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Research paper topics in library and information science

A systematic approach is best when undertaking research in the library and information science. Not only should you have an in-depth knowledge of major themes in the area, but you should also be aware of current research methods and topics of influence, such as library systems, cooperation between libraries, and the flow of information between libraries.

Finding a good research paper topic can greatly depend upon your interests and what you took away from your coursework. Paying attention in classes and taking adequate notes makes it easier to assimilate that knowledge into a coherent research paper topic. Take a look at the following research paper topics for some ideas:

• A critical analysis of student attitudes towards cataloguing and classification in college campus libraries
• The Impact of Public Libraries at the state level
• The implementation of information and communication technology in academic libraries in Brazil
• Evaluating the effect of feminization and professionalization on librarianship
• The challenges involved in running private libraries in Nigeria
• Defining comparative and international library and information science
• An assessment of international cultural exchange through libraries
• The role of international librarianship in promoting freedom of information and expression
• International issues faced by librarians and information science professionals with regard to the knowledge society
• Exploring the relationship between government schools and public libraries in the context of South Asia
• The importance of resource-sharing in an international library network: bridging gaps using modern technology
• Tackling indigenous knowledge by adopting innovative tools and strategies
• The influence of library aid in developing countries during globalization
• A critical comparison of American librarianship and information science research in European countries
• Learnings from major book acquisitions in American academic libraries
• The expanding purview of American ideas in German public libraries
• The British Council and its critical role in building bridges across the developing world

Browsing through sample topics in library and information science can help you brainstorm your own ideas more effectively. Take the time to scan such resources and choose a topic that you can convincingly discuss and analyze. A good source for potential research paper topics and paper help is mypaperwriter.com , also papers written by past students as well as reputed works in the field.

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Research Topic Ideas

Getting started, 1. brainstorming for a topic, 2. read general background information, 3. focus your topic, more research help.

• Area & Interdisciplinary Studies
• Behavioral & Social Sciences
• Business, Economics, & Management
• Current Events and Controversial Issues
• Education & Social Work
• Health Sciences
• Natural and Physical Sciences

This guide provides you with a list of topic ideas (by subject or academic discipline) which could be developed into a research paper or project. It is not an all-inclusive list, but a list developed over time with input from faculty and students.

It is intended to offer suggestions only.

This is NOT a guide to help you research a topic. It is only intended to provide ideas for a paper.

The ability to develop a good research topic is an important skill. An instructor may assign you a specific topic, but most often instructors require you to select your own topic of interest. When deciding on a topic, there are a few things that you will need to do:

• Brainstorm for ideas.
• Choose a topic that will enable you to read and understand the articles and books you find.
• Ensure that the topic is manageable and that material is available.
• Make a list of key words.
• Be flexible. You may have to broaden or narrow your topic to fit your assignment or the sources you find.

Selecting a good topic may not be easy. It must be narrow and focused enough to be interesting, yet broad enough to find adequate information. Before selecting your final topic, make sure you know what your final project should look like. Each class or instructor will likely require a different format or style of research project.

Choose a topic that interests you. Use the following questions to help generate topic ideas.

• Do you have a strong opinion on a current social or political controversy?
• Did you read or see a news story recently that has piqued your interest or made you angry or anxious?
• Do you have a personal issue, problem, or interest that you would like to know more about?
• Is there an aspect of a class that you are interested in learning more about?

Write down any key words or concepts that may be of interest to you. These terms can be helpful in your searching and used to form a more focused research topic.

Be aware of overused ideas when deciding a topic. You may wish to avoid topics such as abortion, gun control, teen pregnancy, or suicide unless you feel you have a unique approach to the topic. Ask the instructor for ideas if you feel you are stuck or need additional guidance.

Sometimes using a  Concept Map  can help you come up with directions to take your research.

• Topic Concept Map Download and print this PDF to create a concept map for your topic. Put your main topic in the middle circle and then put ideas related to your topic on the lines radiating from the circle.

Read a general encyclopedia article on the top two or three topics you are considering.

Reading a broad summary enables you to get an overview of the topic and see how your idea relates to broader, narrower, and related issues. It also provides a great source for finding words commonly used to describe the topic. These keywords may be very useful to your later research.

If you can't find an article on your topic, try using broader terms and ask for help from a librarian.

The databases listed below are good places to find general information. The library's print reference collection can also be useful and is located on the third floor of the library.

Authoritative coverage of thousands of topics in all areas of study.

Encyclopaedia Britannica's latest article database (including hundreds of articles not found in the print edition), Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, and the Britannica Book of the Year (1994-present), with thousands of web links selected by editors. Updated daily.

Fully indexed, cross-searchable database of over 400 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. Includes subject reference works in the humanities, social sciences, and science--both "Quick Reference" titles (concise dictionaries, etc.) and larger "Reference Library" titles (multi-volume encyclopedias, etc.).

Covers anthropology, communication, education, geography, health, history, law, management, politics, psychology, and sociology.

Concise introductions to a diverse range of subject areas in the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities.

Keep it manageable and be flexible. If you start doing more research and not finding enough sources that support your thesis, you may need to adjust your topic.

A topic will be very difficult to research if it is too broad or narrow. One way to narrow a broad topic such as "the environment" is to limit your topic. Some common ways to limit a topic are:

• by geographic area

Example: What environmental issues are most important in the Southwestern United States?

• by time frame:

Example: What are the most prominent environmental issues of the last 10 years?

• by discipline

Example: How does environmental awareness effect business practices today?

• by population group

Example: What are the effects of air pollution on senior citizens?

Remember that a topic may be too difficult to research if it is too:

• locally confined - Topics this specific may only be covered in local newspapers and not in scholarly articles.

Example: What sources of pollution affect the Genesee County water supply?

• recent - If a topic is quite recent, books or journal articles may not be available, but newspaper or magazine articles may. Also, websites related to the topic may or may not be available.
• broadly interdisciplinary - You could be overwhelmed with superficial information.

Example: How can the environment contribute to the culture, politics and society of the Western United States?

• popular - You will only find very popular articles about some topics such as sports figures and high-profile celebrities and musicians.

Putting your topic in the form of a question will help you focus on what type of information you want to collect.

If you have any difficulties or questions with focusing your topic, discuss the topic with your instructor, or with a librarian.

For more help with the research help, please see our Research Help Guides:

• Research Process by Liz Svoboda Last Updated Aug 12, 2024 14043 views this year
• Primary Sources for Historical Research: A Library Guide by Reference Librarians Last Updated Aug 28, 2024 131 views this year
• Understanding Journals: Peer-Reviewed, Scholarly, & Popular by Liz Svoboda Last Updated Jan 10, 2024 2391 views this year
• Identifying Information Sources by Liz Svoboda Last Updated Mar 13, 2024 4505 views this year
• Next: Area & Interdisciplinary Studies >>
• Last Updated: Jul 10, 2024 5:18 PM
• URL: https://libguides.umflint.edu/topics

Selecting a Research Topic: Overview

• Refine your topic
• Background information & facts
• Writing help

Here are some resources to refer to when selecting a topic and preparing to write a paper:

• MIT Writing and Communication Center "Providing free professional advice about all types of writing and speaking to all members of the MIT community."
• Search Our Collections Find books about writing. Search by subject for: english language grammar; report writing handbooks; technical writing handbooks
• Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation Online version of the book that provides examples and tips on grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and other writing rules.
• Select a topic

Choosing an interesting research topic is your first challenge. Here are some tips:

• Choose a topic that you are interested in! The research process is more relevant if you care about your topic.
• If your topic is too broad, you will find too much information and not be able to focus.
• Background reading can help you choose and limit the scope of your topic. 
• Review the guidelines on topic selection outlined in your assignment.  Ask your professor or TA for suggestions.
• Refer to lecture notes and required texts to refresh your knowledge of the course and assignment.
• Talk about research ideas with a friend.  S/he may be able to help focus your topic by discussing issues that didn't occur to you at first.
• WHY did you choose the topic?  What interests you about it?  Do you have an opinion about the issues involved?
• WHO are the information providers on this topic?  Who might publish information about it?  Who is affected by the topic?  Do you know of organizations or institutions affiliated with the topic?
• WHAT are the major questions for this topic?  Is there a debate about the topic?  Are there a range of issues and viewpoints to consider?
• WHERE is your topic important: at the local, national or international level?  Are there specific places affected by the topic?
• WHEN is/was your topic important?  Is it a current event or an historical issue?  Do you want to compare your topic by time periods?

Table of contents

• Broaden your topic
• Information Navigator home
• Sources for facts - general
• Sources for facts - specific subjects

Start here for help

Ask Us Ask a question, make an appointment, give feedback, or visit us.

• Next: Refine your topic >>
• Last Updated: Jul 30, 2021 2:50 PM
• URL: https://libguides.mit.edu/select-topic

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113 Great Research Paper Topics

General Education

One of the hardest parts of writing a research paper can be just finding a good topic to write about. Fortunately we've done the hard work for you and have compiled a list of 113 interesting research paper topics. They've been organized into ten categories and cover a wide range of subjects so you can easily find the best topic for you.

In addition to the list of good research topics, we've included advice on what makes a good research paper topic and how you can use your topic to start writing a great paper.

What Makes a Good Research Paper Topic?

Not all research paper topics are created equal, and you want to make sure you choose a great topic before you start writing. Below are the three most important factors to consider to make sure you choose the best research paper topics.

#1: It's Something You're Interested In

A paper is always easier to write if you're interested in the topic, and you'll be more motivated to do in-depth research and write a paper that really covers the entire subject. Even if a certain research paper topic is getting a lot of buzz right now or other people seem interested in writing about it, don't feel tempted to make it your topic unless you genuinely have some sort of interest in it as well.

#2: There's Enough Information to Write a Paper

Even if you come up with the absolute best research paper topic and you're so excited to write about it, you won't be able to produce a good paper if there isn't enough research about the topic. This can happen for very specific or specialized topics, as well as topics that are too new to have enough research done on them at the moment. Easy research paper topics will always be topics with enough information to write a full-length paper.

Trying to write a research paper on a topic that doesn't have much research on it is incredibly hard, so before you decide on a topic, do a bit of preliminary searching and make sure you'll have all the information you need to write your paper.

#3: It Fits Your Teacher's Guidelines

Don't get so carried away looking at lists of research paper topics that you forget any requirements or restrictions your teacher may have put on research topic ideas. If you're writing a research paper on a health-related topic, deciding to write about the impact of rap on the music scene probably won't be allowed, but there may be some sort of leeway. For example, if you're really interested in current events but your teacher wants you to write a research paper on a history topic, you may be able to choose a topic that fits both categories, like exploring the relationship between the US and North Korea. No matter what, always get your research paper topic approved by your teacher first before you begin writing.

113 Good Research Paper Topics

Below are 113 good research topics to help you get you started on your paper. We've organized them into ten categories to make it easier to find the type of research paper topics you're looking for.

Arts/Culture

• Discuss the main differences in art from the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance .
• Analyze the impact a famous artist had on the world.
• How is sexism portrayed in different types of media (music, film, video games, etc.)? Has the amount/type of sexism changed over the years?
• How has the music of slaves brought over from Africa shaped modern American music?
• How has rap music evolved in the past decade?
• How has the portrayal of minorities in the media changed?

Current Events

• What have been the impacts of China's one child policy?
• How have the goals of feminists changed over the decades?
• How has the Trump presidency changed international relations?
• Analyze the history of the relationship between the United States and North Korea.
• What factors contributed to the current decline in the rate of unemployment?
• What have been the impacts of states which have increased their minimum wage?
• How do US immigration laws compare to immigration laws of other countries?
• How have the US's immigration laws changed in the past few years/decades?
• How has the Black Lives Matter movement affected discussions and view about racism in the US?
• What impact has the Affordable Care Act had on healthcare in the US?
• What factors contributed to the UK deciding to leave the EU (Brexit)?
• What factors contributed to China becoming an economic power?
• Discuss the history of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies  (some of which tokenize the S&P 500 Index on the blockchain) .
• Do students in schools that eliminate grades do better in college and their careers?
• Do students from wealthier backgrounds score higher on standardized tests?
• Do students who receive free meals at school get higher grades compared to when they weren't receiving a free meal?
• Do students who attend charter schools score higher on standardized tests than students in public schools?
• Do students learn better in same-sex classrooms?
• How does giving each student access to an iPad or laptop affect their studies?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Montessori Method ?
• Do children who attend preschool do better in school later on?
• What was the impact of the No Child Left Behind act?
• How does the US education system compare to education systems in other countries?
• What impact does mandatory physical education classes have on students' health?
• Which methods are most effective at reducing bullying in schools?
• Do homeschoolers who attend college do as well as students who attended traditional schools?
• Does offering tenure increase or decrease quality of teaching?
• How does college debt affect future life choices of students?
• Should graduate students be able to form unions?

• What are different ways to lower gun-related deaths in the US?
• How and why have divorce rates changed over time?
• Is affirmative action still necessary in education and/or the workplace?
• Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?
• How has stem cell research impacted the medical field?
• How can human trafficking be reduced in the United States/world?
• Should people be able to donate organs in exchange for money?
• Which types of juvenile punishment have proven most effective at preventing future crimes?
• Has the increase in US airport security made passengers safer?
• Analyze the immigration policies of certain countries and how they are similar and different from one another.
• Several states have legalized recreational marijuana. What positive and negative impacts have they experienced as a result?
• Do tariffs increase the number of domestic jobs?
• Which prison reforms have proven most effective?
• Should governments be able to censor certain information on the internet?
• Which methods/programs have been most effective at reducing teen pregnancy?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Keto diet?
• How effective are different exercise regimes for losing weight and maintaining weight loss?
• How do the healthcare plans of various countries differ from each other?
• What are the most effective ways to treat depression ?
• What are the pros and cons of genetically modified foods?
• Which methods are most effective for improving memory?
• What can be done to lower healthcare costs in the US?
• What factors contributed to the current opioid crisis?
• Analyze the history and impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic .
• Are low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets more effective for weight loss?
• How much exercise should the average adult be getting each week?
• Which methods are most effective to get parents to vaccinate their children?
• What are the pros and cons of clean needle programs?
• How does stress affect the body?
• Discuss the history of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
• What were the causes and effects of the Salem Witch Trials?
• Who was responsible for the Iran-Contra situation?
• How has New Orleans and the government's response to natural disasters changed since Hurricane Katrina?
• What events led to the fall of the Roman Empire?
• What were the impacts of British rule in India ?
• Was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary?
• What were the successes and failures of the women's suffrage movement in the United States?
• What were the causes of the Civil War?
• How did Abraham Lincoln's assassination impact the country and reconstruction after the Civil War?
• Which factors contributed to the colonies winning the American Revolution?
• What caused Hitler's rise to power?
• Discuss how a specific invention impacted history.
• What led to Cleopatra's fall as ruler of Egypt?
• How has Japan changed and evolved over the centuries?
• What were the causes of the Rwandan genocide ?

