Conducting Preliminary Research
Summary
TLDRThis video script offers insights on conducting preliminary research for AP Capstone projects. It emphasizes the importance of preliminary research in refining research questions and enhancing the quality of the final project. The script advises on quick and effective preliminary research techniques, such as skimming books and articles, and using resources like Wikipedia for initial exploration. It also outlines different types of preliminary research, including topic generation, concept connection, body of knowledge development, and topic narrowing, highlighting the significance of credible sources for building a robust research argument.
Takeaways
- 🔍 Preliminary research is essential for building a strong foundation of knowledge and refining research questions.
- 📚 It helps to narrow down topics, identify what's feasible based on constraints, and understand specific aspects of a topic.
- ⏱️ Preliminary research should be conducted quickly and efficiently, focusing on identifying more focused concepts.
- 📖 For books and journals, start with the index, then the table of contents, and if needed, skim through the introductory chapter.
- 🌐 For articles and web pages, read the first three and last three paragraphs to gauge their relevance.
- 📝 Skimming and speed reading are acceptable methods during preliminary research to save time.
- 🤔 There are different types of preliminary research, including topic generation, concept connection, body of knowledge, and topic narrowing.
- 🚫 Wikipedia is useful for early-stage general knowledge development but should not be used as a citable source.
- 🔗 Wikipedia can be a valuable tool for source mining, directing you to credible and citable sources through its references.
- 📝 Preliminary research should provide useful information for knowledge building, but for academic research, rely on credible and academic sources.
Q & A
Why is preliminary research important before starting a full research project or paper?
-Preliminary research is crucial as it informs your body of knowledge, helps refine research questions, and contributes to developing a stronger and more robust research project.
What are the benefits of conducting preliminary research early in the research process?
-Early preliminary research helps in developing better research questions, understanding the existing body of work, and guiding the direction of more detailed reading and inquiry.
How can preliminary research help in narrowing down a research topic?
-Preliminary research helps to identify existing work on a topic, understand what is doable based on research parameters, and guides the researcher to more specific aspects of the topic.
What is the recommended approach to conduct preliminary research quickly and effectively?
-The approach includes skimming through books or journals by checking indexes, tables of contents, and introductory chapters, and for articles or web pages, reading the first and last three paragraphs along with the first sentence of each paragraph in between.
What should be the focus of preliminary research when using articles or web pages?
-The focus should be on reading the first three paragraphs and the last three paragraphs to gauge the usefulness of the source, and if promising, proceed to read more specifically, using speed reading and skimming techniques.
Why is it suggested to look at the first sentence of each paragraph when conducting preliminary research on articles or web pages?
-The first sentence of each paragraph often summarizes the main idea of the paragraph, which helps in quickly building an understanding of the author's argument and determining the relevance of the source.
What are the different types of preliminary research mentioned in the script?
-The types include topic generation, concept connection, body of knowledge, and topic narrowing, each serving different purposes in the early stages of research.
How does preliminary research for topic generation differ from that for concept connection?
-Topic generation preliminary research is done when unsure of the topic, aiming to find interesting concepts, while concept connection research helps develop a deeper understanding and find new research avenues within a general topic.
What role does Wikipedia play in the preliminary research stage?
-Wikipedia is useful for building general knowledge in the early stages but is not a citable source in academic research. However, its references and footnotes can lead to citable sources and quality information.
Why is it important to use academic and credible sources for building a research argument and project?
-Academic and credible sources provide the necessary reliability and authority to support research claims, ensuring the validity and integrity of the research project.
How should preliminary sources be utilized in the context of academic research?
-Preliminary sources, while not always academic, should be used to build initial knowledge and formulate questions. However, for the actual research argument and project, academic and credible sources are essential.
Outlines
🔍 Understanding Preliminary Research for AP Capstone
This paragraph introduces the concept of preliminary research, emphasizing its importance in the early stages of the research process. It explains that preliminary research helps to refine research questions and develop a robust project. The paragraph also outlines the purpose of preliminary research, which includes narrowing down topics, identifying doable aspects, and guiding further reading. It suggests that this research should be quick and effective, pointing to more focused concepts. The paragraph references a document from the New York Institute of Technology for further guidance on conducting preliminary research.
📚 Conducting Preliminary Research: Techniques and Types
The second paragraph delves into how to conduct preliminary research effectively and quickly. It provides specific techniques for books, research journals, articles, and web pages, such as checking indexes, tables of contents, introductory chapters, and skimming paragraphs. The paragraph also discusses different types of preliminary research, including topic generation, concept connection, body of knowledge development, and topic narrowing. It highlights the use of Wikipedia for general knowledge building and data mining, while cautioning against using it as a citable source. The paragraph concludes by stressing the importance of using academic and credible sources for building research arguments and projects.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Preliminary Research
💡Research Project
💡Research Questions
💡Body of Knowledge
💡Topic Generation
💡Concept Connection
💡Topic Narrowing
💡Skimming
💡Speed Reading
💡Academic Sources
💡Citable Sources
Highlights
Preliminary research is essential for informing your body of knowledge and refining research questions.
Conducting preliminary research helps develop better and stronger research questions for a robust and quality project.
