that it can't lead to any significant conclusions.

 Your sources cover so few ideas that you can't expand them into a significant paper.
The research problem is so case specific that it limits opportunities to generalize or apply

the results to other contexts.
The significance of the research problem is limited to only a very small, unique

population.

Ravitch, Sharon M. and Matthew Riggan.  Reason and Rigor: How Conceptual Frameworks Guide Research . Los Angeles, CA:
SAGE, 2017.

Strategies for Broadening the Research Topic

In general, an indication that a research problem is too narrowly defined is that you
can't find any relevant or meaningful information about it.  If this happens, don't
immediately abandon your efforts to investigate the problem because it could very well be an
excellent topic of study. A good way to begin is to look for parallels and opportunities for
broader associations that apply to the initial research problem. A strategy for doing this is to
ask yourself the basic six questions of who, what, where, when, how, and why.

Here is an example of how to apply the six questions strategy to broadening your
topic. Let's use the research topic of how to investigate ways to improve trade
relations between Peru and Bolivia as an example. Ask yourself:

 Who? -- are there other countries involved in the relations between these two countries
that might want to challenge or encourage this relationship? Are there particular individuals
or special interest groups [e.g., politicians, union leaders, etc.] promoting trade relations or
trying to inhibit it? [remember to ask either the individual who question, the collective who
question, or the institutional who question].
What? -- what are the specific trading commodities you are examining? Are there

commodities not currently traded between Peru and Bolivia that could be? What commodities
are not being traded but could be?
 Where? -- are there examples of other bi-lateral trade agreements that could model the
potential for closer trade relations between Peru and Bolivia? Note that the question of where
can also relate to specific spatial and geographical issues, such as, are there any barriers
impeding transportation of goods in the region?
 When? -- how long have these countries had or not had trade relations? How far into
the future might a trade relationship last given other factors? The question of when can
relate to past issues as well as future areas of interest.
 How? -- how might Peru and Bolivia forge these ties in relation to, for example, long-
standing internal conflicts within each country? Note that the how question can also be
framed as, "In what way might...." [e.g., In what way might improved trade relations lead to
other forms of economic exchanges between the two countries?].
 Why? -- what advantages can each country gain by pursuing active trade relations? Why
might other countries be concerned about closer ties between these two countries? Asking
why can raise the "So What? " question applied to your topic and, thus, provide a means of
assessing significance.
Reflecting upon these six questions during your initial review of the literature can help you
formulate ways to expand the parameters of your initial research problem, providing an
opportunity to identify new avenues of investigation and centering your study around gaps in
the literature when answers to questions cannot be found. Once you've identified additional
directions in which to proceed with your topic, you can try narrowing it down again, if needed.

NOTE:  Do not determine on your own that a research problem is too narrowly
defined to find any relevant or meaningful information. Always consult with a
librarian  before making this assumption because a librarian can help guide you to undiscovered
research or suggest ways to design a broader analysis of your research problem using resources
you did not know existed.

Booth, Wayne C. The Craft of Research. Fourth edition. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago
Press, 2016; Coming Up With Your Topic . Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth
College; Getting Started With Your Research: A Self-Help Guide to Quality Information , Jean
and Alexander Heard Library. Vanderbilt University;  Strategies for Broadening a Topic .
University Libraries. Information Skills Modules. Virginia Tech University.

Reading a Scholarly Article or Research Paper

Identifying a research problem to investigate usually requires a preliminary review of the
literature so as to gain an understanding about how scholars have approached examining a
topic. Scholars rarely structure research studies in a way that can be followed like a story; they
are complex and detail-intensive and often written in a descriptive and conclusive narrative
form. However, in the social and behavioral sciences, journal articles and stand-alone research
reports are generally organized in a consistent format that makes it easier to compare studies
and decipher their contents.

General Reading Strategies

When you first read an article or research paper, focus on asking specific questions about each
section. This strategy can help with overall comprehension and with understanding how the
content relates [or does not relate] to the problem you want to investigate. As you review more
and more studies, the process of understanding and critically evaluating the research will
become easier because the content of what you review will begin to coalescence around
common themes and patterns of analysis. Below are recommendations on how to read each
section of a research paper effectively. Note that the sections to read are out of order from how
you will find them organized in a journal article or research paper.

1.  Abstract

The abstract summarizes the background, methods, results, discussion, and conclusions of a
scholarly article or research paper. Use the abstract to filter out sources that may have
appeared useful when you began searching for information but, in reality, are not
relevant. Questions to consider when reading the abstract are:
 Is this study related to my question or area of research?
What is this study about and why is it being done?

 What is the working hypothesis or underlying thesis?
What is the primary finding of the study?