• Why did Martin Luther decide to split with the Catholic Church?
• Analyze the history and impact of a well-known cult (Jonestown, Manson family, etc.)
• How did the sexual abuse scandal impact how people view the Catholic Church?
• How has the Catholic church's power changed over the past decades/centuries?
• What are the causes behind the rise in atheism/ agnosticism in the United States?
• What were the influences in Siddhartha's life resulted in him becoming the Buddha?
• How has media portrayal of Islam/Muslims changed since September 11th?

Science/Environment

• How has the earth's climate changed in the past few decades?
• How has the use and elimination of DDT affected bird populations in the US?
• Analyze how the number and severity of natural disasters have increased in the past few decades.
• Analyze deforestation rates in a certain area or globally over a period of time.
• How have past oil spills changed regulations and cleanup methods?
• How has the Flint water crisis changed water regulation safety?
• What are the pros and cons of fracking?
• What impact has the Paris Climate Agreement had so far?
• What have NASA's biggest successes and failures been?
• How can we improve access to clean water around the world?
• Does ecotourism actually have a positive impact on the environment?
• Should the US rely on nuclear energy more?
• What can be done to save amphibian species currently at risk of extinction?
• What impact has climate change had on coral reefs?
• How are black holes created?
• Are teens who spend more time on social media more likely to suffer anxiety and/or depression?
• How will the loss of net neutrality affect internet users?
• Analyze the history and progress of self-driving vehicles.
• How has the use of drones changed surveillance and warfare methods?
• Has social media made people more or less connected?
• What progress has currently been made with artificial intelligence ?
• Do smartphones increase or decrease workplace productivity?
• What are the most effective ways to use technology in the classroom?
• How is Google search affecting our intelligence?
• When is the best age for a child to begin owning a smartphone?
• Has frequent texting reduced teen literacy rates?

How to Write a Great Research Paper

Even great research paper topics won't give you a great research paper if you don't hone your topic before and during the writing process. Follow these three tips to turn good research paper topics into great papers.

#1: Figure Out Your Thesis Early

Before you start writing a single word of your paper, you first need to know what your thesis will be. Your thesis is a statement that explains what you intend to prove/show in your paper. Every sentence in your research paper will relate back to your thesis, so you don't want to start writing without it!

As some examples, if you're writing a research paper on if students learn better in same-sex classrooms, your thesis might be "Research has shown that elementary-age students in same-sex classrooms score higher on standardized tests and report feeling more comfortable in the classroom."

If you're writing a paper on the causes of the Civil War, your thesis might be "While the dispute between the North and South over slavery is the most well-known cause of the Civil War, other key causes include differences in the economies of the North and South, states' rights, and territorial expansion."

#2: Back Every Statement Up With Research

Remember, this is a research paper you're writing, so you'll need to use lots of research to make your points. Every statement you give must be backed up with research, properly cited the way your teacher requested. You're allowed to include opinions of your own, but they must also be supported by the research you give.

#3: Do Your Research Before You Begin Writing

You don't want to start writing your research paper and then learn that there isn't enough research to back up the points you're making, or, even worse, that the research contradicts the points you're trying to make!

Get most of your research on your good research topics done before you begin writing. Then use the research you've collected to create a rough outline of what your paper will cover and the key points you're going to make. This will help keep your paper clear and organized, and it'll ensure you have enough research to produce a strong paper.

What's Next?

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Want to know the fastest and easiest ways to convert between Fahrenheit and Celsius? We've got you covered! Check out our guide to the best ways to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit (or vice versa).

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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• Finding a Topic: The Big Idea
• Research: An Overview
• Narrowing a Topic
• Doing Presearch
• Words and Synonyms
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Finding a Topic: Start with a Big Idea

Usually, your assignment has some parameters: write a paper on a topic related to this class: environmental problems, for example, or feminist concerns, or technology and society.  

      But those are still so big; whole libraries are devoted to environmental problems.  

              How do I get hold of a starting point?  

We recommend looking in some of these places to get ideas of what people are talking about.  

You will probably need to narrow your topic further as you go. 

Some Sources for Topics in the Popular Press

Here are some places to go browsing for starter ideas:

• The New York Times   Obviously.
• Discover Magazine   or the weightier  Scientific American
• Huffington Post  
• Story Corps
• This American Life
• Opposing Viewpoints
• Wall Street Journal

Another way into subtopics:  Visuwords  creates a mindmap of related terms related to the one you type in. 

Two Databases That Cover Hot Topics

Cq researcher.

• Original reporting and analysis on issues in the news.
• Each report includes:  intro,  pro-con debates;  background, chronology;  tables and maps;  and bibliography. 

In Context: Opposing Viewpoints 

• Searches hundreds of sources for current topics.
• Includes images, statistics, audio, and video files.

A Few More Current Issues Sources

• ProCon.org: Pros and Cons of Controversial Issues "Controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, primarily pro-con format."
• TOPICsearch Magazines, newspapers, opinion polls, government pamphlets on common topics.
• AllSides Provides articles about current events from different viewpoints across the political spectrum. It assigns labels to each article, making it easier to identify the political bias of the source.
• << Previous: Research: An Overview
• Next: Narrowing a Topic >>

How to Write a Research Paper: Choosing Your Topic

Choosing Your Topic

• Citation & Style Guides This link opens in a new window
• Critical Thinking
• Evaluating Information
• Parts of the Paper
• Writing Tips from UNC-Chapel Hill
• Librarian Contact

• Choose a topic you are interested in, and can find information about.
• Your opinion of the topic might change as you conduct your research and find out more about the subject.
• Choose a topic that is not too broad or too narrow. The first will be hard to keep focused and the second might be hard to find information about.

Rethinking Your Topic

You may discover that you’re looking for information by search terms that are not the most effective. Databases use search terminology called Subject Terms . Find these descriptive words to help with your search. For example: "death penalty" is often classified as "capital punishment."

Write all of those search terms down to keep track of them. These terms might give you new ways of thinking about your topic.. Maybe come up with a question or two for things you’re curious about. Those questions will help you focus your paper.

Narrowing Your Topic

After you have found some information, try to narrow your topic. If your topic is too broad, it will be hard to keep a focus in your paper and the information range will be too large. Adjust your topic to a topic field that is specific enough to research without having large amounts of articles, but still general enough to have some relevant information sources.

• Next: Citation & Style Guides >>
• Last Updated: Feb 13, 2024 8:35 AM
• URL: https://libguides.ucc.edu/research_paper

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The Library Research Process, Step-by-Step

• Finding & Exploring a Topic
• Finding Books
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• Understanding & Using a Citation Style

Library Contact

Topic Development Steps

1. Review Assignment: What's the assignment? What are the expectations for your work? Are there any specific parameters that you need to be aware of?

2. Brainstorm: Pick a topic that interests you! Do you have a strong opinion on something? Do you have a personal issue, problem, or pastime that you would like to know more about?

• Librarian Tip: The research and writing will go by more quickly if you care about the topic you are researching!

3. Find Background Information: Reading an overview of a topic will allow you to better understand the landscape of what you are researching. This in turn will allow you to narrow in on a specific concept that piques your interest.

• Librarian Tip: This process also allows you to find common vocabulary used in the field, which offers you keywords for your resource searching. Make a list of these keywords as you are going.

4. Focus Your Topic: Make sure to keep your work manageable by honing in on a specific thesis statement or question.

• Librarian Tip: Remember to stay flexible while picking a thesis statement, if a topic is too broad or too narrow it will be hard to research. So keep in mind - picking your topic is research!

1. Review Assignment

Make sure you understand your assignment thoroughly. Is it an argumentative paper, where you will need to choose a side and find evidence to support it? Or is it a literature review or annotated bibliography, where you need to find quality sources and be able to summarize them?

If you're not sure, talk to your instructor! They can help you better understand your assignment.

2 - 3. Brainstorm & Find Background Information: Resources

The library has specialized databases which summarize both sides of an issue. These may help you develop a topic, and help you track down appropriate research. You can also search your ideas on Wikipedia to learn more about them and help inform your topic development.

Library Databases:

• Issues & Controversies This link opens in a new window Full text of balanced, accurate discussions of over 250 controversial topics in the news supplemented with chronologies, illustrations, maps, tables, sidebars, contact information, and bibliographies including primary source documents and news editorials.
• Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window Covers current social and cultural issues, and includes pro and con "viewpoint" essays, topic overviews, primary sources, and news articles.
• CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window Noted for its in-depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.
• ProCon.org: Pros and Cons of Controversial Issues ProCon.org presents both sides of a current "controversial" issue. The topics on this site include: politics, religion, medicine and health, sports, science, and education.

4. Focus Your Topic: Narrowing

Sometimes a topic that seems like the right size for your paper can seem way too big after you’ve learned a little more about it.   When this happens, you need to narrow the focus of your paper.  Y ou can do this by considering different ways to restrict your paper topic.

Some of the ways you can limit your paper topic are by:

• Who – population or group (e.g., college students; women; Asian Americans)
• What – discipline or focus (e.g., sociological or historical perspective)
• Where – geographic location (e.g., United States; universities; small towns)
• When – time period or era (19 th century; Renaissance; Vietnam War)
• Why – why is the topic important? (to the class, to the field, or to you)

For example, a paper about social media would be very broad.   But a paper about social media use by female college students in the United States since 2010 might be just right.

4. Focus Your Topic: Goldilocker

Try using the U-M Library-designed  Goldilocker tool  (a search strategy generator) to help you determine and narrow down your topic. The tool will prompt you to think about the Who, What, When, and Where aspects of your topic. 

It will look something like this: 

General Topic: social media and its effects on the mental health of female-identifying college students  Who: female-identifying college students  What: social media  When: since 2010 Where: United States

4. Focus Your Topic: Broadening

Sometimes you will find that your topic is too narrow - there is not enough published on your topic. When this happens, you can try to broaden your topic. There are a couple of strategies you can try when broadening your topic.

Tip #1: choose less specific terms for your search, e.g., standardized tests instead of SATs, or performance-enhancing drugs instead of anabolic steroids.

Tip #2:  broaden your topic by changing or removing limits or filters from your topic:

• Who - population or group (e.g., instead of college students , choose a broader section of the population)
• What  - discipline or focus (e.g., instead of choosing a sociological perspective, look at a number of perspectives)
• Where  - geographic location (e.g., instead of Michigan , choose United States)
• When  - time period or era (e.g., instead of 1999 , choose 1980s or 20th century)

For example, a paper about Tik Tok use by female identifying college students at the University of Michigan in 2024 might be too narrowly defined. But a paper about social media use by female identifying college students since 2010 might be just right.

Getting Started with Library Research

Research needs and requirements vary with each assignment, project, or paper. Although there is no single “right” way to conduct research, certain methods and skills can make your research efforts more efficient and effective.

If you have questions or can’t find what you need,  ask a librarian .

Developing a Research Topic

All research starts with a question.

• Discuss your ideas with a librarian or with your professor.
• Formulate a research question and identify keywords.
• Search subject-focused encyclopedias, books, and journals to see what kind of information already exists on your topic. If you are having trouble finding information, you may need to change your search terms or ask for help.

Additional resources:

• Library Research at Cornell
• Research Guides

Using the Library to Find Research Materials

The Library is the top resource when it comes to locating and accessing research materials.

• Use the library catalog to find materials such as books, music, videos, journals, and audio recordings in our collections.
• Search databases to find articles, book chapters, and other sources within a specific subject area or discipline.
• For materials the Library does not own, use BorrowDirect or Interlibrary Loan for quick and easy access.
• Each library unit has unique collections and subject knowledge. See individual library websites for additional resources in specific subject areas.
• Check out our library research guides for lists of resources curated by library staff. Browse by subject or find guides specific to course offerings.

Evaluating Sources

When using a book, article, report, or website for your research, it is important to gauge how reliable the source is. Visit these research guides for more information:

• How to distinguish scholarly vs non-scholarly sources
• Tips for critically analyzing information sources
• Identify misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda

Citing Sources

When writing a research paper, it is important to cite the sources you used in a way that would enable a reader to easily find them.

• Citation Management
• How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography
• Code of Academic Integrity

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Research Process

• Brainstorming
• Explore Google This link opens in a new window
• Explore Web Resources
• Explore Background Information
• Explore Books
• Explore Scholarly Articles
• Narrowing a Topic
• Primary and Secondary Resources
• Academic, Popular & Trade Publications
• Scholarly and Peer-Reviewed Journals
• Grey Literature
• Clinical Trials
• Evidence Based Treatment
• Scholarly Research
• Database Research Log
• Search Limits
• Keyword Searching
• Boolean Operators
• Phrase Searching
• Truncation & Wildcard Symbols
• Proximity Searching
• Field Codes
• Subject Terms and Database Thesauri
• Reading a Scientific Article
• Website Evaluation
• Article Keywords and Subject Terms
• Cited References
• Citing Articles
• Related Results
• Search Within Publication
• Database Alerts & RSS Feeds
• Personal Database Accounts
• Persistent URLs
• Literature Gap and Future Research
• Web of Knowledge
• Annual Reviews
• Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
• Finding Seminal Works
• Exhausting the Literature
• Finding Dissertations
• Researching Theoretical Frameworks
• Research Methodology & Design
• Tests and Measurements
• Organizing Research & Citations This link opens in a new window
• Picking Where to Publish
• Bibliometrics
• Learn the Library This link opens in a new window

Finding a Research Topic

Which step of the research process takes the most time?

A. Finding a topic B. Researching a topic C. Both

How did you answer the above question? Do you spend most of your efforts actually researching a topic, or do you spend a lot of time and energy finding a topic? Ideally, you’ll want to spend fairly equal amounts of effort on both. Finding an appropriate and manageable topic can sometimes be just as hard as researching a topic.

A good research topic will have a body of related research which is accessible and manageable. Identifying a topic with these characteristics at the beginning  of the research process will ultimately save you time.

Finding a research topic that is interesting, relevant, feasible, and worthy of your time may take substantial effort so you should be prepared to invest your time accordingly. Considering your options, doing some background work on each option, and ultimately settling on a topic that is manageable will spare you many of the frustrations that come from attempting research on a topic that, for whatever reason, may not be appropriate.

Remember that as you are searching for a research topic you will need to be able to find enough information about your topic(s) in a book or scholarly journal. If you can only find information about your topic(s) in current event sources (newspapers, magazines, etc.) then the topic might be too new to have a large body of published scholarly information. If this is the case, you may want to reconsider the topic(s).

So how do you find a research topic? Unfortunately there’s no directory of topics that you pick and choose from, but there are a few relatively easy techniques that you can use to find a relevant and manageable topic. A good starting point may be to view the Library's Resources for Finding a Research Topic Workshop below.

The sub-pages in this section (on the left-hand menu) offer various tips for where and how to locate resources to develop your research topic. And for additional information on selecting a research topic, see the resources below.