Preliminary research should be done at the beginning of the research process and is a time-efficient activity.
The purpose of preliminary research is to narrow the topic, identify doable aspects, and guide to further detailed reading and better questions.
Preliminary research is not meant to be exhaustive but to understand the existing body of work and revise questions accordingly.
For books or research journals, the index is the first place to look for specific pages related to the topic.
If the index is unhelpful, the table of contents may provide chapter or article titles that are relevant.
Introductory chapters can offer insights into the overall discussion of the book or journal.
If initial sections are not helpful, the source may be set aside as unhelpful for the research.
For articles or web pages, reading the first and last three paragraphs can provide an understanding of the source's usefulness.
Skimming and speed reading are acceptable methods during preliminary research to quickly assess sources.
Preliminary research can be conducted for various reasons such as topic generation, concept connection, body of knowledge, and topic narrowing.
Topic generation research helps in identifying interesting concepts when there is a general idea but no specific topic yet.
Concept connection research aids in developing a deeper understanding and finding new research avenues.
Body of knowledge research is crucial for developing a research question with a basic understanding of the topic.
Topic narrowing research helps to transition from a general topic to a more focused and specific one.
While Wikipedia is useful for early-stage knowledge development, it is not a citable source in academic research.
Wikipedia can be beneficial for data mining, leading to citable sources through its references and footnotes.
Preliminary research should provide useful information for knowledge building and question formulation, though not all sources need to be academic.
Academic and credible sources are essential for building an argument and a research project in the later stages of research.
Transcripts
this video is designed to give you an
overview
on conducting preliminary research for
ap capstone
if you are going to complete an entire
research project or paper
you may ask yourself what's the point of
doing preliminary research
why can't i just jump in and begin
working
that is because preliminary research
informs your body
of knowledge and helps you to refine
your later questions
spending the time doing preliminary
research at the beginning of the
research process
can help you to develop better stronger
research questions
and a more robust and quality research
project
we all know that research takes time
and preliminary research is done at the
beginning of the research process
let's talk briefly on how to conduct
preliminary research
quickly and effectively to meet your
needs
of building a body of knowledge and
helping to inform the development of a
research question
the following slides are informed from
the document
how to do preliminary research quickly
and effectively
from the new york institute of
technology
the purpose of preliminary research is
to help narrow your topic
by finding what is out there it helps to
identify what is doable based on your
page limit or research parameters
it helps you get an idea of specific
aspects of your topics
and guides you to further detailed
reading and better questions
it's important to remember that
preliminary research is
just that preliminary
refer back to the purposes it's simply
designed to help you understand what's
out there
and help you to revise your questions
preliminary research can be done quickly
and effectively
it should be a quick process and it
should point you to more
narrow concepts here are several guides
for how to do preliminary research in
various media
for books or research journals looking
in the index is the first place to go
for specific pages that apply to your
topic
if the index is present but unhelpful
check a table of contents this may give
you other information
including chapter or article titles
that may prove promising if the table of
contents does not have anything that is
helpful
quickly review the introductory chapter
this may give you an idea of what the
journal or the book
is discussing if none of these things
are useful
you can put the source aside and
consider it unhelpful for your research
for articles or web pages the best thing
you can do is read the first three
paragraphs
and then read the last three paragraphs
if these two read-throughs provide you
with an understanding that the source
may be useful
then you can continue to read more
specifically
speed reading and skimming is okay in
preliminary research
once you've read the first three
paragraphs or the first or the last
three paragraphs
you can also start looking at the first
sentence of each paragraph in between
this can help you build an idea of what
the author is trying to tell you
now that we've talked about the purpose
of preliminary research
and a few ways to do it effectively and
quickly
let's talk about the types of
preliminary research
yes there's more than one type
you may do preliminary research because
you are unsure of the topic that you
would like to address
so perhaps you're looking for a variety
of things that are interesting to you
topic generation preliminary research
occurs when you have a general idea
this way you can do a search to see what
concepts are associated with it
this can also help to narrow a topic
you may also do a preliminary research
for concept connection
it can help you develop a deeper
understanding of your general topic
and you may find connections that open
up new research arenas and avenues
you may do body of knowledge preliminary
research
it's very difficult to develop a
research question if you don't have a
basic knowledge of the concepts
or topic that you would like to research
this preliminary research can give you a
better understanding of the whole
you can also do preliminary research for
topic narrowing
this is very similar to body of
knowledge or connections
in this case preliminary research for
topic narrowing
is done so that you can move from a
general topic
through various narrow topics to a final
focused
topic
let's make a quick note on wikipedia
and a general note on sources for
wikipedia
it is useful for building general body
of knowledge development
in the very early stages but wikipedia
is not a citable source
used in academic research however
wikipedia can be incredibly beneficial
in
data mining or source mining using the
references and footnotes at the end of a
wikipedia article
can lead you to areas that are citable
and that can give you quality
information
additionally preliminary research should
give you useful information
to build your knowledge and build a
question
preliminary sources are not always
academic and that's okay
but remember for the purpose of research
academic and credible sources
should be the ones you use to build your
argument
and to build a research project
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