The Research Process  

MYP Personal Project  

What is the Research Process? 
The process of research is fluid. It ​can​ be linear; but most likely, you will be doing all of the steps of the process at 
the same time: reviewing your research, searching for more, or analyzing it. 
 
Selecting Academic,   
1  Credible and Useful  How do I choose appropriate, valid and academic resources? 
Resources   
You will have about 80% academic and professional resources, some technical sources and fewer models or examples. In order to 
choose appropriate resources for your Academic Report, you will ask questions and evaluate the sources found. 
Questions to Determine the Validity  
SCHOLARLY vs. POPULAR​ What is the difference between the two? How can this be determined? 
AUTHOR​ Who is the author? What is her expertise or connection, position or potential bias? What else has this author 
written? 
AUDIENCE​ To whom is the author writing? What is the intended age-level, gender, religion or political view? ​PURPOSE 
What does the author wish to achieve? What is the motivation of this piece? 
TIMELINESS​ Who is the publisher? When was it published? Does it still hold true today? 
Other questions include: objectivity, primary versus secondary sources and substantive versus sensationalist 
 
Need Help finding Sources? 
<​https://www.diigo.com/​>   
Bookmark all the websites you are using for research and become part of a researching community full of like-minded folks 
who are researching the SAME STUFF as you.  Can’t find it? Someone will have and it might be on here. Ask a Librarian! 
 
Who is responsible for the web site? 
<​https://www.easywhois.com/​>    
Find out who originally started the website you have consulted. This is a great way to check your internet researchers: one 
infamous example is of a website on the history on Martin Luther King, Jr, ‘celebrating’ the Civil Rights Movement, which 
was actually written by a White Supremacist  Terrorist organization…clearly not a valid source! 
 
Other Helpful Sites for Evaluating Sources  
“Evaluating Sources: Home.” ​University of California Berkeley​. 26 Aug. 2019, ​http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/evaluating-resources​. Accessed 
4  
Sept. 2019. 
  
Engle, Michael. “Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from other Periodicals.” ​Cornell University. ​31 May 2019,   
​http://guides.library.cornell.edu/scholarlyjournals​. Accessed 4 Sept. 2019. 
 
Online Research Databases 
EBSCO find on LCS Library Catalog: username: ​lscg​ password: ​ebsco  
JSTOR find on LCS Library Catalog, create an account 
Britannica online find on LCS Library Catalog, password: lcs + your last name 
<​https://www.scribendi.com/advice/free_online_journal_and_research_databases.en.html​> ​haven’t found what you’re looking for? Look here! 
 
Not all Sources are Appropriate! 
Conversations with family members or surveys of grade 9 students are not considered legitimate, intellectual sources and 
cannot be used or referenced within your Academic Report. You can, however, have these conversations or view these 
videos for inspiration, help with your thinking, or as guides in the process. 
▪ A conversation with mom or dad 
▪ Survey of your classmates 
▪ Amateur Youtube video 
 ▪ Wikipedia 

 
Taking Notes from 
2  How do I choose a format most suitable for my learning style and needs? 
Sources 
 
Note taking enables you to transfer the most significant information from appropriate sources to a format that will be used to 
summarize and synthesize it. Research notes and a working list of sources is a ​required part of your process journal:​ however, 
this format is much more conventional. There are many formats, styles and media used for note taking, but you must decide 
which one is right for you. 
 
Where to Take Notes 
In what medium will you take your notes? Computer program, note cards (online or paper), spiral notebook 
Forms of Note Taking 
How will you take your notes? Using columns, colors or headings, concept maps and diagrams, Cornell 
Style, outlines or others that work best for you. 

Note Taking Strategies 

<​https://student.unsw.edu.au/effective-reading-and-note-taking​>. 
Note Taking Templates 
<​https://freeology.com/graphicorgs/note-taking-organizer/​> 
Online Note Cards  
<​https://www.noodletools.com/​>  
 
Referencing 
3  How can I give credit to my sources? What is the correct MLA format? 
Information 
 
You must use the correct MLA format for all of your sources, whether in your Works Cited or in your Works Consulted. 
Online Writer’s Lab: Purdue University 
<​https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_style_introduction.html​> 
 
Synthesizing 
4  How will I create meaning from my research? 
Information 
 
▪ What are the most important skills or knowledge that I have learned?  
▪ What are the most important new understandings that I can make from my research?   
▪ What is my thesis?   
▪ What connections can I make between my research & my goal?   
▪ What connections can I make between my research & my product’s purpose?   
▪ How will my research influence, change or guide my product?  
▪ How does my research connect my product to the real world (Global Context)? 
 
Applying New  How will my new knowledge and skills guide the construction and 
5 
Knowledge and Skills  ultimate purpose of the product? 
 
Your product will be guided by research. What have you learned that you did not know before and will now apply to the 
product? 
 
You must be able to critically discuss and show evidence of the application of knowledge for 
Criterion Bii: Planning a​ nd​ Criterion Cii: Taking Action