• Defining a Topic - SAGE Research Methods
• Develop My Research Idea - Academic Writer Note: You MUST create an Academic Writer account AND start a paper in order to access this tool. Once you have done so, open a paper and click Research Lab Book in the left navigation menu.
• The Process for Developing Questions - ASC Guide

Finding & Staying Current on a Research Topic Webinar

This webinar will introduce you to resources which can be used to locate potential topics for a research paper or dissertation, including websites, reference books, and scholarly articles.

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Mass Communication

7 steps to effective library research.

• Open Educational Resources (OER)
• Find an Article
• Journals and Magazines
• Primary and Secondary Resources
• Cite Sources

The following steps provide an effective strategy for conducting efficient and accurate library research.

STEP 1 

SELECT YOUR TOPIC

Before you can do any research, you need to be clear about what you are researching. A helpful way to clarify your topic is to state your topic in the form of a question.

Example Question : What effect does alcohol abuse have on college students?

Don't worry about being too general, you will refine your topic later.

STEP 2 

IDENTIFY KEY WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOUR TOPIC

Make a list of words and terms that describe your topic. To this list add synonyms of those words and other terms related to your topic.

Example Keywords : alcohol abuse, college students

Example Related Words : alcoholism, binge drinking, young adults

This is a very important step because almost all your subsequent research will involve entering these words into various search engines (e.g. the library catalog to find books, a research database to find a journal article).

STEP 3 

FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Begin your search with printed or online encyclopedias such as Credo Reference or Britannica Online, using the key words and related words that you identified as search terms in Steps 1 and 2. Articles in encyclopedias and similar sources will help you refine your topic. Note any relevant references to books, articles, and other information in the bibliographies at the end of the encyclopedia articles. You may want to use them in your research.

STEP 4 

USE ONLINE CATALOG TO FIND BOOKS

Using words that describe your topic (Identified in Steps 1 and 2 above), do a Keyword search to find books relevant to your topic in the library's  online catalog . Once you find appropriate materials, note the citation (author, title, etc.), call number, location, and circulation status of the book.

USE RESEARCH DATABASES TO FIND JOURNAL ARTICLES

Consult a research database like  Academic Search Complete  to find articles on your topic. Some search results will include the full text of the article. If the full text is not included, please use Journal Finder to see if the full text is available in the library or in another research database.

If the full text is not available, you may hope to use the library's  Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Service  to borrow books or obtain copies of articles not available at ECSU.

EVALUATE WHAT YOU FIND

Evaluate the authority and quality of the materials you have located. Consider the author, publisher, and date of each resource. Is the material comprehensive? Is it biased? Who is the intended audience?

Is the article  peer-reviewed  or from a  scholarly  journal? A  scholarly  journal has all of its articles reviewed by panel of experts in the field before the articles are published. Peer-reviewed articles are the "Gold Standard" of academic research. Answering the following questions will help you identify a  peer-reviewed  article.

Is the author of the article listed near the beginning of the article?

Is the journal in which the article published named?

Is there an  abstract  of the article available in the database? An  abstract  is a one paragraph description of the contents of the article.

Does the article have an extensive bibliography (not just a couple of citations)?

If the answer to these questions is 'Yes', the article is probably  peer-reviewed .

REVIEW YOUR PROGRESS

After you have completed the previous steps, examine the information you have collected. Ask yourself the following questions.

Does it answer the topic question you posed in Step 1?

Is your topic question too general?

Does it need to be more specific?

Do you need more information about any aspect of your topic?

After you answer these questions, return to Step 1 and repeat the process. (You may be able to skip Step 3 Find Background Information.)

REMEMBER TO ASK A LIBRARIAN FOR HELP IF YOU NEED IT!

Librarians are here to help you with your research. Librarians know the resources the Library has and are eager to assist students.

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Library Research Help

Researching by step, narrowing your topic.

• Finding Books
• Finding Articles
• Finding Videos
• Evaluating Websites
• Search Tips
• Step 1: Choose your Topic
• Step 2: Consider What You Already Know
• Step 3: Perform Quick Background Research
• Step 4: Narrow your topic
• Step 5: Begin Library Research

When choosing a topic, make sure you know what your final research paper should look like. What exactly is the assignment? Each instructor has different requirements and purposes. Ask your instructor for clarification if you do not understand. Consider asking him/her to approve your topic.

For help with topics, go to Opposing Viewpoints "Browse Issue/Topic" and the PDF below.

• Exercise 2: Define and Refine the Topic

Brainstorm main ideas, keywords, and associations that you already know. Consider the who, what, when, where, why of your topic.

• A specific age group, occupation, ethnic group, gender, etc. Who does/doesn't support it?
• What is the issue facing the "who" in your topic? Are there any synonyms? 
• A specific country, region, city, physical environment, rural vs. urban, etc.
• Is this a current issue or an historical event? Will you discuss the historical development of a current problem?
• You may want to focus on causes or argue the importance of this problem by outlining historical or current ramifications. Or you may decide to persuade your instructor and class why they should care about the issue.
• Using the 5Ws to Develop a Research Question

Use Google or Wikipedia to gain a better understanding of your topic. What additional information do you notice? Note any keywords and/or topics that may help direct where you want to go with your research.

Any topic can be difficult to research if it is too broad or narrow. Start to narrow your topic by adding keywords. Add additional keywords to further narrow down your topic. It is common to modify your topic during the research process. 

Put together some keywords:

When you put your keywords together, you get a general idea in what direction you are taking your research paper.

It's rare to get exactly what you are searching for on the first try. Be flexible.

If you get too few results:

• try some synonyms for your topic and keywords, example: United States, U.S., America, USA
• try broader terms, example: mass murder, race extermination 
• check your spelling

If you have too many results:

• add keywords, example: United States Foreign Policy, Africa, Hutu, Tutsi
• OCCC Library Catalog
• EBSCOhost Databases This link opens in a new window
• Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new window
• The Oklahoman
• Tulsa World

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Library Research Paper: Example & Writing Guide [2024]

What is a library research paper? It’s nothing more than an academic writing project that summarizes the information on a specific topic taken from primary and secondary sources.

There are numerous library research examples you can find online. But to complete this assignment, you should simply follow these essential steps:

• Find relevant sources.
• Collect the necessary data from them.
• Synthesize all the information.
• Form the main points to present in the paper.
• Find evidence to support every claim.

Just as with essay writing, creating a library research paper is full of challenges and obstacles. You can overcome them without a struggle if you check the tips gathered by our team . Stay on our page and find library research paper examples, outlines, and useful guidelines.

• 📚 Introduction
• 📝 The Main Body
• 🗞️ Conclusion

📓 Bibliography

🔗 references, 📃 library research paper: choosing the title.

Just like any other academic work, a library research paper should start with a compelling title. Don’t worry if you don’t know how to create one. You’ll find it out in this section!

The compelling title should fit the following criteria:

• reflects the core topic of the research paper;
• contains up to 15 words;
• identifies the purpose of research;
• grabs the readers’ attention;
• doesn’t include unknown abbreviations, too complex lexical and grammar constructions;
• clear, concise, mistakes-free.

Library Research Title Examples

Here are some examples of library research paper titles:

• American Female Artists in the Nineteenth and Twenty-First Centuries Overview
• The Influence of Different Types of Advertising on Children and Adults
• The Impact of Rapid Digitalization on Modern Art and Music
• The Role of Community Library in Civic Involvement
• Leadership Elements of the California State Library
• Unique Aspects of Running a Business in South Africa.
• The Crucial Role of Ethics in Medical Research on Humans
• How to Reduce the Rates of Injuries and Deaths Among Childhood Pedestrians
• The Importance of Qualitative Research in Healthcare Practice
• Small and Medium Businesses in South Africa
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Computerization of Medicine
• Benefits of Computer Technology for Criminal Investigations
• The Study of the Roman Road System and Its Importance
• Overview of the Homelessness Issue and the Ways to Eliminate It
• The Definition and Role of Action Research in Healthcare
• The Causes of Cultural Shifts in the United States in the Twentieth Century
• The Importance of Library Services for Community Building
• Comparison of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Efficacy in Healthcare
• The Emergence and Development of British Abolitionism
• The Effect of Current Laws on the Wellbeing of Indigenous People.
• The Peculiarities of Cross-Cultural Negotiations and Conflict Mitigation
• Analysis of Social Rights in the United States in the Early Nineteenth Century
• The Impact of Psychopathy Research on the Western Criminal Justice System
• Overview of Causes That Led to Airline Industry Crises
• The Effect of Confounding Variables on the Results of the Research
• Examination of the Nature and Possible Issues of Qualitative Research
• The Positive and Negative Impact of Culturally Diverse Team on Project Success
• The Peculiarities and Challenges of Product Launch Strategy
• What Inspires Scientists to Conduct Their Research?
• The Analysis of Food Service in Hospital
• Analysis of the Most Effective Leadership Models
• The Nature of Groupthink and Its Impact on Problem-Solving
• Stereotypes and Prejudices in Perception of Japan
• The Cause of Juvenile Delinquency and the Ways to Prevent It
• The Origin and Development of Video Games
• The Workplace Challenges of Transgender Employees
• Work-Life Balance and Its Impact on Employee Performance
• How to Find Knowledge in the Digital Library Haystack
• Nelson Mandela , His Leadership Style, and Contribution to South Africa’s Development
• The Significance of New Cybersecurity Solutions for the World’s Safety
• The Impact of Domestic Animals on Human Mental Health
• Is It Necessary to Reform Campaign Financing System?
• Criminal Mythology and Its Influence on Society
• The Distinctive Aspects of Various Types of Business Structures
• Benefits of Information Technology Infrastructure Library
• Cryptography and Mathematics : From Scytales Cylinders to Bitcoin
• The Effect of Obesity on Physical and Mental Health
• The Connection Between Alcohol Abuse During Pregnancy and Child’s Mental Health
• The Necessity of Mental Health Services for Healthcare Providers of Critical Patients
• The History and Role of Pop Art

📚 Library Research Paper Introduction

Start your scientific research essay with an overview—an introductory part of your work. Here, you have to use secondary literature to provide a general background.

An overview helps the author to establish the context and to introduce the hypothesis. Your thesis statement should clearly and concisely answer the research question and be easily understandable for the reader.

Your overview shouldn’t be too long—3 paragraphs max.

Now, let’s figure out how to conduct research.

First and foremost, it is crucial to develop a strategy. One of the research methods is to go from general to specific ideas.

See some useful tips that will make your research process smoother:

• Use keywords. Start searching the info in a database using broad terms to get the general ideas. Then, narrow it down by inserting more specific keywords into the search tool to find clear examples, essential studies, statistics, etc.
• Start with broad context. Use the same strategy as above for providing the background of your issue. First, present the general knowledge of your field of study. Then, go to more specific facts, details, and examples. Overall, your reader is supposed to dive into your topic gradually.
• Check multiple databases. Don’t forget that there are plenty of them, and you can examine several. It’s always possible to find enough info. You should know the basics of digital library management and search for sources properly and effectively.

Take a look at our example of library research hypothesis:

It may seem that the twenty-first century with its democratic values and the strive for equality opened up limitless horizons for women. Nevertheless, female artists still face various challenges that can restrict their activity and creativity. This paper compares the peculiarities of female artists’ professional activity in the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries from the feminist perspective.

Overall, by the end of your overview, the readers should know two things:

• the background of the issue you are going to investigate;
• your hypothesis.

Note that you aim to present the previous investigations in your research paper and demonstrate your position. Make sure you have your well-developed arguments and supportive details.

📝 The Main Body of a Library Research Paper

The next step of your writing process is the presentation of the recent results. Here, you need to use primary sources to find evidence to support your claims. Keep in mind that you can also use resources that contradict your position. They are useful for the rebuttal.

Follow our tips to get credible sources :

• Find books through the catalog. Use the citation (author, title, year) to find it quickly. Remember that some books may not be available in public libraries because another student has already taken them. So, check the book’s circulation status.
• To search for an e-book, use the library’s main digital catalog.
• Use scholarly databases to find journals and peer-reviewed articles.
• If you need news or magazine articles, go to the online newspaper or magazine edition.
• For dictionaries (to find definitions) and encyclopedias (to find meanings), search in reference source databases.

The evaluation of the sources is another crucial part of research paper writing. To do it properly, answer three simple questions: who, when, why?

• Who created the work?
• What are their credentials?
• Who published the book/article?
• Who are the readers?
• When was the work created?
• When was the work published?
• What is the historical context of the work’s creation period?
• Why is the work valuable for your library research paper?
• Why might the source be inappropriate for your assignment? (Biased authors, outdated information, etc.).
• Why the authors created this work?
• How can it change your readers’ views?

Are you unsure about how to use primary sources in your project? Take a look at the part of our library research paper sample:

Although many female artists are able to display their works and be successful in their profession, equality in fine arts is still unattained. Borowiecki and Dahl (2020) analyzed census and statistical data from 1850 to the present day and explored the peculiarities of female artists’ careers. The authors found that time constraints, financial aspects, and racial inequality were some of the most influential factors affecting female artists’ choices.

🗞️ Library Research Paper Conclusion

The last element of your paper is the summary. In this part, you need to summarize your arguments and make a clear conclusion regarding your findings.

See some insightful tips:

• Connect the last paragraph to your introduction. The summary starts with a well-paraphrased thesis statement. It should highlight all the keywords and the core idea of the paper. For this task, you can utilize a paragraph shortener that will practically do the same thing, only faster. Then you list your findings from the body.
• Motivate your readers. In your summary, you can also cause your readers to investigate your issue further. Suggest new ways of thinking, expand their horizons, and make them interested in your field of study.
• Prove the significance of your work. Explain why your ideas are relevant and how they can help the readers.

Take a look at our example of library research summarizing sentences to have a clear understanding of how a conclusion looks like:

Women have created numerous masterpieces that shed light on the aspects of human life that have been ignored or misunderstood by male artists. There are still views that the limited engagement of female artists is natural and meets the needs of this population. Hence, the role female artists play and should perform in the development of world fine arts is still open to debate.

This section presents a list of the sources used in the process of writing. It proves that your work is not plagiarized and filled with reliable information.

What’s vital is:

Don’t include the literature that you didn’t cite in your work in your reference list. You might have read it before. Yet, the source shouldn’t be in the bibliography if there is no in-text citation.

While dealing with referencing and citing sources, it is enough to answer three questions:

WHY DO YOU NEED TO CITE?

• to avoid plagiarism;
• to prove to your readers that you have completed research;
• to demonstrate the reliability of your sources;
• to let your readers find the sources for further investigation of your topic.

WHEN DO YOU NEED TO CITE?

• when you are using direct quotes;
• when you are taking the ideas, beliefs, and opinions of another person;
• when you are taking statistics, facts, visuals form the other sources;
• when you are paraphrasing the other thoughts using your own words.

HOW DO I FORMAT MY CITATIONS?