 Are there words or terminology that I can use to either narrow or broaden the
parameters of my search for more information?
2.  Introduction

If, after reading the abstract, you believe the paper may be useful, focus on examining the
research problem and identifying the questions the author is trying to address. This information
is usually located within the first few paragraphs of the introduction. Look for information about
how and in what way this relates to what you are investigating. In addition to the research
problem, the introduction should provide the main argument and theoretical framework of the
study and, in the last paragraphs of the introduction, describe what the author(s) intend to
accomplish. Questions to consider when reading the introduction include:

 What is this study trying to prove or disprove?

What is the author(s) trying to test or demonstrate?

 What do we already know about this topic and what gaps does this study try to fill or
contribute a new understanding to the research problem?
 Why should I care about what is being investigated?
Will this study tell me anything new related to the research problem I am investigating?

3.  Literature Review

The literature review describes what is already known about a topic. Read the literature review
to obtain a big picture perspective about how the topic has been studied and to begin the
process of seeing where your potential study fits within this domain of prior research. Questions
to consider when reading the literature review include:

What other research has been conducted about this topic and what are the main themes

that have emerged?
What does prior research reveal about what is already known about the topic and what

remains to be discovered?
What have been the most important past findings about the research problem?

 How has prior research led the author(s) to conduct this particular study?
Is there any prior research that is unique or groundbreaking?

 Are there any studies I could use as a model for designing and organizing my own
study?
4.  Discussion/Conclusion

The discussion and conclusion are usually the last two sections of text in a scholarly article or
research report. They reveal how the author(s) interpreted the findings of their research and
presented recommendations or courses of action based on those findings. Often in the
conclusion, the author(s) highlight recommendations for further research that can be used to
develop your own study. Questions to consider when reading the discussion and conclusion
sections include:
 What is the overall meaning of the study and why is this important? [i.e., how have the
author(s) addressed the "So What? " question].
 What do you find to be the most important ways that the findings have been
interpreted?
 What are the weaknesses in their argument?
Do you believe conclusions about the significance of the study and its findings are valid?

 What limitations of the study do the author(s) describe and how might this help
formulate my own research?
 Does the conclusion contain any recommendations for future research?
5.  Methods/Methodology

The methods section describes the materials, techniques, and procedures for gathering
information used to examine the research problem. If what you have read so far closely
supports your understanding of the topic, then move on to examining how the author(s)
gathered information during the research process. Questions to consider when reading the
methods section include:

Did the study use qualitative [based on interviews, observations, content analysis],


quantitative [based on statistical analysis], or a mixed-methods approach to examining the
research problem?
 What was the type of information or data used?
Could this method of analysis be repeated and can I adopt the same approach?

 Is enough information available to repeat the study or should new data be found to
expand or improve understanding of the research problem?
6.  Results

After reading the above sections, you should have a clear understanding of the general findings
of the study. Therefore, read the results section to identify how key findings were discussed in
relation to the research problem. If any non-textual elements [e.g., graphs, charts, tables, etc.]
are confusing, focus on the explanations about them in the text. Questions to consider when
reading the results section include:

 What did the author(s) find and how did they find it?
Does the author(s) highlight any findings as most significant?

 Are the results presented in a factual and unbiased way?
Does the analysis of results in the discussion section agree with how the results are

presented?
Is all the data present and did the author(s) adequately address gaps?

 What conclusions do you formulate from this data and does it match with the author's
conclusions?
7.  References

The references list the sources used by the author(s) to document what prior research and
information was used by when designing their study. After reviewing the article or research
paper, use the references to identify additional sources of information on the topic and to
examine critically how these sources supported the overall research agenda. Questions to
consider when reading the references include:
 Do the sources cited by the author(s) reflect a diversity of disciplinary viewpoints, i.e.,
are the sources all from a particular field of study or multiple areas of study?
 Are there any unique or interesting sources that could be incorporated into my study?
What other authors are respected in this field, i.e., who has multiple works cited or is

cited most often by others?
What other research should I review to clarify any remaining issues or that I need more

information about?
NOTE:  A possible final strategy is to copy and paste the title of the article you read
into Google Scholar . If it appears, look for a "cited by" link followed by a number. This number
indicates how many times the study has been subsequently cited in other, more recently
published works. This can be effective for expanding your review of pertinent literature based
on a study you find useful. The same strategies described above can applied to reading articles
you find by reviewing any cited by references.

