ISTC 685: Research in Instructional Technology

Congratulations on pursuing higher education! Academic research is exciting because you learn more about things that interest you, but: It can also be confusing. This guide can help by highlighting resources and strategies to use throughout your research, from brainstorming a topic and finding sources to citing those sources and writing your paper. Questions? Please don't hesitate to contact me, your personal librarian, via phone call, SMS or direct messaging, email, or video conference. I can be available morning or night, weekday or weekend, so: Let's talk soon.

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Find Empirical Papers...

Your research proposal requires you cite at least ten empirical papers. Empirical papers are also known as original research studies or primary sources. Within the natural and social sciences, empirical research involves collecting original data via a particular methodology, then sharing outcomes and implications. Keep in mind: Although all empirical papers are academic journal article, not all academic journal articles are empirical papers. Because academic journal databases don't have a built-in button to click that limits results to only empirical papers, you should:

1. modify your search query to tell the database to search only for research studies, or
2. manually determine whether an academic journal article is a research study by checking for a Methods section.

How can you tell the database to search only for research studies? Conduct your search as usual (for more help on creating a database search query, visit Search for Sources), then, using a blank search bar:

• search for the desired type of research, such as quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods, and/or
• search by method of sampling, and/or
• search by design.

Using Key Databases

You can search these databases individually or simultaneously! To search multiple databases at once, select one, then click the "Choose Databases" hyperlink button above the first search bar. Then, hover over the chat bubble for a description of what each database searches.

Not sure where to start? Try one of these "Best Bets" or visit Find Scholarly Journal Articles for even more suggested resources and a video tutorial.