• Figure out what citation style is required. It has to be done even before writing the paper as there are a lot of them. The most popular ones are MLA format and APA style .
• Investigate the aspects of the required citation style. If you are unsure about something, ask your instructor or find a formatting manual.
• Always proofread and double-check. Ensure that your in-text citations and reference list are neat and free of mistakes.

Look at the references from our library research sample:

• In-text citations:

According to Borowiecki and Dahl (2020), … or The life and art of Cecilia Beaux can serve as an appropriate illustration of these constraints (McGuirk, 2017).

• References:

Borowiecki, K. J., & Dahl, C. M. (2020). What makes an artist? The evolution and clustering of creative activity in the US since 1850. Regional Science and Urban Economics, in \ press. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166046220302994?via%3Dihub

McGuirk, H. D. K. (2017). Mary Cassatt and Cecilia Beaux: An analytical comparison of two new women and issues surrounding femininity, modernity, and nineteenth-century feminism. [Master’s thesis, College of Fine Arts of Ohio University]. College of Fine Arts of Ohio University.

✅ Library Research Example

Writing a library research paper can be an exciting task as it allows you to delve deep into a topic of interest and explore various intriguing sources. To inspire you even more, we have prepared an example of a library research paper showcasing excellent research, analysis, and writing. You can download the PDF file by clicking the link below.

The realm of American art has been profoundly influenced by the contributions of female artists across centuries, from the 19th to the 21st. The paper delves into the societal and cultural factors that influenced female artists’ representation and recognition while also highlighting prominent artists’ groundbreaking works. It analyzes the evolution of women’s roles in art, examining their struggles, triumphs, and lasting influence on the artistic landscape.

Thank you for visiting our page! Use our tips, share them with your friends, and don’t forget to check other articles on our website.

• Library Research Process: Elmer E. Rasmuson Library
• Library Research Basics: LibGuides at Conrad N. Hilton Library
• Writing a College Research Paper: Rentschler Library
• Finding articles, Library Research Skills Tutorial: Concordia University Library
• Basic Steps in the Research Process: North Hennepin Community College
• Writing the Research Paper: Writing@CSU, Colorado State University
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Students struggle with academic writing rules. Mastering them takes longer than writing the paper. But when the conventions become a normal state of things, the process becomes faster and easier than before. The less you think about the form, the more time you have to think about the contents.

Few students fully get the meaning and the importance of a research proposal. If you have a good research proposal, it means that you are going to carry out adequate research. A low-quality research proposal may be the reason your research will never start.

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Holman Library

• GRC Holman Library
• Green River LibGuides

Library Research: A Step-By-Step Guide

Step 4: write.

• Library Research: A Step-by-Step Guide
• 1a. Understand Your Assignment
• 1b. Select a Topic
• 1c. Develop Research Questions
• 1d. Identify Search Words
• 1e. Find Background Info
• 1f. Refine Your Topic
• 2a. Use Smart Search Strategies
• 2b. Find Books
• 2c. Find Audio and Video
• 2d. Find Articles
• 2e. Find Websites
• 2f. Find Info in Holman Library One Search
• 3a. Evaluate By Specific Criteria
• 3b. Distinguish Between Scholarly/Popular Sources
• Step 5: Cite Your Sources

Useful style & writing guides

Browse the Essential Skills and Main sections of Holman Library -- 808 Call Number -- for books on incorporating sources into your research papers.

How do I incorporate sources into my paper or presentation?

• Can I use it as background information to begin my paper?
• Can I use it to change the focus or direction of my paper? 
• Can I make smooth transitions between thoughts/paragraphs by making connections between sources?
• Can I insert these into my paper for emotional impact or attention-grabbing devices?
• Can I use it as evidence in my supporting paragraphs?
• Can I use it as a counterargument?
• Can I make recommendations or leave questions for the reader to ponder at the end of my paper?
• Is it close enough and good enough that I can still figure out a way to creatively incorporate it in my paper?

Video: How to Avoid Plagiarism in 5 Easy Steps

Source: "How to Avoid Plagiarism: In 5 Easy Steps" by Steelman Library , is licensed under a Standard YouTube License.

Three Methods for incorporating sources

Know these methods.

• Method #1 Summarize
• Method #2 Paraphrase
• Method #3 Quote

It is best to mostly summarize and paraphrase your sources instead of quoting them. This improves the flow of your paper and makes it more coherent for readers.

• Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL): Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Summarize:  

state the main ideas of a source concisely and in your own words. Keep if brief and to the point. Always indicate the source you are summarizing. A summary is much shorter in length than the source. 

TIP: Practice explaining out loud a source you would like to summarize. 

Paraphrase:

r estate, in your own words ,  information from a source, like a conclusion or particularly important point. Always cite the source you paraphrase.  A paraphrase is usually about the same length as the original.

Quote: 

use someone's exact words when rewording will not do justice to the original statement, the person you are citing is a known authority, for accuracy, or for conciseness. Use quotes sparingly.

• Limit  the use of direct quotes to at most, 20% of the paper (exception: papers on literary works).
• Put quotation marks around a quote.
• In APA format, quotation marks are used for quotes less than 5 lines only. 
• Indent direct quotes five or more lines (MLA), or 40+ words (APA). 
• Use ellipses (three dots...where the...words were...removed) to indicate omissions from a direct quote. Be careful to not lose context or the true meaning of the statement by omitting parts.
• Indicate additions or changes with [brackets]

Using Information from another Source

• Weaving it together
• Paraphrase or Plagiarize

A summary is a brief synopsis of the key points of a work. A summary is written in your own words and credits the original source.

Click on the link below to download a copy of an 8 step guide to help you summarize!

• Eight Steps for Writing a Summary

Paraphrasing refers to restating someone's ideas in your own words. Note that says ideas  - not words! Paraphrasing is not  just rewriting a sentence using your own words! That's a surefire way to plagiarize! Writing the ideas, or meaning of what you read, however, is the best way to go! And you must give credit when you paraphrase.  Click on the link below to download a copy of an 6 step guide to help you paraphrase!

• Six Steps for Paraphrasing Material

Weaving it all together

Most college level writing - and in fact, life writing - requires you to do more than summarize and paraphrase! You also need to be able to tie it all together into your own discussion and analysis. 

Writing texts refer to this process by different names; The Write Stuff describes it as making an "ice cream sandwich" in which you wrap other's ideas and words within your own analysis. In other words, you sandwich them.

The Ice Cream Sandwich: Framing Facts and Sources

Top Cookie:

A sentence or two to introduce the point you want to make or critique

The text reference that supports your point. Be sure to put the summaries and paraphrases into a sentence of your own:

Paraphrase > plus page number (in parentheses)

Direct quote

Bottom Cookie:

Interpretation and analysis

Interpretation (what is being said - define key terms when necessary)

Analysis (what the messages are and a critique of the author's ideas, writing style, or techniques)

Sims, Marcie. “The Ice Cream Sandwich: Framing Facts and Sources” The Write Stuff: Thinking through Essays. 2nd ed. Boston: Prentice-Hall. 2012. 337-338. Print.

The most common form of “accidental” plagiarism is the result of poor paraphrasing skills. This type of “accidental” plagiarism occurs when you actually cite a source, but the amount of material you use from that source, or the overall writing style—i.e., use of words, phrases, and writing patterns—is too close to the original (without using quotation marks). Be careful about relying too much in a paper on someone else’s words or ideas. Basically, if you use too many of the same phrases or words from the original and do not use quotation marks, it is considered plagiarism even if you cite the source.

Examples of attempted paraphrasing

Original Source Excerpt

Such savvy borrowing may be lost on some educators, but others, like librarians, are catching up. “Students are finding it so easy to use these sources that they will dump them in the middle of the papers without any attribution,” says John Ruszkiewicz, an English professor at Texas. “What they don’t realize is how readily [professors] can tell the material isn’t the student’s and how easy it is for instructors to search this material on the Web” (434).

Student Version A— Plagiarism:

Students borrowing from the Web may be lost on some educators, but some teachers and librarians are catching up. Some students use chunks of other sources right in the middle of their papers without citations. But what these students often don’t realize is how easily professors can tell the material isn’t the student’s and how the instructors can easily search and find this material on the Web too.

This paraphrase is an example of plagiarism because the student uses many of the same phrases as the original passage and the same overall style and structure as the original author with just a few substitution words or phrases (without using any quotation marks and without citations).

Student Version B—Attempted Paraphrase— But Still Plagiarism:

According to Mark Clayton, students borrowing from the Internet may be missed by some teachers, but others are catching it. Students find it easy to use these sources and will put them in their papers without citations or credit. However, they don’t realize that professors can tell the material isn’t the student’s and that it is easy for them to search the web and find this material too.

This paraphrase is an example of “accidental” plagiarism because the student has combined a couple sentences, substituted a few words, but still has used the same overall structure with minor substitutions and has given a nod to the original author with a tagline but still does not have a proper parenthetical citation anywhere in the paraphrase.

Student Version C—Appropriate Paraphrase— Not Plagiarism:

According to Mark Clayton's article, "A Whole Lot of Cheatin' Going On," many students are using the Internet to research sources on topics they write about, but they are using these sources in their papers without giving any credit to the original authors. Clayton also points out that teachers and librarians are figuring out what's going on and can recognize when it is not the student's own work. Furthermore, teachers can find the sources themselves on the Internet and prove that the student has plagiarized (434).

This student has paraphrased using his or her own words and sentence constructions, and the student has accurately reflected the author's ideas and cited him correctly both with a tag and a parenthetical citation.

Content in this “Types of accidental plagiarism” section is reused with permission from Sims, Marcie.  The Write Stuff: Thinking Through Essays.  Upper Saddle River : Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2009. Print.

Tips for avoiding plagiarism

To avoid plagiarism writers must be aware of three concerns: ethical, legal, and methodological.

Every time you use another person’s words or thoughts, you have both a legal and ethical obligation to give that person (also called a source) credit. To fulfill those obligations you must know the methods by which to correctly credit that source. That means using a specific documentation style or format (the most common being MLA, APA, and Chicago Manual of Style). Thus, avoiding plagiarism starts with being aware of what it is and then taking the precautions necessary to document and cite all the sources, even if the writers just gained an insight or idea from another person.

Here are some helpful  tips:

Take careful notes and mark direct quotes and summarized ideas with the page numbers they came from.

In the process of searching for secondary sources, especially when using the Internet, you should be sure to take detailed notes about the source information of any piece you are even considering using in your paper.

Make sure to use your own words and sentence constructions and even your own style when you paraphrase or summarize the ideas of others. You still need to  credit the original source clearly to avoid plagiarism.

Many students intentionally cheat and copy ideas or words without giving credit to the original author. Some students, though, are guilty of just being unaware of the rules for citing sources or maybe even of dismissing that nagging feeling that they might be improperly using other people’s ideas. You should never try to claim lack of awareness as an excuse. Since you are in college now, as a writer, you must be responsible and scholarly and always give credit for others’ ideas or words. You are stealing someone else’s intellectual property when you plagiarize. It is a serious offence with serious consequences.

Content in this “Tips for avoiding plagiarism” section is reused with permission from Sims, Marcie. The Write Stuff: Thinking Through Essays. Upper Saddle River : Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2009. Print.

Get started!

Getting started can often be the hardest part! But sometimes, all you need to do is begin! Map out your essay and plan to paraphrase, summarize, or quote from the sources you found! 

Image source:  "Student studies"  by  Mohamed Hassan  is in the  Public Domain, CC0

Writing tips!

• Writing Tip #1 Be organized
• Writing Tip #2 Take good notes
• Writing Tip #3 Keep it simple

Be organized!

Develop or improve your note-taking habits

• Take notes in your own words, label things that you paraphrase and provide appropriate documentation.
• When taking notes, place direct quotations in quotation marks and provide appropriate and complete documentation.
• Make a list of the writers and viewpoints you discover in your research.
• Be careful of internet sources that may just recycle or plagiarize other sources.
• Clearly organize your notes into three categories: your ideas, your summaries of the contents of a source, and any exact wording you write or copy from a source.

Keep to the basic paper components

• Your thesis.
• The main ideas or arguments that support your thesis. Present them in a logical order.
• Transition words, phrases and sentences which improve the flow of your paper.
• A concluding paragraph that sums up the main points. 

Recommended Websites

• Integrating Sources (Harvard Writing Program)
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL): The Writing Process
• << Previous: 3b. Distinguish Between Scholarly/Popular Sources
• Next: Step 5: Cite Your Sources >>
• Last Updated: Sep 7, 2024 3:40 PM
• URL: https://libguides.greenriver.edu/library-research

Writing a Research Paper

This page lists some of the stages involved in writing a library-based research paper.

Although this list suggests that there is a simple, linear process to writing such a paper, the actual process of writing a research paper is often a messy and recursive one, so please use this outline as a flexible guide.

Discovering, Narrowing, and Focusing a Researchable Topic

• Try to find a topic that truly interests you
• Try writing your way to a topic
• Talk with your course instructor and classmates about your topic
• Pose your topic as a question to be answered or a problem to be solved

Finding, Selecting, and Reading Sources

You will need to look at the following types of sources:

• library catalog, periodical indexes, bibliographies, suggestions from your instructor
• primary vs. secondary sources
• journals, books, other documents

Grouping, Sequencing, and Documenting Information

The following systems will help keep you organized:

• a system for noting sources on bibliography cards
• a system for organizing material according to its relative importance
• a system for taking notes

Writing an Outline and a Prospectus for Yourself

Consider the following questions:

• What is the topic?
• Why is it significant?
• What background material is relevant?
• What is my thesis or purpose statement?
• What organizational plan will best support my purpose?

Writing the Introduction

In the introduction you will need to do the following things:

• present relevant background or contextual material
• define terms or concepts when necessary
• explain the focus of the paper and your specific purpose
• reveal your plan of organization

Writing the Body

• Use your outline and prospectus as flexible guides
• Build your essay around points you want to make (i.e., don’t let your sources organize your paper)
• Integrate your sources into your discussion
• Summarize, analyze, explain, and evaluate published work rather than merely reporting it
• Move up and down the “ladder of abstraction” from generalization to varying levels of detail back to generalization

Writing the Conclusion

• If the argument or point of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize the argument for your reader.
• If prior to your conclusion you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the end of your paper to add your points up, to explain their significance.
• Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction.
• Perhaps suggest what about this topic needs further research.

Revising the Final Draft

• Check overall organization : logical flow of introduction, coherence and depth of discussion in body, effectiveness of conclusion.
• Paragraph level concerns : topic sentences, sequence of ideas within paragraphs, use of details to support generalizations, summary sentences where necessary, use of transitions within and between paragraphs.
• Sentence level concerns: sentence structure, word choices, punctuation, spelling.
• Documentation: consistent use of one system, citation of all material not considered common knowledge, appropriate use of endnotes or footnotes, accuracy of list of works cited.

