Writing a research project can feel like a daunting task. It’s the culmination of your studies, the crowning achievement of your degree, and will likely be the longest piece of work you’ll have written (or might ever write). The foundation of a good project is good research, so we’re sharing some guidance to help you get on your way.
If you start with your heart set on a particular research question, then some initial ‘quick and dirty’ searching can help you see how, and how often, your selected topic is presented in the literature. This initial research can help you refine your topic. If you find a large volume of articles and books in your chosen research area, you could consider narrowing your focus and looking at a more specific element or angle. Conversely, if you encounter far fewer results than anticipated, it might be a good idea to broaden your scope a little.
Two important things to note at this point:
You are not expected to achieve a breakthrough in your field; the originality of your project comes from the personal stamp you put on it through your own sector perspective and expertise, your research design, and your unique data collection and analysis.
- Stay focused on your research question. It’s very easy to spend lots of time sidequesting through tangential (and often very interesting) literature, but keep the scope of your topic in mind. This will make the work more manageable to complete and reduce the risk of your project sprawling and losing focus. To this end, it can be useful to set limits on your research question by looking at a particular time period, industry, participant demographic, etc.
Once you’re sure of what you want to investigate, the literature search can begin in earnest! This is often an intensive, iterative process, and the following tips should make constructing a solid research strategy easier:
Decide what you’re looking for
Create a list of keywords and phrases, synonyms, and related terms. It can also be helpful to think of antonyms in case these are also likely to appear in relevant literature. You might also want to think of terms that you want to exclude.
Decide where you’re going to look
We always recommend starting your searches in the Library Portal to get an idea of what the we have available, but you should also think about the specialist databases available to you (find them linked in your Subject Guide or at the A-Z List of Databases). Some contain sources that aren’t included in the Library search and some, such as Statista for data insights or IBISWorld for market research, just offer a much better experience in terms of content formatting and usability when accessed directly.
Using a database can also allow you to conduct more focused searches, eliminating literature from platforms and titles that aren’t applicable to your field. If you decide to look beyond the Library Portal, be sure to look at the professional bodies and organisations listed under ‘Useful Links and Research Tools’ in your Subject Guide.
Use advanced searching techniques
Boolean and other operators can make your searching much more effective. Not sure where to start? Check out our FAQ: What are Boolean and advanced search operators and how do I use them to search for resources?
Stay organised
It’s easy to lose track of the various articles, chapters, and reports you’ll engage with during the literature searching process, especially with the volume required for a project. Everyone has their own preferred filing systems and methods but when you’re searching the Library Portal, here are some tools that can make it easier so make use of your dashboard!
Save items using the bookmark icon and sort them into project folders (you could have a folder per chapter, for example). ‘Recent activity’ will show you your searches from your current session and you can save these and add them to project folders too. This is especially helpful when constructing multilayered Boolean searches that you want to repeat and refine and provides a record of the terms you’ve searched for and combined in different ways.
Be selective and critical
It’s important to engage critically with the literature you find. Use the CRAAP test to evaluate sources, and read article abstracts and chapter summaries to assess relevance and suitability. You can also use CTRL-F to search for keywords in texts. Be aware of your own biases and perspectives; you’ll need to critically analyse what you read, synthesise the arguments you encounter, and present a balanced and comprehensive view of that area of research.
Once you’re ready to embark on steps such as study design and data collection, analysis, and results and findings, there’s lots of support on offer. In addition to the guidance from your research project moddule leader and lecturers, the Learning Support Hub has you covered:
Final Projects – videos and toolkits from the Academic Skills Team.
Final Projects (Dissertations) eBook Spotlight Collection – eBooks from the Library collection dedicated to guiding you through from start to finish.
We also run workshops on final projects and dissertations, and don’t forget you can book a one-to-one appointment with a member of the Learning Success Hub. The Library team can help you with your literature searching and secondary research, and our Academic Skills Tutors offer guidance with all aspects of academic writing, structure, and referencing.
To all those embarking on a final project or who are at any stage of the process: we’ve got you.