Anatomy of a Scholarly Article (Interactive tutorial) . Andreas Orphanides, North Carolina State University Libraries, 2009;
Day, Trevor, Julie Letchford, Hazel Corradi, and Thomas Rogers. "Devising an Online Resource to Help Undergraduate Science
Students Critically Evaluate Research Articles." Journal of Academic Writing 5 (2015): 1-19; Hendrick, Robert C., and Walter R.
Thompson. "Reading Research 101." ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal  20 (2016): 9-13; How to Read an Article in a Scholarly
Journal (Research Guide)  Cayuga Community College Library, 2016; Jordan, C. H. And Zanna, M. P. "Appendix: How to Read a
Journal Article in Social Psychology." In The Social Psychology of Organizational Behavior: Key Readings . L. L. Thompson,
editor. (Hove, UK: Psychology Press, 2003), pp. 419-428; Laubepin, Frederique.  How to Read (and Understand) a Social Science
Journal Article. Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ISPSR), 2013;  Lockman, Tim. How To Read a
Scholarly Journal Article (YouTube Video).  Kishwaukee College Library, 2012; Library Research Methods: Read &
Evaluate.  Culinary Institute of America Library, 2016; Van Lacum, Edwin B., Miriam A. Ossevoort, and Martin J. Goedhart. "A
Teaching Strategy with a Focus on Argumentation to Improve Undergraduate Students’ Ability to Read Research Articles."  CBE-
Life Sciences Education 13 (2014): 253-264; Shon, Phillip Chong Ho.  How to Read Journal Articles in the Social Sciences: A
Very Practical Guide for Students. 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2015.

Reading Tip
Specific Reading Strategies

Effectively reading scholarly research is an acquired skill that involves attention to detail and an ability to
comprehend complex ideas, data, and theoretical concepts in a way that applies logically to the research problem
you are investigating. Here are some specific reading strategies to consider.

As You are Reading

 Focus on information that is most relevant to the research problem; skim over the other parts.

Read content out of order! This isn't a novel; you want to start with the spoiler to quickly assess the

relevance of the study.

 Think critically about what you read and seek to build your own arguments; not everything may be

entirely valid, examined effectively, or thoroughly investigated.

Look up the definitions of unfamiliar words, concepts, or terminology. A good scholarly source is Credo

Reference .
Highlighting Key Points and Taking Notes
Taking notes as you read will save time when you go back to examine your sources. Here are some suggestions:

Mark or highlight important text as you read [e.g., you can use the highlight text feature in a PDF

document]

 Take notes in the margins [e.g., Adobe Reader offers pop-up sticky notes].

Highlight important quotations; consider using different colors to differentiate between quotes and other

types of important text
.
 Summarize key points about the study at the end of the paper.

Reflecting on What You Have Read

Write down thoughts that come to mind that may help clarify your understanding of the research problem. Here
are some examples of questions to ask yourself:

 Do I understand all of the terminology and key concepts?

Do I understand the parts of this study most relevant to my topic?


 What specific problem does the research address and why is it important?

Are there any issues or perspectives the author(s) did not consider?

 Do I have any reason to question the validity or reliability of this research?

How do the findings relate to my research interests and to other works which I have read?


Adapted from text originally created by Holly Burt, Behavioral Sciences Librarian, USC Libraries, April 2018.

Another Reading Tip

When is it Important to Read the Entire Article or Research Paper

Laubepin argues, "Very few articles in a field are so important that every word needs to be read carefully."
However, this implies that some studies are  worth reading carefully. As painful and time-consuming as it may
seem, there are valid reasons for reading a study in its entirety, most notably if it was published very recently.
Here are some examples:

Surveys of the Research Problem -- some papers provide a comprehensive analytical overview of the

research problem. Reading this type of study can help you understand underlying issues and discover why
scholars have chosen to investigate the topic. This is particularly important if the study was published very
recently because the author(s) should cite all or most of the key prior research on the topic.

 Highly Cited -- if you keep coming across the same citation to a study, this implies it was foundational

in establishing an understanding of the research problem or the study had a significant impact within the
literature [positive or negative]. Carefully reading a highly cited source can help you understand how the topic
emerged and motivated scholars to further investigate the problem.
Historical Overview -- knowing the historical background of a research problem may not be the focus

of your analysis, but carefully reading a study that provides a thorough description and analysis of the history
behind an event, issue, or phenomenon can add important context to understanding the topic.

 Innovative Design -- some studies are significant because the author(s) designed a unique or

innovative approach to researching the problem. This may justify reading the entire study because it can
motivate you to think creatively about pursuing an alternative or non-traditional approach to examining your
topic of interest.
Cross-disciplinary Approach -- reviewing studies produced outside of your discipline is an essential

component of investigating research problems in the social sciences. Consider reading a study that was
conducted by author(s) based in a different discipline [e.g., an anthropologist studying political cultures]
because it can generate a new understanding or a unique perspective about the topic.

Laubepin, Frederique. How to Read (and Understand) a Social Science Journal Article. Inter-University Consortium
for Political and Social Research (ISPSR), 2013; Shon, Phillip Chong Ho. How to Read Journal Articles in the Social
Sciences: A Very Practical Guide for Students. 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2015.