Academic and Professional Writing

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Analysis Papers

Reading Poetry

A Short Guide to Close Reading for Literary Analysis

Using Literary Quotations

Play Reviews

Writing a Rhetorical Précis to Analyze Nonfiction Texts

Incorporating Interview Data

Grant Proposals

Planning and Writing a Grant Proposal: The Basics

Additional Resources for Grants and Proposal Writing

Job Materials and Application Essays

Writing Personal Statements for Ph.D. Programs

• Before you begin: useful tips for writing your essay
• Guided brainstorming exercises
• Get more help with your essay
• Frequently Asked Questions

Resume Writing Tips

CV Writing Tips

Cover Letters

Business Letters

Proposals and Dissertations

Resources for Proposal Writers

Resources for Dissertators

Research Papers

Planning and Writing Research Papers

Quoting and Paraphrasing

Writing Annotated Bibliographies

Creating Poster Presentations

Writing an Abstract for Your Research Paper

Thank-You Notes

Advice for Students Writing Thank-You Notes to Donors

Reading for a Review

Critical Reviews

Writing a Review of Literature

Scientific Reports

Scientific Report Format

Sample Lab Assignment

Writing for the Web

Writing an Effective Blog Post

Writing for Social Media: A Guide for Academics

How to Do Library Research

How to do library research? Many times instructors will recommend, or even require, that student researchers avoid the popular search engines and, instead, use a library, when doing their research. A visit to the library can transform your research efforts from simple look-ups into an educational experience that reveals many more resources that are open to you.

Not only is a library a source of countless texts, but it is also a place where you can seek the help of reference librarians who are schooled in using both print and digital resources to find reliable sources of information.Research librarians can also help you review and understand the requirements of an assignment, help you get started, and direct you in your search for information.

Academic Writing, Editing, Proofreading, And Problem Solving Services

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Libraries also offer you the advantage of being able to access books, articles, and other documents that are off-limits to average users. Most public and university libraries are members of these database networks, and they allow you to access them through computers in the library or by entering information from your library card or student ID.Many libraries offer their own search engines for finding articles in specialized databases. Usually, they allow you to search by categories (such as the humanities, science, or business) and click on a journal to browse it or to enter keywords to search across databases, much like you do when using an online search engine.

How to Use a Library Catalog

An important part of your exploratory research is identifying the specific sources to use when you begin taking notes for your paper. The best place to start is the library catalog, which includes a list of all the books in your library. Assuming the catalog is online and you need help using it, ask the librarian to show you how. Check to see if you can access your library catalog on your home computer too.

You can search the library catalog in three ways—by subject, title, or author. A subject search shows the titles of books on your topic. To do a subject search, type in your topic. Then click on “subject.” You will get a list of all the books in the library on your topic, including the title, author, and call number for each book. The call number is important because the books are placed on the shelves in numerical order according to call number.

If you happen to know particular authors or titles of books that you might want to use, do an author or title search. Type in the author’s name to get a list of books by that author, or type in the title of a book to get information about that book.

In most online catalogs, you can get more information about a book by highlighting the title and clicking on “more information,” “expanded view,” or a similar phrase that appears on the screen. Then the catalog shows the name of the publisher, the place and date the book was published, whether or not the book is available, the call number, and where in the library it is located—the reference section, the adult nonfiction section, or the children’s section. You also may be able to click on helpful options such as “More by this author” or “More titles like this.”

All libraries use some form of cataloging or classification system to organize books. This allows library patrons to easily find the books on the shelves and tells librarians how to return them to their proper places when borrowers bring them back. Libraries use a variety of different classification schemes to index and shelve their books.The two most widely used are the Dewey Decimal Classification system (DDC) and the Library of Congress Classification system (LCC).

The Dewey Decimal Classification System (DDC) was developed by Melvil Dewey in 1876 to standardize the way in which books were organized within libraries. The Library of Congress Classification System (LCC) was developed in 1897 by the U.S. Library of Congress to meet the archival needs of the U.S. government. More than 95 percent of U.S. libraries use one or the other to provide a logical system for helping researchers and readers quickly locate titles about their topics. Most U.S. research and university libraries have moved to the LCC, while the DDC continues as the system most often found in public and school libraries. The categories in the two systems tend to reflect one another, although the precise alphanumeric system used by each is different. Both systems are constantly being expanded to keep up with the evergrowing body of published knowledge.

Researchers who lack a working knowledge of either system can always ask a librarian to point them in the right direction. However, it helps to have a basic understanding of how the systems work, particularly if you plan to browse the library shelves for books on your research paper topic.

Decoding Call Numbers

Both the DDC and the LCC use alphanumeric systems to identify titles according to topic. Each title is assigned an identification number, called a “call number,” according to how it is classified in the DDC or LCC.

Because it uses a system in which the categories and subcategories are divisible by 10, many researchers find DDC call numbers more logical and easier to use than the LCC’s alphanumeric codes. The DDC organizes topics under 10 general categories that are identified by number. Each category is further divided into subcategories, also identified by number. DDC codes continue with a decimal-based system that is relatively easy to decipher as you zero in on your subject. Many times, the decimal is followed by a letter which indicates the first letter of the last name of the author.

Dewey Decimal Classification System

The 10 general categories of the Dewey Decimal System include:

• 000 Generalities
• 100 Philosophy and psychology
• 200 Religion
• 300 Social sciences and anthropology
• 400 Language
• 500 Natural sciences and mathematics
• 600 Technology and applied sciences
• 700 The arts
• 800 Literature and rhetoric
• 900 Geography and history

For a list of the subclassifications under each category and more information about the DDC, visit the Dewey Services page of the Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC) at  http://www.oclc.org/dewey.en.html .

Library of Congress Classification System

LCC call numbers begin with a letter, designating the general category, followed by either another letter or a number that designates the subcategory. Deciphering LCC codes is trickier and may require the help of a librarian. The first letter in an LCC call number refers to one of the 21 categories represented in the system.The initial digit is followed by a letter or number combination that represents the subcategory. However, some categories in the LCC (including E and F which represent the history of the Americas) use numbers to indicate the subcategory and others (such as D which represents some areas of history, and K which represents Law) use three letters.The digits that follow the category and subcategory in the call number further define the subject. The final three letter-number combination in the call number is called the “cutter number.” It provides a code to the name of the author or the organization that sponsored the publication. The 21 general categories of the LCC include:

• A General works
• B Philosophy, psychology, religion
• C Auxiliary sciences of history, such as archaeology and genealogy
• D World history and the history of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and so on
• E–F History of the Americas
• G Geography, anthropology, recreation
• H Social sciences
• J Political science
• L Education
• M Music and books on music
• N Fine arts
• P Language and literature
• S Agriculture
• T Technology and engineering
• U Military science
• V Naval science
• Z Bibliography and library science, information resources

You will find a full list of LCC categories and subcategories in Appendix B of this book. More information about the LCC can be found online through the Library of Congress Cataloging Distribution Service at  http://www.loc.gov/cds/ .

No matter which system your library uses, your search for books at the library will begin with the library’s catalog. A library catalog is much like any other catalog. It is a record of everything that is available to you. Items within the library are indexed by their call numbers and arranged on the shelves according to their categories and subcategories.

Browsing for Information

Knowing the category and subcategory designations for your research paper topic also allows you to peruse the library shelves and browse titles in your subject area. Browsing is often useful in the early stages of your search for information because it allows you to open the books and scan the tables of contents, indexes, introductions, and chapter headings of books on your topic. These, in turn, can offer you a good idea of how helpful the work will be. Browsing, however, can be time-consuming.

To use your browsing time effectively, acquaint yourself with the categories under which you will likely find titles about your topic. Learn where the categories are shelved in the library. Typically, you will find topic labels or the range of call numbers for the topics in that aisle posted at the ends of individual aisles. After identifying the call numbers for your topic and subtopic, you will be able to go directly to the shelves where titles on your topic are located.

Keep in mind, however, that the best materials on your topic might not always be in the section where you are browsing. If a publication covers a variety of topics, it may be classified under one that is different from what you looked up.

Fortunately, subjects in card catalogs are cross-referenced so that you can search by title of the work,author’s name,and a variety of keywords, as well as by subject.Your search will produce a record of the books with a “call number,” or identification code. Libraries typically organize their shelves sequentially according to the system they use and label the ends of the aisles with the range of numbers to be found on the shelves in each aisle.

An Effective Browsing Strategy:

• Identify the main category in the DDC or LCC system (whichever one your library uses) under which you are likely to find your topic.
• Identify the logical subcategory under which your topic would fall.
• Make a notation of the category and subcategory identification codes.
• Use the first digit in the identification code to find your aisle.
• Use the second digit in the code to identify the range of shelves containing titles on the subcategory.
• Find titles that fit your topic.
• Review the chapter headings, introduction, index, relevant pages, illustrations, and captions in the volume to identify how helpful the title will be.
• As you browse through the shelves, remember that when the initial digits of the identification codes change, you’ll be leaving your topic and moving into another.

How to Use Books for Research Paper Writing

For many people, books are an indispensable part of research. For starters, they’re “user-friendly.” It’s easy to open a book and start reading. You don’t need any special equipment such as a computer terminal to read a book, either. Since it takes time to write and publish a book, they tend to be reliable sources. Right now, you’ll learn how to find the books you need to complete your research paper. Library collections are also limited by the physical capacity of the buildings. Fortunately, most of today’s libraries are connected through networks to other, affiliated libraries, allowing you to order titles that can be delivered locally. The library’s card catalog tells you what is in your library’s collection and what can be ordered through its network.

All libraries are repositories of recorded information, but not all libraries are alike. Their collections differ—both in the kinds of materials they offer and in how they categorize them. Public libraries, for instance, typically feature large sections of popular fiction, while research libraries may offer classical fiction but few titles that you would find on a current best-seller list. If you were looking for vampire novels, for instance, you are likely to find Bram Stoker’s 1897 Gothic classic,  Dracula , but do not expect it to share a shelf with the recent popular  Twilight  series by Stephanie Meyer.

The books you will use for your research paper fall into two main categories:  fiction  and nonfiction :

• Fiction is novels and short stories. Fiction is cataloged under the author’s last name.
• Nonfiction books, however, are classified in two different ways. Some libraries use the Dewey Decimal System; other libraries use the Library of Congress system. In general, elementary, junior high, high school, and community libraries use the Dewey Decimal System. University and academic libraries use the Library of Congress system.

Your research paper topic determines how you search for a book. Since most research papers deal with topics and issues, you’ll likely be searching by subject. However, it is often necessary to look under titles and authors as well. Consider all three avenues of finding information as you look through the card catalog.

Useful Books to Consider

A reference work is a compendium of information that you use to find a specific piece of information, rather than read cover to cover. Updated editions are published as needed, in some cases annually. In addition to specific books on your research paper topic,  here are some general reference sources to consider:

Encyclopedias . Some teachers will not let their students cite encyclopedias in their bibliographies, but that’s no reason not to use them for background information. An encyclopedia can be an excellent way to get a quick, authoritative overview of your topic. This can often help you get a handle on the issues. There are general encyclopedias ( World Books ,  Britannica ,  Colliers ,  Funk and Wagnalls ) as well as technical ones. The encyclopedias can be in print form or online.

Guide to Reference Sources . Published by the American Library Association, this useful guide has five main categories: general reference works; humanities; social and behavioral sciences; history and area studies; and science, technology, and medicine. The new editions include online sources as well as print ones. Another excellent reference guide is  Credo Reference  (formerly Xreferplus), an online product that accesses more than 200 reference books online.

Who’s Who in America . This reference work includes biographical entries on approximately 75,000 Americans and others linked to America.  Who Was Who  covers famous people who have died.

Almanacs . Almanacs are remarkably handy and easy-to-use reference guides. These one-volume books are a great source for statistics and facts.  The World Almanac  and  The Information ,  Please Almanac  are the two best known almanacs. They are updated every year.

Dictionaries . Complete dictionaries provide synonyms, antonyms, word histories, parts of speech, and pronunciation guides in addition to definitions and spelling. Depending on your topic, you may need to define all terms formally before you begin your research.

How to Use Articles in Periodicals

To get the most reliable, up-to-date, and useful information, you will want to use a variety of different reference sources. You will also likely use articles from magazines, newspapers, and journals as well as online sources and books to find information for your research paper.

Periodicals include all material that is published on a regular schedule, such as weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly, four times a year, and so on. Newspapers, magazines, and journals are classified as periodicals.

• Newspapers and magazines are aimed at a general readership.
• Journals are aimed at a technical audience.

Finding articles in periodicals that are relevant to your topic can be a bit trickier because they tend to be indexed in separate databases organized by subject.

Electronic look-ups provide the fastest and easiest way of finding articles, allowing you to search on the subject and keywords to zero in on your topic. Frequently, you begin at the same search form that you would use to find book titles. However, articles are usually found through databases that require a bit more searching because you may have to access more than one database to find what you are looking for.

To find articles and essays on your subject:

• Review the list of databases and periodical indexes that are available at your library.
• Identify the databases that might address your topic, such as Business Source Premier, for business articles, or MEDLINE for biomedical literature.
• If you have difficulty finding an appropriate specialized database, use one such as Academic Search Premier or JSTOR which cuts across numerous categories.
• Go to the search screen for your database.
• Enter keywords to begin your search.
• Select logical titles from the results that you receive.
• Click on each title to retrieve the article citation.
• Read the abstract, or summary, to see whether that article contains the type of information you are seeking.
• Click to retrieve the full text if it is available electronically or use the citation information to order the article via email or through your library.

One useful way of identifying additional sources of information is to check the sources of quotations and citations in articles that were helpful to you. You then have the author’s name, the title of the article, or the publication in which an article of interest might have appeared and can look it up using the same database you used to find the original article.

How to Identify Appropriate Sources

Whether you found an article online or in print, you will need to evaluate the authority, or importance, of the research material you uncover.

As a general rule, reference texts, such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other standard reference sources like  Who’s Who  or  Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations  may meet the standard for high school research papers but they are generally not acceptable in college. The information in those volumes is considered “generic”—good for gathering general background but not unique or authoritative. Specialized dictionaries and compendiums, such as the Physicians’ Desk Reference , a listing of FDA-approved drugs, represent the exception.

University professors prefer “primary” and “secondary” sources. Primary sources are ones with unique discussions of ideas, concepts, trends, events, personalities, and discoveries. They report findings, set forth arguments, and provide unique insights and conclusions from the authors who wrote them. Secondary sources are materials that use or report on the work of others to provide summaries, analyses, or interpretations of primary sources.

An example of a secondary source would be a book review or an analysis of another work. For example,  The Rights of Man , Thomas Paine’s famous essay in defense of the French Revolution, is a primary work. It sets forth his original argument against the French monarchy. An article that mentions the essay in a discussion about the ideas of philosophers in the 1700s would be considered a secondary source.

This is not to say that you should abandon encyclopedias and other standard references. Such sources make great starting points in your research. Not only do they provide valuable background on the topic you plan to discuss, but they reveal the wealth of information that is commonly known about the subject.

