This presentation discusses what college level research means; how to locate high quality, reliable resources to support this research; and where to look for the best information.

1. Thinking About
College Level
Research
It’s not just looking stuff up.

2. What is research?
You sure it’s not just looking stuff up?

3. Research
is the gathering of
accurate and reliable
information.

4. Why is it different at college?
In college, the bar for what is acceptable as good
research is set much higher than what you may be
used to. You must provide evidence to support your
arguments.

5. Just like in a court of law, the better your evidence and
the more reliable your sources, the more likely you are
to prove your case.

6. So how do I know what’s “accurate and
reliable”?

7. The first step is to understanding where
information comes from – the Information
Cycle.

8. Information can also be created through
original research.

9. Which is sometimes picked up by popular
sources and re-enters the Information
Cycle.

10. However, at any point in the Information
Cycle, facts can be distorted.

11. So you must thoroughly evaluate your
sources to make sure they are accurate and
reliable, like this chart from the CDC.

12. Most people begin their research on the
Internet, but is this the best strategy?

13. There is a huge amount of information on the
Internet, however for research, the Internet
can be a vast yet shallow sea.

14. Many free sources of
information on the Internet
are brief, incomplete, and
lacking in context.

15. Fortunately, there are
many tools available to
help you evaluate
information you find on
the Internet . They are
often acronyms for
evaluation criteria such
as the famous
C.R.A.A.P Test!

16. Here is a simple list of criteria to help
you evaluate any sources you find.
The Author
Does the author have the background and expertise to
be considered a reliable source for your topic? This is
also called the “authority” of the source.

17. The Motivation and Bias
What is the purpose of providing you the information?
Is the information objective or subjective? What is the
viewpoint and what is the bias?

18. The Evidence
Does the source provide verifiable evidence, for
example links to other reliable sources, to support its
content?.

19. The Timeliness
Is the content up-to-date enough for the topic being
researched? For example, scientific research would
require the most recent information available, while
relevant material for historical research may not need
to be as recently published.

20. Sometimes, the best way to find reliable
information is knowing where to look.

21. This is a good place to look.

22. Libraries have built-in quality control.
The sources you find in
your college library have
been selected and
purchased because they
are authoritative and
appropriate for college
level research.

23. It is easy to get started researching in the
library. Here is what the quick search box
looks like.

24. And here is what the results screen
looks like.

25. One important thing to remember about
the library is how to login.

26. Other advantages of starting your research
with library resources include:
• Good sources are often
expensive sources (databases
and academic journals for
example) and the library has
already purchased these
resources for you
• It is easy to save, share, and
work with the information you
find.
• Sources often provide help with
citation formatting.

27. The most important thing to remember
about doing college level research:
You have Librarians to
help you! Think of us as
your personal research
consultants. You can
stop by the library, call,
e-mail, text, even live
chat with a librarian
when you need help.

28. Library Homepage:
library.daytonastate.edu
Library Research Assistance Desk:
386.506.3518 or 386.785.2017