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GPS: Shelter the World: Research Process

Research is a Process

Image showing a flowchart of the research process.

Flowchart adapted from the University of Ottawa Library.

Read more about the Research Process.

Steps in the Research Process

  1. Identifying your research topic/question, i.e., what is your information need?

    1. What are the main concepts of your research topic, and what are their keywords and their synonyms?

  2. Where do you find this information?

  3. How do you know this is the “right” information i.e., how do you evaluate the information?

  4. How do you properly document and cite that information?

Types of Information

Type of Info Needed

Type of Information Source

Definitions, technical terms, basic facts, timelines, protocols, instructions

Reference - encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks

Theory, methodology, case studies, research, peer-reviewed scholarly information

Academic journal articles, scholarly monographs (aka books)

Survey data, socioeconomic information, community descriptions, regional/national information

Government/NGO/associations websites and reports

Current and/or local information

Newspapers, magazines, websites

Industry and/or consumer information

Trade literature, market reports

Finding Information Sources

Type of Information Source

Where To Search

Reference - encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks

Google, WPI Library Search, Handbook database

Academic journal articles, scholarly monographs (aka books)

Google Scholar, WPI Library Search, Subject-specific databases

Government and non-governmental organization (NGO) reports

Google using  "site:.gov" or "site:.org" or "association" or "organization"

Newspapers, magazines, websites

Google News, WPI Library Search, Newspaper database

Trade literature, market reports

Business databases