Encyclopedias can also point you to other valuable sources. Encyclopedia articles often contain their own bibliographies that cite the primary and secondary research sources that the encyclopedia writers and editors used to develop the article. Not only will these citations direct you to primary sources that can be useful in your own research, but they come from sources that you know were deemed reliable by the editors of the encyclopedia.

How to Identify Reputable Print Sources

Finding information for your research paper in print sources can be equally as challenging as finding them online. Often the information you seek will be found in a small section of one article that appears in a very large volume. How do you find the information and know it will be useful unless you read the whole thing?

How to Find Good Print Resources:

• Look up your topic in the book’s index. Read those passages.
• Check journals and reports for an abstract, summary of findings, or executive summary at the beginning; these highlight the key information in the report.
• Review prefaces, introductions, and summaries on dust jackets for a quick overview.
• Read reviews, summaries, and commentaries about books.
• Check citations in a work to see how well-documented the work is.
• Read headlines, subheads, and call-outs in newspapers and magazines.
• Scan graphics and illustrations. Read the captions that accompany them.

How to Read Critically

You cannot write intelligently about a subject if you have not fully read and understood the material you found in your research. This requires “critical” reading. Critical reading means more than reviewing and recording the material. It means pausing to think about it. Ask yourself whether you found the research convincing.Then ask yourself: Why or why not?

There are strategies for critical reading, just as there are for writing research papers. Critical reading requires you to gain a complete and accurate understanding of the material you find in your research so that you can analyze it intelligently and interpret it for others. This means devoting more time to the reading than you normally do when you sit down to casually read a newspaper or curl up with a novel.

Expect to spend more time with a text than what it takes to simply understand what it says. Think about what you read; ask yourself questions about it. Evaluate its logic. Consider alternatives to the information the author presented. Be prepared to turn to other texts if you do not find answers to your questions or if the author’s arguments appear invalid. The more you can inform yourself about your topic and what other writers have said about it,the more you will equip yourself for the task ahead.

Critical reading is challenging so you will want to diminish noise and interferences. Turn off your radio, TV, iPod, and cell phone—anything that is likely to interrupt. Do not check your e-mail or read while socializing with friends. Reading in a quiet environment, and pursuing strategies for understanding eases the process and reduces the amount of time you will spend on research.

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• Research guides

Writing an Educational Research Paper

Choosing a topic.

Factors Involved

Some tips when choosing a topic:

Interest . Choose a topic of interest to you; a topic that you find boring will result in a boring paper. Knowledge . You don't need to know much about the subject at the outset. The research process mines new knowledge. Breadth of Topic . Too broad a topic is unmanageable, e.g. "The History of Universities" or "Computers in Schools." On the other hand, too narrow and/or trivial a topic is uninteresting and extremely difficult to research. Guidelines .Carefully follow the instructor's guidelines: they should help prevent you selecting an inappropriate topic and/or research methodology.

Other Practicalities

• Enough Time Available? Make sure that you choose a topic that's "doable" within the time available. In short, allow enough time to complete your paper.
• Resources? Are your research sources readily accessible? Traveling, for example, to the U. of Cal. at Berkeley to study archival material can present time and/or financial problems.
• Length of Paper? If the instructor mandates 7,500 words, then respect the limit. Not exceeding the limit does not suggest being wildly under the limit. For a paper with a 7.500 word limit, 2,000 words is unacceptable.
• Schedule. Most papers have deadlines. To meet a deadline, establish a workable schedule. Writing a quality, satisfactorily researched, drafted, revised, and well written paper takes time!
• Final Observation. Most instructors do not allow a student to submit the same paper in two courses. Some may allow students to expand or update an earlier paper, the product being essentially a new paper. Always discuss this issue with your instructor.
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Writing a Paper: Choosing Your Topic

• Choosing Your Topic
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Subject encyclopedias and general reference books are a great place to start focusing on a topic if you don't already have one in mind.  , many comprehensive encyclopedias are available online through credo reference (these are scholarly reference materials that the nysid library pays for--they are not the same as google or wikipedia).  try searching credo for a broad subject or topic using the "search credo" b ox below.  , also, the nysid library's book collection is full of general reference materials.  use the "search bobcat" box below to search the nysid library catalog., choosing a research topic.

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Related Subjects

Many times a search for any subject will return a list of related topics. For example, searching "Renaissance" in Credo will also generate a list of related topics such as Renaissance artists, historically significant events, philosophies, and related search terms. These links will lead to materials about that topic, and can be especially helpful in continuing your own research. 

In general...

1.  Make sure you understand the assignment. Are you writing a historical overview?  Making an argument?  Comparing two things?

2. Read as much as you can about whatever it is that you've been assigned.  Keep track of what you've read (you will need a record of these sources later when you make your "Works Cited" page). 

3. Think about what you read about. What are your observations, reactions, arguments, and/or insights?  Write them down. 

4. Organize your written thoughts into a logical sequence.  This will be the outline of your paper.

Keep in Mind

Generally speaking, a good research paper either answers or addresses some or all of the following questions: , ► are there any counter-arguments to your thesis/hypothesis  what is your response to these arguments  , ► how have scholars normally explained a particular event or trend  are there any weaknesses to this explanation , ► do you have any evidence in your research to suggest an alternative explanation , ► does your evidence or research differ from conventional wisdom or opinion , brainstorming.

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Argumentative Papers: The Basics

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What you need to know.

Understanding Your Assignment

Before you begin looking for information you should make sure you understand your assignment. Some good questions are:

• How many pages?
• How many sources?
• What format?

Your professor is your best resource to answer these questions.

Where do YOU go?

Google Scholar?

Google Advanced?

The Library Home Page?

Research Basics - Step by Step

The following outline gives a simple and effective strategy for finding information for a research paper and documenting the sources you find. Depending on your topic and your familiarity with the library, you may need to rearrange or recycle these steps. Adapt this outline to your needs. We are ready to help you at every step in your research.                                           

• Choose a topic - or have one assigned
• Background reading
• Consider a main focus
• Refine your topic 
• Find Internet Sources
• Write your paper – Informative, Analytical, Argumentative, Critical
• Cite Your Sources

Developing Your Argument

What to do:

• Select your topic
• Research the issues surrounding the topic
• Read other writers’ arguments for and against
• Take a stand
• Present supporting evidence in favor of your position
• Defend your position against opposing points of view
• Anticipate and deflect arguments against your position
• Make your case persuasively 
• Cell Phones
• Climate Change
• Steroids and Performance Enhancing Drugs
• Video Games
• Social Media
• College Education - Its Value
• Gender Roles
• Legalizing Marijuana
• Minimum Wage
• Organic vs. Genetically Modified Food
• Police Brutality
• Gun Control

Environmental Research Guides

• Deforestation
• Global Warming & Climate Change
• Gas vs Electric Vehicles
• Nuclear Power
• Environmental Issues

Mental Health Research Guides

• Stress Management
• Eating Disorders
• Military Suicides
• Homelessness

Talk to a Librarian

The Cerritos College Librarians can help you with your research in a variety of ways:

Librarians are available during library hours to answer your questions by phone or chat. (562) 860-2451 x 2425

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Chemistry research guide.

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Find annual reviews in chemistry.

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• Guide to Scholarly Communication
• Citing Your Sources This link opens in a new window
• Help with Reading Research Articles
• Other CHEM Guides
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Recent Chemical & Engineering news stories:

• Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry
• Annual Review of Biochemistry
• Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
• Annual Review of Physical Chemistry
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HA 8670: Health Information Systems (Heather Martin Fall 2024)

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You should always carefully review the instructions for the assignment that your professor has provided in iCollege and/or given to you during class before choosing your topic or starting your research. 

Pro tip: If you are meeting with a librarian for help, please bring or share a copy of the assignment with them during your research appointment or walk-in session. Providing a copy of the assignment ensures that they will guide you to the best information and resources. 

Some professors will allow you to use different delivery formats for your final project. Some possible formats might include an art project, digital storytelling, or videos about your topic. You should always check with your professor before investing a lot of time in a new project in an alternative delivery format for an assignment. 

• Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling The University of Houston provides a detailed guide on digital storytelling and its uses.
• Georgia State University - Software & Equipment Learn about university-licensed software and equipment checkout at GSU.
• Georgia State University - Technology Labs & Classrooms Find out what other technology resources are available at GSU.
• Georgia State University Library - Computers & Software Find out more about the computers and software available to students in the library spaces.
• Learn Adobe apps Video tutorials and more from Adobe.

Sometimes professors will ask you to create a presentation explaining what you did for an assignment. Creating a successful presentation takes different skills than writing a paper. Before you get started, take a look at the video from Wienot Films for some helpful suggestions:

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Explore Law Research Topics and Great Legal Project Ideas

Picking a research topic is the first step to a fascinating and productive research journey. The proper research topic lets you explore the areas of the law that are both interesting and important. In this article, we will suggest law project topics that fit with both the present-day legal conversations and your academic interests.

Points To Remember When Choosing Your Law Research Paper Topic

A good topic for legal research is timely and consequential, and it can promote change in legal practice. Incorporating other disciplines can enhance legal scholarship, bringing depth to your study and attracting broader public interest. For instance, you can pick a topic relevant to both technology and law because of areas of intersection such as data privacy and intellectual property. Economics is, in turn, relevant when questions of legislation and its impacts on markets are explored or when making decisions that have economic consequences, such as the valuation of damages. Psychology and law intersect when exploring jury decision-making or compliance behavior. Environmental studies can be combined with law to tackle issues of sustainability and regulation. In these cases, other disciplines can add layers of analysis and perspectives, enriching your legal research.

Keep This in Mind When Choosing a Law Research Paper Topic

Choosing a topic for your legal research is a calculated decision that reflects a balance between your interests and academic or professional significance. Here are some of the considerations that may help you put a finger on that perfect topic:

• Choose a topic that addresses a current legal problem with implications for future developments (e.g., emerging technology, shifts in social norms, or changing global politics).
• As discussed above, consider how your topic relates to other fields. Incorporating ideas from different disciplines in your research can be a good idea because it will give you more things to discuss.
• Make sure you have access to the resources you need to do your research. This includes free legal databases, academic journals, books, and professional interviews. Consult the law project writing service for free resources like excellent writing samples to inspire your writing.
• Choose a topic that you already know something about or are interested in. Your personal interest in a particular topic can give you the necessary motivation to do original work and to make compelling arguments.
• Make sure your topic offers an opportunity for you to make an original contribution or argument in the field.

List of Interesting Law Research Topics for Students

The realm of law is vast, and the right topic can impact everything, from the scope of your research to its potential influence on legal reforms and policy-making. A well-chosen topic enriches your academic portfolio and positions you as a thought leader in areas ripe for innovation and change. That’s why we decided to compile our ultimate list of current and thought-provoking legal topics to write about. Let’s dive in!

Good Business Law Research Paper Topics

When choosing a business law paper topic, focus on areas of the law that question how it should respond to technological advances, changing international trade practices, and ethical business conduct.

• Antitrust Implications of Big Tech Acquisitions
• Legal Challenges in E-Commerce
• Intellectual Property Rights in the Age of AI
• Corporate Governance in Family-Owned Businesses
• Consumer Data Protection Laws
• Legal Strategies for Combating Corporate Fraud
• Bankruptcy Law Reforms in the Post-Pandemic Era
• Regulation of International Trade under New Tariff Policies
• Employment Law and the Gig Economy
• Sustainability and Legal Responsibility in Business Practices

Best Criminal Law Topics for Research Paper

When writing a criminal law paper, try writing about issues that the modern criminal justice system currently faces. Pick a subject that offers a new perspective or solution and reflects broader trends in society.

• The Role of Body Cameras in Modern Policing
• Cybersecurity Laws and Digital Crime
• Legal Responses to Hate Crimes in Social Media
• Juvenile Justice Reform in the 21st Century
• The Impact of Drug Legalization on Criminal Enterprises
• Criminal Responsibility in Autonomous Vehicle Accidents
• Racial Disparities in Bail and Sentencing
• Rehabilitation vs. Punishment: Outcomes and Efficiency
• Privacy Rights and Surveillance in the Digital Age
• The Evolution of Terrorism Laws and Their Enforcement

Public Law Research Topics for Students

Your topic in public law is up to you, but you should try to find an issue where law intertwines with public policy, administrative reform, and human rights. Look for legal research questions that could use analysis or that need new ways of adapting to new social, technological, and political demands.

• Constitutional Changes in the Digital Age
• Public Health Law and Pandemic Preparedness
• Climate Change Legislation and Policy Responses
• The Legality of Surveillance and Privacy Protections
• Human Rights Law and Refugees
• Electoral Law and the Impact of Voting Technologies
• Legal Challenges in Implementing Public Housing Policies
• Transparency and Corruption in Public Sector
• Administrative Law in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
• Public Law Implications of Brexit

Unique Civil Law Research Topics

An ideal civil law topic develops your scholarly knowledge while adding to the broader legal discourse. Naturally, this means picking something that is currently under judicial consideration or could have a significant societal impact.

• The Evolution of Contract Law with Online Agreements
• Property Rights in the Age of Digital Real Estate
• Family Law : The Legal Status of Surrogacy
• Tort Law Reforms in the Context of Medical Malpractice
• Consumer Rights in E-commerce
• The Impact of Civil Liberties on National Security Policies
• Legal Remedies for Victims of Cyberbullying
• Intellectual Property Rights and Genetic Engineering
• The Enforcement of Environmental Laws through Civil Litigation
• Legal Frameworks for the Protection of Cultural Heritage

Original Environmental Law Research Topics

A good way of selecting an environmental law ideas for school projects is looking for areas where legal frameworks need to adapt to new environmental challenges or where existing environmental policy could be improved.

• Climate Change Legislation and Compliance
• Legal Responses to Global Plastic Pollution
• Wildlife Protection Laws and Biodiversity
• Legal Aspects of Water Resource Management
• Environmental Impact Assessments and Major Developments
• Regulation of Toxic Substances and Chemicals
• Renewable Energy Laws and Policy Incentives
• Environmental Justice and Community Health
• International Environmental Law and Cross-Border Issues
• Enforcement of Environmental Laws: Challenges and Solutions

Research Topics in the Field of Corporate Law

In choosing a topic for your corporate law paper, focus on issues that push the boundaries of current legal doctrines or suggest new paradigms for corporate governance and responsibility.

• The Impact of Blockchain on Corporate Governance
• Corporate Responsibility in Environmental Sustainability
• Legal Challenges of Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions
• Anti-Corruption Practices in Multinational Corporations
• Corporate Bankruptcy and Financial Reorganizations
• The Role of Whistleblowers in Corporate Law
• Corporate Law in the Digital Economy and E-commerce
• Shareholder Rights and Minority Protections
• Corporate Governance and Artificial Intelligence
• Legal Implications of Corporate Political Contributions

Research Topics Related to Labor Law

Good labor law research ideas address emerging trends affecting employment relationships and worker protection. There are great educational research topic ideas in this field, from historical to contemporary ones.

• The Future of Remote Work and Labour Laws
• The Impact of AI on Employment Agreements
• Gig Economy and Contractual Worker Rights
• Employment Law Implications of Telecommuting
• Worker Safety in the Manufacturing Automation Era
• Union Representation in the Digital Age
• Legal Challenges of Freelance Work
• Wage Theft in the 21st Century
• Employment Discrimination in Hiring Algorithms
• Maternity and Paternity Leave Policies in Tech Companies

Law Enforcement Research Topics

Modern challenges to effective policing and community relations are compelling legal research topics in law enforcement. Select a topic that sheds light on how law enforcement strategies evolve and their legal, ethical, and social implications.

• The Effectiveness of Body Cameras in Modern Policing
• Predictive Policing and Privacy Concerns
• The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Crime Prevention
• Community-Based Policing Strategies
• Legal Consequences of Drone Surveillance by Police
• Racial Profiling and Law Enforcement Policies
• Cybercrime and the Challenges for Law Enforcement
• De-escalation Techniques in Police Training
• Impact of Social Media on Criminal Investigations
• Rehabilitation vs. Incarceration: The Role of Law Enforcement

Great Family Law Research Topics

Choosing a research topic in family law involves identifying issues that are central to understanding and improving the legal relationships between family members. Solid family law ideas for students often involve topics that do not lend themselves to easy understanding or a simple solution.

• Legal Challenges in Cross-Border Adoption
• Impact of Social Media on Divorce Proceedings
• Rights of Children in Non-Traditional Families
• Legal Recognition of LGBT Families
• Surrogacy and the Law: Global Perspectives
• Domestic Violence and Protective Legislation
• Prenuptial Agreements: Changing Norms
• Divorce and Property Division in the Digital Age
• Custody Battles Involving International Jurisdictions
• Elder Law and Guardianship Issues

Constitutional Law Research Paper Topics

One of the first steps in selecting a topic in constitutional law is to look for issues that are at the forefront of legal and societal change. The law essay topics one chooses should reflect current legal debates and have the potential to shape how the nation is governed and how civil rights are upheld.

• The Constitutionality of Surveillance Technologies
• Freedom of Speech in the Digital Age
• Constitutional Changes in Response to Climate Change
• The Right to Privacy vs. National Security
• Impact of Constitutional Law on Minority Rights
• Legal Frameworks for Emergency Powers
• Judicial Review and Its Impact on Social Policies
• Separation of Powers in the Modern State
• Constitutional Issues in Immigration Law
• Gender Equality and Constitutional Guarantees

Perfect Research Topics for Administrative Law

Good administrative law topics for research papers must zero in on areas undergoing changes due to technological shifts, policy changes, and public expectations. These areas should offer opportunities to reflect on the effectiveness of regulatory practices and their consequences for public governance.

• The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Government Decision-Making
• Transparency and Accountability in Public Sector Management
• Legal Challenges in Environmental Regulation
• Impact of Public Health Laws on Individual Freedoms
• Administrative Procedures and Public Access to Information
• The Legalities of Public-Private Partnerships
• Regulatory Frameworks for Emerging Technologies
• Ethical Considerations in Public Administration
• Administrative Discretion and Its Limits
• Reforming Administrative Appeals and Review Processes

Health and Medical Law Topics for Research Paper

When considering legal topics for research paper related to medicine, think about the kinds of issues that currently plague the health system. You can also highlight new medical technologies, patient rights issues, or changes in health policies.

• Legal Issues in Telemedicine and Remote Healthcare
• Regulation of Genetic Editing Techniques
• The Right to Privacy in Patient Health Data
• Legal Aspects of Artificial Intelligence in Diagnostics
• Impact of Healthcare Policies on Patient Access and Quality of Care
• Bioethics and the Law: Managing Advanced Biotechnologies
• Mental Health Law and Patient Advocacy
• The Opioid Crisis and Healthcare Regulations
• Patient Consent and Autonomy in Clinical Trials
• Cross-Border Healthcare and Legal Challenges

Interesting Banking Law Research Ideas

One might go for a topic in banking law that concerns contemporary problems with the legal regulation of banking systems. Explore the interaction between law, technology and finance. Here are some banking law topics to write about.

• Cryptocurrency Regulation and Bank Compliance
• Legal Challenges in Implementing Blockchain in Banking
• Anti-Money Laundering Measures and Global Banking
• Consumer Protection Laws in Online Banking
• The Impact of Brexit on European Banking Law
• Banking Regulations for Combating Climate Change
• The Role of Central Banks in Economic Crisis Management
• Legal Implications of Cross-Border Banking Transactions
• Compliance Challenges in Mobile and Digital Banking
• Enforcement of Banking Secrecy Laws

Psychology and Law Research Topic Ideas

When choosing topics for legal research papers related to both psychology and law, look for areas in which psychological theory and legal applications overlap. Try to find an area that offers real-life solutions to pressing issues.

• Psychological Profiling in Criminal Investigations
• Impact of Mental Health on Legal Competency
• Jury Decision-Making and Psychological Manipulation
• The Role of Psychology in Law Enforcement Training
• Psychological Impacts of Long-Term Incarceration
• Child Witness Credibility and Memory Reliability
• Coercive Interrogation Techniques and False Confessions
• Psychological Assessments in Custody Disputes
• Ethics in Psychological Evaluations for the Courts
• The Influence of Psychological Tactics in Legal Negotiations

Excellent Sports Law Research Ideas

To decide on a sports law-related topic, you need to understand the nexus between law, sports business, and athlete welfare. Your topic should address emerging issues in sports, such as progress in sports technology, innovative business models, and important judicial pronouncements. Check out some sports research topics in law below.

• Legal Implications of Biometric Data Use in Sports
• Athlete Contract Disputes and Negotiations
• The Impact of Sports Betting on Athlete Integrity
• Gender Equality and Law in Sports
• Intellectual Property Rights in Sports Merchandising
• Legal Challenges in E-sports
• Anti-Doping Regulations and Athlete Rights
• Sports Agency Law: A Look into Athlete Representation
• Liability Issues in Sports Injuries
• The Role of Law in Sports Media Rights Agreements

AI and Law Research Topics

The most fruitful research in AI and law should target areas that emphasize the relationship between the two. Explore how current legal structures will be affected by AI and how new rules for these technologies should be created to ensure that AI is integrated into society in ways that promote justice and human rights. These topics are super-trendy, but if you’re not very tech-savvy, you may want to pay someone to do your research paper instead of writing it yourself. You will not need that if you check out these shortlisted AI and law research topics.

• Liability Issues of Autonomous Vehicles
• AI and Decision-Making in the Judiciary
• Intellectual Property Rights in AI Creations
• Privacy Laws for AI Data Handling
• AI in Criminal Sentencing and Bias
• Regulatory Framework for AI in Healthcare
• AI, Ethics, and Legal Responsibility
• Contract Automation and Legal Validity
• Employment Law in the Age of AI Workforce
• International Law and AI Warfare

Exciting Legal Topics for Presentation

The most interesting legal topics to write about are those where the law is still developing – such as current legal problems or new ways in which technological developments are changing the law. Choose a topic for discussion that will invite debate, offer solutions, or present a new perspective or approach to legal problems.

• The Legal Challenges of Deepfake Technology
• Climate Change and International Law
• The Future of Internet Censorship Laws
• Legal Implications of Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace
• Cryptocurrency Regulation: Global Perspectives
• The Right to be Forgotten vs. Freedom of Speech
• Human Rights Violations and Global Supply Chains
• Legal Strategies Against Domestic Terrorism
• Patent Law in the Biotechnology Industry
• Consumer Protection in the Digital Age

Relevance and Popularity Of Future Law Research Paper Topics

Future studies of the law will likely concentrate on immediate problems. Those subjects are not just important now but are poised to become even bigger over time because of their expansive implications for society and the planet. Individual scholars will have to confront relentless challenges to the very framework of the law as new technologies strain against the old and as we face comprehensive cultural and environmental changes. Some future-proof interesting legal topics are as follows.

• Regulation of Autonomous Vehicles
• Privacy and Data Protection in IoT Devices
• Impact of Climate Change on International Trade Laws
• Cybersecurity Laws and Global Enforcement
• Legal Rights of Robots and AI Entities
• Global Immigration Laws and Refugee Rights
• Intellectual Property in the Age of AI and Machine Learning
• Legal Frameworks for Space Colonization
• Enforcement of International Environmental Laws
• Genetic Privacy and Discrimination in Health Insurance

Draw on these emerging legal ideas to strengthen your research and academic work. While you're at it, remember that our best custom essay writing company can help you edit and polish your ideas and articulate complex legal theories to give you the best academic advantage. Happy writing!

Related Blog Posts

Law project topics: dive into unique and engaging legal research paper ideas crafted for law students and researchers.

Need the best college essay topics? No worries! Check out the examples of the coolest ideas developed for students.

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GPT-fabricated scientific papers on Google Scholar: Key features, spread, and implications for preempting evidence manipulation

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Academic journals, archives, and repositories are seeing an increasing number of questionable research papers clearly produced using generative AI. They are often created with widely available, general-purpose AI applications, most likely ChatGPT, and mimic scientific writing. Google Scholar easily locates and lists these questionable papers alongside reputable, quality-controlled research. Our analysis of a selection of questionable GPT-fabricated scientific papers found in Google Scholar shows that many are about applied, often controversial topics susceptible to disinformation: the environment, health, and computing. The resulting enhanced potential for malicious manipulation of society’s evidence base, particularly in politically divisive domains, is a growing concern.

Swedish School of Library and Information Science, University of Borås, Sweden

Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University, Sweden

Division of Environmental Communication, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden

Research Questions

• Where are questionable publications produced with generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) that can be found via Google Scholar published or deposited?
• What are the main characteristics of these publications in relation to predominant subject categories?
• How are these publications spread in the research infrastructure for scholarly communication?
• How is the role of the scholarly communication infrastructure challenged in maintaining public trust in science and evidence through inappropriate use of generative AI?

research note Summary

• A sample of scientific papers with signs of GPT-use found on Google Scholar was retrieved, downloaded, and analyzed using a combination of qualitative coding and descriptive statistics. All papers contained at least one of two common phrases returned by conversational agents that use large language models (LLM) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google Search was then used to determine the extent to which copies of questionable, GPT-fabricated papers were available in various repositories, archives, citation databases, and social media platforms.
• Roughly two-thirds of the retrieved papers were found to have been produced, at least in part, through undisclosed, potentially deceptive use of GPT. The majority (57%) of these questionable papers dealt with policy-relevant subjects (i.e., environment, health, computing), susceptible to influence operations. Most were available in several copies on different domains (e.g., social media, archives, and repositories).
• Two main risks arise from the increasingly common use of GPT to (mass-)produce fake, scientific publications. First, the abundance of fabricated “studies” seeping into all areas of the research infrastructure threatens to overwhelm the scholarly communication system and jeopardize the integrity of the scientific record. A second risk lies in the increased possibility that convincingly scientific-looking content was in fact deceitfully created with AI tools and is also optimized to be retrieved by publicly available academic search engines, particularly Google Scholar. However small, this possibility and awareness of it risks undermining the basis for trust in scientific knowledge and poses serious societal risks.

Implications

The use of ChatGPT to generate text for academic papers has raised concerns about research integrity. Discussion of this phenomenon is ongoing in editorials, commentaries, opinion pieces, and on social media (Bom, 2023; Stokel-Walker, 2024; Thorp, 2023). There are now several lists of papers suspected of GPT misuse, and new papers are constantly being added. 1 See for example Academ-AI, https://www.academ-ai.info/ , and Retraction Watch, https://retractionwatch.com/papers-and-peer-reviews-with-evidence-of-chatgpt-writing/ . While many legitimate uses of GPT for research and academic writing exist (Huang & Tan, 2023; Kitamura, 2023; Lund et al., 2023), its undeclared use—beyond proofreading—has potentially far-reaching implications for both science and society, but especially for their relationship. It, therefore, seems important to extend the discussion to one of the most accessible and well-known intermediaries between science, but also certain types of misinformation, and the public, namely Google Scholar, also in response to the legitimate concerns that the discussion of generative AI and misinformation needs to be more nuanced and empirically substantiated  (Simon et al., 2023).

Google Scholar, https://scholar.google.com , is an easy-to-use academic search engine. It is available for free, and its index is extensive (Gusenbauer & Haddaway, 2020). It is also often touted as a credible source for academic literature and even recommended in library guides, by media and information literacy initiatives, and fact checkers (Tripodi et al., 2023). However, Google Scholar lacks the transparency and adherence to standards that usually characterize citation databases. Instead, Google Scholar uses automated crawlers, like Google’s web search engine (Martín-Martín et al., 2021), and the inclusion criteria are based on primarily technical standards, allowing any individual author—with or without scientific affiliation—to upload papers to be indexed (Google Scholar Help, n.d.). It has been shown that Google Scholar is susceptible to manipulation through citation exploits (Antkare, 2020) and by providing access to fake scientific papers (Dadkhah et al., 2017). A large part of Google Scholar’s index consists of publications from established scientific journals or other forms of quality-controlled, scholarly literature. However, the index also contains a large amount of gray literature, including student papers, working papers, reports, preprint servers, and academic networking sites, as well as material from so-called “questionable” academic journals, including paper mills. The search interface does not offer the possibility to filter the results meaningfully by material type, publication status, or form of quality control, such as limiting the search to peer-reviewed material.

To understand the occurrence of ChatGPT (co-)authored work in Google Scholar’s index, we scraped it for publications, including one of two common ChatGPT responses (see Appendix A) that we encountered on social media and in media reports (DeGeurin, 2024). The results of our descriptive statistical analyses showed that around 62% did not declare the use of GPTs. Most of these GPT-fabricated papers were found in non-indexed journals and working papers, but some cases included research published in mainstream scientific journals and conference proceedings. 2 Indexed journals mean scholarly journals indexed by abstract and citation databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, where the indexation implies journals with high scientific quality. Non-indexed journals are journals that fall outside of this indexation. More than half (57%) of these GPT-fabricated papers concerned policy-relevant subject areas susceptible to influence operations. To avoid increasing the visibility of these publications, we abstained from referencing them in this research note. However, we have made the data available in the Harvard Dataverse repository.

The publications were related to three issue areas—health (14.5%), environment (19.5%) and computing (23%)—with key terms such “healthcare,” “COVID-19,” or “infection”for health-related papers, and “analysis,” “sustainable,” and “global” for environment-related papers. In several cases, the papers had titles that strung together general keywords and buzzwords, thus alluding to very broad and current research. These terms included “biology,” “telehealth,” “climate policy,” “diversity,” and “disrupting,” to name just a few.  While the study’s scope and design did not include a detailed analysis of which parts of the articles included fabricated text, our dataset did contain the surrounding sentences for each occurrence of the suspicious phrases that formed the basis for our search and subsequent selection. Based on that, we can say that the phrases occurred in most sections typically found in scientific publications, including the literature review, methods, conceptual and theoretical frameworks, background, motivation or societal relevance, and even discussion. This was confirmed during the joint coding, where we read and discussed all articles. It became clear that not just the text related to the telltale phrases was created by GPT, but that almost all articles in our sample of questionable articles likely contained traces of GPT-fabricated text everywhere.

Evidence hacking and backfiring effects

Generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) can be used to produce texts that mimic scientific writing. These texts, when made available online—as we demonstrate—leak into the databases of academic search engines and other parts of the research infrastructure for scholarly communication. This development exacerbates problems that were already present with less sophisticated text generators (Antkare, 2020; Cabanac & Labbé, 2021). Yet, the public release of ChatGPT in 2022, together with the way Google Scholar works, has increased the likelihood of lay people (e.g., media, politicians, patients, students) coming across questionable (or even entirely GPT-fabricated) papers and other problematic research findings. Previous research has emphasized that the ability to determine the value and status of scientific publications for lay people is at stake when misleading articles are passed off as reputable (Haider & Åström, 2017) and that systematic literature reviews risk being compromised (Dadkhah et al., 2017). It has also been highlighted that Google Scholar, in particular, can be and has been exploited for manipulating the evidence base for politically charged issues and to fuel conspiracy narratives (Tripodi et al., 2023). Both concerns are likely to be magnified in the future, increasing the risk of what we suggest calling evidence hacking —the strategic and coordinated malicious manipulation of society’s evidence base.

The authority of quality-controlled research as evidence to support legislation, policy, politics, and other forms of decision-making is undermined by the presence of undeclared GPT-fabricated content in publications professing to be scientific. Due to the large number of archives, repositories, mirror sites, and shadow libraries to which they spread, there is a clear risk that GPT-fabricated, questionable papers will reach audiences even after a possible retraction. There are considerable technical difficulties involved in identifying and tracing computer-fabricated papers (Cabanac & Labbé, 2021; Dadkhah et al., 2023; Jones, 2024), not to mention preventing and curbing their spread and uptake.

However, as the rise of the so-called anti-vaxx movement during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing obstruction and denial of climate change show, retracting erroneous publications often fuels conspiracies and increases the following of these movements rather than stopping them. To illustrate this mechanism, climate deniers frequently question established scientific consensus by pointing to other, supposedly scientific, studies that support their claims. Usually, these are poorly executed, not peer-reviewed, based on obsolete data, or even fraudulent (Dunlap & Brulle, 2020). A similar strategy is successful in the alternative epistemic world of the global anti-vaccination movement (Carrion, 2018) and the persistence of flawed and questionable publications in the scientific record already poses significant problems for health research, policy, and lawmakers, and thus for society as a whole (Littell et al., 2024). Considering that a person’s support for “doing your own research” is associated with increased mistrust in scientific institutions (Chinn & Hasell, 2023), it will be of utmost importance to anticipate and consider such backfiring effects already when designing a technical solution, when suggesting industry or legal regulation, and in the planning of educational measures.

Recommendations

Solutions should be based on simultaneous considerations of technical, educational, and regulatory approaches, as well as incentives, including social ones, across the entire research infrastructure. Paying attention to how these approaches and incentives relate to each other can help identify points and mechanisms for disruption. Recognizing fraudulent academic papers must happen alongside understanding how they reach their audiences and what reasons there might be for some of these papers successfully “sticking around.” A possible way to mitigate some of the risks associated with GPT-fabricated scholarly texts finding their way into academic search engine results would be to provide filtering options for facets such as indexed journals, gray literature, peer-review, and similar on the interface of publicly available academic search engines. Furthermore, evaluation tools for indexed journals 3 Such as LiU Journal CheckUp, https://ep.liu.se/JournalCheckup/default.aspx?lang=eng . could be integrated into the graphical user interfaces and the crawlers of these academic search engines. To enable accountability, it is important that the index (database) of such a search engine is populated according to criteria that are transparent, open to scrutiny, and appropriate to the workings of  science and other forms of academic research. Moreover, considering that Google Scholar has no real competitor, there is a strong case for establishing a freely accessible, non-specialized academic search engine that is not run for commercial reasons but for reasons of public interest. Such measures, together with educational initiatives aimed particularly at policymakers, science communicators, journalists, and other media workers, will be crucial to reducing the possibilities for and effects of malicious manipulation or evidence hacking. It is important not to present this as a technical problem that exists only because of AI text generators but to relate it to the wider concerns in which it is embedded. These range from a largely dysfunctional scholarly publishing system (Haider & Åström, 2017) and academia’s “publish or perish” paradigm to Google’s near-monopoly and ideological battles over the control of information and ultimately knowledge. Any intervention is likely to have systemic effects; these effects need to be considered and assessed in advance and, ideally, followed up on.

Our study focused on a selection of papers that were easily recognizable as fraudulent. We used this relatively small sample as a magnifying glass to examine, delineate, and understand a problem that goes beyond the scope of the sample itself, which however points towards larger concerns that require further investigation. The work of ongoing whistleblowing initiatives 4 Such as Academ-AI, https://www.academ-ai.info/ , and Retraction Watch, https://retractionwatch.com/papers-and-peer-reviews-with-evidence-of-chatgpt-writing/ . , recent media reports of journal closures (Subbaraman, 2024), or GPT-related changes in word use and writing style (Cabanac et al., 2021; Stokel-Walker, 2024) suggest that we only see the tip of the iceberg. There are already more sophisticated cases (Dadkhah et al., 2023) as well as cases involving fabricated images (Gu et al., 2022). Our analysis shows that questionable and potentially manipulative GPT-fabricated papers permeate the research infrastructure and are likely to become a widespread phenomenon. Our findings underline that the risk of fake scientific papers being used to maliciously manipulate evidence (see Dadkhah et al., 2017) must be taken seriously. Manipulation may involve undeclared automatic summaries of texts, inclusion in literature reviews, explicit scientific claims, or the concealment of errors in studies so that they are difficult to detect in peer review. However, the mere possibility of these things happening is a significant risk in its own right that can be strategically exploited and will have ramifications for trust in and perception of science. Society’s methods of evaluating sources and the foundations of media and information literacy are under threat and public trust in science is at risk of further erosion, with far-reaching consequences for society in dealing with information disorders. To address this multifaceted problem, we first need to understand why it exists and proliferates.

Finding 1: 139 GPT-fabricated, questionable papers were found and listed as regular results on the Google Scholar results page. Non-indexed journals dominate.

Most questionable papers we found were in non-indexed journals or were working papers, but we did also find some in established journals, publications, conferences, and repositories. We found a total of 139 papers with a suspected deceptive use of ChatGPT or similar LLM applications (see Table 1). Out of these, 19 were in indexed journals, 89 were in non-indexed journals, 19 were student papers found in university databases, and 12 were working papers (mostly in preprint databases). Table 1 divides these papers into categories. Health and environment papers made up around 34% (47) of the sample. Of these, 66% were present in non-indexed journals.

Finding 2: GPT-fabricated, questionable papers are disseminated online, permeating the research infrastructure for scholarly communication, often in multiple copies. Applied topics with practical implications dominate.

The 20 papers concerning health-related issues are distributed across 20 unique domains, accounting for 46 URLs. The 27 papers dealing with environmental issues can be found across 26 unique domains, accounting for 56 URLs.  Most of the identified papers exist in multiple copies and have already spread to several archives, repositories, and social media. It would be difficult, or impossible, to remove them from the scientific record.

As apparent from Table 2, GPT-fabricated, questionable papers are seeping into most parts of the online research infrastructure for scholarly communication. Platforms on which identified papers have appeared include ResearchGate, ORCiD, Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology (JPTCP), Easychair, Frontiers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE), and X/Twitter. Thus, even if they are retracted from their original source, it will prove very difficult to track, remove, or even just mark them up on other platforms. Moreover, unless regulated, Google Scholar will enable their continued and most likely unlabeled discoverability.

A word rain visualization (Centre for Digital Humanities Uppsala, 2023), which combines word prominences through TF-IDF 5 Term frequency–inverse document frequency , a method for measuring the significance of a word in a document compared to its frequency across all documents in a collection. scores with semantic similarity of the full texts of our sample of GPT-generated articles that fall into the “Environment” and “Health” categories, reflects the two categories in question. However, as can be seen in Figure 1, it also reveals overlap and sub-areas. The y-axis shows word prominences through word positions and font sizes, while the x-axis indicates semantic similarity. In addition to a certain amount of overlap, this reveals sub-areas, which are best described as two distinct events within the word rain. The event on the left bundles terms related to the development and management of health and healthcare with “challenges,” “impact,” and “potential of artificial intelligence”emerging as semantically related terms. Terms related to research infrastructures, environmental, epistemic, and technological concepts are arranged further down in the same event (e.g., “system,” “climate,” “understanding,” “knowledge,” “learning,” “education,” “sustainable”). A second distinct event further to the right bundles terms associated with fish farming and aquatic medicinal plants, highlighting the presence of an aquaculture cluster.  Here, the prominence of groups of terms such as “used,” “model,” “-based,” and “traditional” suggests the presence of applied research on these topics. The two events making up the word rain visualization, are linked by a less dominant but overlapping cluster of terms related to “energy” and “water.”

The bar chart of the terms in the paper subset (see Figure 2) complements the word rain visualization by depicting the most prominent terms in the full texts along the y-axis. Here, word prominences across health and environment papers are arranged descendingly, where values outside parentheses are TF-IDF values (relative frequencies) and values inside parentheses are raw term frequencies (absolute frequencies).

Finding 3: Google Scholar presents results from quality-controlled and non-controlled citation databases on the same interface, providing unfiltered access to GPT-fabricated questionable papers.

Google Scholar’s central position in the publicly accessible scholarly communication infrastructure, as well as its lack of standards, transparency, and accountability in terms of inclusion criteria, has potentially serious implications for public trust in science. This is likely to exacerbate the already-known potential to exploit Google Scholar for evidence hacking (Tripodi et al., 2023) and will have implications for any attempts to retract or remove fraudulent papers from their original publication venues. Any solution must consider the entirety of the research infrastructure for scholarly communication and the interplay of different actors, interests, and incentives.

We searched and scraped Google Scholar using the Python library Scholarly (Cholewiak et al., 2023) for papers that included specific phrases known to be common responses from ChatGPT and similar applications with the same underlying model (GPT3.5 or GPT4): “as of my last knowledge update” and/or “I don’t have access to real-time data” (see Appendix A). This facilitated the identification of papers that likely used generative AI to produce text, resulting in 227 retrieved papers. The papers’ bibliographic information was automatically added to a spreadsheet and downloaded into Zotero. 6 An open-source reference manager, https://zotero.org .

We employed multiple coding (Barbour, 2001) to classify the papers based on their content. First, we jointly assessed whether the paper was suspected of fraudulent use of ChatGPT (or similar) based on how the text was integrated into the papers and whether the paper was presented as original research output or the AI tool’s role was acknowledged. Second, in analyzing the content of the papers, we continued the multiple coding by classifying the fraudulent papers into four categories identified during an initial round of analysis—health, environment, computing, and others—and then determining which subjects were most affected by this issue (see Table 1). Out of the 227 retrieved papers, 88 papers were written with legitimate and/or declared use of GPTs (i.e., false positives, which were excluded from further analysis), and 139 papers were written with undeclared and/or fraudulent use (i.e., true positives, which were included in further analysis). The multiple coding was conducted jointly by all authors of the present article, who collaboratively coded and cross-checked each other’s interpretation of the data simultaneously in a shared spreadsheet file. This was done to single out coding discrepancies and settle coding disagreements, which in turn ensured methodological thoroughness and analytical consensus (see Barbour, 2001). Redoing the category coding later based on our established coding schedule, we achieved an intercoder reliability (Cohen’s kappa) of 0.806 after eradicating obvious differences.

The ranking algorithm of Google Scholar prioritizes highly cited and older publications (Martín-Martín et al., 2016). Therefore, the position of the articles on the search engine results pages was not particularly informative, considering the relatively small number of results in combination with the recency of the publications. Only the query “as of my last knowledge update” had more than two search engine result pages. On those, questionable articles with undeclared use of GPTs were evenly distributed across all result pages (min: 4, max: 9, mode: 8), with the proportion of undeclared use being slightly higher on average on later search result pages.

To understand how the papers making fraudulent use of generative AI were disseminated online, we programmatically searched for the paper titles (with exact string matching) in Google Search from our local IP address (see Appendix B) using the googlesearch – python library(Vikramaditya, 2020). We manually verified each search result to filter out false positives—results that were not related to the paper—and then compiled the most prominent URLs by field. This enabled the identification of other platforms through which the papers had been spread. We did not, however, investigate whether copies had spread into SciHub or other shadow libraries, or if they were referenced in Wikipedia.

We used descriptive statistics to count the prevalence of the number of GPT-fabricated papers across topics and venues and top domains by subject. The pandas software library for the Python programming language (The pandas development team, 2024) was used for this part of the analysis. Based on the multiple coding, paper occurrences were counted in relation to their categories, divided into indexed journals, non-indexed journals, student papers, and working papers. The schemes, subdomains, and subdirectories of the URL strings were filtered out while top-level domains and second-level domains were kept, which led to normalizing domain names. This, in turn, allowed the counting of domain frequencies in the environment and health categories. To distinguish word prominences and meanings in the environment and health-related GPT-fabricated questionable papers, a semantically-aware word cloud visualization was produced through the use of a word rain (Centre for Digital Humanities Uppsala, 2023) for full-text versions of the papers. Font size and y-axis positions indicate word prominences through TF-IDF scores for the environment and health papers (also visualized in a separate bar chart with raw term frequencies in parentheses), and words are positioned along the x-axis to reflect semantic similarity (Skeppstedt et al., 2024), with an English Word2vec skip gram model space (Fares et al., 2017). An English stop word list was used, along with a manually produced list including terms such as “https,” “volume,” or “years.”

• Artificial Intelligence
• / Search engines

Cite this Essay

Haider, J., Söderström, K. R., Ekström, B., & Rödl, M. (2024). GPT-fabricated scientific papers on Google Scholar: Key features, spread, and implications for preempting evidence manipulation. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review . https://doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-156

• / Appendix B

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This research has been supported by Mistra, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research, through the research program Mistra Environmental Communication (Haider, Ekström, Rödl) and the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation [2020.0004] (Söderström).

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

The research described in this article was carried out under Swedish legislation. According to the relevant EU and Swedish legislation (2003:460) on the ethical review of research involving humans (“Ethical Review Act”), the research reported on here is not subject to authorization by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (“etikprövningsmyndigheten”) (SRC, 2017).

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original author and source are properly credited.

Data Availability

All data needed to replicate this study are available at the Harvard Dataverse: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/WUVD8X

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the article manuscript as well as the editorial group of Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review for their thoughtful feedback and input.